Jconn335

Hey guys,

I've been creeping on here for a while now, figured I'd say hello. I caught the Miata bug a couple years ago when I bought a 94 off of a coworker for $300 (I know, right!?) on a whim. After a fair amount of elbow grease, that car was mechanically perfect... and I lost a fight with a Silverado. With the proceeds of that (thank you, other guy's insurance!) I have a 92 B&T I bought last year, and I'm about ready to make boost. This place is super informative, so thanks for the wealth of knowledge. I haven't needed to start a thread since you guys have covered most bases for anything I am looking to achieve! I just got a Kraken mani/dp set up and I'm piecing together the rest as the funds allow in the off season. I'm aiming for 170-200 whp - something quicker, but achievable and reliable. My wife and I use the car constantly in the summer and make multiple 300+ mile trips a month to visit family/friends, so I've been picking away at the other weak points to keep this thing on the road once it's actually boosted.

Mods so far:
-FM Sway bars
-NA8 brake swap
-ACT HD clutch
-Falken Azenis rubbers
-Mishimoto radiator (blew mine in traffic... in a tunnel... )
-Hard Dog M1 roll bar

Side note: I'm an ASE master tech, but I specialize in German stuff. I've honestly only worked on one or two other Miatas before I had my own. If anyone's got issues with their non-Miatas and wants my 2 cents, I'm always happy to help.
I'll post more when I'm up and boosting.
-J

Jconn335

Oh, and a couple shots - I painted it blue over the winter

sshamrockk

Where in MA? I'm in the Springfield area. There's quite a few of us spread out in MA.

Jconn335

I'm in Walpole, not too far from Gillette Stadium. I don't make it out West much but might have to change that. There's a lot more good cruising roads out that way!

Caleb Newcome

iTrader: (1)

Paint looks good. Not your first time?

Jconn335

Thanks dude! I wish I could take the credit, but I just did some of the prep work. I have a friend at work who really knows what he's doing, so I handed him the reins. I was going for an ode to Montego Blue. I've got to do some touching up, but it looks good for a car with 170 on it. I gotta give credit to the previous two owners though, it was always garaged and that made the whole process 1000x easier.

ridethecliche

iTrader: (2)

Suhhhh.
I'm out in the woo. And yeah, few of us are out here.

Given that your car is emissions exempt in MA, it might be the best way forward for you to swap in a 1.8 and a megasquirt and start there and then add boost to the 1.8.
Or.... you could buy a 1.8 and a megasquirt, start tuning the 1.6 on a megasquirt while refreshing and building the 1.8 motor, and then swap the motors over when it's built. Building the 1.8 is a nice little future-proofing way to go since better air flow makes the bewst life better.

Welcome aboard!

Jconn335

Thanks! That's sort of the plan in the future. I've done a ton of research on a BP swap and have some parts set aside. There's a lot of low mileage BPs available from FWD applications locally for real cheap money, too. I'm surprised at how many motors have survived from throwaway cars like a mid-90s Kia.

Basically the plan goes like this:
1. Get tuning over the fall/spring
2. Boost
3. Let my wife get normalized to the power increase while I build up a 1.8
4. Blow something up, slap the 1.8 while I'm "fixing" it. Come home with an inexplicably fast car.

A motor swap is a one day affair for me if I've got my parts straightened out. This car is my mental floss, so I really don't mind the drawn out plan. This is the crap that keeps me sane and reminds me why I liked cars in the first place.
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ridethecliche

iTrader: (2)

Yup. Working on cars is cathartic for me as well.

Let us know when you're doing the motor swap. I may be able to come lend a hand depending on what my schedule is like then.