Hello all,

As if I needed more projects in life, we recently acquired (rescued) a 94R from my uncle who is no longer able to drive. It had been sitting in a shed in the northwoods of wisconsin unused since 2014. The car fired right up after 30 seconds of cranking, which is pretty good given the time is sat. The engine is strong, but has lots of clunks and noises from the suspension and rides pretty f@cking rough. The paint was really rough, it stinks bad from rodents and musty shed, the top needs to be replaced (robbins please), and it has cheap Champiro tires....so it really doesn't have a lot going for it. Good news is no rust that I can see.

But the price was right, and ever since my wife and I rented a 2018 Camaro SS vert for our 10 year anniversary trip on Hwy 1, we have wanted a convertible. Drove it 3 hours back home, and priority 1 was a pressure wash and claybar. I then got to work on paint correction. Much to my delight, the paint cleaned up pretty dang well with the help of Meguires 105, 205, and Tech Wax. Next order of business was to gut the interior to eliminate the chance of any other rodent nests, and attempt to get the god awful smell out of the car. I found one big nest right next to the ECU behind the drivers seat (big shout out to the mice for nice dining on the wires), and another in the center console. I had to pull the big panel off the front of the trunk so I could access some additional spots where they had built nests. I've learned a lot about the Miata in the last few days of tearing it down. Not much to the car really.

The reason I included the info regarding the various other brands I am partial to is as an engineer, I like to compare and contrast different design elements. From my limited experience with the Miata, I must say it is very bare bones and feels much more like a tin can when compared to the 95 Integra GSR I had. Fit and finish, as well as the quality of the interior materials is no where near what the GSR was. The Integra felt much more solid overall with better quality. I left the Honda camp and now own a Lexus GX470 (lumbering beast of a SUV). Obviously a totally different segment of vehicle, but being toyota's flagship fleet I am really impressed by the level of quality.

I look forward to future time spent under the miata, and more time on the Auto-x track as well as spirited street driving. But for now future plans include improving the ride quality (thinking FM koni kit), 14x7 +19 RP-F1 w/ Azenis, and upgraded sway bar hardware.

First pic shows original condition



All cleaned up.

 

It looks like the car cleaned up nicely! I'd suggest looking into a DIY bilstein setup for your suspension over Koni's. I just built my setup and I'm loving them, really made the car ride much nicer than ever before. You can find the megathread here, something like "better ebay bilstein coilover" thread.

The miata is about as bare bones as it gets, though with the right bracing, suspension, and other mods they start to feel pretty solid. It's a great platform and the NA is approaching classic car coolness now days. I get so many complements on mine, and it really needs loves in the exterior dept.

 

I agree, it cleaned up nicely. I especially like how the headlight panels are lined up with the hood and bumper. Make sure to get a top with a glass rear window. As for wheels, I'd recommend going +1 to 15" wheels.

 

Car looks great! Welcome aboard!

 

Good job saving an R Package.

Also, do yourself a favor and at least get some 15x8" wheels. You'll thank me when you get into Auto-X and such. Almost nobody makes good 14" tires.