KOnahic Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Does anyone know of pre fabed motor mounts for a Miata engine in a 7 chassis? The car I have was originally assembled in '85. My learning curve right now is real steep. Any help is greatly appreciated. :cooldude: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmustang Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Does anyone know of pre fabed motor mounts for a Miata engine in a 7 chassis? The car I have was originally assembled in '85. My learning curve right now is real steep. Any help is greatly appreciated. :cooldude: As all 7 Chassis are different, who's do you have, and what was it originally set up for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 The only Miata engine specific Se7en chassis is the Westfield. However, your car was built long before those came out so without buying a set and fit checking I don't think there is any way to find out. What brand and model chassis do you have? With the help of a machinist friend I designed and built my own Miata to Caterham SV motor mounts using the standard frame mount that came with the car. Here's a couple of pictures. Are you using the Miata transmission? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Page 4 of my build thread has some photos of the Miata engine mounted in my Westfield. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?9488-Westfield-build-diary/page4&highlight=Westfield+build There is also a custom mount that supports the back of the transmission. They don't use any of the mounts from the Miata, as they are custom made by the Westfield factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOnahic Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Thank you all for the quick responses. All are a big help, especially the pictures. My chassis is set up for a 1600 cross flow. It has dual webers on it & runs well, when I'm on it, but I don't drive like that all of the time. Hence the idea of the Miata swap. I'm thinking I can purchase an engine/trans and do the install for less than converting the cross flow over to PGMFI. I was thinking I could save some time if there were motor mounts available. I've done a fair bit of fab work & just like most fabricators, the design I came up with was way too involved. I like the simplicity of the one s in the pictures. So, why reinvent the wheel. Time to find an assembly and get busy. Many Mahalos, Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Kurt, The transmission tunnel on my Caterham SV was too small to accommodate a Miata transmission without serious removal of aluminum from the tailshaft and sides of the main body. The tailshaft housing on the left is unmodified. The one on the right was cut down using a Sawazll and a die grinder and used to determine what needed to come off in order to fit in the trans tunnel. IIRC, it and its transmission made 11 trips into the tunnel before I felt it would work out. The middle tailshaft housing is the finished product after a friend machined off the excess and created a pad to mount the OEM Caterham tailshaft mount. I also had to remove some material from the main body of the transmission to make it fit. That was done with a die grinder and a file. There is 1/8" clearance between the transmission and some of the frame tubes in the tunnel but the very stiff engine mounts prevent sideways movement of the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 W It has dual webers on it & runs well, when I'm on it, but I don't drive like that all of the time. Have you considered having it tuned by someone who is familiar with crossflows and weber dcoes ? Ignition curve could also be the culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOnahic Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Skip, Very good information & pictures, many thanks. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOnahic Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 I have considered it, but...living in Hawaii this can be problematic. If I was still in the Bay Area, there would be no shortage of people to ask. Unfortunately, that's not the case here. I will need to become more educated about these things. Thanks, Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Here's a photo of my Miata engine with the Mazda motor mount still attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotusman1951 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Exhaust heat can be managed best if the exhaust system does not have to pass your footwell-MIATAs NA/NB have left side exhausts-if you were to pick an engine that had a right hand exhaust everything would be more nice--My advice is to store the twin webers and go to a single downdraft-this will change your HP to about 85-from perhaps 100HP.-sub $500 perhaps 2 hours work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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