Back to basics
 

I figured I would start a new thread for this build. Due to some unforeseen circumstances I needed to liquidate my miata gear. That process was pretty hard. I've been doing miatas for 15 years now. I don't know what was going on with me but I hit a spell of depression. I thought it would be a while before I could get a miata. But things ended up working out well. I sold nearly all the parts I had as well as my turbo car and had recouped enough money to buy another and pay my bills off. I didn't have a lot to work with. But as luck would have it I picked this up for $3,600. I don't think I could have grabbed a better deal for the price it has 96k on it. The previous owner built the car from a moss magazine lol

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Its a 2000 Hard S. The person who bought my turbo car didn't want all of the parts on the car. So I did get to keep some things. So I moved everything I could to my new car. I still have my race seat and bits, but that will go back on the car after I get a roll bar.

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I found a pinhole in the supercharger's cover so I fixed that, installed my extra radiator, brakes wheels and a few other little things.

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Right now the car is pretty stock. But it's got a clean title and has never been wrecked. It also has the black interior I've been wanting. So this will be a good platform for me. It does have a bit of rust on the control arms so at some point I will replace all of that. It has a full exhaust and a P-P-P-P-POWER CARD running 6psi. It feels quick enough to suite my needs for now. It has too. This is going to be a slow build.

Rough plan 1-2years:
Good coilovers + sway bar
Control arms + bushings
blackbird fab roll bar
injectors + MS PNP + pulley for 8psi

Enjoy it for a time while saving up for a turbo setup.

For what all I do, the 190 ish HP that the M45 can do may be enough. I'm going to spend most of my money taking the car on trips and enjoying it instead of spending every spare penny of my hobby money on parts. My last car had me working on it more than enjoying it, and thats not the way its supposed to be. So this is going to be "back to basics" for me.

Looks like stock Bilsteins, mind if I ask what tire/wheel combo that is? I'm about ready to pull the trigger on some Storms and want a good fit.

"My last car had me working on it more than enjoying it" - I represent this comment..

Glad to see you back in a miata so soon. Looks like a great base to make a fun simple car, any plans to intercool the supercharger setup?

That is a smoking deal for a used NB that is as clean as that one.

Here you go, TR Motorsport C3M These are 15x9 with 225/45/15 which is way more than what the car needs. Really it looks like a 4x4 but once I lower it an inch or so, it should look good.

Thx, I'd like to have a TDR intercooler setup but jeez they are expensive new. I've thought about a water to air intercooler. For the moment I will wait on that and focus on suspension and safety. If I see a good deal on a used setup I will go with it. I haven't made my mind up yet if I want to keep the supercharger in the long run. This has WAY more throttle response than the GT3076R, just half the power lol

You're telling me. I looked at craigslist for weeks to find it. It was the best deal on CL within 10 or so hours of my location.

That is a good deal on a clean nb. But a SMOKING deal for a supercharged one.

Why not just do a DIY intercooler setup ala turbo style. Ebay fmic and DIY piping...?

Nice find! Glad to hear that you get to keep the hobby going, especially after being involved for so long. These little cars can be a handful but they're so much fun.

I have done an FMIC super setup like a turbo. It really needed dual throttle bodies and a BOV to make it work right... And even then it was always a bit odd. Worked nice though. Confused everyone with the sounds.

I'm starting to collect a few parts :hs: The clutch peddle has not been very confidence inspiring so I'm going to rip and replace the whole thing. I wanted to test the good-win setup over just adding a line with auto zone master and slave. I hope these are better and last longer. I'm also rebuilding the shifter and adding boots. I may use up the remaining sound deadening I have while I am at it. I don't like to have a hot leg while DDing the car. Once I get that done, I'm going to install the coilovers. I will drop the car maybe an inch. Its a street car, but I don't want to loose the 4x4 look with these wide wheels.

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t took me a bit to get to this. I've been super busy. Child #5 is due soon so I got all of this done just in time. I'd have to say for what I have invested in this car, it has been well worth it. I think the car looks much better. This is about a 1" drop with a 0.5" rake.

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I have very little to add here. IDK what fuel pump they include in the Supercharger kit but GAA that thing is super loud. I took the cover off and sound deadened it a bit. That has seemed to help for now. I've been DD'n the car, since its so basic compared to my last car, it has been easy to DD. At the moment the plan is to save up for rollbar/frame rails to install in the spring. When that happens I will pull the entire interior, sound deaden it, and replaced the aweful speakers that are in it. I want a decent office to work in, so I will add an amp and component setup. Once that is all done I will move to the outside of the car and power adders.

Its been kinda lame having no money to mod the car but it has been a good look at that Cost/Fun ratio. I have very little invested here compared to my last build but have had more fun?? I think all of that is due to the fact that my last car was someone else's project and I spent gobs of money fixing and upgrading it. The wreck didn't help.

Check out that parcel shelf, this is my first unmolested clean title miata in forever. I'm surprised at how clean things are.

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Glad you're enjoying it!

Mostly for kicks I did a simple chart to help me stay on target. Since this is a slow budget build I looked at my current optimistic HP numbers and what options I may choose later. My conclusion is, to work on other parts of the car. For now power is fine. My plan is to have safety and handling nailed before MATG this year.
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I have a few updates to add.

My wife is big on tinted windows, she surprised me with 15% for my birthday.

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I finally got sick and tired of listing to the stinking fuel pump. Even after some sound deadening it was too loud for me.

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I've had a slight gas smell for a few weeks. I coughed it up to a PCV smell, boy was I wrong. When I pulled it in this weekend the smell was super strong. I started to look the car over. As best I can tell the O-Rings on one of the injectors must have failed. I'll be taking that all apart to find out what needs to be replaced. I have money for a roll bar but I'm super temped to buy better injectors and a megasquirt. Thankfully every time that crosses my mind I think, "That would be dumb, its and M45" So I'm trying to hold back. I really want to move to a turbo setup next unless I can score a good deal on a MP62.

I found the problem. Looks like the injector was leaking around the O-Ring. I didn't know there was so much going on with the dual throttle bodies until I took one off.

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Update:

I ended up fixing the fuel issue. I really enjoyed this car. I still wasn't completely happy with it. I think the forum life ruined it for me. I kept thinking well it needs X namebrand part and needs X horsepower. Not to mention the fact it was wayyyyy slower than my GT3076r build maybe the 15 years of owning and modding miatas. I dunno. I ended up selling and taking a break from cars for about a year. Boy that was a boring time. I started treating my hybrid like a track car which was embarrassing. I wanted a GT car that had some flair and sportyness to it. So I ended up with a Lerxus. I've always been a toyota fan so it makes sense. It took me 2 months to find what I was looking for. I had to give up on my first choice in color. Here is a pic of my RC-F with Sport Package, Sound/Nav, and seat upgrade. It has a ballin TVD.

I will always have a place in my heart for the miata. I have 5 kids and will probably build a miata with at least 2 of them for their first cars.

Build thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/bui...l#post10799064


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