Introduction
Welcome to your new Exocet.
The Exomotive Exocet Build Guide covers a wide variety of topics you will find helpful during your Exocet assembly. Be sure to review the Donor Vehicle Information page for helpful resources about your Mazda Miata Exocet donor vehicle.
The US-built Exomotive Exocet is a different beast than the UK Exocet, but the UK Exocet build threads on the MEV Owner’s Forum will still be helpful to review other builds and explore alternative assembly methods. We also recommend interacting with other builders by posting your build on the forum. It is a great place to ask questions, bounce ideas off other Exocet builders, and obtain new perspectives on build tasks.
Due to the variations of Miata donor health and potential previous owner modifications, this guide may not cover every challenge you may encounter during the Miata teardown and build process. Creativity, a resilient nature, and a sense of adventure is recommended. Please feel free to contact us with questions using the Contact links for any questions that come up during the build. If you would like to submit additional assembly methods or parts you found useful during your build, please let us know. We’re always looking to expand this resource for builders to make the assembly process as easy as possible.
Disclaimers
Please don't skim over this section.
Let’s face it, the end goal of this project is to turn a reasonable, perfectly innocent Miata into something that might be slightly safer than a motorcycle. To take on a project like this, you need to be a certain kind of crazy. We at Exomotive live for this sort of crazy, but there’s no reason to take unnecessary risks in any step of the process.
Let’s get this out of the way right now: if you’re adding forced induction or a V8 swap into the mix, get some driver training. Seriously, we’re past the marketing speech here: a turbo and/or V8 Exocet is seriously, terrifyingly fast. It is faster than most road course racecars. It is faster than your friend’s buddy’s neighbor’s back-halved 600hp Camaro. With just an FMII bolt-on turbo kit and no internal mods, our own XP-3 has the same power-to-weight as a Ferrari Enzo and most liter-bikes. To put that in perspective, that’s like driving a new Mustang GT with 800 hp.1500lbs is crazy-light, and a little power goes a long way. The Exocet is inherently very easy to drive, but the power-to-weight levels of even a turbocharged 1.8 makes driving one of these things a special experience. Some of you are planning 500+hp LSx builds. Please be careful, and understand what you’re getting into.
Your US-built Exocet’s frame and rollover structure were formed by a military contractor with the best diode fiber lasers, high-elongation DOM steel tubing, CNC bend machinery, operators, and tooling available in this country. We take safety very seriously at Exomotive, but even the most well-built safety equipment and rollcage isn’t going to amount for much against a cell-phone-wielding soccer mom in an Excursion. The average Exocet weighs 1000 lbs less than a new Miata. Drive carefully, and adopt a motorcyclist’s mindset (everyone is indeed out to kill you). For those that plan to drive on public roads, a driver awareness/control course, defensive driving, or even a motorcycle training class is a good idea. For the track rats, never skimp on safety gear. Arm restraints are generally not required for most events, but we run them anyways. HANS devices, firesuits, kill switches, fire suppression systems, etc, are all compatible with the Exocet and a very good idea. We want repeat customers!
As far as the build process itself, you’ll be working with dangerous tools, large masses, and possibly old, rusty, tetanus-filled Miata parts. Some believe a big car project requires a blood sacrifice. Others appreciate full use their fingers and toes. While teaching you basic shop safety and proper tool usage is outside the scope of this guide, we would like to caution you to be careful and seek out help when required, especially during the separation of the Miata body and mechanicals. The Miata tub weighs 900-1000 lbs, but it can be handled safely with appropriate respect.
Always use the right tool for the job. Miatas are very easy and thankfully don’t require many expensive specialty tools. That said, be mindful of the forces you are imparting at any given moment, and anticipate where your knuckles might end up when you actually do crack that driveshaft nut. Impact tools and penetrant oil make disassembly a piece of cake, but use hearing and eye protection, especially if you haven’t yet converted to cordless impact tools (which are worth every penny).
Eye protection is REQUIRED whenever you’re dealing with fluids, power tools, rivets, springs, other forms of stored energy, or whenever you’re under your work. Eye protection is highly recommended for the entire build process. It just takes one flake of metal in your eye to ruin your day. Spend the $15 on a nice set of fog-free Z87+ (better than Z87.1) glasses and you’ll wonder why you ever put up with the discomfort of $2 checkout-aisle safety glasses. Prescription lenses are generally NOT impact rated. Solid mechanic’s gloves are good for disassembly, and thick nitriles are good when dealing with fluids and nasty goo (bushing lube, anti-seize, etc).
Important Resources
Communities, Publications, and Parts Providers
Online Communities
http://www.miata.net/garage/
http://clubroadster.net
http://www.reddit.com/r/miata
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/
Local groups, Google your city or region = “miata” or “MX5”
Publications
Since the Exocet’s mechanical bits are straight Miata, just about every mechanical procedure you’d ever want to know about has been covered a dozen times. Here are some good written materials:
Mazda Factory Service Manual for your donor’s year
Miata Performance Projects – By Flyin’ Miata’s Keith Tanner
Parts Suppliers
Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development
http://www.mazdaspeeddevelopment.com/membershipinfo.htm
If you plan to race your Exocet (autocross included), Mazda has some seriously healthy discounts available. Cars built with Mazda parts (read: Exocets) are eligible too; you just need to run Mazda stickers. See “Contingency” for details.
Flyin’ Miata http://www.flyinmiata.com/
949 Racing http://949racing.com/
Good-Win Racing http://www.good-win-racing.com/
Racing Beat http://www.racingbeat.com/
Planet Miata http://www.planet-miata.com/
General Automotive Suppliers
RockAuto http://www.rockauto.com/ (Google for their latest 5%-off coupon code)
Summit Racing http://www.summitracing.com/
Pegasus Racing https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/
