When Mazda developed the MX-5 Miata in the 1980s, the Japanese automaker didn’t imagine that its lightweight roadster with a four-banger engine would be subjected to V8 swaps. This particular model is arguably on the hardcore side of transplants because the original mill has been yanked out in favor of a truck engine from a half-ton Silverado.
Introduced in 1999, the Vortec 5300 used to belt out 285 horsepower and 320 pound-feet (434 Nm) in bone-stock flavor. That’s more than twice the horsepower rating of the MX-5 Miata for the 1990 model year, which used to feature a 1.6 with 115 horsepower and 100 pound-feet (136 Nm) on tap.
Owned by custom builder, welder, and fabricator Ryan Hamilton, the open-top sports car further sweetens the deal with a couple of BorgWarner S300 Series boosty snails. Incorporated where the pop-up headlights used to be, the turbochargers flank a mid-rise intake manifold from Holley. Sourced from a junkyard with 316,000 miles (508,553 kilometers) on it, the engine is pretty much stock as far as the internals are concerned except for the rods.
Equipped with extra-wide fender flares, super-sticky rubber, a parachute, and a motorsport-style instrument cluster, the force-fed project car rocks a Ford-sourced rear end and a built TH400 three-speed automatic outfitted with a transbrake mechanism. Capable of approximately 700 horsepower, I think we can all agree this muscled-up Miata isn’t for the faint of heart.
In true strip-slaying fashion, a B&M Magnum Grip ratchet-style gated shifter is connected to the Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. As for the finishing touch, that would be the Grip Royal three-spoke steering wheel, thank you! Right behind it, Ryan has fitted a RAM Tough-Claw phone mount with an X-Grip layout that should keep the phone in place under wide-open throttle.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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