mx5 conversion

[V8MX5]

wow... you managed that in an inspirationally short period of time!

well done! that car must be awesome... how are you going for registration? is it difficult in NZ to register such a beast? engineers certificate, or similar?

very easy to register in NZ my certification guy has looked over it and is happy with whats been done, i broke an axel yesturday ! so im going to put larger axels and universals in now

 

[Benji]

That is amazing mate.
i have an 89 MX5 and i have been looking for a good conversion.
i had heard of the V8 transplant before but have never seen any home jobs.

I WANT THE SAME

so any info you could give me would be great.
i am interested in how you did your engine mounts and wiring?
also what sort of problems did you find with the installation of the transmission
did it fit right in or did you have to take to your car with a 14 pound hammer?

I assume you installed a new radiator? but what about A/C did you get that working too?
i have so many questions for you.
YOU HAVE INSPIRED ME!!!

 

[V8MX5]

That is amazing mate.
i have an 89 MX5 and i have been looking for a good conversion.
i had heard of the V8 transplant before but have never seen any home jobs.

I WANT THE SAME

so any info you could give me would be great.
i am interested in how you did your engine mounts and wiring?
also what sort of problems did you find with the installation of the transmission
did it fit right in or did you have to take to your car with a 14 pound hammer?

I assume you installed a new radiator? but what about A/C did you get that working too?
i have so many questions for you.
YOU HAVE INSPIRED ME!!!

i used series 5 RX7 engine mounts, there are several types, hard and soft compound rubber, i used a pair of the stiffer compound ones, i made up plates off the original 1UZ mounts that went back to the original location of the MX5 mounts, these are approximatly 10 cm long,
Because it is a convertable the tunnel is hudge ! this is to make up some of the strength in the body. the front chassis rails have a "shelf" on them which needs to be cut back considerably,
i had a brand new 3 core radiator made , its basically a stock item for a VS V8 commodore, fits nicely between the chassis rails, its a crossflow type radiator, my MX5 is a NZ new model, we dnt get air conditioning, well its an optional extra that not many people get ?
Im running the factory ECU mounted in the factory location

 

[Benji]

Thats pretty sweet,
RX7 engine mounts, i never would have picked that.
I should have guessed about the A/C, hey!
what sort of issues did you come across when it came to running cables back to the dash? did you manage to wire the oil pressure gauge up?
I am assuming that you had to get new cables made?
what about the brakes? did you use the Master cylinder/ booster from the half cut?
it is hard to tell from the pics.
Also what rotor/ caliper config are you running on the front?
i guess you kept the back disks stock?

I think it is a wise move to use the stock ECU, considering you now have about 230% of standard power. LOVE IT.

I know the MX5 diff is an ok diff but how are you finding it with that much torque?

 

[V8MX5]

Thats pretty sweet,
RX7 engine mounts, i never would have picked that.
I should have guessed about the A/C, hey!
what sort of issues did you come across when it came to running cables back to the dash? did you manage to wire the oil pressure gauge up?
I am assuming that you had to get new cables made?
what about the brakes? did you use the Master cylinder/ booster from the half cut?
it is hard to tell from the pics.
Also what rotor/ caliper config are you running on the front?
i guess you kept the back disks stock?

I think it is a wise move to use the stock ECU, considering you now have about 230% of standard power. LOVE IT.

I know the MX5 diff is an ok diff but how are you finding it with that much torque?

The oil pressure and temp gauge are wired up, i just fitted the oil pressure sender from the MX5 motor to the 1UZ as for the temp guage i just left the standard 1UZ sender in place as it has the same resistance as the MX5 one,
Brakes on the MX5 are all standard, they pull the MX5 up real good, so for now i have no plans on changinf them.
Ive also fitted a series 5 RX7 4.1 LSD and used the RX7 axels, had the outer splines changed (resplind) to suit the MX5 CV's
i had the axels heat treated to make them stronger but i snapped one of them last week, im now fitting standard unmodified RX7 ones, (they are same lenght as MX5) and will be replacing the outer CV to suit the RX7 axel's im hoping this will be ok ?

 

[E30-323ti]

Who (in NZ) did you get to respline the axles??
What dia were they and what did you take them down to??

 

[V8MX5]

Who (in NZ) did you get to respline the axles??
What dia were they and what did you take them down to??

the company is called "gear cutting services" they are in auckland, cost $50 each ,after the axels were resplined it took them to "heat treatments" in west auckland to have them hardened, i snapped one axel after about 2 hours ! im now using standard series 5 RX7 axels and toyota levin front CV's off the FWD supercharged model, i consumed a brand new pair of 17" tyres in less than 200 km, the car goes great

 

[LEXUSV8NZ]

Just saw it on New Zealand Performance Car TV
Little interview at the nightspeed dragwars
Gotta love people thinking you were in the wrong class

Logan