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Hey guys, just had the car diagnosed with a fatal beyond repair crank issue. Completely gone, keyway is also messed up. I have no way near the mechanical skills nor the time to do a swap my self and as such will be paying for labour.

I have a few questions. Is it worth spending a little more for an na8 or nb8a engine? How many people have gone this route and been satisfied with the outcome? I am aware that there is also a little tinkering required to do 1.8 swap and will also be paying a little more for labour. A straight swap for a long nose b6 is the easiest and cheapest option but I guess as I stated before, I'm curious to know others opinions who've done the 1.8 swap. Pretty much, is it actually worth it?

Thanks guys, Doug

yes.
yes x 100000.

for NA8 engine I would say approximately 1% more effort lol.

4 wires need to be elongated by 20cm
2 holes need to be drilled and tapped into the inlet manifold to mount the spacer.

Thats it...
Flyin miata do the kit which also gives you a nice coil pack bracket and and blanking plates to cover various sensors your na6 will not use.

NB engine involves a little more, you need to source a couple of parts and "frankenstien" it together, maybe not so good if your not doing it yourself.

I have done both swaps and have an NB engined NA now, gotta say with a tuned exhaust/intake and a vics manifold wired it, its pretty fantastic

Hi Doug,

Automotive Plus (MX-5 Plus) also do a BP conversion kit which includes all the items mentioned by Emily.

If you send Jason (Service Manager) an e-mail (service@automotiveplus.com.au) he can quote up the kit for you. Further to this, they could also supply a BP engine with the conversion kit already installed so that all you need to do is fit it and adjust some wire lengths as Emily mentioned.

Here's some piccies of the throttle body adaptor bracket part of the conversion kit.








Cheers,
Danny

Thanks for the prompt replies guys. Am looking into the bp prospect and seeing if it meets with the budget.

Thanks again,

Doug

I think you will find its far cheaper to run a long nose. Bps seem to go for pretty high $ considering what they are.

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Hmmm. Despite what people are saying here, every shop I've spoken to has stressed the enormity of a 1.8 swap.
I really want to go down that path however it's looking as though my budget can no way near meet the amount required for an na8 swap let alone the bp.

b6 = 1.6L
bp = 1.8L

I would suggest going to a different shop, or finding someone who knows mx5's.
Because whoever you are speaking too clearly does not know what they are talking about.

Or could try to find a longnose 1.6 engine, they dont come up too often though :/

Agree with emily the (NA8 BP) swap isn't hard, if people say so then they don't know what's available to aid in the swap.
Just really comes down to can you afford the cost of the engine over a B6.

Using a later BP from a NB is certainly more work.

B6 engines can fairly easily be had for $200-400. BP seem to generally be more like $1k+, though someone may correct me on this. You also should factor in that a BP requires a different exhaust manifold. Personally I went down the route of just getting another B6 and spending the difference on other things, and I don't regret it.

Hmmm. Well I've just been quoted $1900 for a long nose 1.6 NOT including labour from a reputable shop. Another shop has quoted me $1250 for a long nose and $1000 for labour. I was under the impression of things being a lot easier on the wallet.

These engines both come with new water pumps and timing belts. But still why so expensive!!!?

I have a budget of $3000 max and that's pushing it. I thought I could easily go the bp route for that.

Doug Danger wrote:I have a budget of $3000 max and that's pushing it. I thought I could easily go the bp route for that.

You should be able to. I recently bought a really low km NB engine for under $1000, and that included a loom. If you paid retail from Formaz or whatever, it may be a little more but not much. There is no way a decent solid lifter BP engine should cost you more than $1250.

Labour - well a decent shop could do the swap in a day. It is not hard. Even with putting a new timing belt and water pump on the engine (which is stupid easy with the engine on a stand or on the floor) and buying something like the Mania or MX5Plus kit - I can't imagine labour being more than $2k!

Have you tried MX5 Centre?

Yeah that's what I was thinking initially. No I haven't. I'm located in Melbourne. May be worthwhile giving them a buzz anyway

Does anyone know a shop or person in Melbourne that is familiar with the bp swap into the na6?

I'm aware of the exuberant costs i've been quoted in regards to the 1.6 swap and really want to avoid going down that path.

The car is my daily driver and need the car back on the road asap.
Thanks again for the advice so far.