Mx5 Rocketeer V6 Conversion Project

Mx5 Rocketeer V6 Conversion Project

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Lewis's Friend

Original Poster:

1,026 posts

189 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
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I thought I'd share my next project. Partly because I love reading other peoples project threads and thought I should contribute, and partly to document the work as I go along, otherwise I tend to forget all the work I've done!

Anyway, to set the scene a little, I sold my previous fun car and was looking about for what to replace it with. I had a TVR S3C, which I really liked. However, I'd had it for almost 3.5 years, and just fancied a bit of a change and a bit more speed.

The TVR:
IMG_2233 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

IMG_2215 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

I wasn't sure what to replace it with, as in one way it suited me down to the ground. I did consider other TVR's, but they are fast becoming more money than I can spend easily, and I can't have a Chimaera because too many of my friends have them!

So the hunt was on. I considered classic American, but in the end concluded to have a classic that was still fast by today's standards was again too much coin for my wallet. So I carried on looking.
I researched Mazda Rx7 FD's, but really I prefer larger displacement engines than turbos and boost (sacrilege to my JDM mates!). I always came back to liking the TVR formula of small drop top with a (relatively) large engine.

I then saw a review in EVO magazine of a mk1 Mx5 that someone had thrown a Jaguar V6 into. Now I had experience of this engine from my old Jaguar XJ, and I liked it, so became rather interested.

Essentially Rocketeer make a kit to put a Jag V6 into a mk1 or 2 Mx5. You provide the base car, and engine and a few ancillaries. Everything else is part of the kit. This includes custom front subframe, wiring loom, ECU etc etc. It sounded perfect for me, as its an interesting project but didn't need any fabricating skills (of which I have none!).

So I set out to get a base car for the build. Obviously the most important thing (and hardest) would be to get one with as little rust as possible. With that in mind I found what seemed to be a perfect one from a (as I thought) well respected seller. So I trekked up north and bought this fine machine:

IMG_2515 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

This is just after I picked it up. I had some reservations about it, but I had come so far it would have had to have been truly awful to give up at that point. This is why you never buy sight unseen, even if you think the seller is trustworthy...! Lesson well and truly learned...

So I drove back almost the length of the A1, which highlighted a few deficiencies in the car. Off the top of my head, some of these were:
-Driveline shunt
-Vibrations above about 60mph
-Blown speakers
-Windows not working
-Horrible judder in reverse
-Oil leak from the engine
-Dodgy immobiliser

So I got home safely, which was a start I suppose. Jacked the car up, and immediately wished I hadn't. So much rust...!

IMG_2518 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

IMG_2519 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

IMG_2526 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

It was rather dispiriting, but having decided the only thing to do was carry on, I decided to make the best of it, and turn it into a good base car, even if I'd hoped to buy one like that out of the box. Ah, well, one lives and learns.

A taster of The Rust:
IMG_2530 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

IMG_2552 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

These use to help hold the front bumper on!
IMG_2566 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

These don't really do the scale of the rust justice. However, and it is a big however, I could see no rot. Just masses of surface rust. So the great strip down has begun. Suspension components are coming off, rear subframe, diff and fuel tank out. Components powder coated, brakes refurbished, bushes changed and a full underside clean up and seal.

Getting to the shock bolts, and deciding to strip the boot out for good measure...
IMG_2570 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

Diff out, and subframe being removed
IMG_2571 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

Subframe out
IMG_2572 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

And the back all stripped down
IMG_2573 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

Just the fuel tank to go, and the back is stripped
IMG_2574 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

And that takes me to the present. The front suspension still needs to come off, all the bushes removed and the components sent away for powder coating.

However, I have just driven the Rocketeer demo car, and loved it so there is motivation there! Also just agreed to put a deposit down for the next build run.

Hopefully this will be of interest to some of you out there. We'll see how smoothly the rest of the build goes...

OverSteery

3,586 posts

230 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
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Watching with interest.

What budget have you in mind for the complete build?

Rocket.

1,510 posts

248 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
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Also watching this closely as love the idea of these, good luck.

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
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Following!

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
quotequote all
Lewis's Friend said:
A taster of The Rust:
IMG_2530 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

IMG_2552 by Jon Fellows
You call that rust?

Is there a weight penalty with the Jag engine? Jag V6 seems a strange choice.

Olivera

7,068 posts

238 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
You call that rust?

Is there a weight penalty with the Jag engine? Jag V6 seems a strange choice.
Um yeah where is the rust there? As far as old cars go I can see pretty much zero rust, apart from a little bit of surface corrosion.

davebem

746 posts

176 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
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Olivera said:
Um yeah where is the rust there? As far as old cars go I can see pretty much zero rust, apart from a little bit of surface corrosion.
Yeah its not bad at all, no more rust there than a 5 year old ford focus. The bumper brackets are bad though.

finlo

3,731 posts

202 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
You call that rust?

Is there a weight penalty with the Jag engine? Jag V6 seems a strange choice.
Jag V6 is Ford/Mazda all alloy tiny little thing with the added bonus of VVT.

J4CKO

41,287 posts

199 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
quotequote all
Rust ?

That is one of the best MX5 MK1 undersides I have seen, check the 944 thread by W109 for rust.

You have done well with that by the looks of it.

Lewis's Friend

Original Poster:

1,026 posts

189 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
quotequote all
davebem said:
Olivera said:
Um yeah where is the rust there? As far as old cars go I can see pretty much zero rust, apart from a little bit of surface corrosion.
Yeah its not bad at all, no more rust there than a 5 year old ford focus. The bumper brackets are bad though.
In terms of the rust, as I say, it’s not rotten at all which is good. But it will be tragic in not very long at all if not dealt with all over! Hence the strip down, which is not something I wanted to have to do - engine swaps are much more fun!

Also, the pictures don’t quite do the rust justice. But you’re correct, it could be loads worse.



Lewis's Friend

Original Poster:

1,026 posts

189 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
quotequote all
finlo said:
HustleRussell said:
You call that rust?

Is there a weight penalty with the Jag engine? Jag V6 seems a strange choice.
Jag V6 is Ford/Mazda all alloy tiny little thing with the added bonus of VVT.
There is pretty much no weight penalty at all. The Mx5 lump is iron block, whereas the jag v6 is ally.

The demo car is making about 260bhp, and was great to drive. It felt very similar actually to my mates Chimaera.

Mike335i

4,985 posts

101 months

Sunday 26th November 2017
quotequote all
Brilliant, looking forward to seeing how this pans out. I have seen a Rover V8 powered MX5 that must be fun, but a lightweight V6 seems right for the car.

Cambs_Stuart

2,834 posts

83 months

Monday 27th November 2017
quotequote all
Great idea and thread. Following with interest. I had a ST220 which had the alloy V6. It was a great engine, revvy and made a superb noise.
Until it decided to eat it's own crank bearings.
What kind of gearbox and diff are you using?

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Monday 27th November 2017
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Cambs_Stuart said:
I had a ST220 which had the alloy V6. It was a great engine, revvy and made a superb noise.
?
The Ford and Jag engines are both badged Duratec, but they are quite different engines.

Krikkit

26,500 posts

180 months

Monday 27th November 2017
quotequote all
Cambs_Stuart said:
Great idea and thread. Following with interest. I had a ST220 which had the alloy V6. It was a great engine, revvy and made a superb noise.
Until it decided to eat it's own crank bearings.
What kind of gearbox and diff are you using?
I believe it's the Jag box, then they alter the propshaft to fit to the MX5 rear end. Happy to stand corrected of course!

I'd love to do this, but the cost is a bit steep, even their bare-bones subframe kit is £££. The quality looks amazing though, and it addresses my biggest criticism of the NA MX5.

AyBee

10,522 posts

201 months

Monday 27th November 2017
quotequote all
Looks fun smile Having just had a quick look at their website, which kit are you going for?

Lewis's Friend

Original Poster:

1,026 posts

189 months

Monday 27th November 2017
quotequote all
Cambs_Stuart said:
Great idea and thread. Following with interest. I had a ST220 which had the alloy V6. It was a great engine, revvy and made a superb noise.
Until it decided to eat it's own crank bearings.
What kind of gearbox and diff are you using?
Cheers. I really liked the engine in my XJ, but obviously a totally different application.

Before driving the demo car I wondered if it would be a bit too refined, if that makes sense. But no worries there!

The gearbox and diff are kept from the Mx5, and should be good for the power. I’m looking to change the diff though, as 1) it’s got loads of backlash in it and 2) I want to change to a 3.6:1 ratio. On a standard Mx5 that can be a bit low geared, but should be ideal for the v6. That’s the theory anyway! It’s a Torsen LSD.

Lewis's Friend

Original Poster:

1,026 posts

189 months

Monday 27th November 2017
quotequote all
AyBee said:
Looks fun smile Having just had a quick look at their website, which kit are you going for?
I’m going for the ‘they provide everything’ kit, as I don’t have the skills to do anything else!

It is expensive, and I can understand why people might think why not just buy a faster car out of the box?

My reasoning is that I’ve never done an engine swap, and quite fancy ticking that off, the small roadster/big(ish) power really does it for me and the rest of the car is a bit of a blank canvas for me to mess with over time.

I held of ordering one until I drove the demo car though, as it’s quite a big investment for me. But I was very happy with the test drive so went for it.

pstruck

3,518 posts

248 months

Monday 27th November 2017
quotequote all
I've been thinking recently that I really need a project. Having had a couple of Mk1 MX-5s in the past my thoughts have been homing in just such a project. I have done zero research yet, but am definitely interested in the idea of an engine transplant, so I will be reading your progress with interest. If you're happy to share outline costs then that would be interesting and helpful also.

Accelebrate

5,244 posts

214 months

Monday 27th November 2017
quotequote all
Olivera said:
HustleRussell said:
You call that rust?

Is there a weight penalty with the Jag engine? Jag V6 seems a strange choice.
Um yeah where is the rust there? As far as old cars go I can see pretty much zero rust, apart from a little bit of surface corrosion.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought that! Looks like it's had some sort of wax treatment at some point. My 2006 NC has much more surface corrosion.