Someone may already have suggested this, but the Triumphtune manual from
Moss Europe has a lot of good suggestions for building a reliable street
engine with from 85 - 135 horsepower. I think it's a little better than
the competition prep. manual because it focuses more on streetable power
rather than building a race car, plus they sell all the parts that they
talk about in the manual. I think that the worst thing about building
the Spit engine is that it is virtually impossible to keep it street
legal with all the emissions testing that is required, Don't get me
wrong I think it's more important to have breathable air than a fast
car, but the problem is that most of the performance parts made for the
Spit were designed before emissions testing was a consideration. Had
the Spit stayed in production 5 more years I think that there would have
been major changes in the engine design as well as in the availability
of after market parts. It's interesting to me that a lot of the import
tuning mags concentrate on engine swaps as the way to more power rather
than engine building except for drag cars. I think that as time goes on
that this will be reflected in Spit 6 conversions becoming more common
along with with other conversions. Some of you rich folks on the list
should really spend some money designing and marketing a kit to install
a more updated engine in the Spit. More and more Miata's are showing up
in the junkyards! As a side note does anybody know if the Dolomite was
ever imported into the U.S.?
Glenn Trunnell
'79 Spitfire (Still for sale)
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