Going back a bit...
I bought her on a whim however many years back (5+). She popped up on Used.ca (like Craigslist) for $1700. Guy I bought her from had, apparently, bought her with the intention of converting her to electric, but never got around to it. She had sat for a few months or maybe even a year. He was smarter than me and had taken the battery out, so a charge was all it needed before being put back in and she fired right up.
I took her around the block. She rode like she was on rails, and sounded great. Heck, I don't think I got around the block before I offered him $1300, cash, within the hour. He only took a moment to decide. A quick run to the bank and back and she was mine.
Originally, she appears to have been a no-frills '91 with the 1.6l engine and only one option: power steering.
When I got her she had the following "upgrades" on her:
Stainless long-tube header.
"Racing" clutch.
15" aftermarket rims with winter tires (of all things).
Koni adjustable shocks.
Blaupunkt CD/MP3 stereo with matching speakers.
"Rat-trap" chrome roll-bar.
Coil-on-plug mod.
Aftermarket tail lights.
Matching removable hard top.
And the following downgrades:
Gutted cat.
Dented right rear corner.
Cracked rear bumper.
The doors were half black, which is debatable if it was an upgrade or a downgrade. The soft top was intact, though the rear window was rather hazy. The ding in the right rear and matching damaged bumper was apparently from the previous-previous wonder, some young "kid" who put it in a ditch. I assume he put the "go-fast" stuff on it, and he probably raced it. Or thought he did.
I still think she was a good deal, even with 280k+ kms on her. A bit of work and I could have flipped her for twice that. The hard top was the real deal-maker...they tend to sell for nearly as much around here as I paid for the car, and with my previous 'vert getting broken in to once too often, I wouldn't bring home one without it.
Things I did to her, starting with those right off the bat:
Replaced the bosh platinum(?) plugs with good old NGKs.
Installed drilled rotors and new pads (it needed new brakes anyway).
High-flow cat.
K&N air filter (it already had the sticker).
Repaired the dent and repainted the area.
Repained the "new" bumper cover and swapped it on. (Half blue, half black, to match the doors.)
Painted the front bumper to match.
Enjoyed driving her for a while.
Replaced the
noisy winter tires. (with some used ones...I'm cheap!)
Installed a "cheap" stainless aftermarket muffler meant for a later model (beautiful tone!!).
Threw an aftermarket seat in it (not the best idea).
After a while...
Replaced wheel bearings (unnecessarily)
Replaced the rear diff (bearings were going/gone. Noisy!).
Put a new soft-top on her.
...and parked her a few months later. D'oh!
I've never thrown a lot of money at her. I do my own work, and shop for the best deals. I think the new soft-top or the used diff were the most expensive individual things I've done, at ~$150 Canadian each (about $6.25 US
). Brake rotors and pads were under $100 for all 4 corners. Tires cost almost as much to get mounted and balanced as I paid for the tires themselves. Probably all comes in at under $1k over the course of 3 or so years.
Of course, I've thrown a lot of hours of labour at her. So I've
really got reason to be thrilled that she's running well again! It's finally paying off. Now I've got a good running Miata with all this new stuff on her... whee!
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As long as she keeps behaving, I'll keep plugging away at it. And probably come up with new ideas along the way.
