Lowla.
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History.Lowla joined the SMC crew back in 2016, starting out as a bone stock 1996 1.8L 5 speed torsen miata. Montego blue with a ripped up brown leather interior and equaly damaged top. Lowla was originaly bought as a challenge between the crew to have the worst possible winter daily driver. To our suprise, she ended up being an amazing winter daily and incredibly fun. After surviving the winter, she earned the priviledge of being built into a summer build and has never seen the cold since. We decided to go with a built small jounral 327 Small Block Chevy, Borg Warner super T-10 4 speed transmission, and a ford 8.8 IRS.
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Challenges.
Something we learned quickly is that there is practically no information available for a SBC swap in a miata (very different from LS swap). Every problem we faced simply had to be solved by our own abilities. Some of the bigger problems were; no information on engine/tranny mounting, no oil pan available to clear the steering rack, no clearance for headers/exhaust manifolds (we tried over 30 sets), no firewall clearance for the distributor, no room for the scattershield in the tranny tunnel, T-10 shifters are side mounted and we needed a centered shifter in a different forward/back position, no room for radiator clearance, and then the most challenging aspect was to fit it all under a stock hood. To add to the list, we still had to deal with all of the other regular build challenges; new rear end mounting, axles, hubs and bearings, new brake lines, custom driveshaft,custom fuel lines, electrical, engine bay shave, wire tuck, calibrating dash sensors, line-lock, etc.
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Current Build.In the end we got one badass miata. The 327 we built has a forged, de-stressed, and balanced bottom end, all comp cams valvertain parts (roller valve train, tripple springs, mild street cam) Ported alluminum Edelbrock intake and heads, Proform 650 carb, lightweight ACT flywheel and a whole other list of goodies. The engine was built to be able to rev to 7500 RPM, and made 375HP and 374 FT/LB's at roughly 4000 rpm. (she makes 300 FT/LB's just past 2000RPM!!!) From the outside, Lowla looks completely stock except for the rollbar. All of the OEM interior bits were re-used. (same shift boot, all of the same gauges, same pedals, and only one vissable exhaust tip).
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Specs.
Year: 1996
Make: Mazda Model: Mx5 Miata Engine: 327 SBC Transmission: Tremec TKO Clutch: Mcleod 550hp Differential: Ford 8.8 3.08 Eaton tru-trac limited slip |
Wheels: XXR536 15x8 ET-0
Exhaust: Dual 2.5" with cutouts Suspension: BC racing coilovers Body: Full custom colour repsray (Valspar base/clear) HP: 375 TQ: 375 0-60: yes |