StandardShift.com

So I'm finally making a thread for my car since my friend and I just went to get some shots of our Miatas. He has a '95 M edition, which he got a week after getting a ride in my car!

Anyway details:

1990
80K
Rust free as can be
Georgia car (probably why the paint is faded on a few panels. I think they kept it in one of those half garage/awning type deals. But I'll always say - I'd rather have a faded to hell car than a car with rust)
Everything works except the CD player (meh)

Mods:
Stebel Nautilus compact horn. Shit is loud. (first mod, got this because the stock horn sucked so many balls and my Miata seems to have an invisibility cloak when it's near SUVs and minivans)
Garage Star license plate bracket (PO put this on, no drilling into bumper; attaches to "tow hook" (tiedown hook))
...that's it for now. More will come after maintenance.

Currently, I'm working on maintenance for it. Recently I changed the oil with Mobil 1 5W-30 (first time using synth, ever) Today I changed the transmission fluid to Motorcraft synth fluid (as per recommendations on Miata.net). It definitely needs some things, but they will come in time. I shall gather parts and install them as they come. For now, I am just enjoying the driving in this. The handling dynamics are pretty awesome in this car. RWD is really nice. And the noise it makes from 3-4k RPM sounds like a 60's British roadster. It is heavenly. Anyways, on to the pictures:























Credit goes to Rares M. Dutu ( http://www.flickr.com/people/raresmdutu/ )

Feel free to ask, gawk, comment, hate (if you can even hate such an adorable little thing) and banter about nothing!

Also, just for shiggles, it hit 80k on the way back from work tonight

Dude, nice! I actually seriously considered buying a Miata before I bought my STI. My friend has a '99 Miata and those things are tons of fun! Like go-carts on rails.

Warner wrote:Dude, nice! I actually seriously considered buying a Miata before I bought my STI. My friend has a '99 Miata and those things are tons of fun! Like go-carts on rails.

They are awesome to drive. I don't think you could've gone wrong with either one, but I'm sure the STi has just a tiny bit more oomph

Let's just say accelerating quickly isn't this car's forte. Although oddly enough, it gets from 75-95 on the highway in 5th gear in a really short amount of time.

Very nice.

Rad!

Nice car! MX5 has the best shifter/gearbox of any car I've driven.

That paint appears to be very much salvageable. You any good with a polishing wheel??

padauk_dust wrote:

I've finally done it man! It's as awesome as I ever imagined

JHamilton wrote:Nice car! MX5 has the best shifter/gearbox of any car I've driven.

That paint appears to be very much salvageable. You any good with a polishing wheel??

Thanks! The shifting is a joy with this car. Very flickable and precise (except when the gearbox is cold )

I have never polished anything before, but when I get a nice day this summer I will go to town on the paint. Apparently it's a single stage paint, and you just need to wash/buff/polish/wax and it will look as good as new. I can't wait to get her all nice and shiny.

That's a nice, clean example of a future classic.
It might be the pictures, but the only fading I can see is on the top of the rear bumper.

So...next is ITBs and MSPnP right?

I would love, love, LOVE a set of ITB's on this car, but I have no idea what I'd be doing

Plus, my budget is very prohibitive of said modifications. I'm thinking of just buying another airbox and swiss cheesing it. I don't care about added power, I just want to make it louder. With intakes, these sound wonderful. All i want to do is enjoy it.

94Corolla5Speed wrote:I've finally done it man! It's as awesome as I ever imagined

Glad to hear! I saw some references here and there that hinted at you acquiring a Miata but didn't see a thread. I figured you'd post about it as soon as you bought it; but the fact that you didn't would perhaps imply you've been out enjoying it!

A big congratulations to you my friend!
If anything every goes wrong, feel free to throw questions my way. I know the engine bay pretty well.

94Corolla5Speed wrote:I would love, love, LOVE a set of ITB's on this car, but I have no idea what I'd be doing

Plus, my budget is very prohibitive of said modifications. I'm thinking of just buying another airbox and swiss cheesing it. I don't care about added power, I just want to make it louder. With intakes, these sound wonderful. All i want to do is enjoy it.

Why not just get a K&N?

Eric - Yes that was one of the main reasons haha. I also didn't have very great pictures and I had a few exams/quizzes that I needed to study for between the time I bought it and now. I am on spring break now so I finally got a little time to relax and post about it

Chris - the K&N kit for my car is $210! I can buy a Racing Beat intake for less than that and have a proven 3 whp (Miatas don't have much room for improvement on the intake) gain. Plus the RB kit uses a K&N filter. So I think I'll just spend $20 on an airbox, swiss cheese it, and enjoy my cheap noise mod

Car looks good. Congrats.

1974Alfa5spd wrote:That's a nice, clean example of a future classic.
It might be the pictures, but the only fading I can see is on the top of the rear bumper.

So...next is ITBs and MSPnP right?

Look at the front 3/4 shot of the left side. The fender is much less faded than the door and quarterpanel. My guess is that the front left fender was replaced at some point in time. Still though, a little detailing work will bring the faded paint back to life and match much better....