With the help of his mates, Aaron Lavers has turned a spicy little MX-5 roadster into a backyard-built, V8-powered machine. Here’s his story.

First published in the June 2025 issue of Street Machine

“Here’s my 1995 NA8 Mazda MX-5. I bought the thing already spicy, but my mates and I tore it down to create a 1UZ V8-swapped machine.

“It’s no monster, but it’s no slouch either – and there’s nothing better than eight cylinders and no roof! We did all the work ourselves.

“We’d already built and popped three different 1.8 four-pots that these things come with over the years, before deciding to dig a 1UZ out of the corner of a mate’s shed to drop in instead.

“The mill is backed by Nissan 300ZX five-speed manual with laser-cut bellhousing adapter – all home-brewed. It runs a Haltech Elite 750, tuned by Tristan at WTF Auto. With the custom headers and 3in exhaust the whole way through, she sounds pretty spicy!

“Being an MX-5, we also upgraded the handling, so it now runs MCA Suspension coil-overs, a modified rear cradle with the Power Plant frame deleted, and a Torsen LSD rear end with later-model NB turbo brakes.

“It’s sitting on some knock-off 15x8s with Achilles R-Comp rubber. My mates Adam and Aaron were pivotal in getting the car together – many late nights and many cases of Asahi went into it!”