I realized that KMiata making adaptors to put BMW trannies behind Miata motors in Miatas means it's stupidly easy to put a Miata motor in an E36, and then you have a lot more room to work around it to build turbo manifolds and stuff. The sump is in the right place for the BMW crossmember, so the only mechanical adaptation required would be two motor mounts, which the BMW makes really easy. (Plumbing and wiring don't really count). No custom oil pans, oil pump swaps, crossmember mods, etc. Plenty of room for V-mount heat exchangers in that long nose. Easy 300+ whp with massive weight loss, or go a little bigger and get 400. It's not what you can do with a K series, but it takes the whole concept out of the realm of PITA science project and puts it in the realm of KISS.
Solves the biggest problems of a turbo Miata, which are:
1. It's too small inside for big, northern Europeans (USP 45 FS-sized) like me
2. The chassis can't really make good use of all that power
a. You can't put enough rubber on it
b. You can't put enough brake on it
c. The rear suspension can't put the power to the ground
d. The steering doesn't come close to E36 steering
"Would that really be better than a turbo Miata?"
Yes, yes it would.
Guess I should add no-sunroof E36 328/M3 coupe searching back into my internet time wasting.