Take 3: mgeoffriau buys a Miata
 

$1200 got me a black 1994 R-package with straight, rust-free body panels and a strong-running engine that had a recent timing belt change. Nearly everything needs work.

Just to get it back to a reasonably livable condition will require a new soft top, new carpet, new battery and mounting hardware, and quite a bit of work piecing the interior back together. Lots of missing bolts, brackets, and bits.

Then it will undergo a few modest modifications aimed mostly at improving the daily driving experience of the car -- a roll bar, some braces, some sound deadening, eventually a new suspension.

Then, somewhere down the road, perhaps I'll pursue some forced induction.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1389842672

Nice.

But posting a picture of a car under a cover is not cool. Stop being a tease

Dude, better pics! Let us see this baby. I have seen a couple of post the the cheap zipper rear window ebay tops are fine. I also found a good thread on sound deadening on CR interior section.

let me know what you do for the battery mounting hardware. Are you going to buy OEM parts? My car is missing all of the OEM battery stuff, and I don't even know what's supposed to be there, or what it's supposed to look like.

Just curious what your plan is.

Nice purchase?!?

Cool. Join me in making a 949 racing 95R track car clone?

BTW, for top and seat upholstery, I put E-bay specials on the Silver car. They've held up great for years and 10's of thousands of miles. Glass rear window is a must for a daily IMHO.

There's a guy parting out an NB locally. Still has a nice OEM tan top...I'd really like it. I thought $250 was a fair offer. He countered with $350 plus he gets the old soft top frame out of my car. Then I offered a straight swap, my 1.8 open diff + driveshaft for the soft top. He said he'd do the soft top for the diff + driveshaft, soft top frame, and $250.

I'll probably end up with an eBay top. I've done that once before and it was fine.

No way is a used top worth that much. You can darn near buy a new Robbins at retail with that money.

Yeah when I balked at his counteroffers he told me it's a $500 top.

Walk away

I paid $100 for a decent condition used top with frame

Eff that guy

Battery mounting hardware consists of:

1 corner bracket that is bolted to the trunk floor
1 anchor plate that is bolted to the trunk floor
1 plastic tray that sits in the bracket
1 top bracket that fits into a hole in a trunk panel
1 threaded rod with a j-hook

Like this: [EDIT] Pics wouldn't copy, just go here and check out sjmarcy's pics.

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=375549


You probably still have the 2 pieces that are bolted to the floor, so you would need the tray, the top bracket, and the threaded rod. You can get them from Planet Miata or on eBay for about $15-25 usually.

Mark - If I come across any random leftovers that are cheap to ship, I'll let you know. I can't be bothered to meet people in parking lots and I'm not letting Craigslist types over to my house and ain't nobody got time for eBay, so I can't be bothered to sell most of it anyway.

Awesome, thank you. I'm hoping Saturday I will have some time to start sorting through what's missing from the interior.

So far I have a battery, battery hardware, and an A/C button/fan selector on the way.

Couldn't help myself. The car should be pieces now but I wanted at least one short drive before it goes up on jackstands. Weather was beautiful today, about 60 degrees, sunny, and breezy. Stuck the new battery in, pulled as many loose parts and bits out of the car as I could in 10 minutes, checked the oil, and bolted the seatbelts back in place. Drove over to my in-laws house so my father in law could see the car, then drove a little ways down the Natchez Trace to an overlook on the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Nice afternoon drive.

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Finally got some time to start pulling things apart and cleaning. This car is dirty. Really, really, really dirty.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391990700

Battery had been installed with no tray or bracket, so as it shifted around it wore through the protective coating in the trunk. The resulting rust was superficial but widespread. Rusty areas were scrubbed and wiped down, then sprayed with rust-converting primer and then an enamel rust protectant top coat.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391990700

Seats and center armrest were pulled, then the tombstone and radio. Dash will come out later when carpet is reinstalled. Floorpan will get similar primer+enamel treatment for rusty spots. Reinforcement via frame rails from Flyin' Miata is upcoming.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391990700

Both seat pans are rusty, driver's side had crumbling rust. I knocked loose as much as I could, but between the rusty pans and the stained covers, I'll be looking for replacement seats in the near future.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391990700

Buttoned up for the night. This top cover is easier to put on and off than a full car cover.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391990700

Hit that trunk with some satin or glass black paint. Is it an R package?, its got the rear spoiler and lip.

Well, poop. I had an extra soft top frame in my storage room, so I figured I'd install the new soft top on that, and then swap it onto the car. Got partway into removing the remnants of the busted soft top on the frame when I noticed that both tension springs are extremely rusty, and both plastic blocks at the ends of the tensions cables are cracked.

So, I guess I'll pull the soft top frame off the car and see what shape it's in.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392520864

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392520864

In light of the above discovery, I started pulling the soft top off the car to check out the frame. Looks much better -- tension springs look good, both tension cables look good.

Rain rail retainers had some spot rust so I scuffed them down and then shot them with Rustoleum rust converter/protectant.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392603006

While I was waiting on the paint to dry between coats, I decided to remove the Frankenstein bolts/plates. The passenger side was damaged.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392603006

Slotted the stud with a dremel, sprayed some AeroKroil down there and carefully removed it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392603006

Decided to remove the driver's side as well, the stud stayed put so I slotted that and removed it as well. Shiny new bolts and plates from eBay are on the way. Got the regular non-Frankenstein bolts since I don't have a hard top right now.

I discovered I was missing these two access panels on the rear deck. Anyone have the correct nomenclature for those (or better yet, have a set they don't need)?

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392603006

You'll need a pick n pull for those.

New soft top is on. Looks pretty good for a $200 Kees top from eBay. A couple wrinkles that I'm hoping will smooth out as the top stretches into place.

I had forgotten what a pain it is to get the rain rail retainers back into place. I finally figured out that the easiest method is to get the two side retainers in place, then get a couple nuts on the center retainer started, then remove the side retainers to allow the rest of the center retainer to be tightened down. Then the side retainers can be reinstalled.

Got new hardtop plates, the passenger side doesn't sit flush. Apparently whenever the PO damaged that plate he also bent up the body panel slightly. Trying to decide if it's worth trying to hammer it back into place with a piece of wood and a dead blow hammer.

Can NOT get the soft top to latch. Doesn't help that it got chilly again here. Hoping that Saturday will be sunny and warm so that I can sit it out for a few hours and get it latched tight.

On the plus side, this arrived today.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1393546831

So much nicer than the eBay wheel I had the last Miata.

Nice!

Have your wife push forward on the bar closet to the soft top, while you latch from inside.

Tried that. Actually, tried that with about 30 lbs sitting on the center of the first bar, wife pushing down/forward on corner, me sitting inside pulling it forward trying to get latch to slip over the hook, after I ran the heat full blast for about 20 minutes to get it softened up.

Still about 1/2" too short (that's what she said?).

You could try loosening the latches as far as possible.

The barrel adjusters? Oh, those were loosened all the way immediately.

Leather conditioner? Just leave something heavy on it overnight and see if it stretches.

Did it go on? Interested as I need a new ebay top asap.

65 degrees and sunny today...I let it sit for an hour and then was able to get both latches hooked over the striker plates. Haven't tried closing the latches yet but will do so in a bit and take a photo for you.

Got both latches closed, then individually tightened the barrel adjusters a couple turns for good measure. Went on a quick drive and then parked it back out in the sun to keep stretching.

This is how it looks now. The window seams are still not perfect -- initially I had the tension cables riveted in backwards, and even though I fixed it the cables are still not quite all the way against the edge but are getting there. Other than that it looks great. I'm not a fan of how the rear window doesn't match the curve of the body, but for the price I don't care that much.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1393702795

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Sold the Baywatch truck on Sunday, so the ratty Miata is getting daily driver duty until I find something I want. Threw the interior back together as best I could on Sunday evening. Man this car smells bad. I am not sure if it's the seats or somewhere in the HVAC system, but as soon as I have something else to drive, it's all coming apart.

Nice top man! Stoked to see this car come together, it's a bit ratty now.. but certainly a good clean starting point!

Looks like a good beginning to cleaning up the car! Let me check if I have the access panels from my old car and I can send them to you. Not sure what I threw out with the totaled car though.

Thanks guys. I did get some access panels so I'm good there. This car is going to cost me an arm and a leg replacing every missing bolt and bracket, but it's fun having a car that I'm not worried about messing up. It's already terrible, so I may as well tear it apart, right?

The forced daily-driver duty is a funny thing, though. It's a mostly terrible daily driver. It has a million rattles, it bounces wildly over the smallest bumps, there's no horn, the headlights are stuck in the UP position, every time I turn on the HVAC fan new particles with attending odors come flying out of the vents, the alignment is terrible, the interior smells of rancid cooking oil, the engine bay smells of hot motor oil, the alternator belt squeals on startup and at idle on cold days, the shifter gaskets are disintegrated to dust, the non-fitted floormats slide around on the bare sheetmetal floor, there's no stereo, the rear R-package lip is hanging half-off, the front R-package lip is mostly missing, and the steering wheel is so deteriorated that I have to account for the slop in the outer layer of the wheel when I make a turn.

That said...

I had a long, long day at work -- nothing but rebuilding clinicians' tablets -- extremely boring and tedious work, but still requiring concentration and focus. It was cold this morning but had warmed up to around 60 degrees mid-day and was still sunny when I left the office.

I dropped the soft-top for the first time since I got it latched shut after the installation and headed home. I managed to hit the on-ramp to the interstate with no one in front of me, and I punched it up through 2nd as I turned on to the ramp and then shifted into 3rd just before merging into traffic. That was pretty nice.

It's still a really smelly car, though.

+1 on DD an old Miata. My TX backroad commute is the best part of my day.

It seems like a big list Mark, but as you go, you can whittle it down pretty fast. As long as you don't get sucked into the "while you are in there" condition.

Here's the list as it stands. I'm not discouraged, just a little annoyed that I can't find a daily driver I want, so the progress on the Miata has to stop while I use it to commute.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394150500

In other news, these arrived today. I really wanted Torx head as I really don't like hex heads, but the combination I wanted could not be found, so I settled for anodized titanium hex head countersunk screws for the steering wheel.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394150500

Geez Jeff Bucc...picky much?

It is too late already isn't it...my name is already a simile for OCD. :facepalm:

OWN IT!!!

Noticed a whiff of sweet coolant odor when I got home today. Walked inside to put my stuff down, came back outside, saw a faint trickle on the carport floor. Popped the hood and found this:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1395271939

Sigh.

Remove radiator, and JB weld that shit!:rofl:

New radiator arrived today. Install went pretty smoothly. Typical stuff, had to enlarge the fan mounting holes in order to get them lined up. The radiator hoses I ordered did not match at all so I reused the old ones, but they felt pretty good still.

I really need to buy a daily driver soon.

Also, I forgot to leave the radiator cap off and let it warm up with the cap on. I did remove it about 10 minutes in and tried to burp the upper hose as best I could. And the fans never came on. I double checked both were plugged in. The temp gauge never got higher than normal operating temp so I didn't really think it was an issue. Outside temp was around 45* so it didn't strike me as odd. Should one of the fans come on after idling for a good 15-20 minutes?

Pregnant wife and a newborn put the car on a backburner for a while but things are about to start happening.

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