It only took 3 fuggin years and 1200 posts...
 

I got a damn car. I doubt anyone in here remembers me, I pretty well stopped posting regularly about a year ago. Got a job in non-profit and have been pretty much occupied since.

Truck got stolen, no idea if/when it will ever be found. Had my tools in it, along with a leather jacket that was a gift from my father, a backpack I have used since the age of 16, my Camelbak which had my buck knife in it which was gift from my mom when I was ~13. That S10 was the shit, I never maintained it properly and it just would not die. I paid 3K to get 50K+ miles out of it, starting at 90K. Got 25MPG average like clockwork.

Stupid to have that stuff in there for any length of time. Bit me right in the ass.

So, screw it. Got a '95 today with 133K on it for 2200 bucks. I can tell the suspension bushings are pretty torched, but it shifts great, the engine runs well, and the steering has no slop that I can detect. New top, cosmetically pretty hosed, but no major dents. Some fool had the wrong type of battery in there so there is some corrosion in the trunk I need to handle ASAP.

Pics to come.

Maybe in about 10K posts I will actually turbo it.:facepalm:

For now I need to just handle the corrosion, maybe do a reroute, and think about suspension bushings and some tires. Though it does have some snows that will get me through winter really well.

I was a long time lurker too.

Had the same battery issue, although I caught it pretty early -- no real corrosion issues.

Pull and toss the carpets. Scrub with water and baking soda to neutralize the acid. Treat the corrosion (wire brush is probably all you'll need). Prime and paint with brush-on Rustoleum. If desired, get new trunk carpet from Rosenthal. Once you have a proper battery, I recommend the hold down kit from Saferacer.

On the gradual turbo install, my recommendation is to start with a Megasquirt.

Too bad about losing the sentimental stuff.

Yeah, that kills me, mostly because I should not have had it in there anyway. That jacket was worth almost as much as the truck LOL. And the tools were also from my folks many years ago. Probaby why it got stolen in the first place. Foolish.

It's stock for now, but yeah basics (depower rack, coolant reroute, real oil pressure and temp guages...), MS, clutch, then forced induction. I miss my DSM because I could figure out darn near anything by plugging in the laptop. Can't wait to get MS on there. The entire speed-density system appeals to me too for simplicity.

Congrats on the purchase. Where in Colorado are you? I can't imagine driving the miata NA through the mountains. no power.

+1 on the megasquirt advise

Thanks. Denver/Aurora/anywhere. I just tend to be all over. I got the car in the Springs from a pretty good guy today. After looking at some absolute crap in the Denver area.

Honestly if you have the shock of going from 300ish HP in a 4.10 geared car to about 130 in a pickup for a few years, a bone stock Miata feels OK.

Having said that, I am pretty much calibrated to what I can get away with in 2nd gear in terms of throttle in a turn. Which is pretty much anything. More power is welcome though far-off.

Cool, I'm in the Denver/Aurora/Boulder Area as well. My car has rust issue too, in the rear fender by the door area.

PS: When you go turbo, don't bother with high flow cats, can't pass emission, i tried 3 times last week, finally gave up and installed a std cat, passed with flying colors afterwards. My HC and CO level went down five fold...

Good luck

Dellman and Sparetire...good to see a couple more Coloradan here.

Sorry about your loss Sparetire, that really sucks. I'm in the Springs...where'd you find the Miata? I keep a pretty close eye on CL, you find it there? And what DSM did you graduate from lol. I had 2g's for about 10 years, and work at Jack's Transmissions part time.

I had a Jack engine and trans! You guys are a great shop. I had a dark green 93 Laser AWD. Just a mild E316G setup. IIRC Jacks brother may be using my old eprom/link.

I did see the car on CL. Red, black top, cosmetic issues shown fairly well in the pics. Originally a leather interior with swaped in base model seats. Guys name is Tim. From what I gathered they had trouble selling it initially due to the dents and scratches, hence the 2200 price. That works out well for me, I dont care much. He represented the car exactly as it is; basically sound with some rough edges.

Glad you liked what you got from us at Jack's. It's a great place to work and a good bunch of guys. Jack is one of the smartest people I know...very analytical and productive mind when it comes to mechanical and electrical things.

I saw that Miata and thought it would be a good starting point for somebody at that price. Congrats! Next time you are headed down this way shoot me a PM.

OMFG I am Stupid
 

I am a FOOL A drooling, slack jawed, empty headed idiot. Where is that double facepalm picture? That's me.

We went out looking for the truck one last time before putting in a claim on my renters insurance for the tools and all.

It was sitting right where I left it. I had parked about 2 blocks farther South than I thought possible.

I parked in the day, in an area I dont know well. When I left that night after 4 hours of pretty interesting material, I walked a gal to her vehicle because its a semi-sketchy area at night. That got me all turned around. So even when we did what I thought was a pointlessly complete search for the truck that night, we were to far off base.

On Sat. we did not do much looking, as I already had a police report in and figured if I was stupid enough to have missed it they would have caught it, or it had gotten towed and I would hear about it from their database. Wrong. Turns out cops are pretty busy dealing with rapists, DUIs, accidents, gangbangers, etc. Go figure. I thought a 143K mile truck would be at the top of their list.

So I look at my truck, stunned, pinch myself, double facepalm for about 3 minutes, and drive home.

God protects fools sometimes. I did not get pulled over in what was at the time a reported stolen truck. Would been such an interesting experience to eat pavement with a gun to my head because the cop is making a felony stop.

Just talked with the Police, everything is square now, and I never did file a claim on my insrance (I had liability only on the car anyway, so only my renters was even pertinent.)

I now have my truck, tools, jacket, field knife, Camelbak, and backpack back, and a '95. I am down 2200 bucks, some hair on the top of my head, some gas, and some time.

Good trade. I'll be getting a second job soon anyway, so the cash will be replenished.


I will do that, assuming I dont loose my keyboard, report it stolen, get a new one, find the old one, and drown in the rain. :facepalm:

Seriously though, this car is so much fun and I'm down to hang out with some other Miata people.

:bowrofl:

Wish I could say I've never done anything that dumb.

Glad you got your sentimentals back.

That gal owes you a BJ.

hahahahha kudos to you for actually admitting it, especially here!! I've done stupid things like that before, I think everyone has.

I had the same thing happen to me once except I'd a couple straps in my truck so the police found that shit in like 10 mins.