I dedicate this project to my son Charlie whom without this would have never happened. I commit the very best I am capable of on the build knowing it is very likely going to be parked in your garage someday. :-)
The back story on this build is I ended up with a Miata named Jenna with a bad motor in it. (long sad story)
I also own a 02 Camaro SS that, though I love the car,
has been one problem after another since the day I bought it.
So after a month of
research and soul searching for the best way to make good on both cars I have
decided to part out the Camaro and put the drive train in the Miata.
So after a month of
research and soul searching for the best way to make good on both cars I have
decided to part out the Camaro and put the drive train in the Miata.
Yes you read that right, I'm
going to junk a perfectly good Camaro then take this little unsuspecting Miata and yank her 130 horse engine and
replace it with the 425 horse muscle car V8 out of the Camaro.
It is with absolutely no idea how hard this will be or how long it will take that I set my goal of starting the converted Miata on my birthday June 15th.
Note I omitted the year and did not say drive the car...
_____________________________________________________________________________
Weekend 1, the journey begins
I listed the Camaro on Craigslist as a full part out in 4 cities with hopes of selling the hood pretty quick as I don't have a way to transport or store it safely. In the first 12 hours I had the ad up I got over 100 inquires most of which skipped over the line that said I would not be able to ship most parts until late March. Opps.... So I pulled the ad and culled it down to just what I can ship now and only posted it in 2 cities.
Tuesday I have a guy coming for the hood, Wednesday for brake parts I had from the last Camaro and the inquires continue to pour in.
I have to admit I did feel sick to my stomach for a few minutes when the guy committed to the hood and we set a time for him to pick it up. No turning back now....
Over the weekend I welded up the roll bar kit Charlie had that was part of his plans for the car. Of course the intention was for him to do the work but since he is off using his fine skills welding in the Navy now I did it. Suffice to say I stink at welding around a pipe.
I'll be using some bondo to make things look decent before the paint goes on it...
I'm happy with how it came out except that I messed up on the diagonals. For some dumb reason I fitted them with 3 inches in-between them on the main hoop but welded them up with 4. Cold meds I'm on maybe?
Oh well a great first 3 days of the project over all. I think the best part was I had lots of time to pray as I ground away at lousy welds. LOL!
12/10/13 edit I've had folks ask where I got the roll bar kit so I'm adding a link HERE. If you have questions about it send me a message.
It is with absolutely no idea how hard this will be or how long it will take that I set my goal of starting the converted Miata on my birthday June 15th.
Note I omitted the year and did not say drive the car...
_____________________________________________________________________________
Weekend 1, the journey begins
I listed the Camaro on Craigslist as a full part out in 4 cities with hopes of selling the hood pretty quick as I don't have a way to transport or store it safely. In the first 12 hours I had the ad up I got over 100 inquires most of which skipped over the line that said I would not be able to ship most parts until late March. Opps.... So I pulled the ad and culled it down to just what I can ship now and only posted it in 2 cities.
Tuesday I have a guy coming for the hood, Wednesday for brake parts I had from the last Camaro and the inquires continue to pour in.
I have to admit I did feel sick to my stomach for a few minutes when the guy committed to the hood and we set a time for him to pick it up. No turning back now....
Over the weekend I welded up the roll bar kit Charlie had that was part of his plans for the car. Of course the intention was for him to do the work but since he is off using his fine skills welding in the Navy now I did it. Suffice to say I stink at welding around a pipe.
I'll be using some bondo to make things look decent before the paint goes on it...
I'm happy with how it came out except that I messed up on the diagonals. For some dumb reason I fitted them with 3 inches in-between them on the main hoop but welded them up with 4. Cold meds I'm on maybe?
Oh well a great first 3 days of the project over all. I think the best part was I had lots of time to pray as I ground away at lousy welds. LOL!
12/10/13 edit I've had folks ask where I got the roll bar kit so I'm adding a link HERE. If you have questions about it send me a message.
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