Front SLAs that exist plentifully in junkyards

Maybe not so plentiful in yards anymore, but the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare front subframe is very popular to re-clip old pickups with. I'm guessing it''s not R&P from the factory, but I'm sure options exist.

For what it is worth - Mustang II/Pinto do not have subframes, the suspension attaches directly to the body.

However, it's pretty much generic street rod parts at this point, and subframes for any width you'd want are available.

EvanR wrote: Maybe not so plentiful in yards anymore, but the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare front subframe is very popular to re-clip old pickups with. I'm guessing it''s not R&P from the factory, but I'm sure options exist.

not a rack and pinion setup, and they used torsion bars instead of springs.

C4 Vettes had a bolt-in front crossmember that supported the entire front suspension as well as the engine mounts. Good if you can use the Vette suspension as-is................... Bad if you have to narrow, then you can't use the transverse monoleaf........but you could weld in a set of coilovers.

Another possibility is '80's and early '90's Toyota pickup/Tacoma. The front track width is something like 53 1/2 inches. The Miata is around 56 inches. carfolio says the possible intended recipient is 51.7 inches track width.

No, the Toyota's not R&P but everything else is there, it even already has the 5- 4.5 bolt circle you need (only with metric studs) so that would save having to buy the hotrodder type rotors for a Pinto/Mustang II setup. It is a torsion bar setup, which would make for easy adjustability. You'd have to cut the front section of the frame off at about firewall distance but it should be pretty easy to work with. A rear steer rack would be prety easy to adapt, too.

Jensenman wrote: Another possibility is '80's and early '90's Toyota pickup/Tacoma. The front track width is something like 53 1/2 inches. The Miata is around 56 inches. carfolio says the possible intended recipient is 51.7 inches track width. No, the Toyota's not R&P but everything else is there, it even already has the 5- 4.5 bolt circle you need (only with metric studs) so that would save having to buy the hotrodder type rotors for a Pinto/Mustang II setup. It is a torsion bar setup, which would make for easy adjustability. You'd have to cut the front section of the frame off at about firewall distance but it should be pretty easy to work with. A rear steer rack would be prety easy to adapt, too.

Here is my only issue with non R&P, Jensenman. I have faith in the ability of me and my buddies to weld on a front clip to the frame and get it close enough such that a decent alignment can work great. I don't have great faith in our ability to adapt a different R&P, which could be a different length etc, such that it would work, be reliable, be easy, and have reasonable bumpsteer characteristics. Other than that it sounds like a good idea. In fact, I pretty much can promise that if I could adapt a R&P to a recirculating ball front clip, we'd be doing it with another stock setup - we know all of the tricks! It's just that the non-front-clip-attached steering parts are fubar.

And yes, your suspicions are perfectly correct, as usual.

Well, something to consider: you don't necessarily have to go R&P (although it would be nice to have). The 'parallellogram' or idler arm stype steering can work every bit as well. In some ways it's actually easier to fiddle with than R&P; Ackerman is easier to keep straight, for instance. I learned that with my 1st gen RX7 and it has a lot to do with why Mercedes kept that system long after other manufacturers had gone with R&P.

Would the parallelogram steering interfere with engine placement?

You asked if a Miata could be had with manual steering. If the one you find does have power steering, www.flyingmiata.com has a write-up in their tech section in how to properly de-power it. They also have some really nice lightweight tubular control arms.