Project '99 Miata Sport

[Nis01]

Well, I figured I'd give the car a proper introduction to the MM family. I've been researching/searching for the right miata for close to a year now and recently came across one that was reasonably priced and in very good condition. Flew down to Georgia and drove it the 700 miles home without an issue.

White '99 Miata Sport. All stock except for a Hard Dog DD Rollbar. Car had 61,852 miles when I brought it home. The car came with a folder with original window sticker and all records since new. Car has no rust and the underbody is impeccable. It has the 'Hard S' suspension which actually rides really well. Has a few minor dings here and there but no missing paint, scrathes or dents. Top is in great condition, minor wear on the inside of the soft top (should be an easy fix). Is there a good vinyl glue available on the market? Somebody mentioned something on the miata forums but I don't remember what it was called. It has a clean carfax and visibly no indications of any prior accidents.

Question for miata experts: Putting the car into 5th gear will cause a slight grind if I don't shift just right (doesn't affect the shift, just makes a noise). Previous owner had it looked at and was told that adding a fluid with more friction should help alleviate the problem. Car has had Redline fluids run through it for quite some time. Its a bit of a nuisance so any ideas of a fix? Car drives fine in 5th and all other gears are extremely smooth. Just to add, the clutch slave cylinder has recently been replaced. We added a bit of friction additive before the drive home, didn't notice any major difference.

Initial Impressions: Car is incredibly fun to drive. Its a blast to rev out and is very nimble through traffic. Best part, 31 mpg with the top down and not being polite to the go pedal. I'm pretty surprised at how "quick" the car feels especially in comparison to a '01 I had previously driven. Its a fun little car and even in bad weather all the way up North, it never gave me any problems. I have a few minor issues to attend to, especially whatever is going on with the transmission and once those are settled a few choice track pieces (seats, tires / wheels), I should have the car out for some auto-x / track time. I look forward to seeing everybody again.

EDIT: Big thanks to Maeng for all of the help and answering my millions of questions throughout the search.

Quick picture:

[ScottyB]

awesome find Shea! i love NB's. how is the fun factor compared to your STi?

where in GA were you? you shoulda stopped by east atlanta for a brew :thumbup:

[Evan]

hell yes. looks great, I love the NBs in white with the spoiler kit.

not sure why 5th would grind. thats always been the smoothest gear on all my cars.
2nd and sometimes 3rd crunches a bit though

[.RJ]

Damn that looks good. I want another '99 miata

[Nis01]

awesome find Shea! i love NB's. how is the fun factor compared to your STi?

where in GA were you? you shoulda stopped by east atlanta for a brew :thumbup:

Thanks for the comments. I flew into Atlanta and we drove North on whatever the big highway is there heading away from the airport. For some reason I didn't even process the fact that you are in Atlanta, I would have definitely stopped by. I actually got out quite a bit later than I had expected hence the stop over at Lee's (Thanks a ton for letting me crash at your place, definitely would have been a struggle for the remaining 4 hours of the drive).

Fun factor is just a lot different than the STi. The miata is extremely light and tossable, everything just happens when you want it to and taking some curvy roads on the way home felt very confidence inspiring. Steering is tight and very responsive, very easy to maneuver and I actually enjoyed the entire 8 hour drive minus my foot wanting to fall asleep on several occasions. Its down on the power factor but it gets up to speed surprisingly quickly (much more so than I was expecting). I just love reving the crap out of it and it has a pretty throaty tone to it but the exhaust system looks stock. :dunno: I am so far very impressed with it and can't wait to get out to an auto-x to push the limits a bit with some sticky tires.

[Dave]

Great looking car, can't wait to hear more about it!
Way to stick with tradition whitey :-)

[ScottyB]

I flew into Atlanta and we drove North on whatever the big highway is there heading away from the airport.

gotcha...yeah you probably took the 75/85 connector through the city and then up 85, if you ended up at Lee's. i'm about 20 minutes from teh airport off of 85. if anyone from MM ever goes through there and has time the offer for a brew is good.

great to hear its such a satisfying drive. hard to beat the combo of price/fun/utility/reliability in those things. i love that you kept the whiteness alive as well :lol:

[Maengelito]

one thing I totally forgot about Shea is the rubber boot on the shifter turret. Those also tend to wear and you should be able to feel a lot of heat coming through the transmission tunnel if its torn. When replacing that, you should also fill up the shifter turret with some tranny fluid for smoother shifting. Not sure that would *only* affect 5th gear, but its a possibility. Looks good though!

[Nis01]

one thing I totally forgot about Shea is the rubber boot on the shifter turret. Those also tend to wear and you should be able to feel a lot of heat coming through the transmission tunnel if its torn. When replacing that, you should also fill up the shifter turret with some tranny fluid for smoother shifting. Not sure that would *only* affect 5th gear, but its a possibility. Looks good though!

Interesting, I can feel some heat when I have my hand rested on the shifter so that part very could need replacing. Do you perhaps have a link to the part or a part number? I'll look into it and fill the turret while I'm at it... haven't glanced at it yet.

[Maengelito]

If you search "shift boot" or "shift turret" on miata.net, you'll probably find hundreds of posts talking about it. Its a super easy job (took me about 20 minutes) and the two rubber boots cost about $50 total.

[Maengelito]

I flew into Atlanta and we drove North on whatever the big highway is there heading away from the airport.

gotcha...yeah you probably took the 75/85 connector through the city and then up 85, if you ended up at Lee's.

That means you probably passed by the exit for Braselton ie: Road Atlanta. You should've stopped there for a bit :lol:

[Sijray21]

nice find! great choice :-D :thumbup:

[REED]

nice purchase, that is exactly what I was looking for when I was in the market for a NB

[Chris]

nice find Shea! glad to see you'll be getting back into autox and some track time.

[Maengelito]

Interesting, I can feel some heat when I have my hand rested on the shifter so that part very could need replacing. Do you perhaps have a link to the part or a part number? I'll look into it and fill the turret while I'm at it... haven't glanced at it yet.

here's a pictorial on how to fill the shift turret:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.miata.net/garage/trans/everything.html">http://www.miata.net/garage/trans/everything.html</a><!-- m -->
its at the very end of this page

[Nis01]

Great tutorial. I think I have read through that before but forgot to bookmark it. That will be the first thing I try when I get home. Wheres the best place to order Redline fluids? Thanks in advance.

[Jake]

Looks good!! I'm not usually a fan of white cars, but the Miatas are definitely an exception. Very clean looking.

How's the condition of the top? You said you're looking for vinyl glue? My searching on miata.net for my own car turned up with Goop - the brand - marine quality if you can find it. My plastic window separated from the top, and that's what I used to glue it back. Good stuff, but be in a ventilated area, because it's potent.

Any idea if the timing belt/water pump have been changed yet? At 61k you're just starting to hit the mileage point where they should be looked at. I think my 95 had them changed around 65k. Granted, there are members on miata.net who run them up to 100k before replacement, no problem.

Anyway, congrats!

[Nis01]

Hey Jake,
Thanks for the response, the outside of the top is in great condition, almost brand new looking... the previous owner must have kept the top down basically ALL the time because the inside appears to be a bit sunburned and part of the back top has come undone at the seems where it comes around the rollbar. It doesn't seem to affect the performance of the soft top, more of just an eye sore so I'd like to do something with it but I'm not sure if I will or not. Do you think that goop would hold a vinyl flap to the remainder of the top without coming lose? There is a very tiny hole around the window that I planned on using some RTV on, but it doesn't leak at all.

As far as the timing belt, I was told that it was changed early in its life (~35,000 miles) but I can't find proof of it in the documents. The engine bay is spotless and the belts look to be in great shape but I may change them out sooner than later to be on the safe side. Any opinions on this from the miata experts?

[Goodspeed]

Very nice Shea, I'm quite jealous right now. Looks so clean, I hope I get to see it sooner rather than later.

[Evan]

miata engine is non-interference so other than stranding you, breaking the timing belt isnt a big deal.
hell, i put a used timing belt on my car when i swapped the motor out.

I have seen several miatas shred their timing belts from timing cover bolts coming loose. Has happened to me twice and matt once.