Hello, a little advice would be nice!
 

Hello every one my name is Alex. I live in Omaha Nebraska.

Heres a little info about me,
I'm still in HS, im a senior and i run track!!! notice my name ;)
My parents are a little strict and haven't let me get a car....but now i'm 18 woot :)
I would really like to get a miata and have herd great things about the 1990-1997 era...NA??
I would really like to buy one and mod it but i'm on a tight budget of about 3k...

If there are any people that can help me out i would really appritiate it!

Thanks
Alex

welcome..

you're going to have to be a lot more specific with your questions. we are all here to help each other out, and do so, but before asking any questions, I suggest you sit back with a good cup of coffee and read through all the FAQ's as well as useful saved threads, they will help you out tremendously. then you can post your good questions and be helped;)

HAHA thanks dude! all go do that now :)

get a ride with Stein and become addicted to boost, then sell you body for car parts.

While $3k for a "modded" miata sounds ludicrous, in this economy anything is possible. Hang out a while, keep scouring craigslist, and you will eventually find one.

I got mine for free, but it had a blown motor. This is an option though, as junkyard specials (motors) sell for $600-800. This will also give you an easy opportunity to swap the clutch, and clean up engine bay.

Also, spend as much of your budget as you can on suspension. This is really the Miata's strong suit, and will give you much more enjoyment quicker for the dollar spent. I also don't advise any huge power gains without having more control from suspension, steering and braking. Depending on the condition of the vehicle you find, this could simply mean shocks and brake pads, or mean buttloads of bushings, tie rod ends, and bump stops/mounts.

Either way you need a car first, and you want to find a car that gets you as close to your goals as possible.

So now you need a goal.

If your goals is something outrageous that involves replacing nearly everything on the car anyhow, it doesn't matter too much what you find, just that it's cheap.

If your goal is just to stiffen suspension, and double stock output, try and find something in as decent shape as you can, with a 7" rear (lsd if possible).

Decide what you want (specific), what you are capable of, and maybe we can help plot a path to get there.

Thanks
 

I'm sorry if i confused any one i want to get a miata and MOD it myself...i want to DIY as much as i can!! and i probs want 2 just redo as much of it as i can b/c then i can learn more about my car right?

Yeah, we had caught onto that, being that this is the DIY turbo forum

My first sentence was considering buying a used miata, and money for later mods.

You get a C- for reading comprehension as the rest of the post clearly supported this assumption.

OK, thanks sorry bout that i was interpreting it as buying a modded miata for under 3k, not buying a miata then modding it for under 3k, my bad dude :(

Seriously, reading is your best friend when looking to build a car.

Your reading/posting ratio should be near 100/1. Otherwise, you will get pounded and laughed at.

You still have not addressed any other the issues posted by 18psi and I.

Piss poor start to a poor man's uber project if you ask me.

Let's make this simple:

1. What is your goal?

2. What will you use it for?

3. What are you capable of doing yourself?

ugg, i am reading all the FAQ post so idk yet...My goal is to have a ride that i can enjoy, mostly driving around town not really interested in drag racing.....a little driftin for fun...even through my record dosen't show it i'm a mostly fast learner...and have medium amount of knolage in the ways of cars...

HP desired?

fabrication skills?

anything to go on?

I want to help really, but I feel like I'm playing twenty questions with my 2 year old.

HAHA, im sorry but one im sick right now so my brain isent working the way i want it 2...

i would like to eventually get out around 220hp mabe 200tq or something like that...enuff to beet the average ricer around...

i dont really have that many tools besides the obvious...no special power tools or anything so idk about fabrication...

im not sure what to really ask...first i want 2 buy a miata...but b/c of my tight budget i dont really no what 2 look for or ask about...and all the miatas that are sold on here are 1 outa my price wrange and 2 already modded wich i dont want b/c i want 2 DIY as much as i can!

I would say first of all there is a difference between bolting parts on, and DIY.

Breaking it down into three degrees of pricing:

KITS: $3000-$5000

Order, bolt on, drive away.

MIXING PARTS: $2000

Lot of homework, searching for deals, but little mechanical fab work or in depth knowledge needed, as parts like downpipes would be jobbed out ($400).

DIY: $1000 minimum

Cheap, awesome, and you learn a lot. Lots of fabrication and studying involved.


I only go through this as I'm really only a couple of steps ahead of you, being a newb here myself.

FIRST: Get a car! You can find one in your price range.

SECOND: Sort the car out. This will involve replacing whatever the PO has been skimping on (they always forget to tell you brake pads are about to start scraping the rotors). This can range from a simple tune-up and inspection of systems, to replacing lots of parts.

THIRD: Upgrade present systems to support later power add ons. This is where I was talking about suspension and brakes. Even if you aren't going after a "big brake" mod and fully adjustable suspension, almost every used MX-5 will need shock soon, and atleast a brake bleed, systems check. I personally recommend stepping up to some performance shocks/springs/bushings/mounts as this will definitely give your Miata back the agile spirit it had when new, and then some.

FOUR: Mooooar powwa! Now that you are completely broke but have a dependable vehicle that is hella fun to flog on curvy backroads you decide you want to slap on a turbo and start smoking folks. But not so fast! There is a lot more involved here, and that's hopefully what you're finding in the FAQs. This is where I'm at now, and I have to stop myself from just buying turbos and parts, as I plan to first handle engine management, so nothing is holding me back when it's time to strap on a turbo.

Stop typing like you're on your phone/AIM for starters.

220/200 is too easy, anyone could do that after reading the FAQ and ordering the right parts. All of the cheapo Greddy turbos here running > 12 psi are making that much.

ok, thanks for the advice!! were would you all recomend i look for a miata? and secondly i only want 220-200 b/c i dont think i can handle more for starters! im a good driver and all but more than that with the waight of the car seems like alot!

again, read ALL THE WAY THROUGH the posts

craigslist.org is your friend

yes yes i know....i say Craigslist.com, but i was wondering about carfax or ebay....are eather of thughs good?

wuh wuh what???

The other requisite part was patience, especially for your price range.

In this economy though, you will eventually find a nice, cheap NA.

ok, i was wondering if i should look on ebay motors for a car of it thats unreliable...and if i should bother getting a carfax on and of them...

The great thing about craigs is that it's local. Ebay runs the lot on reliability, some great cars there, but generally anyone should be able to sell locally. You also can't go look at cars in other states, and then have to go pick it up or worse, ship it.

I've never messed with carfax. I prefer to just go look in person. If you haven't bought used cars before, bring someone knowledgeable, or find a shop that will check it out for you.

Look locally or next town over, be patient, keep saving.

ugg cancel out the last post im retarded....

Here is what I would do. You have 3000 dollars.

GET the most dependable cool car you can. You DO NOT WANT TO ALWAYS BE TINKERING WITH JUNK!

If you want cheap power, get a clean camero or mustang. Even the V6 camero with the 3.8 is pretty fast. But try to get a clean V8.

If your heart is set on a miata. Get the cleanest one you can find for your money. Don't buy the first thing you see.

Then you have a good dependable base. And you can get dates in it. Girls hate junkers..... Throw on a k&n air filter, and mabe a 2 1/2 inch exhaust. A 2 1/4 would be beter for na. But since you want turbo, I would go 2 1/2. Then you will be good for turbo when it comes.

Your car will be faster, and fun as can be. and you won't be working on it. Then you can save and buy parts as you go. Before long you will have enought to turbo it.

But BUY THE NICEST CAR YOU CAN GET!

And by the way, you can pick up turbo'ed miatas for 2500-5000. I just had to fly to florida on a buddy pass and drive it back. Dang good car, just a cracked ebay mani. But the welding shop can fix that. We spent $6000 and bought 2 FI miatas in one trip to florida.

And then we got to drive 2 red FI miatas with tops down, along highway 10 on the Gulf coast. It was cool.

Good Luck!

We were lucky though. atleast the guys were honest about the cars shape. And we new the clutch was going out in one of them.

But I am also good at picking up on cues of what is really wronge with the car.

ALWAYS CARRY A GOOD MECHANICAL FRIEND, when you are looking at cars. that way you don't get screwed.

No it isn't. It's bad. Stay away. No one over buys cars off of CL. Especially Miatas. :giggle:

I bought 8 Miatas off of CL in the last year. Three in Iowa and five in MO. Never bought one in NE. Good luck beating me to one.:giggle:

Seriously, there are some nice Miatas in that price range, but you won't find too many right now in our area, unless they are a fixer-upper and people just want them out of the garage or driveway. If they are decent, they have been stashed until spring.

IMO, the cars on Cars.com or Autotrader always seem to be priced too high. CL pricing has been much better. I'd look there.

lol


or you could just learn to talk, and get any girl you want. I've landed some super hot, trashy whores, and even a few respectable ones, in my 5-color 1994 with 14's and blown out interior. lol

if i were you i'd keep searching for a decent 3-4k NA over the course of a year or so and work a shit ton and save all the while. that way when you actually get a good buy, you have a good amount of money to dump into it to fix it up and make it as nice as possible.
(don't forget to read a shit ton in your free time)

if you're bent on getting a turbo, from one newb to another the best advice i can give you is that you must ABSOLUTELY BUY 'Maximum Boost' by Corky Bell.
best 32 dollars i've spent in a while.