Because it was a DIY project the 5.0 is the easier motor to fit and to build the subframe for. Two uprights with flat parallel pads for motor mounts. Done.

Exhaust headers were available off-the-shelf. Based on my reading, LSx headers that actually fit were not available at any cost when I started. Maybe they are now but at what cost? Mine were under $300 for the pair.

Originally cost factored in and I had bought a running car cheap and was just swapping everything over. Then I spent $1700 on a built motor with AFR heads and that negated the engine cost savings. The T56 vs T5 is $1200 vs $200 as well.

In the end I kind of wish I went LSx. More power for not much more money, packaging difficulties be damned.

there is good potential for 5.0 no questions asked.
headers are 300$ for the sanderson block huggers. they fit best in the Miata.
you are right about the transmission!!! DAMN I paid 1350 for my transmission which is hell of a deal compared to 1500-1800 they go for.
if you do decide to do another build use the t56 from the CTS V. they are a bit cheaper because nobody wants to modify the shifter but the internals are way better than the 01 Camaro everybody guns for.

great job on the build I will definitely use some of your knowledge!!

After adjusting the valves, installing a new polyurethane trans mount and trans rear seal I took it for a drive today.

With new RS3's, first is pretty pointless, second will spin for quite a while and then hook up. It's pretty quick.

Still have a few tweaks to do. Need final dyno tune, need to fix throttle body which is sticking closed so when you try to just crack it open it jumps open and you look like a douche from every stoplight. Need to adjust maxigauges alarms. Min oil pressure alarm is set to 70 so normal driving at 68-69 psi results in a constant alarm. It's loud, which is good, but annoying when I don't have it set up. Still needs an alignment. All in all, very close.

Got alignment today. Car ran sweet without 3/4" toe out on the way home, lol. Car was hot as all get out inside. Made filler plate tonight with sheet steel and an old rubber shift boot sandwiched between a ring that I plasma-cut out and riveted on to seal off the huge hole in the trans tunnel that was venting hot air under the console and dash. Driving it to work again tomorrow.

Driving to work in a suit in a six point harness = winning.

Put the car up on stands tonight just to give a look-over. Everything is still tight. Adjusted one clamp on the exhaust to move it over from the diff. Checked pinion angle. Diff is at 0.5* up and driveshaft is 2* up so I suppose I could say that I have the diff 1.5* "down" so I don't have any u-joint bind.

Also figured out that my rear trans seal is fine. I had installed a new VSS in the trans when I built the car but I don't have a cable speedo in an NB so I didn't have anything in the end of the VSS. I had just taped it off to keep dut and stuff out and was using the VSS only to allow the ECU to soft let-off the RPM when the car is moving. Well, I didn't realize that the ATF can move past the shaft in the VSS because it isn't sealed or anything. Makes sense that it lubes the speedo cable.

Anyway, I cut down the VSS to remove the connector part, cleaned it with acetone to remove the ATF and cut down a piece of aluminum sheet to fit in the hole to block off the shaft portion and filled the rest with 5 minute epoxy to seal it permanently. That should solve my leak onto the exhaust.

It's kind of fun now to just have little issues that can be knocked off one at a time while still enjoying the car, although I spent an hour rolling around under the car after taking care of the VSS and I think I figured out how to route for a rear-mount turbo. There's a nice big open space in front and to the right of the diff, air cleaner way up in the spot in front of the right rear fender, route the charge pipe along the outside of the frame rail and up through the frame behind the right front tire. Don't say "do it, you won't do it" because y'all know I'll do it. This is Miataturbo after all.

And here I thought I'd be back on the SAAB soon.

omfg ILU

:party:

Hardcore DIY! I would really love being able to pull something like that off... I would be really interested in pics, vids and stories of the finished car!

Thanks, but it's mothballed until the spring thaw. It's done except for getting the tach and speedo to work. In the meantime, enjoy my '68 SAAB build, lol

you better get good videos of this thing once its all done and spring comes around.

if you don't, I'll fly there and murder you...on that island

I no haz video camera other than my phone but it's a BB and I can't upload videos to YT. I've tried but it's blocked on my phone. Must be a work settings thing. The price I pay for a free phone. I'm going to at least take it to the drag strip and one of the guys will surely get a video. Heck, I don't even have a photo of it out in the sunlight yet.

I'm glad you take pictures of the saab project. I'm sad you don't take hardly any pictures of this project.

Still no pics
Still no vids

I r disappoint

I took the insurance off and parked it in Sept? OCt? I don't remember. It's been sitting in the shop since. Now the plates expired in May so I have to actually get my insurance card and go to DMV to get plates renewed. I haven't been motivated to do it.

Have more fun building than driving. I'd sell it if anyone was interested. I do have to reinstall seats, get tach and speedo working in August for my track day so at least there will be pics of the completed car then. No video as I have no go pro.

Car show 8/24 so will have photos.

Track day and 1/8 mile drag racing 8/31. Gopro Hero 3 purchased.:hustler:

Fortunately found my old seat brackets for the Sparcos as I figured they would never be back in the car. Swapped back from SAAB brackets to Miata. All I need to do is get tach working. Speedo is of no consequence. Worst case I still have the shift light set on Maxigages and fuel cut in Quarterhorse tuner so I can't do anything too stupid to the motor.

ooh nice...looking forward to that

Yeah, fortunately the track day is before drags so if I fuxor something that I built on the strip at least I'll have my track day signoff. It's going to the track on a trailer just to be safe.

I reread this build thread now. My thought was on pinion angle and how it might not be easily adjustable with your kickass diff mount, as that was an issue with my swap. Getting pinion angle set correctly, factory rubber trans mount, and someone who will take the time to balance the driveshaft to that last little bit "that you won't ever feel" fix my vibration issues. With about a 1.5deg pinion difference and an as-supplied 'balanced' V8Roadsters driveshaft, and polyurethane trans mount, my car would be very scary 70+mph.

I figured I could go with thicker or thinner washers under the energy suspension mounts in the ears of the diff to adjust pinion angle up or down. Those ear mounts are what would affect angle assuming the rear mount was unchanged. They have a 1/8" or so washer under the mounts. I could go to drilled out fender washers to go down to 1/16" or eliminate it, or add a fender washer if I wanted to reduce the angle from what it was built to. They are sitting sandwiched between the polyurethane part and a flat plate so they aren't structural, just acting as shims.

I did add a polyurethane trans mount to replace the ancient OEM that I got with the motor/trans and it helped.

The driveshaft was a new Southwest Speed dirt track driveshaft that was supposed to be a balanced unit but I suppose it would be wise to have it rebalanced. Coming down from a 100+ mph pull on the road or dyno it noticeably vibrates but it's not scary, just annoying.

What did you change your pinion angle to? More or less? IIRC, I'm at 2* down now.

I'm going off memory so I'm probably off...

Back of Engine/trans is pointed downward ~4 degrees. This is basically nonadjustable. Front of Diff is pointed up about 3.5 deg. So they are off parallel about half a degree. I had to lower the diff down, away from perfectly parallel, because the PPF was up against the gas tank (I'm still running the miata rear).

Initially with my first mount the diff was just about horizontal, giving me 3.5 degrees difference which was bad. It got a lot better right around 1.5 like yours, and yet a noticeable difference the closer I get them to parallel. Biggest help was balancing the driveshaft and not rigidly mounting the PPF to the transmission cross member...I think my vibration issue was largely due to me using the PPF as a torque arm, attaching it to the trans cross member. This thing acts as a tuning fork. If I unbolted the mount at the front of the ppf the vibs would go away. Now of course the vibrations were being generated somewhere. Ultimately the front of the driveshaft took a decent amount of weight, the rear about 1/4 as much.

If I had a mount like yours I'm pretty sure there never would be a problem, not as much to transmit the vibs to the chassis, but that's a guess.