Is this miata worth buying?
 

I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this.

http://tinyurl.com/2ayjrf

I'm looking to buy my first miata, and this looks like it might be affordable. Plus, it looks as though it's ready to have a turbo or supercharger added on?

It looks like it's been reworked all the way through, down to the paint job.

Would I be better off looking for a regular stock miata?

well it's got:
bigger brakes, torsen diff, and engine
great clutch
suspension
engine mounts, just to name a few

.... i think it's a great place to start.

Well, Problem with turbo charging this one is that I think the kits are Really Expensive. And by "looks like it might be affordable" I dont think you want to get into that. But do some research ont he fm site about the 1.8 kits. Also, its almost at 2000 and the resereve isnt met, What is your budget? I think this one is gonna go a bit higher but I could be wrong : / You should be able to find a great miata for well under 3k. Well around here you can at least. But the under 40k miles motor isnt bad
So what is it exactly you want to do with the miata you get? This could be the one

I was hoping to get some sort of turbo or super charger or nitrous down the road. for now I just wanted something that is in good shape and fun to drive. It seems like this one has some other performance enhancements already done to it. Would it be a good value for $3900?

I'd almost pay the reserve for the amount of useful stuff into the car.

Just because there isn't a greddy kit for the 1.8 doesn't mean there aren't options for turbo charging on the cheap. Used or DIY are good options.

In my opinion this is nearly an ideal Miata to start with.

pics of you?

+1

+3. 3900 For that thing is a great price. REALLY low miles.

+10 for pics

It does look like a good starting bed, a lot of the normal upgrades are already done....

The only questions to ask.... stock 1.6 front brakes? You would think with the larger 1.8 rears, the fronts would have been done too.....

Also something to consider.... with the SCs... since the throttle body is moved to the back of the blower, the longer intake volume, doesn't like lightened flywheels.... it can make idle dip more of an issue.

Dave,

All the more reason to go with a turbo :)

Looks like a good price. Why if he swapped motors did he not swap to the 96 air flow meter. He still has the flapper style one on there. Is this common? +1 for 1.8 turbos can be had on the cheap.

Normally you keep all the existing 1.6 electronics when you do a 1.8 swap. Not sure of too many people that have done a 1.8 swap including the wiring harness and the ECU.

So ya, it's common :)

There's just not enough benefit for the work involved. And keeping the 1.6 electrics still allows a swap to PnP ecu. I kept all my 1.6 stuff for my swap. Easy. :D

Looks like a good deal... I'd ditch the racing beat springs though. I had a set for a while (3K miles) they were too soft for the amount of drop. I spent most of my time on the bump stops and decided they were garbage... sold them on ebay for a profit despite tell the buyer they would be on the bump stops a lot.

HOLD IT! My spider sense is kicking in here... what is this car missing? Just look at the mods carefully? Anyone? Guys?

Yup, you guessed it, A TURBO! Where is it? I've got $20, any takers? The car is ideally modded with all the required pieces except the turbo. Who the hell puts an ACT Xtreme/StreetDisc on a stock motor? I'd say there was a slim chance he was GOING to put on a turbo and then lost interest, but I'd also give LONG ODDS that he parted the kit to sell the car. There'll be signs. He probably wouldn't have bothered to change the spark plugs back to stock... and the usual random holes where things mount. Yup, returned to "stock" to sell it is my vote. You don't just go that far with getting it all ready and then quit. I've been wrong before though.

Melissa, if you're serious about this car, somebody in the Chicago area would probably go look at it for you. The auction just ended for less than the reserve, so it's still there. If you'd ad to your profile where you live, maybe somebody on the board will be local and can help locate you a quality car. Have you looked in the classifieds at miata.net? Have you ever driven a turbo'd/super'd Miata? Any idea what kind of power you're looking for?

Because the 1.8 brakes came with the 1.8 rear swap. :gtfo:

Melissa, you may not like that ACT XT clutch very much. Depends on your inseem, leg strenght and shifting abilities. You're looking at a heavy pedal and a short engagement period.

IMO, however, that car may be an ideal platform to turbocharge. But it's easy to make a whore look like a princess in internet pics. I wouldn't buy it w/o seeing it and getting a buyer's inspection. The platform does have 190k miles on it, despite the milage of the drivetrain. Stuff does wear out.

Ben

Possibly/probably... or... it's because to help with Sam's theory.... the guy had a big brakes, on the front, but the 1.8's on the back to help with the balance. Parted out the big brakes, and now is back to stock....

Seems weird he'd specify only "rear".... And in the photo's the fronts look like "stock" brakes (can't tell the size though from them).

Or who knows... but I thought it might be a question to ask. <G>

Dave,