Wassup people?

As requested, I am posting thread of introduction.

Me--Background--Been into VWs for the last 20 years, mostly Mk1 Golfs, IE Rabbit GTIs or Pickups, but I have had a Cabriolet and a Bay-Window Camper. Former parts-slinger at a VW dealership. Been a mechanic off and on for the same 20 years (now 38).

Me--A couple of years ago--I made the mistake of borrowing a little '91 1.6 for a trip, have not been able to forget the fun I had since then.

Me--Now--Was after a friend of mine who runs a shop to sell me the Miata he has had there for 3 years now. He finally relented. It's a '97 with 70K on the clock. Here are some pictures...







http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k82/diutley/97Miata/
There are more here...

Yes, I hate the body kit too. And the wheels. Both will be going as quickly as possible.

The Good--The price could not be beat.

The Bad-- You saw what it looks like. That, and the previous owner modified the motor at high revs. Did I mention the price could not be beat?


I'll get a running 1.8 in there soon, in the meantime I will be here learning about turbo kits while I am here. Any books/links that are must-reads for the new Miata owner?

 

Good Luck!

 

The wheels are what kills it...the body kit really isn't THAT bad.

A lot of people recommend Maximum Boost by Corky Bell just so you understand what is actually happening when you boost...its a bit outdated but it makes sense.

 

Read through a couple pages of NOOB posts in this section to see where the majority of the advice for other NOOBs leads.

Start with the FAQ sticky in the DIY section.
Read through ALL of the USEFUL SAVED POSTS that look interesting.
Have a look through the EVERY MIATA WEBSITE YOULL EVER NEED sticky in the BS section.
Visit all of the OFFICIAL VENDORS and have a look at their products.

Do that, and you should be well equipped to ask good questions. On this forum, we are mostly intolerant of people who can't search. The forum is set up for an enormous amount of spoon-feeding if you'll just take the time to look for yourself.

Nice first post. Welcome and let us know what we can do to help you out!

 

Thanks, all!

I will follow up on the suggestions given.


MM-- On the body kit; IMO, the kit is a bit over the top, esp. since I come from VWs, and my favorite VWs haven't been made in many years... IE, understated, and more square. I would like a body kit on this car, but it does not appear that much is available if you are wanting something other than fiberglass...

 

I beg to differ. I have a Racing Beat Type II nose and side skirts and couldn't be happier. There are some really fine body kit choices for the Miata.

p.s. Welcome to the forum.

 

So it looks like that and it needs a motor! You've got some work to do :-)

Hey, good luck, and welcome to the club. Mine is stock, and it will be a while before I can do power mods.

Put one of those wheel/tire combos on a scale and tell us what it is. I should have weighed my stock set up while I was doing my brakes, but damn, it's realllly light. You can find stock wheels pretty cheap, so that might be a place to start. Sell your wheels and you can make money on it.

 

I was under the impression that those were fiberglass; are they not?

 

Will do.


A local friend suggested that, and I posted up the body kit, the wheels/tires, and the muffler and got several responses. However, I posted that up without thinking it through; I don't yet have the title, so I can't begin to modify it from the way I've found it. I hope to get the title soon, until then I will just hope that those that emailed me stay interested...

One guy said he had a set of BBS's for trade (w/o center caps, of course). I would be very interested in a set of those just for the weight savings!

 

Yes. I'm not saying get an RB body kit. I'm saying search and you'll even find a thread with links to all kinds of Miata body kits. Granted, some of those can only be bought in Japan!

FWIW, I find my fiberglass RB body kit pretty sturdy.