Tech Tip: V6 Miata parts by crapengineering

Just found this and thought I might share.
They have been doing K-series RWD conversions for years and seem to offer a few very interesting parts for anyone thinking about V6 swapping their MX5:

There are also some nice sound videos on the site.

crapengineering site

Story time: Fetching the new V6

Right, so a couple of months ago, in winter 2017, i got talking with a friend who was thinking about selling his MX3 V6. I had followed this car's story for a couple of years and after selling a Xedos 6 V6 at the time, a K-series shaped space remained to be filled in my life.
For several reasons I didnt want to swap a V6 into my Lantis (which would have been obvious) and since i really liked my wife's MX3 (no V6 though), I didnt have to think for too long about this opportunity.
Fast forward to early spring 2018, I finally bought a train ticket and travelled 6ish hours to Hamburg where i would be picked up by a guy in a fast Saab.

Of course, germans have to consume beer everywhere...especially on heavily delayed trains :D

Finally arrived, I indeed got to experience a kinda nice Saab on the way back to my friends house.
The following night consisted of car talk, night runs in an old E36, BBQ and a very friendly companion who refused to leave my pillow for the whole time...

At the next morning, i glanced out of the window and there it was waiting for me - good times :)

I set out to get the seized brakes street worthy again and changed the tires for my trip back home. Unfortunately the car had been sitting outside for a while and a lot of the suspension and brakes had  rusted and seized up. Still, could be worse...

Next up, a quick trip to the gas station to check out the roadworthyness.

I was in love already :)

Before I left, I collected some impressions of the other cars on set...

...and got a taste of RB26 awesomness.

Really good times. Unfortunatly, time flies when times are that good and I had to run since I had scheduled to pick up some parts for the MX3 on my way back.

After a couple of hours of driving, I left the autobahn for some nice back roads. The car had of course performed flawlessly although it has to be said that it was fitted with the worst set of suspension i have ever driven. Still, i was happy.

I even got spotted by a member of the german MX3 forum and received this while on the move:

I then arrived at my destination, MX3 parts country...

A quick swap later - much better:

I stuffed the car with a lot of goods, adding to many parts that I had gotten from the previous owner - more on that later. One fill up and a couple of hours later I arrived home, concluding a really nice motoring weekend. Did I mention i was in love already?

At the next day I gave the car a quick wash and parked it in our drive next to its new friends.

I added a MS oil filler cap and two series 1 seats i had floating around since the newer seats are incredibly uncomforable and unsupportive. They might receive new upholstery in the future...

Then took the car out for some moody pictures:

Since the wheels were only borrowed, I put on a set of old Azev A 7,5x16" with really old rubber - the car won't see the streets for quite a while so they are perfect for sitting stationary for a while.

The wheels will be replaced in the future but for now, they serve their purpose nicely. By the way, only a few days after the purchase, the MX3 V6 got featured in a german classic car magazine:

The car is now in hibernation in "my corner" of the local underground car park and awaiting it's future life...

I had to get it off the road since there is a lot of work to be done to it before it can hit the roads again. Rest assured that it will return from its time out refreshed and improved. Until then, I might occasionally dream of the sweet sound of the silky K8 V6...

Project.L 2018: Restoration kick off

Due to several new jobs and two relocations as well as personal reasons, Project L has been on hold for a while and even worse, had to endure winter duty again from 2013 to 2016.
Unfortunately this neglect is starting to show. I got the car off the street in autumn 2017 when i got a new (winter) daily.
The Lantis is back on the street now since I used it for a trip celebrating the anniversary with my wife (she kinda insisted not to use the "boring car").
Although the radiator had cracked over the winter and was leaking a bit of coolant we still had a nice weekend trip.
After that I decided to start bringing the car back to the nice state i have kept it in for so many years.
When i pulled the radiator I also took the opportunity to remove the Webasto heater unit the car had fitted back in '95 since i never want to use it during winter again.

Yep, that's broken:

There it hides...also notice the sad state of affairs with built up dirt and rust. This will be addressed....

Heater unit with most of the wiring harness. Quite a bit of weight to be removed from in front of the front axle, that can't be a bad thing :)

There's so much space now in the engine bay :)

Back in 2016 I had purchased a set of  Samco Sport hoses that i wanted to fit now...only to discover that the fitment is so bad that this just won't happen (the lower hose collides with the AC compressor) - contacted the supplier but i don't know how they will react after such a long time.

Since it will take forever to get a new set of Samcos, I also took the opportunity to order a new water pipe from water pump to heater since the one installed at the BP (note: not the original engine - there it was fine) is pretty rotten. In the mean time, i started cleaning out the dirt.

Progress will be slow, but hopefully steady