Mike, can ever just leave a car alone?? I amazed at what you think of next.
Well, i want a full track car. I can either use one I've got (the MSM) or I can try to recoupe a little bit of money from it and buy something else to use. If I turn the MSM into a full track car, I'd build it to be competitive in the NASA TTB class, which in part means I'd need to have the engine up to about 260whp. At that power level, I'd need to have the engine built in order to make sure it stays reliable on track. Since I'm not inclined to go budget build on something so important, I'd hand the engine off to FM for a full build, which would run me around $8.5k for the engine, plus shipping and other costs associated with removing and installing the engine. (there is a lot more unrelated to the engine on my list) I'd still have an engine that at best I would only marginally tolerate. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy how fast my MSM is, but I have never liked the BP engine. Everything I dislike about the MSM is centered in that raspy thrashy rough engine. Getting it built would probably change the characteristics a bit, probably smoother (better balancing), probably lots of tone changes from different breathing, but it would still be the same basic engine, and I don't think I could ever love it.
Now, if instead of spending almost $10k on a built engine I pull the engine, and everything related to the engine (both ECUs, wiring harness, engine accessories, turbo setup, exhaust) I'd be able to sell it all for somewhere around $8k-9k (conservatively). I would then have about $18k on hand to cover an engine swap. And that can get me a whole lot of engine swap. A 13b can mate to a Miata transmission (might not be the MSMs) with some bellhousing swapping and milling of the transmission input shaft. The motor mounts are similarly located and could be modified for the 13b. The ECU would be an AEM, and wiring up the ECU would be a custom job that doesn't worry me. From there it is just solving the various other oil and coolant cooling items, having the exhaust fabbed up, and getting it tuned. Doable for less than $12k ($6k ish for the built 13b), even if I hand over the whole car to a shop to do the work for me, which I wouldn't need to do.
It would actually save me money to get rid of the one part of the MSM I don't like. For more power, more reliably, less weight, more enjoyable engine, more uniqueness, cheaper rebuilds if needed.
It's a bit of a pipe dream at first glance. Too crazy at second glance. But digging deeper it's actually very very reasonable. Not much reason not to actually