Gordy

I looked a bit into it and the miata 1.6 has been crammed in a midget. It requires the transmission tunnel and footwells to be remade and a few other things but otherwise fits nicely. The MGB is a nice car too, and I'd settle for one of I could get ine for a good price.

That's not a bad option. I was more thinking the 1.6 Miata engine. There's tons of wrecked Miatas around I can get for cheap. From everything I've seen the engine is easy to wire up and I can swap to dual Webber carburetors. I really don't mind if I need to do a little bit of a cowel hood or a hood bulge in it either.

I don't want a big engine, just something a little more modern with a bit better power.

The dream is a MG midget or a Triumph GT6/ MGB GT. Any of them I'll settle for, but I am more interested in the midget. I'd probably settle for an MGB too. Basically the smaller the better. The midget I would likely keep stock for a while with just a webber carb and 5 speed triumph transmission swap until I get all the parts gathered to swap to a modern 4 cylinder and 6 speed transmission (probably a Miata engine still). That's a build I've had brewing in my brain since I discovered the MG midget in the hot wheels bin at the local M&W years ago. I fell in love with those tiny little cars but sadly have never been able to get my hands on one. I get the engine swap is ambitious, but it's doable. But I figured money would be better spent on one of those cars to drive and enjoy. It would be a nice car to put my MAC Tools monster tach in. The tach is probably too big for that car lol

Well I put some thought into it. As much as I would love to build a car from scratch, I just don't think a 7 is a good option for me with the assurance that it won't get finished. I'll stick to my original plan of buying my dream car and building it up with the parts I want as that will be a much more satisfying project to spend a few years perfecting. Thanks for the help.

So basically he used a miata to put suspension and brakes around a kit car? Well that's kinda what I had in mind, just without the kit.

I planned to use mostly Miata parts. I would like to stay close to original size. And I will get that reading material soon. I'll look more into the effort. However I really don't like the idea of going into debt for anything. If anything I would just buy a Miata for cheap and make it into a fun car rather than buy a premade car and pay it off.

So I wanted to build my full frima as a tube chassis and just put bends in them. I don't think it would be all too much more work and it would look really nice. Plus I wouldn't have to do math for compound cuts, just use my tubing notcher. What's your take on that approach?

Sweet, thanks! I figured that would be the case.

So I would like to build the chassis woth round tubing. Would this bender do the trick or should I get an Eastwood bender? https://www.harborfreight.com/tubing-roller-99736.html

That Cortina is a wicked little car. How much would you be asking? I'd definitely be interested but it would take me a while to get to that point.

It's all of it really. I would love to build one, drove one, and of course be seen in one. Not that there's anyone I can think of in particular that I'd want to see me in one, but it would still be cool.

Well, my answers to all those qustions but the disposible income are yes. Which I am waiting for a time when I have a good job, I am just in the planning stage so I am ready to start after graduation. Dad and I have a 42x100 auto shop. He doesn't care if I get a parts car as long as I have it fully dismantled and the parts I'm keeping in one spot and the rest of it heading to the scrap yard within a month. That's a fair agreement. But he doesn't mind if I use the space for my build, and I have all the tooling except a bender, but am able to get one.

I have looked alot into this. I am honestly completely on board with KISS. Why design my own fron suspension? Everyone else has done so several times. It might not be perfect, but it's good enough for me! A rear suspension from a Miata would make the rear end a breeze, and the front tubular copied from someone else will do just fine. I know that there's good parts there, but I can't afford even a bag of bolts, let alone the whole project or the gas to get to Maryland. That's an 8hr ish drive there and back, and that's alot if fuel in an old V8 truck. I honestly would be interested in alot, if not all of those parts, but I haven't got anything to offer for them or a way to get them here. I'd be all for a prefab frame for the right deal. Maybe if she has them come graduation I'll see what I can do. But I did alot more reading last night. I came to the conclusion that although a bike engine would be wicked, it's not really something I should take on. Any reasonable 4cyl and 5 speed will be easier and more practical. Besides, it's more about the handling than the HP. Any amount of HP would push this thing down the road. I'm all to aware of getting burnt out on projects if they don't have progress or end goal in sight. But I'm confident I can at least build the frame, and if I lose interest it wouldn't be too hard to get rid of. I'm honestly never overly concerned about "getting my money back" outta something that I've had my fun with. Besides, if it's just sitting there it's way less useful than whatever someone will give you for it.

Ya know, that's a really cool car! I plan to use coilovers with a tunable rode height. Of course this car isn't gonna venture on some(most) of the roads out here. Fortunately Ky Route 3 (south) is the main highway I live off of and it had been recently repaved. That and US23 is where I'll be driving most, so I won't need that. I live up on a hill from the flooding I posted. That's near the bottom of my driveway. Unfortunately our auto shop is down there too, however the car will probably spend most of its time up by the house under the carport or maybe even in the garage up here if I can talk the old man into it. But that is his wood shop and he tends to do his wood working more during the winter season, so it more than likely will be the carport.