My new ride!
 

Prior to the purchase, I had never sat in a Miata (let alone driven one) and I saw this one pop up on Craigslist 10 miles from me, so I went to take a look, as soon as I took it for a test drive, that was it, I immediately fell in love with it. I have driven a few S2000's (including a nice supercharged one) but the Miata felt more 'fun'. I ended up buying it, even though it has a few deficiencies, for 3500$.

The pros:
Paint looks pretty good.
Timing belt/water pump/thermostat done within 15k miles.
Clutch done within 15k miles.
Catalytic converter replaced 5k miles ago.
Alternator/battery replaced ~a year ago.
New soft top with glass rear window. (unknown replace date, sometime in the last 20k miles/2 years).
New radiator (~20k miles ago).
LSD (at least, I believe it's LSD, it lights up both tires on the dirt so...).
129k miles.
Brakes at 90%.
Cold A/C, Nice and warm heater.

Now for the cons...
Leaks in the trunk when it rains, this is due to the rubber seal missing in one spot.
Grinds if I rip-shift into 3rd from 2nd.
Lowered and has the roughest ride I have ever felt in my entire life.
Driver side seat needs replaced (all tore up).
Steering wheel falling apart.
Leaks oil like hell from valve cover gasket (and I believe the CAS as well).
Badly worn front tires from the lower, inner tread was showing steel belt.
Rear tires mismatched.
No cruise control.


Now for why I bought it with the above deficiencies for 3500... I have been buying used cars for dirt cheap, just to wind up spending a lot of irritating hours and countless money on trying to fix all the problems. This car had the two major things done to it, timing belt and clutch and had paperwork to prove all the work I claimed above.

I already addressed the suspension issue, I found all 4 stock shocks/springs for 50$ on Craigslist and bought them, swapped it over and now it rides awesome.

Now for some pictures! Please note the top two were taken before I swapped the suspension and removed the side skirts.

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/9618/D3BRPK.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3491/sde0lf.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/7043/2125El.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/2549/3vVbfP.jpg

Here is some stuff I plan on doing. In no particular order. Most of it is silly fantasy stuff I'll probably never end up really doing, some of it is more pressing.

Mechanical things to do.
——————————————————————
Replace front tires. (Done, got 4 Dz102's)
Replace shocks.
Fix oil leak.
Stop belt squeal.
Replace transmission fluid.
Change spark plugs.
Sway bar bushings.
Sway bar links.
Tie rod ends.




Things to do for interior.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Clean interior. (Done).
Dash carpet.
Add Cruise control.
Drivers seat. (Replace/repair)
Steering wheel. (Replace)
Climate control faceplate. (Replace)
Shifter boot. (Replace)
Emergency brake cable cover. (Replace)
Door panels. (Replace)
Speakers. (Replace)
Lube window channels.
Screws/bolts for steering colum.
Trunk lid seal(replace).
Remove roll bar.
Add interior lighting.


Exterior.
——————————————————————

Wash and wax paint. (Washed, but not waxed yet).
Remove trunk cargo rack, repaint and add rubber protection for paint.
Fix door locks on both doors.
Replace windshield wipers.
Repaint rims.
Repaint window trim.
Repaint front bumper lip.

Uhg I meant to put 'My new ride' but I'm a little out of it. If a mod sees this, can they change the thread title to 'My new ride! ('95 Miata).

Nice clean ride you have there. Enjoy!

Looks like a fun car. Enjoy it.

Subscribed. Looks like it already has a nice air dam and, at least from the pictures, the paint looks good.

so clean :3 here in finland miatas have expensive hype tax

No problem, fixed it for you.

Looks like a nice clean car! Congrats. It looks like fun. :)

It's a respray, but it actually looks pretty decent. No overspray on the rubbers all around, and no overspray on underpanels or under hood stuff.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I'll be changing the tie rod ends when I get home from work, and taking her to get an alignment.

Can you see anything with that mask on?

yah, also thumbs up for the suit.

http://garagewoolery.files.wordpress...lass-butt3.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/its-been-long-time-28353.html#post413712

I don't see this on your list. What gas mileage does it get?

Yes, although my depth of field is destroyed. I have driven with it on before.

I got 25mpg last tank, but I had to contend with a massive rain storm here in SoCal (along with 30-40mph head/side winds). My brother also drove 85-90 for 120 miles of the tank. Plus a bunch of short trips and burn outs/heavy redline 7krpm pulls.

Oh, how I wish to feel the warmth of the sun instead of the snowy slush we got here :D

Congrats on the Miata- it sounds like you got a good deal, and it looks great. I'm not in any financial position to buy another car for now, but I definitely want to own one of those someday. Hopefully you get a lot of (s)miles out of it. :D

I can agree with the above statement. My brother has an NB miata and dad has an AP1 S2000. The S2000 is kind of scary, it tricks you by having no low end torque, but when you get on it in a turn it kicks out the rear end really quickly. However, the S2000 sounds incredible and is more fun in a tunnel/straight line. The miata is more fun in the turns, you can go full throttle and not have to worry about losing traction/drifting.

I drive very differently when I get in a RWD convertible :)

Didn't even notice the suit until others pointed it out. :thumbup: I want to have a suit to wear while riding my motorcycle, that would be FUN! :D Except for the helmet situation. :( Mine would be of Shiron.

You should add the PNU (pool noodle upgrade) to your planned mods list. Stuff a noodle under the rear bumper, supposedly reduces rear lift and helps mileage. Did it on the bro's miata, but that thing doesn't see much highway, so I can't tell a difference. You can also adjust the idle speed on the NA miatas.

+1 for aero hard top. If only they were cheaper...:rolleyes:

There is just something about the Miata that makes it so fun. The S2000 feels too long.

Where do I stick the pool noodle exactly? Going to Wal-Mart anyway tomorrow, might as well try it out.

So, I want to hook up my MPGuino to my miata, but the screen backlight died. Anyone know where I can get a replacement screen?

I believe one of these will work Arducam 1602 16x2 LCD Display Module Based on HD44780 Controller Character White on Blue with Backlight for Arduino The backlight is just an LED, are you sure it's dead or did something just get disconnected?

Yep, I can agree with that, you also sit lower in the S2000, so it feels harder to control I guess.
You put it in the big parachute area of the rear bumper. Here is a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d3J7aeWPAk

I haven't tinkered with it too much. I just remember the backlight not working years ago when I had it in the Mustang. I need to find it. But that's for the link regardless!

Awesome, thanks!

Did a few things on my Miata yesterday. When it was 27F outside, and 5am, no less.

Replaced M/T fluid, Valve cover gasket and CAS O-Ring (Which exploded like glass under tension, btw). Then I sprayed the engine compartment down with purple power and rinsed it 3 or 4 times to get all the oil off. Under hood looks great now, without the oil pouring from the two aforementioned gaskets!

I also poured a pint of MMO (Marvel Mystery oil) down my engine and now my lifter tick all but dissapeared! Used to tick for the first 1-2 miles of driving, now it only does it for a few seconds on startup.

MetroMPG, if you ever read this and want an improved gasket for your CAS (Crank angle sensor, they literally leak on every single NA Miata) hit me up, I got 9 laying around and can mail you one for free. The job takes about 30 minutes and it stops a major oil leak.

Forget the pool noodle, that whole area looks ripe for coroplast!!

I forgot about the pool noodle, I'll be going to the store in the morning for sure now.

I have coroplast, but Idk if I wanna spend the time to cut and place all of it. Maybe in the future, but for now the pool noodle will do.

I also discovered another issue, I didn't know the Miata is supposed to have an underbelly panel, so I guess I'll add that to the list of things I need to buy!

I forgot about the pool noodle, I'll be going to the store in the morning for sure now.

I have coroplast, but Idk if I wanna spend the time to cut and place all of it. Maybe in the future, but for now the pool noodle will do.

I also discovered another issue, I didn't know the Miata is supposed to have an under engine panel, so I guess I'll add that to the list of things I need to buy!

Re: the Marvel Mystery Oil. Since MMO is so thin, I wonder if oil flow is your problem at startup. What are you using for your main oil?

Flow at startup is the problem. The lifters have undersized oil holes, which get plugged up over time. MMO cleans out that gunk, but also thins out oil and allows it to flow easier at startup. I'm going to be switching to Rotella T6 (a diesel oil) and that + MMO has been proven to cure most ticking problems. Mine ticks for about 1-3 seconds on startup, when it used to tick for 30 seconds-a minute after startup.

On another note, I installed cruise control yesterday! This will definitely improve my MPG as I won't mind cruising at 65 vs the 70-75 I would normally cruise at. It's also very difficult to not speed in a Miata because the gearing is so short, and even a small throttle percentage change makes you pick up speed.

Good stuff. :thumbup:

I always savor the smell of Rotella when doing an oil change. For a while I was using the 0W40 in my Outback, but I haven't been seeing it lately.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bang%E2%80%93bang_control

Bang-bang throttle for pulse-and-glide. It's nice to have the option, though.