I agree. As much as I love my Bugeye, the MGA is a very close second. I think that my next fun car will be an MGA.


I saw that BMW powered Bugeye today too. It wasn't too bad at all.....there were a few things I would have done differently, but overall it was a very nicely done car.

How did I miss the BMW Bug Eye???? arrgghhh. Pics, please.

I, too, drooled over the MGAs. The wife had to drag me away. But, here lately I've had a thing for Minis. Don't look....must not pull out checkbook....


I've also been lusting after a BMW 2002 lately, too, but that's another car show.

B

These aren't the greatest pics, but you can see the engine. You may have seen the car, but he did close the bonnet a few times, so you may not have seen the engine when you looked at it.

That is sweet.

on the road yet?

I'd like to say yes,,,, but no.

Getting closer all the time but lots of little snags slowly being overcome. Like, the header build from he,,,, All else is pretty much worked out and should be running by the end of the week.

Expect more pictures later this week.

Jay

Good deal! I can't wait to see it/drive it! BTW.....I still have your Uni-syn (sorry I haven't gotten it back to you). I also got a job here in Denver so the move to Vegas is officially off.......for now.


I still hope to do this swap this winter, so hopefully all the bugs are worked out with yours so the install will go a bit faster. I just don't have the patience for a 6-9 month build.

Mike,

Your install will go incredibly quick. Duplicating my motor mounts, header and rear trans mount and all the geometry should make it a one week job. A 16v 4age would be quicker so the rear heater shelf didn't have to be removed because the 20v motor has the distributor at the back of the head.

And start buying spare axles!

Glad to hear you're staying in Denver guy.

I am leaving for the desert next friday but should be back in a few weeks, just a quick job though, in and out.

??

My header,,,,,

Thanks, that's the fix i needed... should hold me over for a while:)

Well I am supposed to pick the car up on tuesday. But,, I am not holding my breath. That header was custom built and I had the fab guy build a jig to duplicate it. Want one?

not just yet, thanks. I've enjoyed following this thread.

Alright Jay, It's been two more weeks......what's the scoop!?!?!? We're all anxious to see this thing on the road.....I know I want a ride in it so I can decide if my Bugeye will go under the knife this winter!

That #4 tube looks awfully close to the bodywork. I ended up running #4 over the top of the other tubes toward the front, where it meets with #1.

Can you give an idea of where the engine is located in the compartment? Is it centered side to side? Where does the front pulley end up? Is it at the factory tilt or did they mount it vertically? People will want to get this information straight before they buy a header, but it looks great! Would it be rude to ask how much it cost, or how much it would cost for him to duplicate?

I'm still interested in how you run the water lines. I've made some major updates to mine: http://picasaweb.google.com/Brust.Roethler

Probably start on the 2nd rear independent this weekend. I have a solid design, but want to get it into steel to make sure it will fit properly.

Good luck, and I hope it comes together soon!

Brust

Wow, how did i le this post sink to seven pages back?!!!

Brust, yeah the #4 runs over the top to join #1 and that collector is abeam or parallel with the other two pipe collector and those are now joined about seven inches below that. Header is all welded up now and looks great but I don't have any new pictures of it to show.

The motor is centered and sits straight up and down. As far as header cost i am going to say right at five hundred. My water lines run in a pair of hard lines going forward against the block under the header and above the oil cooler. When I tear the motor down to freshen it and install the cams I will carve out the window in back and make the plates to run a 16v waterpump so both water inlets and outlets are at the front but didn't feel like tackling that yet.

My RX7 rear end is getting narrowed as this week, or after X-mas so I won't have to pay for the drive shaft to be modified twice. more money right....

Have to say i hate the spindles in the front suspension of this car but can not afford to do such an extreme front end as your car at the moment. Pretty darn cool though dude and I love looking at pictures of your set-up and trying to figure out how i could make a set of bike shocks work in my car.

So yeah, it is Dec 24th and the car still has not been finished yet,,, when will it end?

Jay,
Did you have any issues finding a shop to narrow the rx7 rear? You are using a gsl-se rear?

Branson,

the shop has said it'll be no trouble with the housing, the driveshaft shop is doing that but the axles have to be sent some place else to have the splines cut. And this is obviously something i can't do myself. I really wanted to hold off on doing this but it has taken so long to get the car done i figured what the heck lets just do it all so i can get the car fully sorted before i pull it down to the "tub" to do the paint and fix a few small rust issues. The rear end is from an early 80s RX7 with a LSD and I think it might be an aftermarket LSD but it came out of an autocross car years ago after the rear brakes failed and the owner just swapped entire rear ends in his RX7 autocross car and then never used this one again. Once it is all the way down I am going to remove all the little unused brackets and hangars/ tuck-hide the wiring so it is ultra clean in the engine bay the way BrianV8s car is.

god this car better be fun when it is done!

the problem I have had is that it seems that if it isnt an 8.8 or 9" ford rear end, most of the street rod shops wont touch it. I was just curious if you ended up having to use a machine shop or a race prep type of place to do the work.

Moser Engineering can get you a set of axles in any length with the correct spline and the spridget bolt pattern.

http://www.moserengineering.com/

now if I can just find a shop to clean off all the brackets and narrow the housing

Jay-
I'll second the Moser recommendation. I cut and narrowed the RX7 housing on my project (see here: http://the-mite.com/mite22.htm ) and had Moser shorten and respline the axles. they did a great job in less than a week.
Just remember that if you want the pinion and driveshaft yoke in the CENTER of the axle, you'll have to shorten each side of the housing and each axle to different lengths. I did not do this and my driveshaft leaves the tunnel at an angle. Good luck!