Swapping engines

[cooler]

hello.
I'm hoping that someone could measure the distance from the flywheel friction surface to the engine/bellhousing flange.
Thanks

[Gilles]

I would explore the possibility of the trailer dolly, but getting the Boxter rear axle on the dolly..
This way you will not damage the transmission and also (very important) you will have the heavier axle on the dolly.

PS: Of course, you will have to tell U-haul that you will be towing a VW Golf..

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by piper6909

I didn't realize you were driving that far. The mileage will rack the rental price up quite a bit. Even more with a towing company. If you're not dealing with many hills, you should be fine with the Rodeo.

Another thought is to get an estimate from Uship. Can the car drive onto a trailer? Often times, if they can combine trips you can get a bit of a break.

UPDATE: I hired a local gyppo truckdriver to haul the car down on his tilting flatbed rig. Problem solved!

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

UPDATE: I hired a local gyppo truckdriver to haul the car down on his tilting flatbed rig. Problem solved!

Good call!

[Newsguy]

Just to clarify, the Boxster owner’s manual clearly states damage may occur if any method apart from flat bed towing is used.

[tcoradeschi]

Originally Posted by Newsguy

Just to clarify, the Boxster owner’s manual clearly states damage may occur if any method apart from flat bed towing is used.

Correct. Actually, what it says is that all 4 wheels should be off the ground. It does not mention the transmission.

That all said, the OP has moved her vehicle, so all good.

[Qingdao]

Originally Posted by Newsguy

Just to clarify, the Boxster owner’s manual clearly states damage may occur if any method apart from flat bed towing is used.

Opps... too late. I haven't had any problems. 4 on the floor like this boxster or my daily boxster got towed with a dolly from where I bought it to my house.

[maxbottomtime]

My car is black, and honestly I like the fried eggs. I think a lot of people have gone out of their way to de-amber, swap to clear, and the fried eggs will come back into vogue.

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by maxbottomtime

My car is black, and honestly I like the fried eggs. I think a lot of people have gone out of their way to de-amber, swap to clear, and the fried eggs will come back into vogue.

Mine came with aftermarket clear lenses installed AND the originals, so when the sentiment is back to the classic original look, I'll be ready.

[piper6909]

Looks like a 90's Miata with Boxster seats and wheels. Look at the cut-outs in the hood for pop-up headlights. Or maybe a Boxster rolling chassis with Miata body parts. Also, I don't see any sign of an engine between the seats.

Look at this 1990 Miata:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-mazda-mx-5-miata-264/

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by piper6909

Looks like a 90's Miata with Boxster seats and wheels. Look at the cut-outs in the hood for pop-up headlights. Or maybe a Boxster rolling chassis with Miata body parts. Also, I don't see any sign of an engine between the seats.

Look at this 1990 Miata:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-mazda-mx-5-miata-264/

Hi, Al. Those are definitely Boxster Turbo Twist wheels. Which, by the way, are my favorites. If I bought a 986 that had fancy wheels, I'd replace them with Turbo Twists. Hard to improve upon perfection.

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

Hi, Al. Those are definitely Boxster Turbo Twist wheels. Which, by the way, are my favorites. If I bought a 986 that had fancy wheels, I'd replace them with Turbo Twists. Hard to improve upon perfection.

I like them too, and I wish I had them because they seem so much easier to clean than mine. Especially that damn brake dust.

That's definitely not a Boxster body, though.

And BTW that front frame is not from a Boxster, either.

[Qingdao]

Originally Posted by piper6909

Looks like a 90's Miata with Boxster seats and wheels. Look at the cut-outs in the hood for pop-up headlights. Or maybe a Boxster rolling chassis with Miata body parts. Also, I don't see any sign of an engine between the seats.

Look at this 1990 Miata:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-mazda-mx-5-miata-264/

My lord why would anyone pay money, let alone $40k, for a Miata?!?!?!?!?! LOL


The engine is right where its supposed to be.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DLvGua88hO4

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by Qingdao

My lord why would anyone pay money, let alone $40k, for a Miata?!?!?!?!?! LOL


The engine is right where its supposed to be.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DLvGua88hO4

Ah so it's an RX7, not a Miata, as I originally thought. Pretty slick (or sick) LOL. I assume the Boxster engine was grenaded, but what was wrong with the body that you had to transplant another ono it? What's that engine in there now? It seems to sit a lot lower than the Original Boxster engine.

EDIT: Nevermind. you answered the engine question below. But what was wrong with the body?

[Qingdao]

Originally Posted by piper6909

Ah so it's an RX7, not a Miata, as I originally thought. Pretty slick (or sick) LOL. I assume the Boxster engine was grenaded, but what was wrong with the body that you had to transplant another ono it? What's that engine in there now? It seems to sit a lot lower than the Original Boxster engine.

EDIT: Nevermind. you answered the engine question below. But what was wrong with the body?

I don't know what happened to the flat six. I might have been a runner. Don't care I tossed the engine in the trash as soon as the car came to my house.

The skin came from a salvage guy in Florida. The skin looked like it got swiped in the right rear corner. I slapped it on my truck and took it home. Cheapest way to get an FD now a days.

[Qingdao]

Originally Posted by piper6909

Ah so it's an RX7, not a Miata, as I originally thought. Pretty slick (or sick) LOL. I assume the Boxster engine was grenaded, but what was wrong with the body that you had to transplant another ono it? What's that engine in there now? It seems to sit a lot lower than the Original Boxster engine.

EDIT: Nevermind. you answered the engine question below. But what was wrong with the body?

Oh, you mean the 986 body. Not much wrong with it. I cut the skin off of it and saved it for future repair to my DD. As it so happens the RF fender is on my DD now. I used the junky fender that was on the boxsterado on the RX986 (for the fuel door), and swapped the blue fender (resprayed) onto my DD.

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by Qingdao

Is that tree growing out of the frunk?

[maxbottomtime]

Originally Posted by Qingdao

Oh, you mean the 986 body. Not much wrong with it. I cut the skin off of it and saved it for future repair to my DD. As it so happens the RF fender is on my DD now. I used the junky fender that was on the boxsterado on the RX986 (for the fuel door), and swapped the blue fender (resprayed) onto my DD.
]

what the eff did i just read?

[piper6909]

That should work, but you don't need to do all that. The suspension and body are stiff enough that even if the lift points are off-center, the lean won't be all that much.

Here's a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDA-qI5HsIU

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by piper6909

That should work, but you don't need to do all that. The suspension and body are stiff enough that even if the lift points are off-center, the lean won't be all that much.

Here's a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDA-qI5HsIU

Thanks, Al. That was one of the first videos I watched when I first got the car. I like John Salt's videos.

I've had the car on jack stands four times now, using Salt's (and Tom Coradeschi's) method. Which works fine IF you don't need to elevate the car higher than 14" or so. As Salt observed, when raised at the recommended jacking points, front and rear, the car is higher on one side. There's no way around it.

My jack stands have a maximum height of almost 20", and I want every inch of that, to have enough room to drop the engine and transmission. A 14" jack stand height won't cut it. I can't conceive of any way I can achieve maximum height — on BOTH sides — without using something like my floor jack cross member to lift the car evenly and level, both sides at once. I've been thinking about this problem for a long time and I'm fairly certain my design will do the job.

So I'm going to proceed with fabrication (i.e., cutting the channel to length with a hacksaw) of the floor jack cross member, which I have dubbed "The Lift Master" (patent pending). Any bets on whether it will work?