Ryan Hamilton, the proprietor of this Miata and the man in charge of designing every component of the car from the ground up, was already well-versed in combining domestic power with a foreign chassis. He’d previously built a V8-powered B5 A4 Audi, which he eventually gave to a friend in order to get his hands on this roadster. “The car began as a turbo 1.8, but boredom crept in, so I pulled it and replaced it with a naturally aspirated LS,” Ryan says. Tossing GM’s most infamous of hearts into almost every sort of chassis you can think of is nothing new, but examine the engine’s torque output to the rear wheels for a moment.
Ryan, like most others, grew accustomed to his newfound strength and began looking for more. “After a friend advised me to quit being a jerk, I turbo it with a single BW300 and drove it for a season with a CD009 6-speed and fender outlet exhaust.” The tiny MX-5 rapidly became a handful and are more than plenty for most people to manage, but Ryan wasn’t sold on it.
Ignore sleepers or going under the radar; this is a tutorial in overkill, and if a hood won’t really fit over this LM7-powered beast, the dual Borg-Warner S300s should possibly give rivals an indication as to what they’re up with. Including the snails that have taken the place of the flip-up lights owing to Ryan’s handmade turbo manifolds, you’ll also notice dual TiAL wastegates and throw valves, twin waste and effluent up-pipes, and a massive Holley high-ram air handling unit.
Ryan changed the Nissan transmission for a Turbo 400 with a TCI torque converter to manage the fury produced by the new engine combination, in addition to embracing the second turbo and all of its complexity. Custom 15×10 Belak bead-locks attach Mickey Thompson ET Street meats behind the enlarged rear arch and appear as insane as you’d expect, raising the back of the vehicle and narrowly avoiding impact with the larger wheel apertures.
Ryan just taking a break and resting is responsible for the gentle light that surrounds each of the turbo inlets. “Those renowaned halos formed as I was sitting on the couch staring at circular LEDs.” The factory carpet and a few small factory pieces are still present, but the remainder of the interior has been changed to an all-business theme.
Useful links
Visit eBay to buy remanufactured turbochargers.
Buy best remanufactured turbochargers on precisionturbos.co.uk.
Remanufactured Turbo Specialists NOT Reconditioned Turbos (precisionturbos.co.uk)
Volkswagen Passat TDI 170 – 168 HP 2.0 D BMR/CBBB 752047 03G253010AV GTB TURBO
Volkswagen Passat TDI 170hp 2.0 D Turbocharger BMR/CBBB 752047 03G253010AV GTB
