A kit to swap a Subaru motor into a Miata... with all the other swap kits.. This was not something I ever expected..
A kit to swap a Subaru motor into a Miata... with all the other swap kits.. This was not something I ever expected..
Wow, that's pretty darn creative. I've been working on an EJ for the last week and they're weird engines. I wonder what ground clearance looks like? I want to crawl all over one of these.
From the Miata One site - it's for the Phase 1 dual port engine. So that's the original Outback and Impreza RS, right? I have big chunks of one of those scattered all over my garage floor right now...
What about a kit to mount the EJ and Subi trans behind the seats?
Why not just bolt Miata body panels on a Beetle in that case?
Looks like there's a fair bit of surgery done to the frame rails and the subframe for this. A fairly significant chunk has to get shaved off to make room for the heads.
Yeah I saw mention of the surgery needed.
Which made me beg the question of the advantages of this swap.
Price is one compared to a k swap. But the upper limit of the swap seems much lower than a K swap or LS swap of the same $$ amount. I know Subaru motors can be built. But it also gets expensive quick.
There are limitations to what will fit. No Phase 2 heads, no DOHC heads - which makes me wonder about the Phase 1 EJ25 they talk about, because IIRC it's DOHC. That's 165 hp and a nice flat torque curve. The Frankenmotor I just built would probably fit as well, but it's not a sports car mill.
I thought it was nuts to put a fwd 3400v6 converted to rwd in one.
Why is this even a thing? Having owned a few 2.5 subaru engine and cars, this makes no sense to me. At all.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Absolutely not, I loved the sound of the exhaust when I was younger.. But the agricultural nature of the engine note is not attractive to me now.
And seth always referred to his forester as a road tractor. This is obviously a slightly different motor but still applies.
This is sort of the answer to a question nobody has asked.
Subie motors are not that wierd. You just did not spend enough of your youth working on air cooled VW motors
Toebra said:
Subie motors are not that wierd. You just did not spend enough of your youth working on air cooled VW motors
Funny enough the first motor I ever worked on rebuilding was a 1.7 for a 914.
Toebra said:Subie motors are not that wierd.
This weekend, I removed and replaced a wristpin on a fully assembled long block by removing one bolt. You can't tell me that's not weird.
Oh my god...
"This swap kit adapts the NA (naturally aspirated) Subaru phase 2 EJ 2.5 motor with phase 1 dual port heads."
That's my frankenmotor. I have the perfect engine sitting on my garage floor right now.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Haha guess we know what your next shop car is...
Keith Tanner said:There are limitations to what will fit. No Phase 2 heads, no DOHC heads - which makes me wonder about the Phase 1 EJ25 they talk about, because IIRC it's DOHC. That's 165 hp and a nice flat torque curve. The Frankenmotor I just built would probably fit as well, but it's not a sports car mill.
I wonder if they meant 2.2.
An early 2.2 hesded EJ (like what you were asking about elsewhere) supposedly barely fits in an FB RX-7... with an FC subframe to eliminate the steering box, and DOHC is "a no-go". A Miata is a ton narrower than that.
This one, like the Ford/Jag V6 swap, is a hard no from me. They make cool sounds, but that's about it. The EJ25 in my Baja makes no low-end power, but, hey, at least it doesn't have any top-end power either. I just don't see the point of it. There are other options that are easier to do and/or make better power, and I don't think that CG is really that big a problem on the Miata.
Having driven a number of Subies with the 2.2, I just can't imagine why you would go to the trouble.
Keith Tanner said:Oh my god...
"This swap kit adapts the NA (naturally aspirated) Subaru phase 2 EJ 2.5 motor with phase 1 dual port heads."
That's my frankenmotor. I have the perfect engine sitting on my garage floor right now.
Fortunately you're the last person who would know where to find a free or cheap Miata, right? 
I was glad to see it required surgery. I measured this for the "behind the seats" swap years ago and was sure I remembered the Subie engine being something like 33" wide with the miata rails at around 30". IIRC the Subie trans was also a little too tall to fit in the Miata subframe diff space.
BoxheadTim said:Keith Tanner said:Oh my god...
"This swap kit adapts the NA (naturally aspirated) Subaru phase 2 EJ 2.5 motor with phase 1 dual port heads."
That's my frankenmotor. I have the perfect engine sitting on my garage floor right now.
Fortunately you're the last person who would know where to find a free or cheap Miata, right?
I mean, there's one sitting right beside the engine in question.
Keith Tanner said:BoxheadTim said:Keith Tanner said:Oh my god...
"This swap kit adapts the NA (naturally aspirated) Subaru phase 2 EJ 2.5 motor with phase 1 dual port heads."
That's my frankenmotor. I have the perfect engine sitting on my garage floor right now.
Fortunately you're the last person who would know where to find a free or cheap Miata, right?
I mean, there's one sitting right beside the engine in question.
So when can we expect the build thread?
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:What about a kit to mount the EJ and Subi trans behind the seats?
If you're willing to go to that much effort, it's probably best to just build a Factory 5 818.
https://www.factoryfive.com/818/
spacecadet said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
And seth always referred to his forester as a road tractor.
Seth has dealt with weird tractors.
Now if they just made the EZ36R fit......
Having recently looked over a few K swapped cars, I can't imagine why you would even think of this. A month or so ago, K Miata had a gathering/track day at Gingerman. The K swaps I saw were clean, compact and faaaaaaast on the track. Assuming there isn't a HUGE cost savings, this seems like having a 383 stroker and a 305 in the garage, and transplanting in the 305.
In reply to kazoospec :
I think GM Ecotec swaps are there if you think the K swap is too expensive. Both make way more sense to me being a larger displacement inline 4 rather than just cramming a square peg EJ into a round Miata hole.
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