Just moved to St George UT and bought a Miata for my dad. I bought this car sight unseen... and that's a good thing, cuz I might have chickened out had I seen it first.

'04 MSM in Titanium gray (sortof), 76k miles. There's a problem with the engine (I knew that). I anticipated engine replacement. Um... yeah.

Nice and clean in here.


What's this? Let's get a close up of those cam journals:



OOOOO YEAH! Just like new. I bet they used synthetic Royal Purple for extra protection.

How 'bout the cap that came off that?



Some degreaser ought to fix that up eh?

Just for fun, the cap from the next journal over:



Those look like the original weld marks from when they originally welded the cam caps together! Minty fresh!

More gratuitous varnish/sludge photos:





Alright, so my engine is utterly wasted. That's OK, I expected that.

I knew it had been repainted and that the paint job wasn't great. However, I didn't realize how not-great it was til I saw it.

Take this photo, for instance. Not a great paint job, poorly done.


WHAT THE ACTUAL **** WERE THEY THINKING?


Not bad enough? How about this paint ahead of the rear wheel?


The interior is totally baked:


Prep work next to the headlights:


There were more, but I lost patience with photobucket. You get the idea.

So far, I've purchased some FCM billies with adjustable damping and 550/350 rates, an FM front sway, and a roll bar. So basically nothing to fix the awfulness you've just witnessed.

We have a lot of work to do.

 

omg, run away, run away. fast, run away

 

Too late, bought it already.

The plan is to get it running again and put the parts on it. Eventually repaint or reshell. But for now, we just won't be afraid to hit it with things or rock chips or whatever. Tis a beater.

 

That is a race car that doesn't know it's a race car yet

 

Yikes, you would of loved mine with aids if I had sold it.

 

The way I see it, everything is there and I paid $2500 for it. I won't be losing out all said and done. But the paint, oh god, the paint.

 

This was my first thought as well!

At that price, you could afford to put in a VVT engine and have it painted! Not a bad find!

 

So what is there on this car that doesn't suck?

--Ian

 

As far as I've seen, the underside of the car looks perfect. Not a spec of rust.

There is also quite a lot of value in lots of low-mile parts. 76k miles on MSM 6-speed, Torsen, and billies. Sport brakes. MSM headlights, front and rear bumpers, turbo setup, etc... It all adds up. It wasn't a super crazy screaming buy but was a good one.

Just need to put some more money together and decide what to do next. It's tempting to reshell... We will see. For now it went in the storage unit with my hardtop while I finish moving.

Happy to listen to suggestions/ideas.

I think I figured out a name for the car though. It's the same name as my first Miata but more appropriate on this one: Remy.

 

Nice two tone under the wing there, reminds me of my three tone green mobile.
Seriously though an MSM, this will be a fun build.

 

Haven't forgotten about this build, though it does seem like it. Still waiting for the wrecked donor to come up for sale (auction is pending) so I can snag it.

I did get these in the mail today though:

 

Oh man, I had no idea this thread existed until you bumped the other one. Good to see you wrenching again, Edween

 

Wheels worth more than the rest of the car!

 

Lol I hope not or I super overpaid on the MSM! Couldn't pass up GWR's sale on the Helix, I'd been eyeing them. The spokes stick out more than I'd hoped for, but still a good looking wheel.

 

they just keep making more and more really neat wheels

 

I think thats what he meant...

Also just fyi. You bought a dial in with fewer spokes

I know how much you love those wheels

 

Lol

Dial-in spokes stick out way more than these. These stick out about the same as Storm S1s.

I also prefer fewer spokes.

I have nothing against the quality of dial ins, I just think they're ugly.

 

Congrats!

P.S. you have two bad turbos now.

Anything in the oiling system is trash. Block, crank, rods, pistons, head, cams, oil/water cooler, and turbo are all bad. From the engine you can pretty much only keep the oil pan and valve cover once they're both completely disassembled and cleaned.

Your best bet is probably a 99-00 or MSM long block for $1000, and a new/used MSM turbo.

That being said, I do have a good condition VVT long block for sale, if only you were local...

Engine: $1000+shipping
turbo: $500
injectors: $300
MS3: $1000
Car: $2500

Boom, $5300 later and you've got yourself a VVT swapped MSM beater.

 

Thanks for the input Josh! Incidentally, those were the only parts I intended to keep. I didn't really think of the turbo at first but definitely makes sense.

I found a nice white 94 with hardtop for $3200. Tempting to pick that up and part the MSM.... Decisions.......

I really want to make it go on stock ECU so I can sortof decide where to go from there. You know full well I am no tuner, nor am I capable of any significant wiring.

 

Buying tires for this thing today.

Looking at the new Continental Extremecontact Sport. Will be $320 after rebates (or less) at discount tire, but it's not on their site. Here's a link to the tire's site on TireRack:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...R5ECS&i1_Qty=4

Also considering the AD08R. Will be $325 after rebates.
Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

finally, I'm also considering going with something less aggressive, like the Yokohama S Drive. $233/set. so cheap. Will these hold up on track?

The S Drives are lower treadwear than the contis, but also less aggressive tread pattern. I wonder which will last longer?

Priorites: decent wear, good grip, very progressive handling because my dad is a novice driver.

As much as I want the contis, I think the S Drive is probably the way to go...