ORM - Off Road Miata

[Questor]

As we age and go though life, we go through different phases, trying new things, and hopefully learning along the way...
From Adventure Bikes, to Tacomas, to full sized Expedition Vehicles, we learn the strengths and weaknesses of each and incorporate that into our sphere of knowledge... hopefully.

And then you start to dream and wonder, and plan, and rationalize...
I want the speed and visceral experience of a motorcycle, with the climate control of a tacoma, and a kitchen.

The next thing you know, you've gone and done something... weird.
May I present, the Off-Road Miata!


I love riding the twisty roads in the Appalachian mountains. Its one of the reasons I moved here.
The Nantahala National Forest, and others contain thousands of miles of narrow dirt roads, which are a delightful combination of scenic views and hidden waterfalls.

But I got tired of riding in the rainforest climate of the Western Carolinas. In the summer we get a big thunderstorm pretty much every evening. I got tired of riding in the rain, soaked from the humidity and wanted more storage space.
So a convertible sports car seemed to be the optimal solution, till I got to my first dirt roads...

So I hatched a plan to make a sports car more dirt road capable.
First, we need bigger tires and lift to fit them.
27"x8.5" on a stock 14" rim works and there are some good Mud Terrain tires available in that size. They're cheap too! About $120 / ea.
Then we needed a lift and new suspension. Through the internet, I discovered Paco Moto. They sell a suspension kit with moderate long travel, and coilovers so I could set the height.

Then we got to work.


With a lot of fender cutting, a bunch of new holes in the trunk, we were able to get things to fit with minimal rubbing.
Front fender.


Rear fender.


Then let's see if we can get a neutral stance out of the suspension.


We were able to get a good alignment and I spent the next two months testing and tuning the suspension. Sure we could have lifted it all the way for maximum clearance, but that would be hard on the rear axles. I wanted good handling on moderate dirt roads. I knew I would never be rock crawing with this.... or will I?

But for the majority of the dirt roads I'll be driving I think I've found a good compromise.

 

[Questor]

Once I was satisfied that this would be a good / fun / functional vehicle I got to work on the kitchen in the trunk.
More cutting. Ditch the spare tire. A bunch of pounding with a 8lb sledgehammer.
Now we have space to work with!
I made a template for the battery tray cover, fitted it, and then had a plate made in metal.


The plan is to fit a Goal Zero 400 in the right rear fender to power the fridge, wich in turn will be powered by the Miata's alternator.


Then just some additional tie down points and we can strap down a fridge in the spare tire area.


I still have some space for camping gear. To me this is like luxury motorcycle camping. I can even bring a small wood stove for evening campfires.

The Goal Zero should easily run this fridge for 12-14 hours between charging up.
I can also unfold 50 watts of solar panels.

So that's where we are in terms of the vehicle.
I hope to start doing overnight trips once the night time temperatures warm up.

Q~

 

[RealJon]

Sick, I wanted to do something similar to my Z4 but I have no fab ability.

 

[Questor]

Neither do I really!
It's amazing what you can do with basic Ryobi 18v tools...

I bought the car for a couple thousand dollars. I figured, how badly can I screw it up?

The University of YouTube is an amazing place to learn.
Then start asking questions...

I'd really like a class 11 VW bug, but those are not common on the East Coast.
I looked at them seriously when I lived in CA.

 

[Questor]

So what else have we done to the ORM?
Well, the interior was really beat up, with some water damage.

I replaced the soft top with a heavy duty vinyl one.
Then I could do something about the seats... like just get rid of them. They were falling apart and offered no support.
Out with the old ones.


In with the new leather ones from an 02. They bolt right in and just fit under roll bar.

Much better. Maybe someone will want to go for a ride some day...

Q~

 

[Questor]

Then I had to do something about the gaping hole in the dash where the radio used to be.
My solution was to use a sheet of 1/8" HDPE plastic to mount into the opening, and then add the GPS mount and auxiliary light switches.
It came out pretty good I think.

The Garmin unit can be removed just like on a motorcycle.
Q~

 

[casioqv]

Really cool build! I think a lightweight convertible sports car can make a very capable offroad vehicle- the low weight and low center of gravity are really helpful. I keep thinking about doing something similar to my Boxster.

 

[BritKLR]

Brilliant!

Well done....I have dirty thoughts about "rallyizing" my TR-6. Slight lift, fender flares, BFG A/T's in steelies and Lucas lights up front.

Maybe one day.

 

[Questor]

So I've had this vehicle built for about two months, and it turns out to be very adept at moderately difficult roads.
As others have stated the light weight, wide stance, long suspension travel and Torsend rear axle gives this vehicle the ability to get traction and climb some pretty impressive roads. No, it's not a fully locked 4x4, but for 80% of the roads I want to drive, it handles very nicely.

UPDATE: This week I'm taking off and will drive the SCAR (South Carolina Adventure Route). The ORM is all packed and the GPS is loaded with routes. I'll start in Brevard and drive clockwise. If I go slow, this should take 7 to 10 days. Let's see what we see!

Maybe I'll see you out there.


Q~

 

[Questor]

Update. The ORM and I have been driving the South Carolina Adventure Route for the past week. Some 1300 miles of dirt and twisty roads and we're having a blast. A few bridge closures, some deep ruts, but so far so good.

I'll post some pictures when I have decent wifi.

 

[Questor]

Here's an update. We completed the SCAR and it wasn't too bad. All the roads were doable in a Subaru. (That's my unit of measurement. )

We had some deep sand for miles..


Then some typical red Georgia clay. Fortunately this was not too deep or slippery.


But mostly, we were happy to see different scenery.

 

[Questor]

So after the SCAR I decided to try the Smokey Mountain 500 route.
It's a loop that goes through South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. I didn't think it would be too difficult.


While we did see some nice scenery,


Some of the roads we forced onto were NOT suitable for a Subaru.



But at times we were committed to the road we were on because even if we could turn around, there was no way we could climb what we just slid down.

 

[Questor]

So the occasional Class 2 Forest Service roads were scary, but then came the rain. One night we received over 4 inches of rain.
It is a tough, yet essential challenge to stay dry when one is camping. Ive been working on this setup for years.


But the runoff from the rain ended up cutting large trenches across the steep mountain dirt roads, such that my tires kept getting stuck in them. I didn't have a shovel or trenching tool. Now I do.

 

[Questor]

I also started to have electrical problems with the wiring I had done in the trunk to power the Goal Zero, meaning I couldn't power the fridge and almost of my food was going to spoil. So off to town I went.
[I'm starting to get quite a collection of pictures just like this...]


With a new 12v connector, some heavier guage wire, and some patience, we were back on the road with all systems working again, near Tellico Plains, TN, home of some really great paved roads, and they were entrierly empty due to it being midweek, and rainy.

Therefore!
We spent many hours testing the horrible traction resulting from wide mud tires combined with a light car with a nearly perfect 50/50 weight distribution, on wet smooth pavement.
Yes, the tires slide very easily, but they slide easily very consistently! Much fun ensued.
Soon, as the Universe intended, we were doing perfect power slides (at about 25 mph) through every wet corner; just like we do on the loose gravel roads.
Just goofing off for the day felt great!
No fears of flooded roads, closed bridges, or breaking the car.

 

[Questor]

I stopped to get gas, and when doing my standard walk around the vehicle (usually looking for new dents or missing pieces) I noticed this. Eeek!
It's about a 6" gash in the tire that goes right down to the casing. This is not safe, especially with a thin C rated tire.

Fortunately these tires are cheap and easily available. So I've ordered 2 new ones to put on the rear, giving me extra traction. The front tires have about 50% tread left on them after 5000 miles.
(Remember that drifting through the corners we were just talking about? ) 😀

A few more repairs and parts, and next week we should be driving the MABDR northwards to New England.

Thanks for checking in.