.boB

I started out using a F-body LS1, mostly stock on the outside. Once again, not as easy as I thought it was going to be. It required some fabrication to get it all in there. The problem is the frame is too short. If the nose of the frame were extended about 2" this would be a piece of cake.

Based on what I thought I knew from reading about Miata V8 installations. I installed the radiator on the inside of the frame, That didn't work. Not quite enough room to make everything work easily. This needs to be a car that's easily repaired.

THIS DID NOT WORK!


One of the big problems was the height of water pump. Why did GM use that Ginormous Liberty Bell front pulley? There was no easy way around this. The Corvette front dress doesn't work here. The alternator is high and to the outside. You's have to cut a hole in the hood and modify the left side upper frame rail.

But I did use a 'vette water pump, and some 3/4" spacers. You can a little bit of room, and the pulleys just barely line up. We'll see how that works at 7,000 rpm's.


I ended up remaking all the front frame brackets, and buying a new thinner radiator from V8R. Then I had to have the radiator modified, with new outlets. V8R, if you're listening, install these outlets in the beginning.


So, I ended up putting the oil cooler just in front of the engine, the P/S cooler in front of that, and then the radiator on the front of the frame. I had to fab brackets for all of that. Not rocket science, but time consuming.











The radiator is covered with some 1/4" SS mesh I bought from Pegasus. I layed a couple of beads of silicone down to keep the screen away from the core, so it can absorb impacts. Worked really well on my other car.


And, of course, it's needs an overflow tank. I had this one on hand.


You may have noticed that throughout the car I'v used a paint pen to mark bolt sizes, serpentine belt part numbers, etc. Again, this is a track car, and it needs to be easy to maintain and repair. This is the first Metric car I'v owned; I didn't want to be searching for the right size socket all the time.

.boB

I used the biggest and most efficient oil cooler I could fit. For my kind of racing, it's probably overkill - more than I really need. But, do it right the first time.



Since the oil pan has no provision for a filter, I had to mount an external filter somewhere. No place to put it on the left side, because of the steering linkage. So I made a small bracket out of some scrap alum, and put it here on the right side. It simply bolts in where an A/C compressor bracket was.






Since we're talking about the oiling system, it also gets an Accusump. I fabbed some brackets using some clamp on collars to attach it to the roll cage. If I like that location, I'll probably weld some light weight brackets to the cage.

charchri4

Ah that's what the canister is! I was starting to think just put the radiator in the back with a couple of side ducts where there is endless room!

.boB

Building this car is a lot more involved than I thought it was going to be. My original intention of this thread - and others like it - was to document the differences from dropping a V8 into a Miata. I wanted this information to be easily found and referenced for the next guy. But keeping these threads updated and organized isn't working out all that well.

So, I built a web site. Racing the Exocet

This site only documents those steps, problems, and solutions specific to the Exocet. I'm sure some of it will apply to a Miata. But since I've never owned one, I can't say. I'll still read this site nearly every day, like I have been. And I still think this is the best site not only for V8 Miata's, but Miata performance in general.

No, this is not a commercial web site. It's for information only. I'm not selling anything, promoting anything, or asking for anything. Peruse the site at your leisure. Or not.