Exo Car 'Ghettocet' Build Guide Part 15: Drivetrain and Suspension

Remember that two-week window I had to complete the Miata ghettocet before the holidays? Well, those weeks came and went with very little progress. Why, you ask? Because I had to rebuild the engine. Which meant waiting on parts. But after a short delay, I am back on track, and the drivetrain and suspension are now in place. Progress is again moving along quickly.

Engine Woes

When this chassis came to me, the engine would start and run enough to pull the car on and off a trailer. And for $500, that was great. But before installing the engine back into the modified chassis, I ran a quick leak-down test. The results indicated a very severe head gasket leak.

I did a rapid, rough, dirty garage rebuild to repair the engine. It will not set record numbers but it will be good enough to run the engine with consistent compression across all four cylinders. The engine rebuild included cleaning and honing the block and installing new piston rings and bearings. The head was also cleaned before installing a new head gasket to seal things up. No machine shop is necessary.

The 1.6l NA Miata engine block after cleaning and honing. — After a quick cleaning and cylinder hone, the NA Miata block is ready for reassembly. This was done with a few ‘old school’ garage methods that these simple engines respond well to. No machine shop is necessary.

New head gasket installed on the 1.6l NA Miata engine. — *This was a simple rebuild. I cleaned the piston tops of carbon buildup before installing the new rings. Here is the new head gasket awaiting the cylinder head.*

The cylinder head of the 1.6 l Miata engine before installation onto the block. — The cylinder head was given a very quick and superficial surface treatment to ensure proper mating to the block and head gasket. Even though there is a lot of carbon buildup on the valves, they all seal correctly, so I decided to leave them in place without too much cleaning. (I also want to test an unusual cleaning method soon, so leaving the valves dirty will allow me to try it on this engine soon.)

The engine and engine hoist staged to install the 1.6 l miata engine in the ghettocet. — *I am working with what I have, and did I mention I am officially building a shop?*

The rebuilt engine installed in the Miata ghettocet. — *The reassembled engine fit nicely in the ‘ghettocet’ chassis. You can hardly tell it used to be a Miata.*

Hockey puck motor mount teaser for the NA Miata. — *Staying true to the budget, I even resurrected the hockey puck motor mounts. (DIY article here (link in 2 days))*

Suspension and Brakes

This chassis sat for a very long time, so I disassembled, cleaned, and inspected everything in the suspension. This resulted in the replacement of all ball joints, the front tie rods, and wheel bearings. (Time to convert the steering rack to manual as well.)

The front suspension refreshed on the na miata ghettocet. — *New wheel bearings, ball joints, and tie rods installed in the front.*

Rear suspension reassembled on the na miata. — *The rear suspension installed with new wheel bearings*.

Next Steps

I am getting very close. Next, I will be wiring the car and writing the way overdue part 2 of wiring the NA Miata. Once that is complete, a few miscellaneous items need to be addressed, like seats and belts. And then it’s time to fire the ‘ghettocet’ Miata up and terrorize a track or two before the race season starts.