Anyone Ever See This Miata Before?
 

Hello all,
I would like to know if anyone has ever seen this Miata before. It is the one that I am considering purchasing. I have the money in hand ready to meet his offer, just want to know the history behind this car if anyone else knows it. It's in FL, and I'm in GA, so I haven't been able to see the car in person yet.
Thanks!

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l1...4/DSC06748.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l1...4/DSC06702.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l1...4/DSC06753.jpg

I'm pretty sure that guy posts on clubroadster all the time. It looks like a very good car to me.

I've seen it on ebay more than once. Thought it was overpriced.

Looks real solid.

omfg. I need to do that, but in green. Hopefully it performs half as good as it looks.

Yeah, that's actually how I found the car. Talking to the owner, he said he started the price high so only serious bidders would look at it.
What's overpriced though, it has a lot done to it? I'm looking for any opinions, not questioning your opinion.
Thanks!

he's on clubroadster.net, leatherface24. IIRC

http://clubroadster.net/forum/garage...ehicle&CID=180

I don't remember the specifics of the car, but want to say it's some sort of bastardized diy turbo system (though looks like he did it right) and the starting bid was $9k, on a $5k car.

Why don't you shoot some details of the build?

i like the gold foil treatment for space travel.

but i do not like the spray painted thermostat housing that was not well-masked.

otherwise the car looks tip top tits.

This is what I have from him:
ENGINE:
STOCK INTERNALS
NEW MAGNECOR PLUG WIRES
1MONTH OLD PWR RADIATOR

FLYIN MIATA II TURBO KIT (INCLUDED WITH THE KIT IS AS FOLLOWS):
RC ENGINEERING 550 CC INJECTORS
LINK ECU AND PC LINK (HOOK UP TO TUNE ON A LAPTOP)
GARRET GT2560R TURBO
FLYIN MIATA DOWNPIPE
FLYIN MIATA INTERCOOLER
FLYIN MIATA EXUAST MANIFOLD
ALL PIPING AND COUPLERS AND CLAMPS
ALL EMISSIONS EQUIPMENT REMOVED
NEW FLYIN MIATA BOOST SOLENOID
THIS KIT HAS GIVEN ME NO ISSUES AT ALL ACCEPT FOR THE BOOST SOLENOID WHICH WAS REPLACED. NOT A BIG DEAL.

BOOST IS ROCKSTEADY AND IS CONSISTENTLY AT 15 PSI WITH NO PROBLEM.

DRIVETRAIN:
CUSCO 1.5 WAY LSD
ACT EXTREME CLUTCH
FLYIN MIATA LIGHTNENED FLYWHEEL
CLUTCH SWITCH OVER RIDE

SUSPENSION:
BILSTEIN SHOCKS
H&R SPORT SPRINGS
MAZDA R-PKG SWAY BARS

EXHAUST:
FLYIN MIATA DUAL TURBO EXHAUST
STRAIGHT PIPE CAT

TIRE AND WHEELS:
NEW PERFECT SPORTMAX 002 15X8 WHEELS WITH A 0 OFFSET
KUMHO ECSTA MX'S ALL AROUND
HAWK HPS PADS
GOODRIDGE STAINLESS STEEL BREAK LINES

EXTERIOR:
BRAINSTORM PERFORMANCE LOW PRO HEADLIGHTS
MIATA R PKG FRONT AIRDAM AND REAR LIP SPOILERS.
MOSS MOTORS TURN SIGNAL INTAKES
RUNABOUT CROME SIDE MIRRORS
NEW SOFT TOP WITH VINYL WINDOW INSTALLED 6 MONTHS AGO
SELECT RACING FRP FENDER FLARES MOLDED TO THE FENDERS

INTERIOR:
FAUX SUADE COVERED DOOR PANELS
METRO MOTORSPORTS WINDOW CRANKS
NEW INSTRUMENT HOOD
SHORTENED SHIFTER
SONY RADIO/MP3/CD-R/ IPOD AUX INPUT RADIO
ALPINE FRONT SPEAKERS WITH CLEARWATER TWEETERS AND CROSSOVERS
NO RIPS OR TEARS AT ALL ON THE INTERIOR SEATS OR CARPET
EBAY STEERING WHEEL 320MM STEERING WHEEL
AUTOMETER ULTRALIGHT BOOST GUAGE

You've named 2 things among a few others that I'd change about the car.

What's the asking price? Or did I miss it?

You can get a Miata like that for 5K? I have to move to Atlanta-ish...

i love that car!i would buy it if i had the money.there is a video of it at clubroadster.it looks sweet going down the road.

buy it and get a hardtop, your car will smell like sex

Haha! And I actually have someone selling a red hardtop on standby if I get it.

also have sex in it, leave some snail trails

damn that's sexy.

Yeah i was about to say that seems like a guy name leatherface on msprotege. He can never sell it it seems.

I like it except the previous mentioned, and also the fender flares.

At first glance it looks like a really nice car. The exterior is very nice, but I never have really liked those wheels. Under hood looks good until you start really looking at it.
Breather on the PCV
Bronze painted thermostat, sorta..
NASA Gold heat shielding?
FMII...sry I had to
-Michael-

Yeah, like I said, a few things I want to change and fix, make the car more customized to me. I'm not big on the attempted paint job on the thermostat, the heat shielding actually works really well, but it's coming off the intake manifold, and I'm going to find some way to tone it down/hide it, that's a little more bling under the hood than I want.
As for FMII, they seem to have their sh** under control, and I keep hearing how easy the Link is to use. I'm pretty excited about the whole deal.

The FMII as a system is less than optimal IMO. The link (which I also use) is a fairly good EM, but I don't like much of the charge piping, turbo manifold, etc. Don't take it the wrong way, it is a good system, I just would have designed things a bit differently.
-Michael-

I kinda like that bronze paint, it kinda fucks with ya.

It actually reminded me of magnesium parts used on some Ducatis at first glance, then I saw how terribly it was done.
http://mototekcom.nationprotect.net/...tid=1027&stc=1

The "bastardizing" on that one was designed by Corky Bell.
And good luck finding a decent FM2 car for 5k.

Overall pretty nice. I always laugh at the misuse of the Apollo-era heatshielding film (what's the piece on the intake manifold blocking heat from, the hood?)

maybe it's gold leaf

wasn't the point of the gold foil on satellites to protect against radiation not heat?

Uh no. And FUCK an FMII, it's been proven time & time again that $5k is enough to blow an FMII away.

FMII for 5k? LMFAO. That car is worth the $9k, and probably more. Leatherface24 on the CR.net boards. He's a big poster, and the car is nice. He's selling IMO because he wants to do a full-blown NA build with IRTBs, standalone, etc.

As far as the FMII setup, we all would do something different on every car we see. That setup is very, very nice. At $9k I wouldn't hesistate.

That is not the car I was thinking of, but I DO remember this car now. It was on ebay a few times with real ricer looking photos. I would want to get compression & maybe leak down checks since he's been driving it around at 15 psi.... or more

It has some mods that are nice, some are "to taste" that most wouldn't care for. He does have a lot of money in it, but frankly you don't get it back at resale. You didn't mention how many miles are on the car. If the car is as nice in person as it is in the pics, it has under average miles, and the mechanicals check out, I'd say $7k MAX, and deduct for any needs/flaws.

Also, what's up with the "all emissions equipment removed"? What is removed, just the cat, or something more invasive? Do you live in the metro area (tail pipe testing)?

:gay: HAHA you smoke crack. I see people *ask* $8, 9, sometimes 10 or more grand for their FMIIs. And they SIT AND SIT. 6-12 months later, the owner will take FAR FAR less than what they originally asked.

I confused this particular car that's been on ebay a bunch of times for another red one that's been on ebay a bunch of times. If the car checks out, it should go for more than 5, but if you won't hesitate at $9k, I have some real estate you may be interested in.

look along the pass side fender, all that crap is gone. Looks like almost all the emissions systems are gone from that.

Wow. Didn't mean to start a fight here.

The car has 66,500 miles, when it says emissions equipment removed, it means the cat and charcoal canister were removed, and that the egr valve has a black-off plate. It's getting registered in a county that doesn't have emission requirements, however, I talked to someone at FM, and he said that as long as it has a good tune, it shouldn't have a problem passing the sniffer and load tests. Moot point.
Being that I work at a dealership's service dept., I'm taking some tools with me to check the car out when I go down there. But I've already pretty much decided on the car, and the price that we agreed upon. If it looks, runs, and sounds as good as it has on all of the pictures and videos that I've requested be made, I'm going to jump all over it. CarFax showed a few owners, but no wrecks or anything else on the records.

My only apprehension is that it doesn't have power steering, and the only vehicle that I've driven that didn't have power steering was a truck and it was hard as hell, hopefully that won't be the case with Miatas because they are so light.

No PS in these cars is a non-issue. Several members actually remove the power steering by looping the lines or removing the internal seals.

As far as passing the sniffer with no cat, that's totally bogus, but with all the emissions equipment an FMII should pass smog.

thtas the beauty of a ECU. I've seen RX7s barely pass with no cat. And thats saying alot!!!

It was to protect against radiated heat, yes.

No one suggested 5k couldnt possibly build more power.
Of course it can. DUH. That wasnt the question.

And...for those of us who have NO where NEAR 5k in our FM2 setup we wouldnt subtitute any shitass Greddy (or cobbled DIY garbage) nearly the entire kit of which must be tossed for something better. In general people with Greddys that make any power have more invested then I do in an FM2 with Link, upgrades and all...OR they have a tinker toy band-aid system which I wouldnt compare. Of course if you count the hundreds of hours they spend trying to get things working right as a 'zero' then maybe its 'cheaper'. LOL My time is more valuable then that.

Interesting how you seem to be a fan of Corky Bell but not all of his work. The FM2 is his work...and it works quite well. Could it be improved? Sure. Anything, even his new system, could be 'improved'.
And while your bitchin about FM2 cars not being worth much please find me a two or three nicely done examples for 5k. I am ready to buy.......them all. ;)

I agree many FM turbo owners over price their cars...but most people with modded cars do. So thats nothing new.

I've had 3 miatas, 2 with PS and 1 without. I prefer the way the non-ps car drives. The only time the steering wheel will feel awkward to you is the very first time you turn it. It won't feel heavy like a depowered rack, but you will notice that it takes a little more effort than what you're accustomed to. You will quickly get used to it, and you will also learn that you need the tires rolling to turn the wheel easily... but the wheels should be rolling any time you turn, power steering or no ;)

Read posts 29 & 30 in this thread. I think I addressed all this already.

Also, I in no way attack the performance of an FMII, old kit or new kit. I attack the *value* of the kit. Sorry, I don't think $6-7k for 220 rwhp is all that great. Nor do I find any piece of their kit to be super reliable in a world of junk.

Yeah, I hoped the non-PS would not be an issue, so that's good to know.

As for the emissions side of things, I was thinking of replacing the straight-pipe with a high-flow cat, just because the State Patrol here actually will look under a car that looks modified to see if it has a cat, if not, it's a $1200 fine. Any recommendations for that?

I think the car looks really nice, but i wouldnt pay more than 7k for it.

1. FM/BEGI kits can be had for WAY less then 6-7k. 2-3k will get one, even less if you know what youre doing. $$ well spent for a person wanting 220hp and DD reliability.
2. Reliability is standard on BEGI/FM kits...thats well known. Your assessment of that is laughable. But thanks for your "expertise" on that subject. ;)

At the end of the day if it makes you happy to spend countless hours and trickle plenty of $$ into your system a little at a time, thats cool with me. Youre not alone.
I prefer to spend my time driving and not tinkering. I have never suggested one couldnt make more power or do it cheaper. Theres ALWAYS a cheaper way. Theres ALWAYS a way to make more power. The grass will always be greener somewhere else.

I accept all of these systems for what they are:

Greddy, a cheap POS entry level turbo setup...nothing comparable...that can be made to run quite well....with time, bandaids and $$.
BEGI/FM, a fairly well engineered complete turn-key setup that makes decent reliable power. More cost up front.
DIY, countless hours of 'fun', real satisfaction from doing it the hard way, while trickling $$ from ones bank acct.

They each have their merits. ;)

Back on topic....
As for the car in question...10k is high. 7k might work but I would personally be looking elsewhere for that $$ as the mods arent really to my taste.

It's not an issue. Where are you? You can try my car if you want. I'm in Gwinnett.

I'm not an expert in the area, but I can't imagine why I'd want to block off the PCV? I can't imagine that it would do anything to increase performance? I'd want the seller to include whatever he took out with the car, and I'd put it back in.

When/If you purchase the car, it won't be a big deal to put a new cat in it. If there is a cat-delete "test" pipe, you just pull it down and put the cat in its place. If there's no test pipe, then you'll need to cut a section of exhaust out and weld flanges in. There are tons of very inexpensive "high performance" cats available.

I'm happy that you're happy with the decisions you've made, and you don't need to justify your build to anyone but yourself (or maybe your wife). I'm not bashing you, your FMII system, or your or anyone else's decision to go with FM. But I am being open minded when making a comparison to other options in the market.

I fail to see how an FMII is more reliable long term than the Greddy. I see failures occur with both kits. Not often, but they do happen, and typically nothing catastrophic. I'm not doing statistical analysis on failure modes, so I'm not an expert--and don't claim to be. But unless you're the gatekeeper of MTBF data on miata turbo kits, don't question my credentials.

It's wondeful that you've been able to put together an FMII kit for a few grand. Congratulations to you. Of course, that means you've scored used and clearance gear. So you got it at a better value than a new kit (which if you add up the pieces is over $6k easily). Which took some of your valuable driving time, and really means you have a DIY kit with FMII parts. But I guess you enjoy riding on the FM bus with the cool people. And remember, I didn't knock the performance of the kit. My complaint was with performance per dollar.

I don't agree that there is always a better/faster/cheaper, but will agree that people are resourceful, and are always looking for means of improvement in a particular area. Sometimes when you improve in one area, you get additional benefit in another area, sometimes you don't.

Don't get all high n mighty that your used FMII kit is any more reliable or cost effective than a put together greddy or DIY kit. It ain't.

*not to pick a fight* but...

don't the greddy manifolds crack easily, esecially if you don't do relief cuts?
doesn't the downpipe suck?
isn't the hardware weak (ie. bolts, nuts, etc)

Now all of that can be upgraded, but they again its not a stock kit anymore either.

fwiw most local owners that I know with greddy kits will admit that its a giant pile of shit if you just bolt it on straight out of the box, and thats their own opinion as owners :dunno: but whatever, its a cheap starting point to get you in the game and they still don't regret using it, even if all they still have is the turbo, manifold, and a couple lines.

Na, you have some validity. Supposedly the manis don't crack anymore (different metallurgy). Also, I believe the FM manis have relief cuts. But we're not really talking about a "base" $1200 greddy kit vs a $7k FM kit are we?

Buying all *new* parts, you can have a pretty strong greddy kit for $3500 or so.
1200 kit
500 stripes ic
160 460 or 550 injectors incl servicing
400 clutch
600 exhaust
-----
2860 + engine management
or roughly 50% of an FMII kit.

And I'm not trying to fight. But really don't like close-mindedness. Especially by a wanna be.

Geeze Ben ya need to lay off the crack...seriously.

Yes its true you can buy enough upgrades/spend enough time to 'fix' a Greddy
OR...you could just probably buy a USED FM kit for even less....and then you could actually control your fuel/timing etc with an ECU instead of bandaids ;)
Makes sense to me...buy a kit, then throw it away, youre left with a cheap Mitsu turbo, which will work of course, and a shitty manifold that DOES often crack...has horrible position within the engine compartment...yada yada etc etc

And having owned both, and spent time around both, I can say quite easily that the FM is far more reliable in general.
I know several people who have had FM kits for 5-8 yrs and have done NOTHING, nada, after stanadard install. No such thing in Greddy land. Tinkering is required. BTDT.

Of course, if you turn the boost up on an FM/BEGI setup to 20 psi, race it, play with settings when you dont really know what your doing etc etc etc you will undoubtedly have trouble. If properly installed and you use as DESIGNED it works quite well. Very well in fact.

But as a cheap-ass-intro-nickle it along setup a Greddy is the tits. Nothing is comparable...and it has its place...and always will.

I dont understand why you continue. We basically agreed on everything. And since you don't have any failure incidence data to validate your point that a used FM kit is going to be longer lived to a similarly priced new Greddy kit with upgrades, please stop. Don't argue to aruge. And don't compare a msrp $1200 bare bones kit to a $7k full blown kit.

All I said is that there are options. You picked a path that makes you happy. But don't knock the other paths, they all get to the same place.

again, not to be a dick Ben, BUT

Greddy may be $1200, but a COMPARABLE FM kit is $2770

Yes it does cost 2x as much, but does come with some things the Greddy doesn't.

And $7k for a full blown FM2? where? They are $4995 for a FM2 w/ Hydra no less...

I'm down in Newnan, just south of the airport, I'd actually like to come see your car, see how the turbo side of Miatas go, Gwinnett is only about 40 minutes away. Might bring the '97 STO. :)
The PCV is not blocked off, the EGR valve is. It prevents recirculation of harmful/hot exhaust gases in turbo'd cars.
He said that he'd be including everything that came off the car, so no worries there.
It has the test pipe, so I'm looking for something good to put in there now.
_______________________________________________
As for everything else, this didn't need to start everyone bickering. Personally I stay away from the GReddy kits because we installed one of their kits on my buddy's Celica, and it wasn't the best I've seen in the world, especially after some time, but it wasn't the worst either.
On my Saturn, I had a complete custom setup, almost everything was hand made, welded, the works, just because no one makes sh** for Saturns.
But I've been reading up for a while now, and out of everything available, the FM or BEGi kits seem the most reliable for a full, out of the box and ready to go kit, so my choice for now has been between the two. This car has a lot done to it, I like it alot (for the most part, like I said, there are things I want to do to make it more customized to me), and it would take a whole hell of a lot longer and a lot more money to build something similar if I were to have to start from a untouched car.

This thread was aimed to see if anyone knew about the car or it's owner, to which I've discovered answers to both questions. The other crap isn't helping.

Federal law requires that any emissions equipment that came on the car from the factory remain in place and in working condition. If a cop pulled you over and felt like being an ass he could write you up on federal violation. Fine is huge and jail-time is possible. Just an FYI.

Yeah, that's something I do know, but it's rarely as severe as stated. Around here, they'll check for a cat, because most cops know what that at least looks like, as for everything else, not many know the workings of all the engine parts. That's why I'm concerned about the cat really, it's a $1200 fine in the state.
But the city in the county where it is getting registered is the city for which I will be a police officer in after I get a medical release from the wreck that I was in. I was a week away from starting the academy when I got rear-ended. :mad: So it should be ok, everyone knows everyone in small counties. But thanks for the heads up!

Any way you wanna roll it, that car is a hell of a deal not to mention one of the better looking Miatas out there. Sell what you don't want and get what you do. Either way you have a serious machine in the end.

I am not knocking it. The Greddy is a great cheapass/ beginners/budget turbo setup. Its great for building on a trickle budget. And there is nothing to rival it....in its class. I'd buy one myself if I only had $1300 to spend.
In fact I have bought several of them in the past.
It just doesnt at all compare to a well engineered turn key fully tunable system. Nor should it be expected to.

As Fritch said...FM/BEGI kits arent 7k. I dont know where you are shopping.

To be clear, I am not an FM "brand" salesman...I have never yet spent one penny with FM...or BEGI either...even though I have used some of their parts.

I have met many a person who said although they enjoyed their Greddy, they learned alot from it, it ran okay, it made decent power, it was fun..etc etc, IF they had to do over theyd buy a complete well engineered fully tunable system and be done with it. I have NEVER met one person who said they ran a BEGI/FM setup for 5 yrs without issues but if they had to do over they'd buy a Greddy with poorly fitting JCWhitney/**** pipes, a Saab IC and AFPR. ;) Maybe such a person exists but he/she would be a rare breed.
Theres a reason for that....brand has nothing to with it.

I think the biggest difference between a FM kit and Greddy is that you can find a USED Greddy much easier. If I actually added all the money I spent on upgrading the Greddy(IC, E-manage, 305 injectors, J&S, WB O2, etc. etc.) I'm pretty sure it would cost the same as an FMII but I would have had to wait months/years to get one. A good deal on a use Greddy seems to pop up weekly.

That said I bought the Greddy almost 2 yrs ago and it's still sitting in storage...

t.t.

Yeah this car sucks.

Yeah it does. Doesn't even have a f***ing engine in it.

Way to resurrect an almost 2 year dead thread. lol

hahahaah i knew you'd see this