Our car, the Petrosexual Trashback Miata / Mazda Metro just finished its 5th race at Gingerman a couple weeks ago. It was the first race that we've made it all the way through with no break downs, no incidents on the track, and no black flags and we ended up in 18th overall. We also got the first ever "Seriously, WTF" trophy for the bribe that got us into B class (still only finished 8th in B).

The car is a '94 miata that had been crashed (legit sub $500 car). We cut the top off of a geo metro and welded it to the roof, then cut up an old trash compactor for the sheet metal sides (hence the trashback name). Judge Eric called it the "Epitome of Miata Sadness".





So now that we seem to have the car dialed in and reliable, we naturally have this overpowering urge to do something stupid, which is where this "almost free" V8 swap comes in. It turns out, some V8's can be had for free in a running car, which is the case with this 1991 cadillac with a 4.9 "High Technology Engine" that I found on craigslist. Its a FWD V8 that most people seem to dyno around 170hp and under 250 lb-ft at the wheels stock and has basically zero aftermarket support. But, it seems like some teams have had decent reliability with them at Lemons races.

The owner had supposedly driven this for a while about 10 years ago, then parked it for a future project that never happened. In the time it sat there, it had been filled with all kinds of garbage and the rear window had broken out providing a family of cats a winter home (for several years judging from the amount of cat shit and hair). After airing up the tires, running some fresh gas through the lines, and shoveling the cat shit out of the front seat, it started and ran onto a trailer. Engine: Acquired

For the transmission, it turns out that a 1998 Dodge Dakota 2wd with the 2.5L 4 cylinder has a transmission and bellhousing that will mate up perfectly to the 4.9 GM Metric pattern. The local scrapyard charges $99 for a transmission with bellhousing.

The plan is also to swap the diff to an IRS Ford Thunderbird 8.8, which can be had for $59 at the scrap yard. It will require new cv axles, but its a common enough swap that aftermarket custom axles are actually as cheap as miata axles.

The running stock drivetrain from the miata can all be sold, and this swap can be done for FAR less than what we'll get out of those parts. Our team has tons of fabrication experience, so this can and will definitely happen. The question is, how many laps until something goes wrong? Any bets? Will the judges like it or give us penalty laps?