Surprise!: 'nother MMMiata

[Gordonovski]

Well after getting called out by Jake, I finally have time to sit down, have a beer, and write about car things.

After a friend had her car totaled by a 4 legged horse-sized stag, I stood by at a sleazy stealership and watched them try to sell her a ziptied-together POS Passat for $12k, so I said "hell, I'll give you my Yetta for $9k." After some discussion, she picked up the car, and I was left with some dolla dolla billz y'all and no car in 5° December weather. But it was time for something greater.

Lucky for me, there was a cl ad for a 2002 Miata just down the street in Harrisonburg, 82k miles, "great daily!" I went to go see it, but was a little disappointed at the price for the condition of the paint and the top, but good ole James and I got him down to a price I was comfortable with along with some extra goodies that I'll be putting up fs in the near future (anyone need a top frame?)

Rear tires were some ~4 month old Nitto NT450s, but the fronts were balding and had some bad camber wear, so before I left to see my parents today, I took it to blue ridge tire to have the fronts matched and a nice alignment done. Wow, what a difference. It felt like a brand new car after just that. Even better, the owner of that tire shop owns a 2002 SE that he tracks with SCCA, so before I could get out of the car, he was out the door walking towards me to talk about the car.

So plans thus far:
-sand/prime/paint hood, rear bumper, and RF quarter panel, at least get it so the clearcoat isn't peeling
-new soft top with plastic rear window
-rollbar
-aluminum radiator within next 5-10k miles (current stock one is starting to green a little bit)

And then by mid-summer, considering seats/harnesses depending on how much track time I'm getting, or K8Rs or similar light wheels with some nicer tires.

Day I got it (super salty)





Now just waiting for the custom plate from the DMV...

[Senor_Taylor]

New top with plastic window? Keep James away from it.

Glad to have you in the club, buddy.

[JPolen01]

Sounds like you found a good one! Pictures not working for me though.

[SlimKlim]

You've gotta re-host your images, you can't share them directly from your google account.


Drag all of the images to your desktop. Go here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://imgur.com/">http://imgur.com/</a><!-- m -->. Select all the images on your desktop, then drag them over the browser window. It'll automatically upload them all into an album. Right click on them and then paste them into your post.

[Senor_Taylor]

You've gotta re-host your images, you can't share them directly from your google account.


Drag all of the images to your desktop. Go here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://imgur.com/">http://imgur.com/</a><!-- m -->. Select all the images on your desktop, then drag them over the browser window. It'll automatically upload them all into an album. Right click on them and then paste them into your post.

Did this guy even graduate college?

[*insertusernamehere*]

Or do it from Tapatalk and upload it straight to the forum from your phone. Literally the easiest method.

[Gordonovski]

Did this guy even graduate college?

smd.

also, changed the oil today and found a friend.

[Goodspeed]

Love it. Will be following this thread jealously :thumbup:

Obligatory turbo peer pressuring

BTW, there's a guy with your twin + mods that auto-x'es with BRR, he's been at the last few college challenges.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Obligatory turbo peer pressuring

Seriously. $1500 shipped? That's unbelievably tempting. I should have never seen this.

[Gordonovski]

Love it. Will be following this thread jealously :thumbup:

Obligatory turbo peer pressuring

Thanks! And that is super tempting, but I have to stay n/a with what I want to do with the car.

Did some more regular maintenance today with spark plugs. So far, pleasantly surprised with how the oil and plugs have looked -- worn but no signs of problems.



Also managed to knock an evap hose loose yesterday when getting at the oil filter. Caused a cel but hoping the reset keeps it off. So far, this car is stupid easy.


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[Senor_Taylor]

Obligatory turbo peer pressuring

Seriously. $1500 shipped? That's unbelievably tempting. I should have never seen this.

It's tempting because it's only half of what you need to do. Still need engine management and all of the supporting mods. This is just enough to have a turbo installed on your car and able to spool up.

[Jake]

Aww snap, does that have a cold air intake bro?

JK, I loved the sound of mine with a stock exhaust and CAI.

Sounds like she's in pretty good shape!

[Gordonovski]

Anyone have top recommendations? Trying to get something reasonably priced but quality enough to last for a while. (The cheaper the top, sooner I can get a rollbar)


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[Jake]

I had a guy in Fairfax do mine, Pollett's Automotive maybe? I just did the same as what my NA came with - vinyl top, plastic zip-out window - and it was like $550 parts & labor.

[Gordonovski]

I had a guy in Fairfax do mine, Pollett's Automotive maybe? I just did the same as what my NA came with - vinyl top, plastic zip-out window - and it was like $550 parts & labor.

Damn. The west coast customs spinoff place in Harrisonburg quoted be $1000 parts & labor.


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[JPolen01]

Damn. The west coast customs spinoff place in Harrisonburg quoted be $1000 parts & labor.


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Is this a new place? I can only imagine how comical a "custom" shop in Hburg is.

[Scott]

I had a guy in Fairfax do mine, Pollett's Automotive maybe? I just did the same as what my NA came with - vinyl top, plastic zip-out window - and it was like $550 parts & labor.

That's a steal. I've gotten est. over 1k in the past also. I've also installed one myself and it was a major PIA. I would gladly pay $550 to have it done.

[Goodspeed]

Back in my day the go to inexpensive top was the Kee Top or the Robbins economy top. At the end of the day though I bet its worth it to spend a couple hundred extra to get a pre-assembled glass/defroster top like the OEM Robbins line that'd be easier to install, save $ on the back end (ex. labor cost to transfer rain rail vs. buying top w/ new one)

[Senor_Taylor]

I had a guy in Fairfax do mine, Pollett's Automotive maybe? I just did the same as what my NA came with - vinyl top, plastic zip-out window - and it was like $550 parts & labor.

That's insanely cheap considering a Robbins top costs that much...

[Gordonovski]

Is this a new place? I can only imagine how comical a "custom" shop in Hburg is.

It's on N. Liberty Street... I think that explains enough


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