This was once the case. Alas, I left all of my machine tools behind when I was tragically forced to vacate SoCal in 2013.

Time to start rebuilding.

On that note, any suggestions for a block heater that fits a BP engine?

This style works very well if you have the time / tools etc to install it.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...06e5540523.jpg

Also, synthetic oil and a high CCA battery are a must.

That's the style I'm looking at. Hoping someone can provide me with a tale of how they installed said heater with the engine still in the car. (And also a part number.)

Failing that, thinking about maybe a pad-style heater adhered to the side of the oil pan. Eg: https://www.padheaters.com/oil-pan-h...1-pro-th125l-1

Battery is the usual East Penn / Deka 8AMU1R. It's gotten me through the past three winters. Oil is Mobil 1 5w30.

To be honest, this is less about cranking and more about the luxury of having cabin heat first thing in the morning with it's -10°F outside. I've become rather bourgeois in recent years.

Is the car parked outside? If so, perhaps a remote car starter? If you garage it and don't want to be aphyxiated (who doesn't?) then ignore my suggestion.

I refer you to post 39018 in this thread, just a few posts up from here.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ac3c97e382.gif
The tooling cart for those batteries actually is labeled “Miata”.

I am not a big fan of stick on heaters.
* You have to use silicone to, well, stick them on the oil pan, and it does not conduct heat well.
* Miata oil pan is not very well suited to such pads.
* You heat the oil with those pads, not the coolant. While it provides a benefit for the engine to start easily on really cold mornings, it still takes a while for the coolant to warm up to make the cabin bearable.

If you have rerouted your coolant lines, removing the freeze plug in the old thermostat housing's stead is relatively easy. Otherwise, you have those pesky manifolds (preferably the IM) to deal with.

A circulating block heater will give you almost instant heat in the cabin in the morning. I had those on several cars over the years, and the coolant gauge would register just above the cold mark (as opposed to waaay south of it) in -30F mornings.
They are much easier to install, too. Just follow the instructions and cut some hoses.
The only downside is the power they consume. Freeze block heaters are around 400 Watts, while the circulating variety are bit hungrier, at around 1200 to 1600 W.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...18a1681eb.jpeg

Here at work, we have a nice free 120V plug next to each parking spot for the 500 employees specifically for block heaters. The most bourgeois install a 700W air heater in the passenger's footwell and let it heat the cabin all day... They are easy to spot as they are the ones fuming when it's snowing.

You could insulate and heat your garage? Or install said air heater with a timer to heat the cabin 15min before time to go to work.

Or you could do like my father and install a 12v heated seat cover : https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/h...-0323511p.html

Just installed my track pads...

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...68bcb47c1e.jpg

L2T.

M4S.



In other news, it turns out that an inexpensive and distressingly ugly fixie bike is something that you can purchase at your local U-Haul store.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5992838665.png


Now, I've purchased a lot of random shit at U-Haul over the years. Locks, ammunition, a propane tank... But a bicycle? I would love to know the demographic profile of someone who purchases a bicycle from U-Haul.

Well, he works in broadcasting, lives in Chicago...

A vocal impressionist, and some good software:

click to play

My uncle Jorge used to tell us to believe nothing that you hear, and only half of what you see.

At the time, the Apple II was considered to be cutting-edge technology.

Today I learned there was an apparently very cheesy direct-to-video horror film, shot at my Alma Mater (Oklahoma State University) starring Christopher Walken. c. 1991.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8d3d285e17.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-American_Murder


It's on Amazon Prime for $0.99, so I'll be watching it sometime this week. It will be interesting to see what the campus looked like in 1991. I attended 2000-2005. And it looks even very much different from 2005, as 2004 is when T. Boone Pickens started his money dump into the school. I believe his total donations to athletics, scholarships, and other areas around the school topped $600 million.