The want is HIGH, and has been for a long time.

"BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast." (boxerfanatic)
09/24/2013 at 11:58 • Filed to: Miata, Simpson Design, Italia

I have wanted to build a Simpson Design Italia for a while... and they keep improving it... now I REALLY want an Italia Classic GTB Coupe.

There is a REALLY rough white NA miata in the parking lot at work... bumper covers falling off, paint trashed, interior trashed, convertible top torn and window loose, It is amazing that it still is road-worthy... but it still runs.

I have actually wondered what that person would take for me to purchase it.

I would strip the thing to it's chassis, and re-build it as a Simpson Design Italia Classic GTB Coupe.

All new bodywork, no convertible top. Everything wrong with the white donor car would be GONE anyway... and the drivetrain would likely be completely upgraded, if not outright replaced. Maybe even either a rotary or Nissan RB I6 swap. Full chassis bracing, and a roll bar integrated into the top. (and probably alloy wheels, although I don't hate the steelies.)

Full LED lighting and modern electrical features, in classic looking fixtures.

Just look a this interior...

Maybe with t-tops like the prototype for the NB-based Italia 2 GTB version has.

DISCUSSION (15)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 12:02

Never heard of this, looks pretty cool, sounds like classic look and feel with the convenience of modern features. Sounds like a win win to me.

ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 12:04

Hot damn that is cool looking. I bet I still cannot fit in it though.

/tallpeopleproblems

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR
09/24/2013 at 12:20

How tall are you?

I have an NB Miata already, and I am 6'2", and not exactly thin as a rail.

As long as the coupe roof is no closer to the floor than the convertible top, which is likely, plus, no top frame bows... head room is probably slightly improved.

As long as the seat is thin, and most stock Miata seats are not too bad... it actually might fit slightly better than an NB, as NA's interior panels and door cards and such, are thinner. (better knee room), and the thin-rim wood steering wheel might help if the outside diameter is the same or slightly smaller than stock.

It won't exactly be a grand tourer... but it might not be as impossible as you think.

But I have the same worries about other cars that I like, like a Lotus Esprit. I may or may not be able to fit in one of those.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
09/24/2013 at 12:22

http://www.simpsondesign.net

Their website is decent, and has a good amount of pictures.

They have various kits for NA and NB generation Miatas, and the build quality seems to be done to quite a high level.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 12:33

I just like the MX-5 a little bit more.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Goshen, formerly Darkcode
09/24/2013 at 13:01

No problem with that.

Converting an MX-5 Miata into an Italia is not required... and there is a convertible version (actually the Coupe is a new addition, Italia has been a convertible all along), Or the Manta Ray, or any number of other modified Miatas...

Bone stock, works too. Miata is a great car as-is.

ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 13:31

6'4'' 230lbs. Broad shoulders. A lot of small to compact size cars I just do not fit in no matter how much I want to. Also I may get in but then the driving position would not be ideal. I love this concept tho. Feel kind of weird asking miata owners if I can sit in their cars.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR
09/24/2013 at 13:45

I won't lie... Miata is a tight fit.

Plus one of the tricks is to push the clutch, or fit your right foot between the pedals to extend your right knee to go under the steering wheel.

In my NB... I do get my knees sort of lodged between the steering wheel and the parking brake on the right, and the door card on the left, and it is imperative that the seat is as far back and reclined against the bulkhead as possible.

The thinner door cards on an NA are supposedly better, a narrower steering wheel can be had, and there are a couple of tricks for making the seat even thinner to grant that extra bit of leg and head room.

But hey... me, my dad (6'4"), and my brother (6'5") of germanic descent (read: not small) can each drive my dad's 74 MGB. (which is physically smaller than a Miata, but has miles of leg-room, incidentally, but tiny little doors), sometimes space can be deceiving.

Not exactly a daily driver or ideal road-trip car, it is do-able, and a fun and good looking little runabout. (although my wife does daily drive our Miata, and my mom daily drives a 91 Mercury Capri convertible, and have plenty of room for comfort.)

Bruno Martini > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 13:50

Last I checked, their kits are ridiculously expensive. I mean the convertible two piece I recall being around 10k......... Err no thanks.

DoktorZombie > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 13:58

I like it, but I think the ' vert looks a little better. Anyone know how the weight of this coupe compares to a soft top?

ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 14:11

Damn it. Don't encourage me. I may have to check one out sometime. Need a NoVa area jalop that has a Miata of any generation to let me sit in their car. I sat in McMike's mini with the seat extenders. I fit but it was awkward as hell.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Bruno Martini
09/24/2013 at 14:51

Have you priced other fiberglass bodies? How much do you think a classic corvette body costs? There isn't a shred of the original Miata body that isn't replaced or modified, including the doors.

Replacing the steel and plastic factory body panels with new factory-fit parts might approach that price, too.

The results speak to the development and craftsmanship. Most people would not immediately pick it out as a "kit car" with wavy, ill-fitting, compromised fiberglass.

Great craftsmanship and quality costs money to run the business that provides the product.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > DoktorZombie
09/24/2013 at 15:04

I have no data, but I can't imagine that it is horrendously more.

I know they say that their NB-based Italia II GTO is lighter than the stock NB Miata it is based on, but it is mentioned distinctly from the Italia II GTB, so it may be a bit optimized for light weight.

I imagine the top of the roof skin might be a bit thinner and lighter than the convertible top with it's frame, but the B-pillars and rear window might shift the weight balance and center of gravity a bit upward and aftward. Aftward probably doesn't hurt on a Miata with a front-mounted iron-block engine.

Kinja'd!!!

Bruno Martini > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/24/2013 at 15:05

That may all be true. And I am sure it is. However, its too much money to put into aperance parts. Also the panels glue over the existing sheet metal on most parts except the front. That makes me nervous as repeated temperature cycling could cause some serious issues just a couple of years down the road. Just my thoughts. Although admittedly its one of the sexiest looking kits I have ever seen. Since seeing stacy on gears build the kit, its jaw dropping. However again out of my price range.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Bruno Martini
09/24/2013 at 15:17

It is out of my price range, as well, but if I could afford it, I would pay it.

And I doubt they are using Elmer's. The bonding agent they use is likely the same industrial bonding adhesive that is used for structural bonding on lots of newer chassis that combine steel, aluminum, and composites together, where fasteners alone would cause flex and wear/damage and eventually loosen. I have long wondered if it would be possible also to strategically skeletonize the rear fenders under one of these kits.

Somehow transforming the entire visage of the car with an entirely new body, goes a bit beyond 'appearance parts', by going beyond the stage of just looking different than other Miatas... to actually becoming the main point of modifying the car.

People buy this because they want *this* car because it looks the way it looks, which is much more classic 60's era looking than a stock miata, without costing as much as a good european 60's sports car, not to buy, and certainly not to upkeep.

Even with a $10K+ body, and add to that finishing, interior, mechanical and other work... it is still less expensive than buying a classic Maserati or Ferrari in good shape, and the price difference only becomes MUCH wider when running costs are figured.

People who just want a Miata for Miata's benefits don't bother re-bodying them like this, and enjoy it as-is, or with much less modification.

It is kind of a difference of mind-set as to what is wanted from the car.