Tom Jones

The Donor Car, And Post #1

transplanted parts will see better days in the VortX.

Pictured is the  1994 First Generation Miata ,Fastcraft motorsport is using for this Build. This car was purchased for a winning bid of $900.00 from the Copart on line auction service. Has 109,269 miles on the clock. The car starts and can be driven slowly. The model year of 1994 was my preferred year. This year and most all 1995 are ideally suited for turbocharging as the compression is lower at 8.8 :1  for these years and the block has blocked off NTP supply and return ports to feed the Turbo charger bearings. Also this year the transmission is more robust and 1994 was the first year I believe to use the larger 7″ ring and pinion. I still have not determined if  this donor has the rather rare Limited slip. Would be a great bonus to find out it is a Torsen LSD but I am not counting on it.Also 1994 and 1995 cars are the last two years before the engine management system has to be ODB 2 compliant. The engine starts easily and sounds good, very little blow by and oil looks good. You always are taking a chance when you buy with out seeing and inspecting in person but I  am pleased with this donor purchase and my winning bid was the max I had set for donor purchase. I wanted to buy the car this way for the experience of using this on line auction. As these salvage cars from Copart are often available for less than $1000.00 they may be a good donor source for our  builders, and at this price for a donor with serviceable engine and drivetrain we are on target to build the affordable performance car for around $15,000.00 target budget for a no frills build..

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