Lisa,

After re-reading your pevious post, here's the easiest way to go.

Get yourself a used or rebuilt 1.6 motor. It may have slightly less displacement, but you can get turbo kits for this motor all day long. Check out Miataturbo.net . You can get a used, but in good condition and UPGRADED Greddy kit for less than $1k. The 1.6 motor is a little more free-revving, and people have been squeezing out over 200whp on those motors no problem. The only weakness in that car is the differential. The 1.6 or 1.8 transmission is fine, though the 1.6 tranny is geared a little more "sportier" than the 1.8.

Unfortunatly the 1.6 diffs are a little weak. Best option is to source out a used 1.8 Torsen differential. You'll need the driveshaft, axles, and the differential hub/carrier. Best bang for the buck, and it'll cost you around $600-700. It's completely bolt-in, no major modifications are needed at all. Much cheaper than a 6-speed transmission, which you'd need to mate with the 6-speed differential due to a difference gear ration in the diff to take advantage of the final drive on the 6-speed.

When you finally decide to go on to turbo your car, look at the megasquirt plug and play ECU. It'll cost around $800, but is completely flexible, and you can program it with your laptop computer. www.diyautotune.com

If you need any help, I'm located in Sarasota. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.


-meaty