This is my first big, hairy engine swap, which means I spend a lot of time plotting, scheming, and buying parts for test fits. Then I scrap the whole bushel and try something else. No matter how much research and measuring I do, there's nothing like having the parts in hand and bolting bits together. It's infuriating and time consuming, but there's no other way to go about it.
READ MORE: Project Ugly Horse Part XI
When I got started, I had planned to use a custom cast-aluminum bell housing to mate the modern EcoBoost 2.0-liter four-cylinder to a T5 transmission from a 1987 Thunderbird. I had the transmission rebuilt when I did the five-speed swap on the car originally. It weighs just 75 lbs and can stand up to at least 300 hp. It seemed like a perfect fit.
Except the transmission left more questions than answers. With my old plan, the mesh between old car and new engine happened in the bell housing between the gearbox and the engine. It meant working out a lightweight flywheel and suitable clutch as well as a mechanism to operate said clutch. It was complicated.
If I could make the transition between old and new happen a few feet back, at the driveshaft, my life would get considerably easier. The solution? Bolt the six-speed manual from an NC Miata to the back of the EcoBoost. The engine in the Miata shares a block with the EcoBoost, which means everything bolts up nice and shiny, including the flywheel and the clutch. And since people have been throwing big power at Miatas since 1990, there's a suitably large aftermarket for driveline improvements.
A call to the good fiends at Flyin' Miata, and I have a six-speed on the way.
I'm putting a Miata transmission in my Mustang and no one can stop me.
PHOTOS: Project Ugly Horse Part XI
