1992 Miata, LS1, then LS3 swapped

[mazpower]

I don't know where else to put this but I wanted to share it so here you go. I started this project in '09, I wanted more power out of my '92 Miata and figured why not. First swap was with a junkyard LS1 which spun a bearing the first day I drove it. Then I built a 383 LS1 for it, which ran 12k miles and broke a rod at a track day due to quench being too tight and mechanical overrevs...thanks T56 shifter! The latest build is a 415 cubic inch LS3, running strong!

Copied and pasted from another forum, forgive any weird inconsistancies...

I bought my '92 Miata back in '98. In the 11 years I've owned it, its been turbocharged (Greddy kit), put back to stock, and sat in storage for almost 3 years while I focused on my '93 RX-7 single turbo and other numerous projects. The goal was for my dad to get the car, which is why it sat in storage, but after that didn't work out I got it running with the replacement engine and pondered what the next mod would be. While I love the Miata's handling, I've never liked the weak power. Since its already been turbo'd I wanted to do something different.

So I bought a LS1 out of a '99 Camaro with 80k, along with a T56 6-speed transmission. I went with the V8 Roadsters conversion kit which requires modifications to the transmission tunnel. This kit places the engine farther back, so the shifter lines up, and you can use the Miata style radiator. I currently run a Mishimoto aluminum radiator so I'll be able to keep that as well as the stock fans. The kit requires that the oil pan be cut and rewelded to clear the tubular subframe - aside from gathering parts, this will be the start of the project and should be done by next weekend. That's where the pictures will start as well.

The other stuff...I'm going with a LS7 flywheel and clutch kit along with a V8 Roadsters master cylinder to work with the T56's slave. The exhaust will consist of Sanderson block-hugger headers and true dual piping & Borla mufflers. The infamous '90-'93 rear end is being replaced with a Getrag LSD 3.60 unit out of a CTS, along with the V8 Roadsters rear end kit with beefier axles, driveshaft, and mounts for the diff.

A Walbro 255 pump will feed the bigger engine and instead of running the stock electronics to control the engine, I'm going with a Haltech E11v2 and custom harness for engine management. I've been working with Haltechs since '01 and have installed 30+ in personal and customer's cars. I figured if I had to buy a software program to work with the LS1 ECU for $500+ and modify the GM harness, I might as well just go with the Haltech.

So there it is. I'll keep this thread updated, with pictures of course.