Sorry if this has been asked before but
can I fit a MX5 engine and box in a old Haynes designed escort based chassis, mine has a crossflow at the moment.
Just need to know if it will fit in the engine bay and trans tunnel, I will get a prop made to retain the escort axle.
plus is the sump an issue.
Thanks in advance
Mike
My book build chassis had a 1300xflow in it and I tried putting in a MX5 motor and no luck. The MX5 is shorter the most but it would just not go. My locost had a steep slope between the scuttle and the nose cone. Finally put in a 1600 xflow and it was still a tight squeeze. Xflows are about the shortest motor out there. Check your bonnet to valve cover clearance and the drain pan to ground that you have now and and compare that to the MX5.
I have a Locost (Stuart-Taylor chassis) with a Mazda MX5 1600cc engine and 5 speed gearbox.
It's mated to an Escort back axle.
I did modify the engine sump and I also had to cut lumps of Aluminium off the Gearbox; only where it attaches to the MX5 X-frame chassis but it
wouldn't go down the tunnel without that modification.
There are some pictures in my photo-archive and I'm happy to answer any questions or make the car available if you want to come and have a
look.
[img]
MX5 engine in situ & ready
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[Edited on 6/4/17 by JAG]
thanks guys
I will have to do some measuring, luckily I own a 1992 eunos and love it, I wont use it as donor but its great fun to drive and revs so freely, should
be good in a light car. ill buy a cheep rust box instead.
Hi Jag
seen some of your pics
do you have any of the sump mods, ive seen Honda s2000 bell housing cat to clear the tunnel, is that somelight what you had to do?
Mike
This is the MX-5/Eunos 5 speed gearbox.
The bit I had to trim is where the two large bolts pass, vertically, through the gearbox casting. You can see it in this picture - right where the
Green label/tag or whatever it is.
...and this is the MX-5/Eunos Sump casting. I cut off the bottom of the lowest section. Then fabricated a new base which actually extended all the way
to the front of the engine - thereby replacing the oil capacity I lost by reducing the height/depth. If you know what I mean 
Once I'd fabricated the new section I had a guy at work TIG weld it all together for me. I also had to re-create the drain plug feature as that
was chopped off with the bottom of the sump.
Kinda like this but my plate goes all the way to the front, also down the sides and creates a bit more oil capacity....
I also had to shorten the oil pickup but that was relatively easy 
[Edited on 6/4/17 by JAG]
Thanks Justin
Your sump sounds like the one I did on my cross flow, I did have to remove it and change the baffling as I lost oil pressure under heavy breaking.
Mike
I have had no problems at all with oil pressure 
BUT the baffles are not removed when you trim the bottom off the Mazda sump. Also by extending the sump forward of the existing casting, as I did, you
also get an extra baffle for free
[Edited on 15/8/17 by JAG]
quote:
Texill buy a cheep rust box instead.t