I am assuming the labor/basic fabrication to be free, or about beer-99, since I know enough people interested in something like this to assist. I'd probably start with an older chassis for the sake of cost, and I've managed to find several junkyard LS1's with trannies local to me, so that isn't a big deal. I'm beginning to think I might actually attempt this, instead of just dream about it.
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Dec. 18, 2009 11:39 a.m. mndsm Reader
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Dec. 18, 2009 12:43 p.m. Keith PowerDork
Just FYI, the older chassis has some extra costs involved. I'd guess $500-1000 worth of extra parts to deal with the speedo, fuel system and a lack of space at the front. Turns out the engine bay is a crucial inch shorter, which means new fans and a few other things. If you get a 1999-00 for your chassis, the engine is more valuable than the one from a 1990-97 so you get more back out of the car.
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Dec. 18, 2009 1:35 p.m. mndsm Reader
Good to know.... thanks for the heads up. I may consider going that route, as it will allow me to recoup some initial investment cost, as well as perhaps drive the car a little before I decide to tear it apart.
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March 31, 2010 7:30 p.m. Evan None
One advantage of the Miata build is the chassis cost. Depending on what you have planned for the car, this might be relevant. Body damage or replacement of a Vette or FD might be a lot more expensive than a Miata.
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March 31, 2010 7:49 p.m. JoeyM Reader
Hmmm.....resurrecting a thread that's been dead since before Christmas
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March 31, 2010 8:26 p.m. Salanis UberDork
Why not take the difference and spend it on instruction?
I love taking an obviously less-fast car and squeeking past a faster car on track. Taking the new 944-Spec, '88 924S around a prepped STi with mediocre driver at Infineon was just awesome.
Practice, then take your buddy to an auto-x, and walk around him in a Camry. Then laugh.
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March 31, 2010 8:44 p.m. JoeyM Reader
Salanis wrote: then take your buddy to an auto-x, and walk around him in a Camry.
Last year at our mother's day autocross, the novices driving the Ferrari 360 couldn't stay on course and, thus, did worse than my mom in my geo.
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April 2, 2010 10:17 a.m. Evan New Reader
JoeyM wrote: Hmmm.....resurrecting a thread that's been dead since before Christmas
OMG, the horror!
Thanks thread police. I felt I had something to add that hadn't been mentioned.
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April 28, 2010 9:23 a.m. JasonZ New Reader
Having bought a near perfect 02 Z06 Saturday, all I can add is, best of luck to the Miata builders. The car is amazing for the money.
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April 28, 2010 11:21 a.m. motomoron Reader
In reply to Rusnak_322:
That's assuming one has the restraint to leave the E36 M3 alone. In my case it was a clean, straight one-owner CPO '98 that is now a race car with a license plate, and I've got late-model e46 M3 money tied up.
That says it works really well and as I have no affinity for gold chains or buying 315 and 295 Hoosiers Vettes are out...
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April 28, 2010 9:41 p.m. Flynlow New Reader
JasonZ wrote:
Having bought a near perfect 02 Z06 Saturday, all I can add is, best of luck to the Miata builders. The car is amazing for the money.
As a fellow Z06 owner (and Miata owner, for that matter), I have to 2nd this.
Can you change everything on a Miata in order to equal a stock Z06's performance? Probably.
Can the Z06 change parts too and negate everything you just did? Likely.
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April 29, 2010 12:44 a.m. Keith PowerDork
Local Corvette autocross: LS1 Miata vs stock Z06. Margin of victory for the Miata: somewhere around 4-5 seconds.
It's amazing they let us come back, although we do have to rely on spies inside the organization to find out when the races are taking place now...
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Oct. 27, 2011 2:18 p.m. Keith UltimaDork
Resurrection! I came across this thread while looking for something else, and thought I'd throw in a data point from the 2011 Targa.
There was a C5 Z06 there. It was being driven by Jud Buchannan, who had been to almost every single Targa Newfoundland (he may have missed 2010) and is the only person I know of who has a platinum Targa plate. He's probably finished on the podium at least a half dozen times. Let's just say that a lack of driver skill or experience was probably not a factor. He's not a pro, but he's quick.
The Corvette was running Level 2 prep. That allows modified heads (from the original castings) and camshafts, 10% displacement bump, engine management changes and just about anything you want to do to the suspension short of changing the fundamental setup (transverse leafs stay transverse leafs, for example).
I was driving the Targa Miata, of course. Modified 5.3 L33 engine, AFCO suspension - basically, Level 2 prep if the Miata had come with an LS1 from the factory
Also not a pro driver or navigator!
By the time we rolled up to the penultimate stage on day 4, we were ahead of the Z06 by 27 seconds. That includes some very fast open road stages where, interestingly, we were pretty much neck-and-neck. Through the long, high-speed Garnish, he was 5 seconds faster. On the same stage in the other direction, I was 6 seconds faster. I have to say I was surprised when I started looking at the numbers. Being the Targa, we're looking at a wide range of types of driving and that also included some pretty wet stages. Maximum speed was 125 mph, but I only had to lift for that a few times and only once for more than a few seconds.
You can play with the numbers all you want for price- used Miata plus junkyard parts, used Z06 that needs love, etc. But there's a good test of the end result. And I'll bet my car could be duplicated for $20k if you did the work yourself.
