I stumbled onto this build today- somebody dropping a Miata drivetrain into a 96.
Madness? or Brilliance?

http://www.miataturbo.net/build-threads-57/miata-drivetrain-saab-96-a-63327/

That Hustler guy as an a-hole.

I dig it!

I think its a neat idea. I want to build 2 96's...one along the lines of the original Baja competitor with modern improvements for reliability and a second car that would be a t5 2.3 turbo front engine rear drive..or mid engine rear drive dune buggy with long travel front suspension and long travel rear.

/\ this will not happen for quite some time.

neat idea - will be interesting to see how it pans out.

I stayed up way too long last night reading that thread. I think it's a neat use of a longnose. It's too bad he didn't find one with a rusted-out floor though!
Its pretty neat how the Miata floor fits right in. It will be interesting to see what the ride height ends up looking like. The Miata frame rails stick 2" below the floor of the 96.

I laughed at the comments by the Miata people.
"You ruined one of our rust-free cars!" (as if the car that he's chopping up to put it in, which is 30 years older and much more rare, doesn't matter)
"Those SAAB 96es weren't known for their handling" (ehh... what'd that guy just say?)
"You're totally screwing up the weight balance of the Miata!"

It will be interesting to see it done. The weight is shifted back in the 96 so it's almost all between the wheels. He'll have a lot of free space between the engine and the grille. It probably would have fit better into a bullnose.

Oh, and in the thread the first pictures of a 96 that someone posted were of none other than Puttyus Maximus; post restoration, prior to rally car conversion.

Awesome! I used to have a 91 Miata, and loved that thing. I sold it to my brother, and he wrecked it I actually bought it back, and contemplated using one my Sonett parts cars to build a RWD Frankensonett. Having dropped the rear subframe on the Miata, I can see the project being a real possibilty. I even had a spare 1.6 motor, which I sold with the rest of the car when I need the extra cash. Damnit!

Evening gentlemen,

I see that my project has made the rounds. I've attached a couple of updated photos for you now that the drivetrain has been installed for test fit and it sat on it's own wheels for the first time in many months.



The motor will be turbocharged. Based on my past turbocharged Miata this one will be about 240 WHP. It should move along nicely. I will be fabricating everything including the manifold, downpipe and exhaust. I did this on my previous Miata. Intercooler and radiator ducting installed.



Now, I saw some possible skepticism on whether this project will be completed. I have no doubts that it would be. Here is my most recently completed project. The motor is a built 306 Ford with a T5 transmission and 8.8" Ford IRS rear end. Everything was fabricated by me including front and rear subframes, transmission mount and TIG welded mandrel bent exhaust, among the other myriad of details encountered when undertaking a DIY project such as this. Sorry about the very dusty car. It was a fresh repaint, paint was curing and I haven't sanded and buffed it yet.




Finally, it seems that there was a sore subject about cutting up a rare SAAB. First of all, I had never even seen one before this project was started, let alone driven one. I went to see it with tape measure in hand. After five or six measurements I knew everything would fit. I drove off with the car for the princely sum of $200 along with a dozen fenders, several hoods and trunks, window glass. I figured, how rare could it be when it's only worth $200? So I cut into it. That said, it could possibly attract even more attention to this car so possibly the sacrifice of one could save many.



In any case, thanks for looking.

Interesting project, Keep us posted.

The fabrication looks top notch. Best of luck on the project, we all know it takes time! You won't find that negativity here....we're all for it :)

I have to say, this is a pretty cool build. I'd like to see it sometime, too bad you're in Nebraska!

Thought I'd throw up a quick update.

Sandblasted the entire car and epoxy primed.



Bodywork is done. Going to paint next weekend.

What brand of epoxy did you use? I am about 90% through blasting my 900 shell and the plan is to coat the whole car in epoxy as a base coat and urethane from there.

I'd recommend "Southern Polyurathanes" epoxy. Its a small company in Georgia, but they make great products that are renowned in the Hot Rod/Restoration world. They also are pretty reasonable. I used them on my 99 and spray and hold up nicely. Just call up and order, their catalog is pretty small, but I used the epoxy, primer and high build stuff.

To be honest, I'm not sure what epoxy they used. I had the sandblasting company prime it as I didn't want to move it around or let it sit all in bare metal.