Footwork

Got a lead on some Miata wheels and tires for cheap:

Going this route to start off with will give me an extra couple hundred bucks to use elsewhere in the build. I should pick these up tomorrow, which will allow me to approximate my chassis ground clearance and therefore set how far my oilpan hangs off of the ground, which will in turn dictate where to position the engine mounts to achieve the aforementioned clearance (mounting them closer together will raise the engine, while spreading them apart will lower it... since I haven't drilled any holes yet). Whew, this car buildin' stuff is complicated!

Mounting Workload

Yesterday I got a few hours in the garage, so I began work on the engine mounts, the next critical step on the Se7en. So much relies on the placement of the engine.

Engine and transmission unit were dropped in place so that I could take the necessary measurements to place the engine the proper distance from the firewall.

3" width by 1/8" thickness bar stock was cut into mounts. I measured the mount angle at 58 degrees from horizontal (32 degrees from vertical).

I then rigged up a wooden jig that allowed me to clamp the steel such that it could be welded.

Almost finished. I welded the front and back sides... if you can call these welds. The backside welds are very beefy, but I'm going to grind down portions of the fronts and re-weld them. They will also get a little gusset along the top to prevent flexing.