Hello everyone,

I surfed into this site while looking for Miata information. I am looking to buy a Miata with the intent to turbo it. I've always like light weight good handling cars, and am surpised I've never owned a Miata before. I've turbo'd a vw scirocco and owned a bunch of gti/gli's. I learned that too much power and front wheel is a bad idea.

I am currently looking for a Miata, and am keeping an eye on craigslist and ebay. Does anyone else have any good websites to watch (other than this one of course)? I live in Maine so finding a car without rust is key.

I've kind of narrowed my search to the 94-97 models as they came with the 1.8L and better brakes.

Did Mazda intend to turbocharge the Miata at some point? It seems wierd that they would only use a 9:1 compression ratio. It's like they wanted you to turbo or supercharge it..

Thanks for any info.

 

the motor was originally a turbo motor off the 323. Get a 94.

 

I see. Why a 94, are they better than later ones?

Also, is it possible to find Miatas without rocker rust? All the ones I see out here have rocker rust. I think I'd rather get on a plane and drive one back than deal with rust.

How durable are the stock engines? VW's can be a piece of junk in a lot of ways, but the engines are very durable. I was able to double the stock output (240WHP) on a 170,000 mile engine with only a head gasket spacer. The engine was still running 5 years and 3 owners later.

 

Welcome to the Forums. I vote for getting 94-97.

 

Oh, and per the sticky at the top of the forum...

A little about myself. I am kind a car junky that gets stuck behind a desk because I am good with numbers. The turbo kit on my vw I built from scratch and tuned with SDS. I haven't really had a project car in a few years, but am looking for something to tinker on.

I really like light weight cars that handle well. I considered a porsche 944 turbo, but they are too expensive to maintain and getting pretty old now. I like the simplicity of the Miata. The only downside is in the Northeast everything ends up being rusty, so I may have to drive to find a good one.

 

94-95 pre OBDII if that matters to you. If you don't have state inspections, don't worry about it. You also want to watch for a car with the Torsen rear if possible. All of the 94+ cars will have the 7" instead of the 6" in the 93- cars but many are an open diff. One tire fire FTL.

 

94 is ODB-I, bigger motor, bigger brakes, bigger clutch, bigger rear.

95.5+ is ODB-II plus the above.

 

Ok thanks guys! Obd II isn't an issue up in maine.

I am definately looking for the Torsen. I had enough of 1 tire fires on the VW Scirocco. Nothing quite like doing a 50mph rolling burnout.

I am searching craigslist and ebay. Are there any other classifieds worth searching (other than here of course)?

 

None of them have rust here unless you've been driving on the beach. Seems like Georgia and the Carolinas would be good for non-salted roads and therefore nice bodies. But I'm sure you can find one closer than that.

BTW that was a very nice opening post. We know your goals and your skill level, it was obvious you had researched some already, and you didn't ask some of the same silly questions we often get asked over and over from noobs. Glad to have you on board.

EDIT: Double the whp is easily attained on a stock engine and triple the whp is possible with forged internals and a few special pieces.

 

That's about it to get a deal. Everything else (cars.com and autotrader) are full of overpriced cars that will never sell at a reasonable (cheap) level. That said, I did sell a 90 on autotrader with 222,000 miles for $2,500. Guy just wanted a cheap convertible. I did put a top and shocks on it though.

Use searchtempest.com to search CL easier if you aren't already and open your distance up.

You might check the classifieds on miata.net, but again they are full of cars that people know what they are worth.

 

Still looking. Everything I find up here has the fender rust.

Got the TIG welder fired up this weekend. Got some practice with it, but I there is still some lots of work to go. Now I just need a car to put a turbo on...

 

Still looking. I am finding lots of them with rusty rockers in around $3K... What can I get a 1994+ one for down south? I am not opposed to flying down to find one without rust. The only thing I care about is that it has a/c and the torsen.

Also, how do I tell if it has the torsen? I don't want to build a car for a 1 tire fire...

 

South is your best bet. SoCal and FL cars seem to always be nice.

 

For you guys that live in the south, what are they going for down there for a 94-97?

 

With searchtempest, you could specify a FL ZIP when it asks, and see for yourself...

FWIW.


BTW, like your screen name. I'm in the middle of building a '83 GTI that will be more than ready for a turbo, but I may not even do that now. Got the Miata bug (no pun intended).

 

Not affiliated with this, but-

from orlando craigslist:
1994 R Package Miata - $2500 (Metrowest)
Date: 2009-08-19, 2:04PM EDT
Reply to: sale-khkmp-1331476400@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

It's time to grow up and sell the toy. I have a 94 Mazda Miata R Package with 125k. The top has been replaced with one that has a glass window. The clutch was replaced shortly before I bought it and I got the tires right after I bought it almost 2 years/8k ago. The air blows ice cold and, overall, the car runs great. Like I said, I need to sell it because I'm buying a house otherwise it'd be keeping it's place in the garage. You can either email me here or call me at 602-770-7597

* Location: Metrowest
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests





PostingID: 1331476400

 

wow, thats is exactly what I am looking for.

 

cheap man i would not pay more than 4 grand for one at the most but hell im patient.

 

Fly down, pay cash, drive it back. Three day weekend coming up soon...

 

The above CL ad is pretty much ideal.

Great price, has torsen, bigger brakes, bigger motor, OBD-1, Bilstein shocks, stiffer sways and springs, and depowered rack.