WTF Friday: Talk About A Challenge

Oct 11, 2013

People have swapped quite a few motors into the nimble little Mazda Miata chassis but I think Quebec native Yannick may be walking away with the top spot for ‘most unlikely combination’ with his current project.

Yannick is a man who likes to buy cars that are either damaged, undesirable, or missing key components, and his search for damaged goods landed him a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte that was auctioned off (slightly damaged) with 64, 000 miles on the clock.

Shortly after ownership Yannick discovered that parts and repair on a Quattroprte (aka Ferrari) are quite expensive so he decided the ‘best’ possible solution would be to find a reluctant host for the 395hp V8 and horribly complicated duo select manual/automatic transmission.

In his mind he saw only two options; a Honda Prelude or a Mazda Miata. He eventually ended up settling on a Miata that the previous owner had already tried to do a Nissan swap with.

massamiata_1 — The unsuspecting Maserati Quattroporte

massamiata_2 — The 4.2L V8 in it’s original home

massamiata_5 — Yannick’s 91 Miata with 193 000 KM on the odometer

Sound crazy to you? You’re not alone. There’s over 100lb worth of wiring and computers in the Quattroprte and the fancy –unreliable– F1 transmission can only be bled at the dealership via a computer.

Yannick is of course unfazed, and in short order managed to get the Maserati motor to sit in the Mitata engine compartment.

massamiata_4 — The Maserati motor shook from it’s moorings

massamiata_3 — Along with the finicky transmission

massamiata_6 — I was actually shocked when the motor fit in the Miata bay

massamiata_7 — Of course the Miata chassis doesn’t leave much room for anything else with the bigger motor installed

massamiata_8 — But the hood does indeed close

Shortly after roughly sorting out where the larger engine would fit it became quickly apparent that ‘metal must move’ so he got out his Sawzall and at his admission things escalated quite quickly.

massamiata_9 — Anything in the way was effectively removed

massamiata_11 — Some may argue that now it isn’t really a Miata but I will not make such silly arguments

massamiata_10 — The new frame has allowed for more clearance basically everywhere

Currently on a brief hiatus for work Yannick says he is going to pick right up when he returns and hopes to have this marriage of Italian bulk and Japanese finesse running as soon as possible.

For those sceptical I should probably mention that Yannick is the same fellow that built this: