My wife had a Miata, bought it before kids and commuted for a few years in it. Unfortunately it met an untimely death when she was rear ended by a large truck, and got pushed into the van in front of her. :eek1 The little vert did an admirable job of keeping her safe, just soreness and nightmares... She replaced it with a new Camry, both out of practicality (we now had 2 kids) and fear (wanted something bigger). Fortunately a few years later she's back into a convertible, though this time it's a Saab (4 seats, and very safe). Fast and fun, but it's no Miata. Definitely miss the Miata though, that was the most fun car to drive I ever owned. ouch:
Ouch! My biggest fear is getting rear ended. Glad your wife wasn't seriously hurt. Coincidentally my winter car is a Camry. We have a Sienna too (since we have three kids). We still use the Miata a lot because very often we are shuttling one kid here, another there, with only one kid on board at a time. My kids love it. My son and I drove across Canada in it last summer, then my eldest daughter and I did the return trip. Fantastic memories.
Here is a lousy picture of the '96 we bought this summer, with my son staged at the start gate at an autorcross event. We are slowly getting faster with it, but have a long way to go. It's in generally good condition but has some pretty bad oil leaks that i need to track down. So far we've just done maintenance items like filters, cooling systems, fluids, etc, and a new set of race tires/wheels for the events (Toyo R1R).
Nice ride. As for the oil leaks, check the CAS o-ring (the CAS is the crank angle sensor mounted on the back of the head running off one camshaft). It is sealed with an O-ring, and they fail from the high heat in that area, and dribble oil down the back of the engine on top of the trans and it makes it look like all kinds of other leaks.
Front main is also a common leaker. Might as well replace the timing belt while you're in there. Sent from my iPhone
Some really nice audio in this. Watch with headphones on, it's like music. Stock exhaust too. My '99 sounds the same. http://youtu.be/h_6L0Gwo1z8
Now that the wife no longer rides with me on the bike (bad hip), we take this out . . . to go hunting for roads and trails to explore on this. Miata: The perfect scouting tool for a GS ride. Do it while you can!!
I feel bad. My Miata is becoming my beater car. I haven't washed it in months and it's always used in the bad weather now so I can keep the Abarth clean. The paint is starting to look a little oxidized and it's picked up some dings. It is leaking a bit of oil and I have no idea from where. The front air dam is banged up and the paint is peeling off of it. All the bushings are worn out. Poor thing... I did see a late model MX5 last week that made me genuinely jealous though. lowered, gold wheels, white paint with red stripes on the sides. I think it was a special cup edition or something but it was sweet and it was hauling ass!
Someone buy this so I don't have to. Very - I mean VERY - clean '91 Special Edition. Would look great with a set of Panasport wheels (like in the pic below). Less than 24 hours left. Comes with a factory hardtop. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ebaymotors/1991-...tem=290986991018&forcev4exp=true#ht_500wt_922 This isn't the car that's for sale but it's the same year and colour. Those Panasports look nice, no? A set of Konigs would too.
99 sport pkg: too much fun Mostly stock save for some track day necessities. More fun than I've had with my dad in a long time
My wife borrowed her parents' VW bug convertible for the summer and now really wants a convertible. Not a VW though - what a piece of shit. A Miata seems like a good choice. What should I look for in a ~10 year old Miata? Any weak points I should pay particular attention to when shopping?
Thanks - I managed to find that just after my post. It looks like the normal things you'd look at when evaluating any used car. I didn't see any particular weaknesses of Miatas which is good news.
They are as reliable as bricks provided they have been maintained acceptably. Just a few years to keep an eye on that had more problems than the rest, but if you are only looking at 10 years back, you'll avoid them all.
Looking to get a brand new Club Sport (manual of course) soft top. Not looking to turbo/supercharge the car but would like a little more HP while retaining the warranty. How much can you expect to gain from headers, muffler, and intake mods?
Eh, leave it alone. 10 or so hp more won't make the difference. If ya want more horses look for something else. I had an exhaust made for my '10 though- the stock one is louder in low rpm's than up north. Now it's progressive, like it should be. What a MX-5 really wants is suspension mods. Chris
One of the original MX-5 concept cars, If they kept the sharp front it may not of turned into the "hairdressers" car it is known for and notice the series 3 RX7 wheels.. Maybe they should of kept that going and used the rotary too.. Here is a good MX-5 build thread - http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=234821
:huh I've been into Miatas for nearly a decade and I've never seen this car! Can anyone else confirm this was actually a concept and is not somebody's kit?
