Mazda MX-5 Miata Forum

December 16, 2009

mazda miata V-8 ?

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 6:51 am

A few months ago, I purchased a Mazda MIata that was hit pretty hard
in the front end, crushing the engine in the process.  I was wondering
if anyone has a www URL or a email address of someone that has
completed this conversion or of the name of a company where i could
purchase that kit from.  I have access to a Mustang 5.0 with tranny
and rearend and would really like to use  those mechanics in
converting my miata to V8 power.  I know there are kits somewhere
(since I have seen them before) but can not find them now that I need
them.
Any help would be appreciated.
Since I do not get much time to get on the newsgroups, please email me
at :
cha…@microserve.net

Thanks, Chris

12 Comments »

  1. - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    cha…@microserve.net wrote:

    > A few months ago, I purchased a Mazda MIata that was hit pretty hard
    > in the front end, crushing the engine in the process.  I was wondering
    > if anyone has a www URL or a email address of someone that has
    > completed this conversion or of the name of a company where i could
    > purchase that kit from.  I have access to a Mustang 5.0 with tranny
    > and rearend and would really like to use  those mechanics in
    > converting my miata to V8 power.  I know there are kits somewhere
    > (since I have seen them before) but can not find them now that I need
    > them.
    > Any help would be appreciated.
    > Since I do not get much time to get on the newsgroups, please email me
    > at :
    > cha…@microserve.net

    > Thanks, Chris

    Chris,

    I think the company your looking for is called Monster Motersports but I
    don’t have any info on how to contact them. They have transplanted many
    5.0 V8s into Miatas and were the first to do it from what I have read.
    They call their conversions Monster Miatas. Amazingly, they can shoehorn
    that huge engine in there!  

    Good Luck!

    William
    Owner of a beautiful 95 M-Edition (Merlot)

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  2. In article 5…@airmail.net, William Curran <curr…@airmail.net> writes:

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    >cha…@microserve.net wrote:

    >> A few months ago, I purchased a Mazda MIata that was hit pretty hard
    >> in the front end, crushing the engine in the process.  I was wondering
    >> if anyone has a www URL or a email address of someone that has
    >> completed this conversion or of the name of a company where i could
    >> purchase that kit from.  I have access to a Mustang 5.0 with tranny
    >> and rearend and would really like to use  those mechanics in
    >> converting my miata to V8 power.  I know there are kits somewhere
    >> (since I have seen them before) but can not find them now that I need
    >> them.
    >> Any help would be appreciated.
    >> Since I do not get much time to get on the newsgroups, please email me
    >> at :
    >> cha…@microserve.net

    >> Thanks, Chris

    >Chris,

    >I think the company your looking for is called Monster Motersports but I
    >don’t have any info on how to contact them. They have transplanted many
    >5.0 V8s into Miatas and were the first to do it from what I have read.
    >They call their conversions Monster Miatas. Amazingly, they can shoehorn
    >that huge engine in there!  

    There are several links to Monster (which is in SoCal) on the web,
    but I don’t have the contact info  handy.  Before buying my used ’94
    I got their literature from them.  They offer 3 cars: a turbo (or maybe
    super)charged conversion for  $11,900, a 5.0L V8 conversion for $19k,
    and a complete supercharged V8 (Miata included in price) for about $50k.
    The V8 models are faster than corvettes and Vipers respectively.  The
    car weighs +250 lbs. for the V8 model, which isn’t bad.  Apparently
    the stock Miata transmission is heavier than the Borg Warner T5 used
    in the Mustang.  Weight balance is reportedly retained.  Tbird parts
    are now used for the rear suspension and  differential, so different
    gearing is readily available.  As of 2 months ago the Monster was still
    not street legal approved in California, although they’ve been shipping
    out of state and out of country for a year or two.  The person I spoke
    with at Monster told me they were expecting CARB approval within a week
    or two.  There’s  no reason the car shouldn’t be street legal since
    it uses the same stuff the Mustang uses.

    I’ve seen 1 Miata  with a V8 in it on the track.  It was still being
    finished up, but had much wider fenders and a ford blue oval on the
    front bumper, along with rollbar and fat  tires.  The base V8 conversion
    from Monster reportedly does  not include body, tire, or brake mods.

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  3. In article <3336124B.5…@airmail.net>,
    William Curran  <curr…@airmail.net> wrote:

    >I think the company your looking for is called Monster Motersports but I
    >don’t have any info on how to contact them. They have transplanted many
    >5.0 V8s into Miatas and were the first to do it from what I have read.
    >They call their conversions Monster Miatas. Amazingly, they can shoehorn
    >that huge engine in there!  

    AND a supercharger! I saw one this weekend at an autox in
    Greenville, SC. The car was shown by John Finger Motors, a local
    Mazda dealer. In addition to the supercharged 302, it had huge wheels
    (fenders had to be extended), a body kit, and racing stripes.
    It hardly looked like a Miata anymore (especially with the
    hardtop) but it was still cool. The price was around $37,000…
    unless the conversion messes up the handling a lot, it
    sounds like good competition for the Corvette.


    Dennis Brown — Carrboro, NC      1995 Trans Am Dark Grn Met/Tan Convertible
    brownde @ cs.unc.edu              1995 Dodge Neon Brilliant Blue Sport Coupe

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  4. - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    l…@my.sig,News2 writes:
    >In article <3336124B.5…@airmail.net>,
    >William Curran  <curr…@airmail.net> wrote:
    >>I think the company your looking for is called Monster Motersports but
    >I
    >>don’t have any info on how to contact them. They have transplanted many
    >>5.0 V8s into Miatas and were the first to do it from what I have read.
    >>They call their conversions Monster Miatas. Amazingly, they can
    >shoehorn
    >>that huge engine in there!  
    >AND a supercharger! I saw one this weekend at an autox in
    >Greenville, SC. The car was shown by John Finger Motors, a local
    >Mazda dealer. In addition to the supercharged 302, it had huge wheels
    >(fenders had to be extended), a body kit, and racing stripes.
    >It hardly looked like a Miata anymore (especially with the
    >hardtop) but it was still cool. The price was around $37,000…
    >unless the conversion messes up the handling a lot, it
    >sounds like good competition for the Corvette.

    >–
    >Dennis Brown — Carrboro, NC      1995 Trans Am Dark Grn Met/Tan
    >Convertible
    >brownde @ cs.unc.edu              1995 Dodge Neon Brilliant Blue Sport
    >Coupe

    According to an ariticle done by Sport Compact Car magazine, the Miata
    is no competition for the Corvette, or the Viper, or the Porsche, or
    the Diablo, etc.  It kicks their asses!  At least it does in everything
    but top speed and fuel economy (I think the Corvette beat it on that
    one).  Though it didn’t win in top speed, I think it did something like
    160+ MPH, which is faster than I’ve ever driven.  Acceleration,
    braking, and handling are awesome.  The engine/tranny from the Ford
    weighs similar to what the miata engine weighs so balance is nearly the
    same.

    Mark Polansky
    mpol…@emory.edu

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  5. Mark Polansky (Mark_Polan…@learnlink.emory.edu) wrote:

    : According to an ariticle done by Sport Compact Car magazine, the Miata
    : is no competition for the Corvette, or the Viper, or the Porsche, or
    : the Diablo, etc.  It kicks their asses!  At least it does in everything
    : but top speed and fuel economy (I think the Corvette beat it on that
    : one).

    Funny….a little 2-seater roadster that has very strong ties to the
    British sports cars of yore…with a big honkin’ Ford v8 stuffed under
    the hood…sounds like something Mr. Carroll Shelby played around with
    about 35 years ago…with a little-known sportster called the AC Ace…
    later to be known as the AC Cobra (or Shelby Cobra or AC Shelby Cobra or
    whatever…) It’s a tough formula to beat. I’d love to see Mazda come up
    with a high-power Miata…I saw a Miata Roadster prototype once – *VERY*
    nice looking – the windshield only came up about 18" or so, the rear view
    mirror was mounted on the dash, the rear deck was eliminated; instead,
    the metal in front of the trunk went all the way up to right behind the
    seats (and sort of contoured up to them). I think it had about 200 or so
    supercharged horses…I think the world is very much ready for a
    hopped-up Miata.


    \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
    |James D. Brockman  || "I never learned to read or write. What else  |
    |brock…@wfu.edu   || is there left for me to do but make money?"   |
    |Founding Miscer    ||      -Richard Kowalski, Polish black marketeer|          
    /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\          

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  6. brock…@wfu.edu (James D Brockman) did declare in their infinite wisdom

    >I saw a Miata Roadster prototype once – *VERY*
    >nice looking – the windshield only came up about 18" or so, the rear view
    >mirror was mounted on the dash, the rear deck was eliminated; instead,
    >the metal in front of the trunk went all the way up to right behind the
    >seats (and sort of contoured up to them). I think it had about 200 or so
    >supercharged horses…I think the world is very much ready for a
    >hopped-up Miata.

    I had a ’93 B-pkg and picked up the ‘Speedster’ cowling. It was a three piece
    (fiberglass? can’t remember) unit that slid into the rear like the tonaue and
    snapped into place. It put the pair of bubbles right behind the headrests (like
    the Porsche 911 speedster) and had plenty of underneath storage. It broke down
    to 3 pieces and pretty much consumed the trunk when you didn’t need it.  It had
    a few advantages: Lower wind noise, unique apperance (only saw one other car and
    that’s the one that showed me it existed!), and a little taller underneath
    storage with no risk of the wind pulling it out. Three major disadvantages: if
    it started to rain, it took up the entire trunk, it took a bit of time and
    fiddling to get it INTO the trunk and it was expensive.  Quite frankly, I’d
    happily put up with the 3 problems again!  With a mild aero kit (nothing tacky,
    just a subtle rocker kit, mild bumper facias, etc) and the speedster canopy, you
    can have one very pleasing car to show off while actually having some benefits!

    Good luck and MORE POWER!

    Due to morons with auto-spam, remove * from reply to adress
    for E-mail.

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  7. I once owned a rather milk-toast looking 1967 Sunbeam, where the only
    external clue to it’s potential was the word "Tiger" in chrome script on
    the front fender.
    It was quite easy to think it was a Sunbeam Alpine, but under the hood
    lived a factory installed short block Ford V-8.
    It was the most fun you could have with your clothes on to blow away
    plastic Chevies, squish fish (Baracudas) and stomp the occasional pony.
    A V-8 Miata ? Well if it’s anything like the Tiger was, there are some
    $60,000 cars that are in for some nasty surprises.
    If you ever watch the re-runs of "Get Smart", the convertable roadster he
    hops out of at the beginning of each episode is a Sunbeam Tiger, and yes I
    did believe !

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  8. All this talk about V-8s in a Miata sounds great, and I’m sure it is fast.
    Has anyone heard of, or thought about, putting a Mazda rotary engine from
    an RX-7 under the hood?  As an ex-RX-7 owner I am madly in love with, and a
    true believer of, the rotary engine.  I just about passed out when I heard
    Mazda would stop selling them here.  With the power to weight ratio of the
    rotary, as well as its size, it should be a no-brainer to slip one under
    the hood of a Miata (turbo charged would be even better).  The RX-7 was
    already a light car and quick with 0 – 60 times in the low 5 secs. (turbo
    version).  I am in the market for a new car and since Mazda doesn’t sell
    the RX-7 anymore my next choice is the Miata.  I have been toying with the
    idea of modifying it to get the same rush I used to get with my RX-7.  If
    anyone has heard of a rotary in a Miata let me know.
    Thanks,
    TAB.

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  9. Michael McKeon (mo…@gate.net) wrote:

    : I’ve been reading a book about the design of the Miata.  They indicated
    : that the rotary wouldn’t fit.  I must admit I find that hard to believe,
    : considering they are stuffing V8 engines in there!  

            A few rotary Miatas have been built, but they come at a price.  I
    believe Mazdatrix built one of the first with a 13B (maybe a 12A) in the
    early 90′s.  I think they charge around $10K to insert a 13BTT-REW and it
    does take a lot of modification because the engine is a little tall, so to
    fit under the hood, it sits very low on the car.  In a last issue of Turbo
    Magazine, they had a pic of a white Miata with 13BT (maybe TT) that was
    running 11 sec quarter mile times.

            LaterZ…

            * GReddy * Autopower * Trust * Eibach * GREX * DC Sports *
            P                      Andrew Platt                      R        
            I                    ’91B Mazda Miata                    a
            A                    SCCA Solo II CSP                    z
            A                                                        o
            * SSR * Magnacor * GAB * Racing Beat * Repco * ThermoTec *

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  10. Putting that rotary engine in the Miata will make it into almost another
    RX-7, except it will look better :-)
    It’s my opinion, but its a little overkill. The appealing thing about
    the V-8 is that it can actually fit in such a small car, like the case
    of the Cobras.


    Pedro A. Vera-Perez
    RF/Orbit Operations
    American Mobile Satellite Corp.
    ’91 Red A
    http://www.primenet.com/~pvera

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:51 am

  11. I’ve been reading a book about the design of the Miata.  They indicated
    that the rotary wouldn’t fit.  I must admit I find that hard to believe,
    considering they are stuffing V8 engines in there!  

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:52 am

  12. Mazda’s already put a rotary in the Miata…it just ran on hydrogen.  It was
    one of their no-emissions vehicles, and seems viable.

    As for stuffing a turbo-charged rotary under the hood of your Miata, Rotary
    Engineering did it a number of years ago with a Turbo II motor.  Cost was
    $10,000.  Motor Trend did a large article about tuned Miatas featuring this
    one, along with many others.  The V8 otpion from Monster Motorsports is
    cheaper, and to my knowledge, R.E. never sold a single unit.

    Regards,

    Richard Dekker, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, M-CLUB #90, MCofA #41997
    Founder & President, Wild Rose Chapter – Miata Club of America

    1990 MX-5 Miata – Mariner Blue with double white stripes
    Team 1:1, 1:10, 1:18, 1:24, 1:60, & 1:87 Miatas

    Comment by admin — December 16, 2009 @ 6:52 am

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