LS powered Miata swap- Build Thread
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LS powered Miata swap- Build Thread Well, just like my Integra build thread, this is going to be a slow project. I have always had front wheel drive Honda's, so rear wheel drive and V8's are completely new to me.
Anyways, $1000 got me a decent chassis rolling on new Rota's and a clean title. (I swear, title problems are the worst.) Other than a couple spots of rust that i quickly took care of, the car seemed to be in pretty good shape.
There was a little rust in the trunk that i cut out and welded new sheet metal in place of, and then painted it all in some glossy black. Not the best paint job, but it should keep the rust away.
That all spans the time of the last month which leads me up to last week. I am super paranoid of rust (if you can't tell :roll: ) so i had to take everything off the front end and check the fender areas for any signs. Fortunately there was only 1 spot of surface rust which i sanded down, treated, primed, painted, and the sprayed the whole area with undercoat. Figured that should do the job. I'm sure i will be taking all that back off again soon and i will be sure to take some photos.
I've also stripped out the interior to get started on wiring, and fix a couple small problems i had with the dash. What better way to clean everything up, than to take it all apart.
Anyways, $1000 got me a decent chassis rolling on new Rota's and a clean title. (I swear, title problems are the worst.) Other than a couple spots of rust that i quickly took care of, the car seemed to be in pretty good shape.
There was a little rust in the trunk that i cut out and welded new sheet metal in place of, and then painted it all in some glossy black. Not the best paint job, but it should keep the rust away.
That all spans the time of the last month which leads me up to last week. I am super paranoid of rust (if you can't tell :roll: ) so i had to take everything off the front end and check the fender areas for any signs. Fortunately there was only 1 spot of surface rust which i sanded down, treated, primed, painted, and the sprayed the whole area with undercoat. Figured that should do the job. I'm sure i will be taking all that back off again soon and i will be sure to take some photos.
I've also stripped out the interior to get started on wiring, and fix a couple small problems i had with the dash. What better way to clean everything up, than to take it all apart.
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Here is a thread i started looking for engine, tranny, wiring harness, etc. I sold my Integra to a friend, and on monday i should get the rest of the cash. Then it's time to start piecing everything together!
I'm going with the Boss Frog kit for most of the swap. So far, they seem to have the strongest design; especially for the rear end. Right now i am just going to focus on getting the engine and tranny in and running. Then rear end, driveshaft, suspension, rollbar, wheels/tires, etc... The list just keeps on going!
I'm going with the Boss Frog kit for most of the swap. So far, they seem to have the strongest design; especially for the rear end. Right now i am just going to focus on getting the engine and tranny in and running. Then rear end, driveshaft, suspension, rollbar, wheels/tires, etc... The list just keeps on going!
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Last weekend it snowed which put a damper on progress. I despise working outside when it is cold.
I still managed to get a little work done. Still just going through the wiring to see what is going to stay, and what will go. This is how the car is currently sitting.
I get off work tonight at midnight, and am immediately heading on a 9 hour roadtrip with a friend to pick up an FC RX7 chassis. He is getting ready to start on an LS1 swap with it. Should be fun!
I still managed to get a little work done. Still just going through the wiring to see what is going to stay, and what will go. This is how the car is currently sitting.
I get off work tonight at midnight, and am immediately heading on a 9 hour roadtrip with a friend to pick up an FC RX7 chassis. He is getting ready to start on an LS1 swap with it. Should be fun!
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Got the rest of the money from selling my Integra today. Now the hunt is on!
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No photos yet, but i mostly finished cutting out and welding up the useless square chunks from the rear of the engine bay. Glad i had the dash out and firewall area clear; i had the seam sealer on the inside catch on fire 3 times!
I was going to do some progress photos, but once i started i realized how simple it really was going to be. My welds were not the best (need gas!) but the grinder helped smooth them down. This isn't going to be a show car, but i still want it to look nice so i can be proud of my work! 
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Dark-
Don't get too caried away with your firewall mods until you have the engine and transmission. When I installed my LS1 with T56, I needed to reshape the opening to the transmission tunnel. I must have installed the engine and transmission 15-20 times... I also built my own tubular k frame prior to the kits being available.
Good luck! You will be thrilled when it is complete!
karl
Don't get too caried away with your firewall mods until you have the engine and transmission. When I installed my LS1 with T56, I needed to reshape the opening to the transmission tunnel. I must have installed the engine and transmission 15-20 times... I also built my own tubular k frame prior to the kits being available.
Good luck! You will be thrilled when it is complete!
karl
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Yeah, i have been looking at others photos, and massaged the edges around the tunnel some. I just have some crappy paint on it that would be easy to strip off and hammer some more! It looks like with the Boss Frog k frame the engine is going to sit just a bit more forward. Easier to fit, but worse weight balance... Eh, i will take it either way. Always fun to make something work!
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Payed for the LS1 today! It should be here sometime between tuesday and thursday next week. Its out of a 2004 Corvette with 22k miles on it.
Here are some quick photos of what all i got done in the engine bay. I have seen where people simply cut out the rear corners, but i figured it couldn't hurt to weld some sheet metal back in place. Doesn't look great at all right now. I'm not sure how much i am going to do cosmetically since it isn't really going to be a focal point. I should have a harness on the way soon too.
Here are some quick photos of what all i got done in the engine bay. I have seen where people simply cut out the rear corners, but i figured it couldn't hurt to weld some sheet metal back in place. Doesn't look great at all right now. I'm not sure how much i am going to do cosmetically since it isn't really going to be a focal point. I should have a harness on the way soon too.
Looks good to me. Don't worry about makin' anything pretty until you're done w/ mock-up. Otherwise, you'll be doing it over & over again. Are you sure that the LS1 isn't actually an LS6? My bet is that an 04 Vette had an LS6 in it; of which is a good thing.
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I was told it was an LS1, and it says "LS1" pretty big on the fly by wire throttle body. I would guess it came from one of the base models? Also, i know it has the 241 heads which would mean it was an LS1 too, right?
Yah, I was thinking that by 04, all Vette's were LS6 engines. Just looked & it was only the "Z."
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haha, i just looked up the same thing. Thanks!
Found a T56 close by with only 2200 miles on it for $1200. I'm going to try and pick it up over the next couple days.
edit: looks like the T56 deal is gonna fall through. Wants to sell the car as a whole. That means i still have cash for the harness, PCM, and K memeber though.
Found a T56 close by with only 2200 miles on it for $1200. I'm going to try and pick it up over the next couple days.
edit: looks like the T56 deal is gonna fall through. Wants to sell the car as a whole. That means i still have cash for the harness, PCM, and K memeber though.
Last edited by dark_dementshun; Dec 31, 2008 at 11:17 PM.
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Well here is how i spent my New Years day:
Pulled the drivers side harness out of the engine bay, and took the whole thing into the house to have more room to work. Soooo much easier to work on inside. I still have to take off some old loom and tape, but i got off all the extra plugs that i didn't want to be there.
Here is what all i removed. There are about 6 other plugs that i removed while the harness was still in the car.
Pulled the drivers side harness out of the engine bay, and took the whole thing into the house to have more room to work. Soooo much easier to work on inside. I still have to take off some old loom and tape, but i got off all the extra plugs that i didn't want to be there.
Here is what all i removed. There are about 6 other plugs that i removed while the harness was still in the car.