Miata TR3? Doing wierd things with a scrap Miata

Have you ever had an idea that got into your head that you just had to try just to see?  I got this idea of making half doors on a Miata like classic British roadsters have.  So I tried to kill the idea the easy way.   I did a rendering and it...  Unfortunately looked ok.  The NB Miata has enough hump in the front fenders that the TR3/XK120 Esq door shape looks like it almost works.  

That was unfortunate because it didn't  end the idea.  It had just enough promise that it bugged me.  So enter the blown motor, dented on every panel, rusty Miata I got for $0.  This Miata is destined to give it's trans to a Track car, it's subframes and springs to a future project and the rest of the car is available for cheap parts.  But both doors are dented and the quarters are either insanely dented or Crusty.  

So I decided to take the idea to the next step.  20 min to get the windows out of the door and another 20 minutes with an angle grinder and we had this.  

Well crap that doesn't look completely terrible but it's hard to see the lines.  So my brain says it's worth another hour to add some shape to see what it looks like more defined.  So out came the Colorplast, masking tape and Insulation (for infill) and we get this. 

And it looks. .  not bad.  Almost good.   Obviously the shape is a bit lumpy and cutting of the body and blending would be better if I did it with foam and Bondo like to make a fiberglass mold.  It's also hard to pick up the lines on the pictures compared to in person because the color is off.  Unfortunately it's to cold to spray paint so I can't fix that.  

It's neat that the notch is at a nice arm resting height.  

This hasn't helped my brain.   I don't have the desire to actually fix this Miata and complete this but I think it could look decent with some canvas half doors if you kept the top.  If you went full roadster you could cut the windshield and move the taper a little further forward.  Which would look a little better.  

The biggest issue that would need to be solved to do this in reality is there is structure that was cut away to make room for the notch in the quarter panel.  It was some 1mm thick box section.  It would be pretty easy to make a thick plate that welds in to reinforce it though.  If you ditched the top you could go further in an narrow the door and extend the roundover some.  If I finished it I would mount the stock door handle lower on the door.  It keeps the stock latch which dictated the height.  

So I'm not sure anymore will happen but I wanted to share the results of a 1.5 hour brainworm project. 

I encourage you to do it. Who knows, you might be onto something there'd be an aftermarket demand for.

"We now return to our regular scheduled program..."

In reply to nocones:

When you look at a Miata and think "I'm just too well protected in side impacts! C'mon-where's your sense of adventure?" 

Kidding aside, it's a fun experiment, there's some styling potential there. 

Hmm.  I'd like to see that from a little further away and from the front.  I think from that perspective the lines might be a little too sharp to really be harmonious.  Then again maybe not.

I am looking forward to seeing this restyle invariably affect other parts of the car like the headlights :) This is interesting. 

I just keeps getting worse for not kicking this out of the garage.

That's awesome 

Giant human for reference.  

I think maybe Keith is right. Is there an easy way to massage the front fenders to use round headlights?  I'm liking it.

Is that tape across the windshield where you're gonna cut it to "roadsterize" the car?

Good job! 

In reply to M2Pilot :

I was thinking about that.  Or at the base and do some aero screens.   But if I did that I would remove the top and could move back the vertical part of the door.  It would work better overall.   

I also thought about removing the whole windshield and doing aerosceens.  Not sure how much more I will mockup before bye bye Miata.  Though it seems worth persuing as a real thing.  

Let me know if this quick walk around works for you. 

Looks Great ,

is there the "windwing delete " option ?

In reply to californiamilleghia :

If I cut the windshield off I will stop with those removed to see what it looks like.  I think you could move the curve forward but the rear landing point is fixed by the door latch and impact tube.  Its curvature matches the front fenders really well now but it would be nice to have the tan go all the way down the door.  

I agree, roundly headlight and some kind of grill. Also, rear fender arch needs to look like it sits "on top" of the door arch. 

In lieu of removing the windshield and starting the taper further forward, I feel like softening the angle of the door cut might also help balance the lines a little better too. Neat proof of concept though!  

Quick doodle over the top and you might be onto something

A  pair of 7" headlights and some insulation foam and a bread knife could discover a world of 60s racer hidden in that MX5

I always liked how the screen folded back on healeys

This is getting better and better 

californiamilleghia said:

Looks Great ,

is there the "windwing delete " option ?

That's a piece of cake to do, might be interesting to see. 

In reply to Rigante :

That looks amazing.  I was struggling with a scoop shape but your 60' racecar is great

All the furthest I got so far was these two things so far.