Back StorySo after searching for a while, bringing my budget up and down, and debating on whether I should actually buy one or not, I finally found a Miata I was happy with.
I got it for the price I wanted, in the condition I wanted (more to come), and with some goodies, but not a whole lot of modifications.
I drove up to Edmonton to check out a black miata, and ended up not liking it. He was asking quite a premium for a car, that was supposed to have "not a spec of rust".
as soon as I started looking at the car, I noticed that the rear rockers had been patched and repainted. It was definitely a sub par repair job, the paint was cracking, and rust was starting to come through. I was immediately unimpressed with the car. The seller did not seem to know much about it, there was no rear sway bar, tires were shot, needed an alignment and a windshield.
EHHHHHHHH! Strike 9. At this point I pretty much gave up on my search. I didn't feel like paying $6000+ to find a 20 year old car with no rust.
I happened to get a call back from a guy selling a red miata, he had a very vague kijiji ad, not a lot of information, and extremely poor communication.
I decided to take a look Sunday, what did I have to loose.
The car was in great condition body wise. I could tell right away that the car had been repainted, but the rockers did not have a spec of rust. The passenger side looked as if it had been repaired at some point, but everything seemed to check out. The previous owner had owned the car for around 6 years, and it was the owner previous to him that had done the paint and suspected rust repair. If it lasted 6 years like this, I'm sure it will last the time I own the car.
As I was looking at the car, I noticed he had two cars sitting in his garage. An old red Toyota starlet, and a teal ford focus. The focus was caged, and stripped. It was his ice racing car.
The starlet was his road course car.. insane cars! I was immediately impressed. He was an older (60's) Portuguese gentleman that had a huge passion for racing, and cars. Could you buy a car off anybody better.
Back to the miata, he had tracked the car a few times, and has two other miatas that he has turned into race cars, the guy knows his stuff.
First impressions on the test drive.
Interior on the car was MINT! I cannot emphasize this enough. A 26 year old car with no scratches, scuffs or scrapes on the dash, seats were clean no stains, slight, I mean slight tear in the drivers bolster.
Car runs great, a little hesitation when starting out, just had to compensate with a bit more gas off the get go.
Car feels great, suspension is a little bouncy, but still keeps the car planted. No rattles or clunks typical of a NA miata. The car feels faster than the other 1.6l miata's I've driven.
Clutch feels awesome, the car hugs the road, brakes are extremely stiff and grip hard once warm.
Mechanically the car was great, physically the car needed some paint work. There was a pretty bad run on the passenger quarter, and well... its red.
Day 1So I ended up buying the car, and driving it back to Calgary. Car sat at 4000rpm running with traffic at 125km/h or so. Did the drive without one stop, and the car kept up without any hesitation.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the car.
It does not have AC, power windows, power locks, as base as it gets, and as raw as it gets.. also the lightest model produced!
I am please to present:
NEW PICTURES:
Came with a set of 14x6 +35 wheels (laugh out loud) wrapped in 195/60/14 Falken RT-615's that have maybe a season left.
Also came with a set of stock miata wheels and brand new all season falkens. Guy likes falkens?
The car came with a NB Soft Top, No hard top unfortunately, but it has the rear mounting hardware for the hardtop!
The car was setup with a set of Toicko Shocks and some lowering springs, unsure of the brand. The ride is a bit bouncy, so I am looking at alternatives to dampen it up.
Plans:
Going to order an exhaust, lip, motor mounts, and a few small items for the first bit.
Figure out what color to paint it, and how I am going to do so to provide a damn good finish.
Would love to find some 15x9's and flare it out with a 225/45R15
Carbon Miata Fender Flares Autokoenixion Flares
Time to get to work ordering parts! Yay another project.
Mod list the day i bought the car
August 23, 2016 KM: 188,869km
- New Clutch < 1000km ago
- Diff / Transmission Fluids >1000km ago
- Fresh Oil <200km ago
- NGK "Blue" Plug Wires
- NB Hardtop w/ Glass window
- Flyin Miata Stage 1 Suspension Package
- 14x6 unknown wheels Wrapped in Azenis RT-615K
- Stock Miata wheels w/ Brand New Falken All Seasons
