James's 99 Miata

[EclipseTurbno93]

Alright fellas, so here's my contribution to Miata Motorsports.

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So around January I decided to sell the eclipse (while getting the transmission replaced) and put up a thread asking about good cars around 5 grand, and the resounding answer, besides some silliness, was Miata! So I put the eclipse up on craigslist and headed off to Atlanta to make enough money to actually afford one. While there, the eclipse was sold to the first person who came and looked at it for a very generous price.

When I got back, started perusing craigslist for good ones. Went and looked at two before seeing this one.
What we have here is a 1999 Mazda Miata with all the goodies. AC, Bose sound, cruise control, power everything, sport suspension, Torsen limited slip differential, and best of all, only 71,000 miles.

Overall this thing is in great shape, first owner kept it in the garage and only put 30k on it in twelve years, second owner put 40k on it in 4 and kept it under a carport and car cover. It has the original paint and original top.

As an added bonus, when the guy I bought it from pulled it out for me to test drive later that day, he heard a squeak in the brakes and decided to take it in and have it looked at. Turns out it had a bad caliper, so he got that replaced along with ALL the pads and rotors. Even though he was just gonna sell the thing. And if thats not the kind of guy you want to buy a car from I don't know who.



After seeing the car in person and driving it (in the pouring rain) I was convinced it was the right one and offered him his full asking price (which was fair) contingent on me being able to bring it to a friend of mine who is a master mechanic. Everything checked out so I purchased it the next day.



So far I have had it for two days and I'm in love with how this thing drives. The only non-stock option on it is an intake which gives it a nice growl under hard acceleration. Everything runs smooth and the trans shifts great. So far I am very pleased with my purchase!





Not planning on doing too many modifications as this is mainly for just being a fun daily, but I'll try to update with the little things I do.

[EclipseTurbno93]

Also, if anybody has good info on keeping a black car looking good, I would appreciate it!

[rherold9]

Also, if anybody has good info on keeping a black car looking good, I would appreciate it!

Awesome pick up. Looks mint for a Miata...

Keeping black clean. You just don't unless you constantly wash and wax and then also polish at least twice a year.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[EclipseTurbno93]

Also! Update on hard top coming soon!!!

And Ryan, that figures. I always said I would never buy a black car for just that reason, yet here I am :roll:

[CaptainHenreh]

Looks great, dude! Definitely a great step up from the most disappointing Eclipse trim in history.

[WRXtranceformed]

Now that *eh hem* is how you buy an old Miata. Very nice pickup, looks mint!

[Beej]

Wow, that looks really clean - congrats!

[BLINGMW]

you'll love it. Good find :thumbup:
Can't help you with the color though, after my first black car I never went back.

[Evan]

love it.
my red 99 was the best car I ever had.

im a little curious why the pics are at a hyundai dealership when its a private party sale?

[SlimKlim]

I dig the wood shifter and nardi!

As far as keeping the paint nice, polish it or have it polished and then just keep a fresh coat of sealant on it, maybe throw a couple coats on every 2 months. It's nearly impossible to keep it looking clean, but if you take care of it you can keep it from oxidizing or picking up too many scratches.

You should also avoid automated washes like the plague and use the "2 bucket" method to wash. You can get away abusing lighter colors (I single-bucket the GTI and I've already used an automated wash once) but old, soft, black, japanese paint isn't gonna tolerate it.

[EclipseTurbno93]

Thanks guys! Yeah its definitely not bad for a 16 year old car!

love it.
my red 99 was the best car I ever had.

im a little curious why the pics are at a hyundai dealership when its a private party sale?

The Hyundai dealership is where I work summers I also get access to they're detailing equipment so I was taking pictures before it inevitably got dirty again haha

I dig the wood shifter and nardi!

As far as keeping the paint nice, polish it or have it polished and then just keep a fresh coat of sealant on it, maybe throw a couple coats on every 2 months. It's nearly impossible to keep it looking clean, but if you take care of it you can keep it from oxidizing or picking up too many scratches.

You should also avoid automated washes like the plague and use the "2 bucket" method to wash. You can get away abusing lighter colors (I single-bucket the GTI and I've already used an automated wash once) but old, soft, black, japanese paint isn't gonna tolerate it.

I don't know much about polishing but I might look into having it done. As far as sealant goes, I've never used it / don't know anything about it. Any suggestions on good brands?
I've always found automated washes to be about as effective as splashing a bucket of water over the car anyways so no worries on that :mrgreen:

[SlimKlim]

You use sealant exactly like a normal wax but it lasts a lot longer, (My DDs parked outside will still bead water for 90+ days after applying it, it lasts indefinitely on the garage-kept E36) I've been very happy with Poorboys products. http://www.autogeek.net/pbexp16.html

A good DA is a couple hundred bucks and black is the most difficult color to work with, so it probably makes the most sense to cough up for a professional detail and then just take good care of it to keep it looking nice. Always do the 2-bucket wash thing, use new/cleaned wash mitts/microfibers. If you drop a rag NEVER put it back on the car, get a clean one.

I also recommend a decent quick detailer. http://www.autogeek.net/chemical-guys-sp...ailer.html After you wash, dry with a clean chamois/microfiber/towel spritz each panel with the quick detailer and buff it down with a clean and dry microfiber, jet black water spots like a bitch but that helps a lot.

[Goodspeed]

Congrats on the new ride! Looks mint, I remember those first few days of ownership when you almost can't comprehend how much fun they are to bomb around in. Enjoy it

[EclipseTurbno93]

Thanks for all that info, once some paychecks start rolling in and I finish getting pieces for the hardtop I'll look into this

[ScottyB]

solid pick up! for a car that old that's probably as good as you could ever do in that price range. i really like black on those cars.

[Senor_Taylor]

Now that *eh hem* is how you buy an old Miata. Very nice pickup, looks mint!

:roll:


Very happy for you, James! Can't wait to hoon ours around together soon.

[Evan]

Also, if anybody has good info on keeping a black car looking good, I would appreciate it!

its single stage paint so it will shine up real nice.
the drawback to single stage is it wont look nice for as long
so invest in a DA buffer.
mine used to be a chalky pink/red left-in-the-sun-too-long mess, but it all buffed right out.

[Jake]

Looks great, James!! Similar story with yours and my old '95... both two owners and both purchased right around 71-72k miles. Jelly of the hardtop, assuming you have one ready to go on it for cold months?

I'm not a fan of the wood trim, but you can always peel it off later Good thing is mods for these cars are relatively cheap so you can definitely make it "your own" over time without going too nuts.

Have fun with it and hopefully we'll see it out at some autocrosses?

[EclipseTurbno93]

Alright so I've had a few weeks to learn the car a bit and adjusting to life with a car the size of a postage stamp and the good news is I still enjoy it! It's a ball around the corners and has enough power to put a smile on my face while still turning in 28 mpg. All in all, everything I want.

The only major thing I have done is install the necessary hardware and such for my HARDTOP



Which as you can see is the wrong color... but it is in good shape! Paint is a bit rough but nothing that some plastidip can't take care of until I can afford real people paint.

The real pain in getting this thing on was that it had the wrong latches on the front because it was off of an '03. I decided to be thrifty and order the correct ones used off of eBay for 1/4 the price of new ones, only to find that the used ones did not lock when closed. So, still refusing to spend $300 on latches for the stupid thing I stubbornly tore apart the ones I bought and the ones that came with the hardtop and transplanted all of the newer hardware onto the old bases, which were the only part that I really needed.



And Voila! Somehow I managed not to lose any tiny pieces and now have working latches. After that it was a bit of fun with a Dremel to install the side striker plates and screwing on the Frankenstein bolts and locking it all up. Everything fit just fine and I will be ever so thankful come winter time.

Also! New plates came in!



Good stuff

[SlimKlim]

You might look into trying to wrap that hardtop, I'm not sure how difficult it would be to do that shape, or if it would be too expensive, but if done well you probably wouldn't notice it wasn't paint until you really started inspecting around the edges.