Something I've wanted to do

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 05/24/2016 at 10:28 • Filed to: None

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For a while I’ve been wanting to buy something like this

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Finnicky, unreliable but cool looking and infinitely quirky small British roadster. Either an MGB or an Austin-Healey ‘Bugeye’ Sprite. Something cheap and broken. Then de-body an NA8 or an NB Miata as if prepping for a Exocet build and drop the old British sheet metal down over the far more reliable, modern, and powerful Japanese running gear. Adjust the transmission tunnel and suspension mount points as needed, and shorten the driveshaft (if necessary). Weld up some mounts for the instrument cluster, pedals, and steering wheel from the Miata and you have yourself an on-the-cheap restomodded “derelict”-style roadster with ~130hp that weighs next to nothing.

Hell yes.

vondon302 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 10:34

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Old dwarf would work great for this. There was one on bat last week done up with a MG

CalzoneGolem > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 10:35

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I want to know how much larger that Miata compared to that, but I’m too lazy to look it up myself.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > vondon302 05/24/2016 at 10:35

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Old dwarf?

Honeybunchesofgoats > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 10:37

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Be sure to post your progress to an MG enthusiast forum, just for kicks.

Die-Trying > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 10:40

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ask about the one next to it...... but the body on this one LOOKS straight.

from what i understand you have a donor car already.........

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Die-Trying 05/24/2016 at 10:46

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Honestly if I didn’t have two broken cars I’d start saving up for this but I have far too many projects at the moment. $450 for the car, another $700 for a totalled donor Miata, $500 in misc bullshit, $1000-ish for a paint job and I’m sure the result could fetch $5000 as a kinda-sorta restomod with custom-fabbed trim pieces and other parts (Because my time is worth nothing) to mimic the originals that probably fetch $toomuch on eBay.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Honeybunchesofgoats 05/24/2016 at 10:46

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I feel like they wouldn’t appreciate it.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > CalzoneGolem 05/24/2016 at 10:48

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MGB:

Wheelbase: 91 in

Length: 153in

Width: 60in

NA Miata:

Wheelbase: 89.2 in

Length: 155.5 in

Width: 65.9

Hell of a lot closer than I expected, honestly.

vondon302 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 10:50

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Oops old dwarf car. Usally powered by a sport bike motor.

Die-Trying > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 10:55

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all you need is the $45o for the mg....... you been pretty bored with your miata anyhow right??? this, this is an OPPO-TUNITY that doesnt come along every day...... headlights would be the LEAST of your worries.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Die-Trying 05/24/2016 at 10:57

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If I did something like this at least I’d have the opportunity to re-do all the wiring in a way that doesn’t suck ass.

Needmoargarage > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 10:58

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I’ve owned both MGBs and Miatas. This is so much more difficult than you imply.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Needmoargarage 05/24/2016 at 11:01

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A buddy and I made a SHOgun once out of a Ford Festiva and a Buick LeSabre subframe/drivetrain. That wasn’t too bad.

Honeybunchesofgoats > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 11:02

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My experience with British car enthusiast communities is that they spend half of their time talking about how crap British engineering and quality control is and the other half castigating people for not keeping cars stock.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Honeybunchesofgoats 05/24/2016 at 11:04

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And they say “harumph” a lot.

Berang > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 11:28

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Prepare to have your mind blown.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Berang 05/24/2016 at 11:33

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This picture screams “potential” so loudly it’s deafening.

Also holy shit I can’t wait to get into this thread deeper.

Needmoargarage > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 11:34

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I’m sure it could be done, but to be a clean build on a reasonable budget would be difficult. MGBs have zero chassis rigidity without their (usually rusted out) sills, and are different proportions than the Miata. You could try to hack and weld something, but it would be extremely messy w/o tons of custom fab work. Figuring out your suspension might be a mess depending on which cars system you decide to retain. At that point, it’d be worth using a different powertrain and/or upgrading as well, doing a real suspension, etc.

Trust me...I’ve literally had shells and tons of parts from both cars sitting in my garage at one time and strongly considered building something. I wish it were simpler cause I’d be driving one by now :)

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Needmoargarage 05/24/2016 at 11:38

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But it’s so simple in my head. And messy is how I roll.

Needmoargarage > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 12:00

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Haha...start looking at the suspension on an MGB and you’ll see where some of the challenges lie. Just a lot of mounting points to figure out, but it could probably be done with some engineering!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Needmoargarage 05/24/2016 at 12:22

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Looks like the Miata’s suspension all mounts to the subframe(s), except for the shocks, which mount to the shock towers and you have a *fair* bit of wiggle room on where precisely those shock towers go. Seems like the easiest way to go is to juse re-use all of the Miata suspension and subframes.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Berang 05/24/2016 at 20:28

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Holy shit. This thread is amazing.

Slant6 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/24/2016 at 22:49

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SR20 please.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Slant6 05/24/2016 at 23:36

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It caught fire. We didn’t know that the salvage motor we used had... issues. It is literally just a Festiva with the wheel wells and rear floor cut out and a 3800 5-bolt cradle welded in with steel tube providing crossbracing and a strut tower mount. It’s very ghetto. Unfortunately 3800s are too expensive now for some reason for that car to ever be a viable project again, though my friend has said it’s free to me if I ever want to finish it.

Slant6 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 05/25/2016 at 07:57

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Not that I dont believe you, it’s just that it seems cool. Do you have any pictures of it?