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Hayden's big ass project

ohsixspeedsix

Owl Exterminator!!
Hayden's big ass project... aka Project show and go... aka project miata rt-200

Well here it goes ladies and gents. As some of you may or may not know, I am a graphic designer but my ultimate goal has been to design cars. I have been doing it as recreation for a while and I now have an oportunity to take a fair crack at it. My girlfriend's dad is 95% there on being the investor on the project.

So here is the deal. I have some pretty decent knowlege on most everything it takes to build a car. Body work, engines, drivetrain, etc. My dad just retired at the age of 49 from being a mechaniic for 30 years so that area is definately covered.

But I'll get to the point. To start this deal I am not really going to start from the ground up, as that would take a pretty large amount of money. What I AM going to do is start with an early 90's mx-5. I am going to re-shell it and pretty much rebuild it the mazda should have built it. From suspension to engine. So anyhow, I created this thread to 1.) get it out there in the public and 2.) get feed back from some cool people who know what it is to be a car person. I'll be putting picks up in Sections for the Drawn scetches, computer aided designs, and the actual car, which I am going to take a look at this weekend and maybe pick up next week. Here we go I guess.
 
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mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
Wow, ambitious to say the least. I wish you the best, and let us know if we can help.
 

ohsixspeedsix

Owl Exterminator!!
Ambitious is a way to put it. I like to say optimistic lol. And that may happen. It's going to be a winter project. So heated garage beer and pizza if I ever need help. Should be fun.
 

dmention7

Hater
Well, I figure it's inevitable that people are going to say to put a vette motor in it. Personally, I think it'd be a shame to go through all this personalization and customization and then go all boring on the motor.
 

Picklz

SUDO Make me a SAMCH
I'm not sure why a motor has to be rare or exciting - I'd be more worried about availability / cost of parts, weight to power, powerband etc than what else the motor has been in. That said I'd lean towards a LSx or Twin Turbo V6 of some sort.
 

dmention7

Hater
It's mostly just because there are tons of LSx miatas. Nothing against the combo, because it obviously works. But it wouldn't fit at all with my idea of "what the miata should have been".
 

ohsixspeedsix

Owl Exterminator!!
I agree with you matt. When all is said and done and the car is finished it is going to need to be sold. So going all willie nillie on the motor is just not going to work. It has to be practical and work well. My options are really: completely rebuild and mod the miata 4 cyl, drop in an lsx, or find some sort of crate motor. That being said, any thoughts on the design. Since it is a drawing and I can adjust things I would like concerns, thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.
 

ohsixspeedsix

Owl Exterminator!!
It's mostly just because there are tons of LSx miatas. Nothing against the combo, because it obviously works. But it wouldn't fit at all with my idea of "what the miata should have been".
I kind of agree with that. I don't think the miata "should" have been built with a corvette v8. I am leaning toward the other two options due to what you just said, and mostly cost.
 

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
Honestly, lose the swipe down the door. I get what you're doing there, the only problem is it looks entirely too Testarossa for me..... If you look at it from the top i'd want to see more of a "coke bottle" shape as opposed to what shows in my head as a "wedge" shape. IDK if that makes any sense.
 

AJ

110 HP of FURY!
If this car ends up being a great auto x / road course car, I'd be one of those follow as a potential buyer.

Looking forward to seeing a spot for the child seat, incorporated roll bar, and fatties in the back (tires that is!) :D
 

ohsixspeedsix

Owl Exterminator!!
You nailed it AJ. The isea is a track ready car that is also road trip comfortable. And I am actually thinking of some way to put 1 or two seats in the back since the roof will be extended. And fatties are in order since it will be about 4 inches wider all together.
 

Picklz

SUDO Make me a SAMCH
So - I'd like to backup a second and ask - what is the purpose of this project? Just something fun to do, or is it something you want to eventually be mass producing / selling limited # of custom cars? Track Ready and Road-Trip friendly are often don't really go that well together is one thing that came to mind.

IF it's something where you eventually want to reproduce the car to sell - you'll have to figure out what your target market is, and make sure that target market can afford to, and will spend the money it's going to take to make the project profitable. Custom body work, fabrication, etc on one-off hand-built cars takes lots o time, which = expensive cars.

I'm certainly not saying there aren't niche markets out there that this could potentially fit but if the idea is to make this into a business / profitable then I think identifying the purpose of the car, buyers, etc. Maybe you've done all that but it's just something that came to mind.
 
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