RE: Rocketeer Mazda MX-5 V6 | PH Review
Discussion
TheJimi said:
I'd definitely like to see the 70k car though. I'd want that to be a full resto, and in as-new condition.
For £70k, I'd want the dash finished with chrome dials sunk in virgin leather from baby calves. And maybe an actual Porsche engine.That AJ-V6 engine is glorious though - with a similar weight distribution to boot.
Would be interesting to see one of these into a ND 4th Gen MX5. Now these are getting down to £10k if i was going to spend the money on putting a V6 in then i'd want the more modern platform and the car would last a lot longer as well.
The youtube video posted earlier sounded fantastic, although i think that was mainly due to the throttle bodies, would love to hear one of these V6's as supplied in the basic standard package for £6k.
The youtube video posted earlier sounded fantastic, although i think that was mainly due to the throttle bodies, would love to hear one of these V6's as supplied in the basic standard package for £6k.
I’ve loved the idea of these since I first heard about it a few years ago. I’ve got a lovely MK1 MX5 that I imported in 2015 and I keep going to the Rocketeer website to look at it but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Part of what I love about the car is the easy low cost fun it brings, I’ve got other toys for power and the non detuned original 1.6 is such a lovely little engine. for a 31 year old car it never misses a beat and I would hate to jeopardise the most reliable car in my garage!
Part of me wants to buy another MX5 to do this to, but then I imagine the original just wouldn’t get driven!
Part of me wants to buy another MX5 to do this to, but then I imagine the original just wouldn’t get driven!
big_rob_sydney said:
I love the idea of light weight cars, and the MX5 is one of the best manufacturer solutions. In isolation, this does seem brilliant.
I'd love to put this up against other similar cars (or, similarly priced cars), for a comparison. Something like "What could you buy for £15k", and see how it all plays out.
But if you are handy with spanners you could have a car for just over half that price at which point it becomes far more interesting.I'd love to put this up against other similar cars (or, similarly priced cars), for a comparison. Something like "What could you buy for £15k", and see how it all plays out.
Let's put it this way - on a car where you've already fitted the engine yourself there are few scary jobs on it.
I'm just coming to the end of my own Rocketeer build. It wasn't a massively rational decision to spend the money I have but you really cannot value the enjoyment I've had from building it. I've refreshed all of the running gear including suspension and brakes along the way and can't wait to start using it for many driving adventures for years to come. I know I'll never re-coup what I've spent, but for me, that was never the point
Mine was originally a 1997 1.6, so 90BHP. It should be a reasonable power increase
Blog here if anyone is interested - sixintofive.wordpress.com
Mine was originally a 1997 1.6, so 90BHP. It should be a reasonable power increase
Blog here if anyone is interested - sixintofive.wordpress.com
the_hood said:
Vocht said:
In a world where a Fiesta ST is £20k this really doesn’t seem all that bad.
The Fiesta will be nearly new and won't rust! The Mazda is in the price bracket of S2000 and Boxster.The S2K weighs as least 200kg more than an MX5, when the weight of an MX5 is one of it's party tricks.
Boxster? Heavier again, and in a different league in running costs.
As for rust - done properly, it need not be an issue, especially if you're doing a resto of some description.
Imo, I think a lot of you are missing the point about the Rocketeer. They're for people who actually want or already have, an MX5, and want to move the experience up a few notches.
Those people won't be thinking about S2Ks or Boxsters, imo - and definitely not a new Fiesta!
TheJimi said:
Xcore said:
Just buy a tvr, it won’t depreciate like a stone when you try to sell your mondeo engined rusty nb mx5.
Because TVRs are immune to rust, aren't they?I installed the AJ30 into my TVR S1 and cost a lot less than £4k
I didn't like the 'Alien' inlet so fitted an Alfa one
magpies said:
TheJimi said:
Xcore said:
Just buy a tvr, it won’t depreciate like a stone when you try to sell your mondeo engined rusty nb mx5.
Because TVRs are immune to rust, aren't they?I installed the AJ30 into my TVR S1 and cost a lot less than £4k
I didn't like the 'Alien' inlet so fitted an Alfa one
But aside from that, why are we talking about TVRs here?
I'm an MX5 fan, and as I said previously, I strongly suspect that you need to want, or already have, an MX5, to be interested in a Rocketeer conversion.
A TVR wouldn't even be on my radar, this side of a Sagaris, and that's quite a bit outwith the price scope of a sensible Rocketeer conversion.
In years to come, a mint Mk1 MX5 with one of these engines will be something very special.
£70k is very strong money. Even with a full respray and full retrim I think you could do it for £30k if you knew a decent trim and paint shop.
I love the idea, very tempted to do one while mk1's are still available in relatively decent quantities.
£70k is very strong money. Even with a full respray and full retrim I think you could do it for £30k if you knew a decent trim and paint shop.
I love the idea, very tempted to do one while mk1's are still available in relatively decent quantities.
anyone know of any in the North East to ‘see if I like’biggbn said:
Is it not simpler to turbocharge or supercharge the existing engine? Surely less weight, less hassle and much cheaper, and more in keeping with the mx5 ethos?
NA is the mx5 ethos. So much that mazda has resisted calls to provide a turbo model despite pressure from fans and emissions for over 30 years now. (the mazdaspeed was a Mazda USA project)Much cheaper to turbo yes, but heavier, less reliable and sounds worse. Give me a v6 with a great noise and throttle response over a turbo 4 pot any day
leef44 said:
I wonder whether this would fit in a mk3 MR2.
Mid-engine rear wheel drive, light weight, with that V6 screaming in the back..yes please
There are a few Toyota engines ripe for that purpose and plenty of conversions done. You could theoretically lob an Evora 410 engine into an MR2.....Mid-engine rear wheel drive, light weight, with that V6 screaming in the back..yes please
But back to the MX5 - when I read the words "jaguar V6" I did wonder but I didn't know the background of that engine. Some of the conversions look great indeed and it's one of those crazy things that you can get a V6 which is the same weight as the 4 cylinder engine of a car which was apparently light....! Looking further into the whole Ford/Mazda engine thing I would guess you could put the 3.7 MZI from the previous generation CX9 into an MX5? That has 204 kW (274 hp) and 366 N⋅m (270 lb⋅ft) of torque... I guess you could then go really crazy and go to a rotary engine.........!
rodericb said:
But back to the MX5 - when I read the words "jaguar V6" I did wonder but I didn't know the background of that engine. Some of the conversions look great indeed and it's one of those crazy things that you can get a V6 which is the same weight as the 4 cylinder engine of a car which was apparently light....! Looking further into the whole Ford/Mazda engine thing I would guess you could put the 3.7 MZI from the previous generation CX9 into an MX5? That has 204 kW (274 hp) and 366 N?m (270 lb?ft) of torque... I guess you could then go really crazy and go to a rotary engine.........!
The engine has to fit in the space between the bonnet and the subframe - which I guess is why the rocketeer kit comes with a bespoke subframe, sump and intakes - if you can overcome this with another engine then I suppose anything is possible!rodericb said:
There are a few Toyota engines ripe for that purpose and plenty of conversions done. You could theoretically lob an Evora 410 engine into an MR2.....
But back to the MX5 - when I read the words "jaguar V6" I did wonder but I didn't know the background of that engine. Some of the conversions look great indeed and it's one of those crazy things that you can get a V6 which is the same weight as the 4 cylinder engine of a car which was apparently light....! Looking further into the whole Ford/Mazda engine thing I would guess you could put the 3.7 MZI from the previous generation CX9 into an MX5? That has 204 kW (274 hp) and 366 N?m (270 lb?ft) of torque... I guess you could then go really crazy and go to a rotary engine.........!
I thought that too - but then I had a P6B Rover 3500S back in the late 70s with an aluminium block that was barely heavier than the 2000/2200 models!But back to the MX5 - when I read the words "jaguar V6" I did wonder but I didn't know the background of that engine. Some of the conversions look great indeed and it's one of those crazy things that you can get a V6 which is the same weight as the 4 cylinder engine of a car which was apparently light....! Looking further into the whole Ford/Mazda engine thing I would guess you could put the 3.7 MZI from the previous generation CX9 into an MX5? That has 204 kW (274 hp) and 366 N?m (270 lb?ft) of torque... I guess you could then go really crazy and go to a rotary engine.........!
But surely Mazda should have made an MX5 with a wankel?
Still the Rocketeer sounds like a great idea.
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