Prospecter
Well-known member
At that price you need several!
I am pondering it. Step one is to finish building it and see how it holds up.At that price you need several!
I did a post track-day inspection of the track-day car. The little car did very well for its maiden voyage in track form, passing much, much faster and more expensive cars. In my run group, the only two cars to pass me were a 997.2 Porsche 911 GT3 (non RS) and a Trans-Am spec Mustang.
*I've had two offers to buy this car since Saturday.
Dirty throttle body?I am trying to figure out why a Ford Escape has a poor idle, but runs great off idle...with no CEL.
Unfortunately notDirty throttle body?
Low on coolant? (Apparently it’s a thing with the Escapes)
Nice car!
It's ok. I have my Pikes Peak and endurance cars to play with on a daily basis, so this was just me tinkering with a freebie on the side.
I'd look for a clogged up idle circuit solenoid in the throttle body. ESPECIALLY if you've been hosing throttle body cleaner in there.I am trying to figure out why a Ford Escape has a poor idle, but runs great off idle...with no CEL.




Bet you replaced a gauge sender with an idiot light one.Despite the greasy engine, I abhor dirty greasy engines lol
Chasing a power steering fluid leak, with it puddling on the bracket.
The pressure line is newer (15 years?) lol. It has had fluid on the threads. So I “assumed” it was the mating surface between the flare and flare seat in the pump. But I decided to pick up some new “cut to fit” transmission cooler line for shits and giggles. Otherwise it would be $100 for a new pump for want of a new flare nut seat.
Can you tell which one is the new one?? This is the power steering fluid cooler.
Yup. This line was toast. Probably original.
I’d say I’d test it on the drive to work tomorrow, but I decided to fix the leaky oil pressure gauge. And now I did something to where I have oil pressure ONLY when I let off the gas pedal. Rev-0 psi. Let go of the gas pedal- 10 psi then 0
I’ll drive the truck to work, and pick up oil change stuff for the Lincoln on the way home. I haven’t done an oil change yet. I hope it’s just an oil change issue.
No, I put another mechanical one in.Bet you replaced a gauge sender with an idiot light one.
It was my grampas. He passed it on to me when he passed.
I moved across country, and brought it along.
It sat for a few years, but now I’m getting it back into shape.
I don’t think I have a build thread on this forum.
It’s nothing special except to me, sentimentally.
I'll probably get flamed massively for this, but I'll never get why people want to make a fun, friendly, perfectly balanced lightweight toy like a Miata into an intimidating fire-breathing monster supercar. Add a bunch of horsepower. Then you need more suspension. And more brakes. And more clutch. And more transmission. And more final drive. And stiffen up the chassis. and add bigger wheels and tires, and thousands of dollars of alignment gizmos. and more and more...And the last tiny remnants of the fun friendly Miata will be unrecognizable because it will be a rip-snorting beast. If it works at all.This is my NA6 Miata. After turboing the stock 1.6L motor in there, I learned a lot and decided to tackle a bit of a bigger project with it. That's when I decided that I wanted to rip everything out and drop a v6 SHO in there!
For the transmission, I'm using a Mazda M5OD-R1 since it bolts directly onto the SHO without the need for an adapter.
Rear end is a Ford 8.8 IRS. We're gonna have to figure some stuff out to get it working with the stock knuckle... open to any ideas you might have too.
Here are a few pics of the mockup. Motor and transmission alignment/placement has been figured out.
Now I just have to:
- Finish fabbing the transmission mount/crossmember and bolt it up
- Start fabbing the motor mounts
- Start fabbing the custom low profile oil pan
- Start fabbing both exhaust manifolds
- Figure out all the electrical components
- Get the car started!!
There's a high likelihood that all this won't fit under the stock hood... so what do you guys think? Should I do a clean cutout on the hood or make a hood scoop?
I also had to delete the powerplant frame to make room for the new transmission. Not sure how much it'll affect handling, but I know that there's gonna be some loss in chassis rigidity. Do you think this'll be a big issue? I plan on making this a street legal track car.
Also curious if you have any insights on what other "small things" I should be prepared for during the process?
- Fernand @ Olsa Tools
I tend to agree, but there are definitely some cars which greatly benefit from a modest increase in power, and the Miata is definitely one of them. A bog standard MX5 with a basic turbo setup and an uprated clutch is a joy to drive.I'll probably get flamed massively for this, but I'll never get why people want to make a fun, friendly, perfectly balanced lightweight toy like a Miata into an intimidating fire-breathing monster supercar. Add a bunch of horsepower. Then you need more suspension. And more brakes. And more clutch. And more transmission. And more final drive. And stiffen up the chassis. and add bigger wheels and tires, and thousands of dollars of alignment gizmos. and more and more...And the last tiny remnants of the fun friendly Miata will be unrecognizable because it will be a rip-snorting beast. If it works at all.
But, silly me, this is GJ. That's what we do.



