First things first... Big shout out to **DriveOn Auto Spa & Coatings** in Hershey, PA. They are a veteran-owned business, and on very short notice got all the road grime from the transport up to PA off the car so it would be nice and clean the morning this video was shot. If you are in the area and need a detail, they are great people. As for weight balance and curb weight... The curb weight is actually 2790ish....2990 with a 200lb driver in the car. Weight distribution is basically 50/50...it is between 50/50 and 51/49. Soft tops will have slightly more front bias...you'll never know if no one told you though. Believe it or not, the Falken Azenis RT660 is a serious tire and you have to really try hard to break them loose in a straight line when rolling into the throttle. The mechanical grip far exceeds expectations as those tires simply stick and Mazda knows how to design a suspension to really work. The rear end squirm is the LSD doing its thing and gathering the car up as it puts power down. It all works insanely beautifully....in case Matt's facial expressions didn't make that abundantly clear :) Any further questions, feel free to contact via the website.
One of the most exciting, desirable cars that I've seen in a long long time. I'm so happy that there are still heros raging against the fading of the light and keeping dreams like this alive in the world today. How does insurance work? For those that can afford to pay cash and not miss $75k , paying Miata rates for this monster would be a huge plus... but for those of us peasants that would have to save pennies for years, is there an easy way to get actual insurance coverage on the cost of the kit?
What's used for the LSD? Sure it's not the puny stock rear-end? (I guess I missed it in the video, but saw it mentioned in comments it's a 3.91 from a ZL1.)
matt i am 61 years old and battling cancer but i now own a 2017 wrx with only 30 thousand miles its my only car and my daily driver i love it will be the last car i own its a hoot thank you you if followed you from the begining keep it up
180 hours x $100 per hour is 18k, the guys who built this know their stuff so double that- 36k in labor alone. New crate motor- guessing 8k with cam upgrade minimum, 5k for transmission, they didn't mention the rear axle but it sure not stock - another 4k maybe, wheels and tires probably 3k- that's 20k conservative estimate not including new gauge cluster, ecu, exhaust, driveshaft, Brembo brakes ect. 75k for all of that is priced pretty fair.
@@troymyers5181all that to be slower then a built Honda for that money and wouldn’t even handle correctly on the track. It’s money spent to be different and that’s it. Someone has money to blow, at the end of the day I still like it!
It used to be 50k at flying miata, but that was also 8 years ago. You get yourself awesome performance for less than 100k. Of course the refinement isn’t there, but this build isn’t for everyone.
It isn't often you watch a youtube video that you really FEEL the visceral intensity of a driving experience. The expression on your face, matched with the roar of the car.. says everything. What fun.
Many years ago I owned a 1990 Monster Miata. It had a slightly warmed over 5.0 litre Mustang motor and Mustang 5 speed gear box. At the time I thought my V8 powered Miata was very quick, but it was not even in the same universe when compared to the V8 Miata you're test driving.
@@84imreplica It was made to sound like putting a V-8 in a Miata (and thinking, "Cobra-ish) was a new thing. The guy above kinda makes that point, and I underline it. Not too hard to decipher, Karen.
I work at one of the highest traffic gas stations in my area. a guy comes through every now and again in an NC Miata and one day I asked him about it because it wasnt too loud but it didnt sound like a 4 banger at all (it also had giant brakes for a miata and several hood vents). He told me that car originally was the r&d chassis for this same v8 swap program and that he bought it directly from flyin miata i believe. He tracks the thing and it looks like a beast he said it actually had to be rebuilt much stronger because it had too much power and some of the components couldnt take the torque leading to him spinning out on the track when they failed. I think he said they ended up replacing the original LS with a newer one as well. Super cool guy and amazing car glad I asked him about it.
I am not excited over any ionic 5n Hyundai electric cars are boring and Soulless sure my microwave heats up meat faster than my barbecue but I prefer barbecue
There is an Australia company, Bullet Performance, that was doing this in the 1990s and 2000s, they used a 4.0 V8 from Toyota, and some of them were supercharged.
@@_Erogaki Yeah, they had to re-engineer the front, they even gave it a single piece clamshell like a Dodge Viper, different headlights too (from Chrysler Neon). Numerous other upgrades were also done.
Monster Miata was doing this in the early 90's with 5.0 Ford V8s with T-5 transmissions. They are still around and they sell the old 5.0 conversions as well as LS conversions.
Dropping bangers only this week! I drove a V8 NB Miata about two years ago making 401 RWHP and it was Wild to drive. Great review bro, you got to do more of this enthusiasts car reviews, not only great for your channel but they get your best reactions and we see your passion.
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! A V8 NB sounds even crazier haha. I’m hoping to work in more privately owned cars this year for sure but my passion is helping car shoppers find a new or used car they’ll love.
It’s been a long time since you’ve been able to review something that “roars to life” and was so exciting. Thanks for reviewing these non-oem and older cars so we can enjoy as well. Needless to say the new car market is not offering much excitement anymore
I met the owner in Tennessee on his way back from this review, and this thing sits just right. The camera doesn't do it justice. Very nice and knowable guy and a really cool car.
@@ivanredinger969haha yea. Been a subscriber since the old BRZ days. I think one of my favourite reviews was the red F type. I cannot believe that’s almost 10 years ago. Time flies!
Matt… this is my first video that I’ve seen of you… and I have to say. Just in this one video, I have come to say that you are on of the best car reviewers I’ve seen these days. Some people follow the same formula and maybe you do to, but your pacing and non abrasive/interesting talking points/passion has made this a very enjoyable video. Looking forward to watching more.
Awesome. I could just feel how authentic everything you were saying was Matt. Would love to see you drive some V8 Solstices. There are some wild ones around. Cheers and thank you for the continued upload of amazing content. M
@yeanwang3594 this is a great swap ,with a LS small block Chevy V8 engine under the hood of this Mazda Miata !!! Just imagine if Mazda, itself develop it's own V8 engine and Stuff it in it's rear wheel drive Miata, now that would be cool 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💪💪💪💪👍👍👍👍👍
Its fun to see a man seems like a child got a dream toy. Respect for the tuners who meticulously chose all the right components n being so humble in producing the most optimum, yet the best at a Miata can be. Its not about maximizing evrythng or making a flashy car, but humbly picking n bringing out the best that a driver cn experience. Luv n respect for the tuners team.
Tell you what, this car really brought out the nostalgic Matt. I remember when he was SubaruWRXFan and I started following his stuff back when he bought a brz. So much time has passed yet this channel remains one of my favs. Love seeing him this happy driving a car again.
Man this is an ND built right. Love the 6UL wheels and what looks to be a much girthier steering wheel. I can't even imagine how nuts this would be on the track. Center exit exhaust is the chef's kiss.
Good job James and Sophie! I just pulled the engine and trans out of a Malibu for my first time doing it, and did a transmission rebuild on it. No experience but we just went for it, and it’s working out well so far!
A custom shop made a miata with a ford 5.0 back in the 90's. I love that this is an LS, though. Any high performance shop in town would probably be able to work on it.
I have a 2022 Camaro SS 1LE, for less than $50k, best car bang for your buck. It has the engine of this Miata, and an absolute amazing 6 speed transmission. Nothing compares on road or track.
LOVE my LSx powered Porsche 944s which has been my most favorite car to drive. best it is carb legal, and more so excited to be working on and building my mazda miata 2018 LSx swapped car. Which wife and I both cannot wait!
it's faster IRL than on paper. nd2 does 0-60 in 5.7s and that's with needing to shift to 3rd gear. If 2nd gear hit 60 it'd be in the 5.0s range which is quicker than most V8 cars from 15-20 yrs ago. From a red light I took a 97 mustang gt w/ the 4.6 in it.
@@Michael-li3id So you make the car super lightweight and small and then erase that advantage by using a weak motor so it turns in Honda Accord V6 times? No way. I would put a turbo 4 in it.
@@Digiphex as an ND2 owner the engine isnt weak, it's appropriate. Could it use more power? Sure, in 10% of situations I wouldn't mind more power. Other 90% of the time it's adequate or more than adequate. the nd2 redline is 7,500 RPM. Adding a turbo would knock the redline down to 6,500, and only allow for about 3k rpm of torque. The literal purpose of roadsters is having a free-revving engine with a high redline. adding a turbo to a roadster is like asking to remove the bed from a pickup. Their purpose is to haul stuff.
@@Michael-li3id There is no roadster organization regulating the "purpose of roadsters." And thank god, because then we wouldn't have the 382 HP Z4 roadster, 3.8 to 60.
@@Digiphex Z4 is a great car, except they didn't come in manual until this year I almost bought an 02 m roadster for $32k, which is what my new Miata cost.
$100k-140k, c6 z06, with low milage, built to whatever you dream- and have 20-40k left over- depending on what you're chasing It's a cool concept, but i think someone whos dedicated, patient, and knows how to wrench could replicate this (with a used v8 motor) for a 3rd the price or even lower. Like, junkyard motor you build, junk yard trans you build, junkyard miata you build, new suspension, exhaust you fab, holly system, you could still be under 20-30k.... Still dope and if i was a multi millionaire i'd so buy one but......thats ALOT of money for a v8'd Miata.
@@Piznick64 that's entirely based on perspective. (Plus pretty sure he's just borrowing it for a video) You can pay someone to do it, do it well, and have it come out looking like a stock Miata, but drive like an ac cobra and have all the bells and whistles figured out with all new parts Or you can put several hundred hours of labour into one with used parts that will look like whatever kind of effort you put in, and depending on how much you spend or don't spend, that might have you pretty high up in the spending bracket. Granted if you spent 50k, you'd still have a car the blows the doors off everything in it's price bracket that's not a laptop civic or a bubbad small block Chevy, and punches well above it's weight class too. While being reasonably comfortable. My point in my comment more or less was yes, for 100k-140k you can get similar if not better price to performance/smiles per gallon than this car, and you could also dyi it with used parts and save tens of thousands of not more in dollars. And it's not like it's not dope, and worth the money if you have it. But to someone who can barely afford his $6500 c4 repair costs and such while wrenching himself, this is as unobtainable as a Ferrari/Lambo/my actual dream car(C6 zr1)
@@Piznick64 did not get ripped off. Very few people can do a project this big. Most project cars stay on hiatus indefinitely. Paying a skilled team to build you a turn key car isn't cheap, it is what it is.
You're getting a lot more than just the motor for $75k. Did you not pay attention in the video? Motor, exhaust, new tires, suspension, steering wheel, gauges, gear box, shifter, bigger brake rotors and pads, etc. It's a whole kit you're buying, not just the motor. Plus you have to pay for labor to swap it all out.
Yo I did not expect that sound from this Miata what a sound of beauty this car is fully loaded nicely loaded sheesh I can express how much I would love to have this beauty 😊 I’m overwhelmed
I’ve owned many Miata’s through the years. I have learned that the car is very balanced and putting a very heavy V8 in one would destroy the handling capability. My last one I installed a small supercharger that puts power output to 265 the car was a rocket and it still handled, stopped perfectly. And an added bonus was it didn’t break the bank!
It doesn't destroy the handling, the V8 isn't that much heavier than the motor that's in it. You can't beat on it mindlessly like the underpowered 4 cyl version, but it really isn't as bad as you'd think.
This is very cool! My only concern is the bigger motor ruining the Miata’s weight distribution. I wonder if this would be good on a track! I want to see a turbo new Miata versus this one lol
Smiles per mile. Its not about comparing performance to other cars. You could buy a vette, you could buy a cayman, etc... its about the visceral experience. love it.
The license plate says Florida but the elevation changes and evergreens say otherwise. Absolutely beautiful wherever you live, reminds me of when i used to live in appalachia.
100k for just a v8 on Miata might as well put the money in the trash 🗑️, I’m sure the car is a lot of fun I’m really do , but the end is Miata at the end of pulling with Miata so expensive toy and that it is not like you can buy it and the Value will stay. He’s nothing special about that. V8 Miata was there for two decade , you can find them all over the Internet for way cheaper probably the $20,000 or under !
@@zgSH4DOW y'all can chill for this man all you want but there is no way that this man can be taken seriously saying that the Corvette e Ray is a worse by than a LS swapped Miata
We just tuned one at our shop, NA miata with a LS3, wild ride for sure, going to need a very well tuned right foot and fast hands to keep it on the road
While these are fun and I’m gonna try to work stuff like this in a little more, my passion is helping car shoppers find a car they’ll love, which is why I focus mostly on stock stuff. Thatdudeinblue does a great job with the modified car reviews.
This is nice, but for around 80 grand, I’m probably going to lean towards my dream car, a factory warrantied 427 cobra replica with V-8, Tremec six speed, four wheel independent suspension, etc. And it will be very lightweight!
I drive a 93 Miata. I found a 91 that had been sitting under an oak tree for three years.. as you know the drain ports were stopped up and the inside has been wet. It is a white automatic . The car is completely covered in green mold. I went and winched it up on a trailer today, so this is gonna be my project probably for the next year. Wish me luck.! ☮️❤️
@@michaelangelo5783 thanks for the reply . I am going to keep it an all matching numbers car for a future collector . It will only go up in value . 10 years from now my prediction is 15-to 20 thousand for a really nice all original Miata .
Advice for Matt Maran - consider having segments in your driving videos where you don't speak and just let us hear the the car. I really wanted to hear this car more, but difficult because you didn't really give us a break to just enjoy the sound (minus a few very short stints)
Monster Miatas have been around for a LONG TIME. They used to be 5.0 Mustang motors. I remember seeing them at Super Ford Sundays back when I was a kid at Maple Grove Raceway
