Hi guys!
 

I've been lurking around on here trying to learn for a while, and now that I actually have a miata I guess I have a reason to post. I've got a lot more research to do, but the plan is to build a 1.8 with a gt3071 on e85. I'm a honda mechanic right now and have built turbo cars, in fact my daily driver is a turbo civic. I picked up the miata yesterday, it's a 97 that I found on craigslist for what I feel was a good deal. I'm sure you guys have never seen a bone stock red miata before, so here's some pictures:

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Looks good. Needs more boost.

Guys running turbo's that big around here are usually in the 350whp range. When it's all said and done, you're going to be looking at over $10k for what you need to make that much power work safely... and that's if you do everything right the first time. Fully built motor, headwork, complete fuel system, igntion, standalone, tires/wheels, dif, complete cooling system, gauges, yadda yadda. A lot of Honda guys end up being dumbfounded at how much it takes if you start with a stock Miata and shoot for over 300whp. It's a lot to do it even close to "right".

I always liked the look of those TSW Alpines.

So how much did you pay?
Miles, trim, condition, maint, etc... DETAILS!

And what's with the perfectly cut hole over your left backup light.

Welcome,

It looks like you have a great starting platform!

Thankfully I have the ability to do nearly everything myself, as I have access to plenty of tools and a machine shop here at work. Parts are going to be the killer though, the days of $50 all aluminum civic radiators are a thing of the past it appears.

It has 190k on it, but appears to be in pretty decent condition for that mileage. No leaks or funny noises, but the previous owner said he didn't do the timing belt, which I am assuming is overdue for the 2nd change. I picked it up on craigslist for $2300, not a steal, but these cars in decent condition are overpriced in my area. I have no idea what trim level it is, I don't even have it registered yet. Oh, and I don't know what he did to the tail light, kind of weird huh?

The tires are really bad on it, I'm assuming that it is from a bad alignment and that he didn't somehow flat spot his tires. Since a bad toe condition can't be fixed with what I am guessing are shot bushings, I am planning on ordering up a full set from energy suspension. I've used their stuff on my civic and it seems to be a good value, but I'm open to other suggestions too.

Thanks for the friendly welcome guys.

I have ES bushings in my 94 along with Koni sports and FCM mounts. I did it all at the same time, so I can't tell you the difference that just the bushings make, but DO take the time to drill, tap, and install grease fittings. I didn't, and I now have a single squeaky bushing that's driving me nuts :vash: The only bushings that are a PITA to remove are the ones in the endlinks. All the others come out easily with a 3-jaw puller. My control arms were ugly, so I coated them in POR-15 before reinstalling the new bushings.

I bought mine with 208k, destroyed tires on steelies, a torn top, peeling clearcoat, and a tired suspension for a grand... but I could drive it home, unlike anything else I could find that cost less than $3000 and was within 500 miles of where I live. There's something to be said for buying a "blank slate" that may not have been taken care of but wasn't abused, especially if you want a cheap toy you're going to take completely apart and put back together with YOUR parts.

Oh, and I'm glad you're moving away from wrong-wheel-drive vehicles. There's no going back after driving something like a Miata :skid:

Hmmm that's an interesting idea on the grease fittings, but I doubt that it would grease the entire bushing unless there was a channel to carry it around the entire diameter. Squeaky bushings would drive me nuts too though, so it might be worth a shot anyway. I was planning on spraying everything with por-15 too, I guess great minds think alike haha. My game plan right now is to get everything squared away with the suspension so that I can drive it with peace of mind this winter while I build the motor. I also need to do something about the leaking soft top so I can drive it, but I'm planning on ordering a fastback top for it in the next few months so I would hate to waste money on another soft top.

What is your location hysteria?

I have a GT3071 and 1.8 w/ VVT that might be for sale.

Northeast Indiana

The car's been sitting on a lift for a few weeks now waiting on a master bushing kit from Energy Suspension.

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Nasty old

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Cleaned up

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I found that the car had the smaller 1.6 rotors installed, so I replaced them with the correct 1.8 rotors

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Not miata related, but a car I built for a customer at work. I love the sleeper look and it's even got all the factory options like P/S & A/C intact.

98 Civic
1.6L SOHC D16 motor
Eagle rods/pistons
Head ported by Lingenfelter
DSM 450's
Fleabay t3/t4 @10psi
8lb flywheel
ACT clutch
Carbon synchros
Quaife LSD
Converted to obd1 and tuned with Crome

Sorry to double post, but does anyone know where I can get a good deal on some Mazda front pads? I don't have an account at any Mazda dealers because I only work on hondas at my shop. I ended up giving away some of my brake hardware to a fellow miata owner who needed help changing his pads, so I'm in need of a replacement now. I could use some good pads and the dealer kits usually come with all the hardware, so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone.

for stock pads: finishlineperformance.com

Start a build thread dude

Thank you for the link. I won't post in here anymore, when I have something significant done on the car I'll make a build thread.

cool beans