Sawzall miata "build" thread
 

The goal for this car is cheap fun.

Use: Autocross & nice day drives with one of the kids

I found this website after doing a google search on sawzall miata. I found RHarris' thread and then posted to it, but because I'm doing better with this project at taking pictures along the way, I figured I would start my own "build" thread and go with it. I say "build" thread, because I'm mostly dissassembling the car, not really building it, but hey...

I bought the car about a month ago and started carefully removing parts so they can be resold.

Since then I've been selling parts and sent the car to a friend's body shop so they could do some seam welding prior to the cage so the car won't fold up when driven hard.

I'm going to try to remove everything from this car that doesn't make it stop, go, or turn better...without sacrificing rigidity.

I know a 7 replica would be lighter, but I want this thing to be a sub $2k vehicle with minimal effort.

Sounds like it should be fun! This is exactly what I am just starting to do now. Make sure to take pictures!

The way I bought it. A VERY used 06/89 Miata

The guy I purchased it from is a friend of a friend. He had owned it since 2002 and it was his daily driver.

It was customized while sitting stopped in traffic. The 18 wheeler in front of him began rolling back and contacted the car just above the bumper cover. It pushed the car backwards and into a pickup truck behind him that contacted the miata just above the rear bumper cover.

I had been thinking about building an open wheel miata for awhile so when the friend told me about it and showed me a few pics on his phone, it was game-on!

First day of dissassembly

Being dissassembled

I'd hammer the rear back into shape a dzeus quarter panels in place.

Where do you live? Send me the black dash.

Cut the rear off so the trailer hitch could become the rear frame rail support just behind the subframe.

Getting it "street legal" for a ride to the bodyshop across town.

I'm in Bham.

Check out that wheel well gap! On a stock suspension, that means this thing is losing some weight!

Just picked up from the body shop, dropping it at the cage shop.

This is how I drove it. :)

The power was out at the cage shop because of all of the recent tornadoes in our area. His power has now been restored so we will begin the cage design Monday.

These pics are up to date, I'll post some more once the cage starts going in.

If anyone else has a sawzall miata please post up!

Additionally, if anyone has successfully completed a rear mount radiator setup please let me know.

Thanks!

This looks like a very fun build without the PITA of having to put a proper car back together. I am interested to see how exactly you plan to make this thing street legal again. I'd love to do a dirt cheap, fun de-construction build one day.

Where's my beer bitch? Gotta get that driver's window from ya too.

Today's pics. Got some more bars to add.
-Double Diag. in down legs
-Through the firewall
-Nascar bars

and 1 more

Great work so far, I'd love to do something like that. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Hey Gene, I know, I know, I keep owing you some reebs. Me-outta give you a call, get it?, when I get this disaster back to the house where it will be power tool time again!

Work Order

Picked it up from the cage shop this afternoon and drove back across Bham in rush hour traffic. It was raining when I left to go pick it up, but at least it had stopped before I started driving.

Obviously I still have a lot to do, but at least the cage is done so I can start cutting some more.