Why I sold My Miata: Replacement car pics.
 

[IMG]http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s...27125921AM.jpg[/IMG]

Its called the tr-42.

has a tuned up porche 914 motor
skystice suspension stuff
~1400 lbs
~160 WHP
STREET LEGAL GO KART.

Pretty cool. Not much info online that I can find, though I did see a build thread over on nasioc with a WRX drivetrain.

What's the plan? Autocross, HPDEs, or just general street mayhem?

All of the above. There are 3 other frames out there, I think they are all getting subbie drivetrains.

I have come full circle. I go from a car with full standalone engine management to one with carbs and points :/

Man that looks like a lot of fun

I have seen those on Top Gear, well it looks very similar.

That thing must be a blast to drive.

I'd rock it. Although I still like my miata ;D

I'll miss the miata, and I'm sure I'll get one again one day. But for a toy....anything worth doing is worth doing well :D

That particular model has definitely never been on TG, as it's less than a year old, and is built as a semi-custom vehicle by a very nice fellow in Kentucky.

Very fucking sexy, though. Any particular reason you chose the Porsche engine over the Subie?

Yes, it was finished, in the car, and running upon me purchasing it, lol

Very unlike the OTHER project in my garage....
Attachment 187093

Love it man - very unique. Sort of like a low budget Ariel Atom. That thing should be a lot of fun.

lol, isn't a miata a street legal go-kart?
congrats on the acquisition.

Here and I thought I was buying your Miata so you could spend more time finishing the MEV...


What are the details on the MEV, btw?

pretty much the idea

Nope, go-karts dont have airbags

haha, nope this was the plan. MEV is based on a ford focus, mine will be supercharged. ~1400 lbs when done.

nice. i looked into building a sl-r for a long time. then they came out with the nemesis... :drool:
http://www.superlitecars.com/img_nem...esis_18_fs.jpg

Did you purchase it turnkey?

Yes. Must have running toy car.

Ah HA! So that was your car!

?
What car do you refer to?

The green turnkey that Danny was sweating over so much.

na6 with an aftermarket steering wheel!!!!!!
go-kart status.
swap to 1.8 - BOOM - go-kart

Found a website http://www.matrixmotorwerks.com/ , I loveeeeee This car I'm sooooooo Jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!

recently? I know he put ALOT of time into it. It was not built for me.... it was another guy. That dude sold it to me.

Looks like a BLAST to drive.


But..... WTF tires are those? All that work and you roll around on some all seasons?!


Boost it?

LOL was just thinking this.

Ah, I gotcha.

I hadn't really been following the TR42 project much recently. The last time I was seriously involved, they were still debating whether or not to put a windshield on it.

I just remember that a whole lot of R&D got done on your particular car, and a hell of a lot of attention to detail went into it. I didn't realize that it had been re-sold after the initial delivery.

Yours is actually the first one I've seen that was totally completed. I must say, I do like the way it turned out. Did the fuel tank wind up being U-shaped, or does it have a hole in the middle of it?

Isn't the porsche 914 engine just a fancy VW Bug engine? Pics of carbs & points?

Looks killer nevertheless!

No, it's a fancy VW Bus engine. :D

Seriously, though. The Bug / Ghia / Thing / etc all used the Type 1 engine (which was also the mechanical base for the T2 and T3). In 1968, VW introduced the Type 4 engine, which featured several radical technological advancements, such as an oil filter. The 914 used that engine.

They are all the same basic design, but very few of the parts are interchangeable (like the 1.6 vs. 1.8 B engines.) Cosmetically, they're easy to tell apart, as the T1's exhaust ports are fore and aft, while the T4's are on the bottom of the head.

Yea, I did not choose the tires. They will be changed. I'm thinking toyo proxies or yokohama A048's

I think its U-shaped, but I have not had a chance to confirm.

Apparently this one does not have points.

It does need the timing set and perhaps some tuning.

Things to do:
1. Replace throttle cable
2. hook up parking brake
3. Fix engine (timing, fueling)
4. Raise ride height
5. swap front UCA's to get some caster in the car.

Those are a few of the 'mission critical' things to do.

Needs more turbo, a la the Real Street Performance (RSP) turbo Ariel Atom. YouTube it.

I think I may need to spend some time learning the car before i make the move to completely fucking insane :D

May have missed it, but what kind of money do you have wrapped up in this thing? I'd love to get into one of these when I get back to the states.

too much? lol. Its nice Honda civic Territory.

What has to happen in LA to register such awesomeness?

Video would be much appreciated by all, I'm sure...

it was already titles in FL, so I just need to transfer the title.

Video once i get it a little more sorted.

very cool looking and eye catcher indeed

should be fast too.

That's pretty sweet!

Ah Ha! That was my idea.


A couple of different companies make drop-in "points replacement" modules, which replace the cam with a disc containing either magnets or slots, and the points with either a hell-effect or optical sensor. The Pertronix Ignitor and the Compu-Fire are the two which I remember from my VW days, but there were a couple of others which were relatively popular with the Bosch crowd as well. Such devices have been essentially standard-issue on all hot VW engines since the late 80s.

I assume, of course, that you will be converting to EFI and installing a Megasquirt shortly. :D



The stock Solstice uppers aren't working out? I really don't know what's available in the aftermarket for that platform, but I'd thought Danny had the front-end geometry pretty well sorted. Guess I was wrong?

Nice, small world eh?

No EFI for now. I want to get it sorted, learn a little, and enjoy the car. When the OTHER project is finished I may go to megasquirt, but this thing has nice new shiny carbs that seem to work, just need to get them jetted correctly.

The uppers are fine, from what Danny said the the lefts and rights need to be exchanged. He was unsure if they could get enough caster in the car with them this way, and swapping sides starts you with 4 deg and I can add from there. I think the skystice parts will work out great, its just the PO never got around to flipping them like Danny asked.

Look a lot like the exocet I want to build when they start production stateside, but with a better looking front end. Mine is going to loose the catfish nose though. This looks good.

I am about 75% through building the MEV rocket. Make you a good deal, lol.

but seriously.... That kit does not shed THAT much weight off vs stripping out a miata, its like 400 lbs difference, if that.

I saw a couple build where the finished weight was around 1600lbs and that sounds fine to me on the Exocet. That and the $5999 price tag for everything you will need outside of the miata itself.

Was it finding the new car that made you stop on the Rocket or did you just lose interest?

The Rocket is, has, and will continue to be a fun project. I lost interest a little due to life, things change. Lots of other projects, not making enough time type deal. Its all the little nick knack things that are holding me up at the moment.

I still plan to finish it, but I'll probably sell it when complete. Cant have two batshit insane cars. If someone came with cash I'd think about selling it now as is. I plan to hit it up really hard this fall.

That is awesome! I would love to have one of those

Actually this thread represents why I really hate some of you...

I'm jealous as hell, that thing looks bad ass!!

+1 on different motor, though..

The top gear model is the Atom.

perhaps in time.

The 914 Type 4 engine is effectively un-turbo-able. They don't have a real head gasket and rely on a weird raised cylinder seating into the head to seal the chambers. This typical Germanism apparently craps itself the instant you put positive pressure in the chambers.


This thing is terribly cool anyway. Rejetting Weber carbs is criminally easy. It should take you an hour total to find jetting numbers for your exact setup on The Samba and put it in the car, lol.

I can't speak to the T4 directly, but the T1 engine is most certainly turboable, and it shares the same gasketless design. CB Performance, in particular, sells loads of T1 turbo systems:

Attachment 240599

http://cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=286


They also sell little copper "gaskets" to fit between the top of the jug and the mating surface in the head, which improve sealing somewhat: http://cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=125

Cool, thanks for the reminder about the samba. I need to do some reading....

I also need a lift or ramps, my back is killing me after wrenching all weekend. Did put some miles on it yesterday, very fun ride but it will take some getting used too.

And I may punch the next person that asks me if its street legal when i'm at places that, you HAVE TO DRIVE TO.

Money is no object:
http://www.pauter.com/super_pro.htm

Needs more power.

Money is an object.....

not for now, it scoots pretty freaking good!

UPDATE:

got come cool pics
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Weighed and corner balanced.
Attachment 186875

So, some of the things I've done:
new throttle cable, stiffer springs, and a few other tweeks. Missed FTD at the autox by .3 on a safety run.

Attachment 186876

Had an issue with it losing grease through the extra holes in the CV's. The RTV was starting to let some out and it was goining EVERWHERE, making car very dirty... So I JB welded some plates over the holes. I've put a couple of test drives on it and had it.....very fast.... and they are all still there and not leaking. So, problem solved for now!


I also installed the MSD last night and set the timing, and HOLY SHIT. This thing will now blow your socks off. Its SO fast. Now that i can keep the go pedal buried till it hits the limiter, holy cow its so fast.

I'm just speachless really.

Partly because i discovered through installing the msd that the tach was set for a 4stroke 8cyl engine. Think about that for a second.

I was only using half the revs available. Now that I have them all (on a hot cam thats cut to let it breath up top) HOLY SHIT. Will melt face.
felt my face doing this.

http://www.hecklerspray.com/wp-conte...y-clarkson.jpg

-Brad

SO JELLY! THat thing is sex.

Watch for throwing off the balance of the halfshaft. Also, you should install a heatshield with the cv boot being so close to the exhaust.

Fucking love the car!

no counter weights, harmonics be dammed.

thanks for the love.... this thing is awesome.

Dude... gangster.

I dont know i kinda feel gay for their Rota model...

http://www.matrixmotorwerks.com/Matrix_M3_Rota.html

What was the cost of this happy toy?

Apparently there is some headroom. went to the dyno and was a little more than disappointed. A compression test was even more disappointing. 77hp. Still does 0-60 in about 5 seconds. Cant wait to fix and experience all 150...


Thanks. I think when I find all the ponies it will be d-o-double-g ganster.

Matrix has folded AFAIK. The dude who built it is continuing this as a side gig. for more info... http://www.pipedreamsproto.com/