Fiat + Miata = Fiata

[paook]

Call us crazy, but my wife and I are wondering if it's possible to play Dr. Frankenstein. Fiat Spider body + Miata frame & drivetrain... the FIATA. Wheelbase of the two is close (around .5" difference from some web sources). What are some good reasons this wouldn't work?

[So Cal Mark]

I've been considering the same transformation. I recently put my daughter into a Miata and I'm impressed with the car. I think swapping in the independent rear suspension is very do-able

[bonezrx8]

well if you need any pics of any thing or mesurements let me know ,I have both in my yard. I think it would be a good swap.If your ganna use the rear end out of a miatamake sure its a 94+ there stronger and the whole rear subframe is only held in with 4 bolts ....i have a spare sitting nex to my car


Bone

[kmead]

The wheelbase is around .56" longer, but the bigger issue is the track width. Track width is the distance from wheel centerline to wheel centerline across the width of the car.

The Miata's track width at the front is 55.5"
The Miata's track width at the rear is 56.2"

Where those same dimensions on a Spider are:
The 124 Spider track width at the front is 53"
The 124 Spider track width at the rear is 51.81"

Some of these dimensions vary a bit from source to source but that is a significant difference.

The overal width of a Miata is: 65.9
The overall width of a Spider is: 63.5

The Miata uses a rim that is similar in offset to a front wheel drive car which means the hub is fairly close to the outside of the car.

I suspect it wouldn't be too horrendous to install the rear subframe into the car, it is the front subframe that would likely pose the more serious surgery opportunity as both the upper and lower arms attach to the subframe with the springs and shocks attaching much higher in the body than they do on the 124. This can be seen in this Miata brochure shot:
http://www.miata.net/faq/brochures/1997/Inside_4.jpg

There are some great dimensioned drawings at this website of the front and rear subframe and suspension arms of the Miata here:
http://enderw88.wordpress.com/drawings/

I think all of this could be resolved with a fair amount of effort as there is a fair bit of room in the rear, creating a new pair of A arms for the front to work with a Miata upright to get the newer brakes, rack and pinion, 4x100 PCD and so on.

I would love to see this done as I think it would meld the two best convertibles ever built and would create a car with the room one wants and the performance we all crave. Having a large choice of wheels would be very nice as well. Personally I would keep the Fiat engine, the transmission would be nice to get from the Miata. As I continue my research I will post up some more.

Good luck.

Karl

[baltobernie]

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work! Particularly gruesome as unibody cars aren't easy to separate.

What about making fiberglass moulds of the four Fiat fenders, trunk and hood and working them to fit the Miata dimensions and mounting points, Leave the doors alone. Or maybe just a "body kit" for the front and rear fascia?

[mdrburchette]

Why don't you just buy a Miata and drive it.

[So Cal Mark]

are you expecting a logical answer to that question?

[mdrburchette]

Probably not.

[So Cal Mark]

good, that would just screw up the whole approach. Why keep something original when you can modify it?

[katsi]

Dude, you guys are F-ing crazy! But, I would love to see that happen. The Miata's are really great and reliable cars. They look good too and are a blast to drive but, lets face it - chick car!!! So, I really hope you guys can figure it out because that would be one nice Fiata!!

[YourNameHere]

I have as a point of curiosity been casually looking for an IRS that might be put into the spider. Not that i would probably ever actually do it. For those who ask why would you want to do that, Look up the cost of an Abarth. For those who say why not drive a Miata, well i would do that too. I like them a lot; but i would eventually want to put a V8 in it (you can get a kit to drop in a Chevy smallblock). Then someone might ask why do that... it keeps on going.

I really want to find a RELATIVELY simple IRS solution for it. Then i want to talk someone else much more qualified into doing it to iron out the kinks. Then after i have an easy to follow tutorial I'd like to do it myself. I mean even the Beetle had IRS after 68. See, i'm not asking for much.

[Sparky]

Reviving threads from the dead... My '78 resto-mod project is going to need some engine work and either a trans rebuild or replacement... The steering linkage also has a ton of slop, and so-on...
I'm planning the fuel inject the motor and given the weight of the Spider, I'd like to get to ~140+ hp, so I'm looking at potential engine/trans swaps. The Miata 1.8L/6spd combo can be picked up with low miles for cheap, far less than rebuilding the Fiat engine/trans, esp with the performance mods necessary to approach my goals.. I could probably pick up a decent used Miata for a lot less than what I'm budgeting for the engine/trans work and rob it for seats, seatbelts, steering rack, ...
Swapping the whole front sub-frame looks like a decent option at a glance, but I don't think the sheet-metal where the stock shocks mount is really built (or easily reinforced) to take the load of springs.
The obvious problem with the Miata 1.8L is that the oil pan is designed to sit behind the cross-member instead of in front. Alternatively, could chop and mod the oil pan and make a new pickup tube, but that's just pushing the steering down the road... This could open up the chance to swap in a front-steer rack & pinion, but then that requires some new spindle assemblies... Seems like a slippery slope leading down the same path as v6spider

[PhillySpider]

Perhaps just a hood and trunk emblem swap

[GeorgeT]

Call us crazy, but my wife and I are wondering if it's possible to play Dr. Frankenstein. Fiat Spider body + Miata frame & drivetrain... the FIATA. Wheelbase of the two is close (around .5" difference from some web sources). What are some good reasons this wouldn't work?

Go to your local Fiat dealer; they have done it for you. The new Spider is built along side the MX5 using the same mechanicals.

[vandor]

I'm planning the fuel inject the motor and given the weight of the Spider, I'd like to get to ~140+ hp, so I'm looking at potential engine/trans swaps.

Why? You can easily get 140 HP from the 2 liter Spider engine.