Newby reviving his 1991 Miata
 

Hey guys here's the story.

For the past 3 years I've been wheelin around in a 2001 Chevy Blazer and a couple weeks ago I departed with it. With $1,500 bucks in my pocket, I found a decrepit, broken down, engineless, wheel-less, little 1991 Miata nestled in Seattle, WA. Payed the hag that had it sitting there for 6 years and towed it back to my home here in Idaho. The whole way back I had visions of the possibilities of what I could do with it. So presently I need to find an engine to drop in it and some cheap wheels to throw on to make it driveable before I even think about interior or body work. I'll worry about that nonsense as I'm somewhat savvy with mechanical work and repairing body damage. With that ahead of me, I'm daunted. But I'll get to that later. Of course, the reason I'm here, is because this site is the best for all things Miata. What I need to get out of the way now, is the money issue and how much work it will take to turbo this bad boy. I know it's not obtainable right now, but I need to start making plans. So to make things simple, how much money is it going to take and what are ALL the modifications I'm going to have to make to push out around 180-210 whp?

Thanks for bearing with me, I'm new with Miata's and I've got a long road ahead of me. :noob:

Oh and I'm pretty new to the whole turbo process as well, so speak slowly.

Am I even in the right section? Should I go somewhere else?

Considering there's 11 minutes between your first and your last post....

Calm down bro.

lol.

Try and search some of the sticky threads. All the information to make your power goals can be easily found. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask, but we don't do well with spoon feeding here, so we expect you to put forth some effort.

That being said, welcome to the Forum. Please post up some pictures, even if they are just a broken down miata. In the future it'll be nice to be able to look back and see where it all started.

vGOOSEv, congrats on signing up at the best site on the web!

I hope you didn't pay the entire $1500 for an engineless, wheelless miata.

+1
lol

No no I payed $750 so I've got some money to restore it. I tried buying it for $400 but according to her it was her husband's and it had a lot of "sentimental value" which is bullshit when it requires at least $2000 just to roll down the block... Don't get me wrong I'm not expecting to be spoon fed I'm just starting from nothing basically. I have an okay idea of turbos. Like I know how they operate and roughly how to install them. I basically just need to know if a) Boosting it by ~8 psi will get me to the power threshold i want and b) Will boosting it to ~8 psi require me to replace and parts in the block (pistons, rings, spark plugs, etc) or can i basically just "bolt it on"? I'm definitely buying a full kit from whoever has a good reputation with good quality kits. Oh also, how much would a shop charge to tune it on a dyno? Ideally I would want to tune it for more low end power since there aren't hardly any un-patrolled straight-aways in/around Boise.

Those are good questions. They have been answered before. You will learn those answers in your future research. Good luck.

You say you don't want to be spoon fed but then ask silly noob questions in a spoonfeeding manner?

Telling me if i have to replace engine components at 8 psi of boost is being spoon fed? Apparently I'm lacking in what noob questions sound like. Enlighten me.

there are no questions to ask here. say hi and enjoy the search button, massage the search button, fondle it a little, work it, work it, work it!

Ooookay. Waist-deep in other threads now. Most tabs I've had open in awhile. Thanks for pointing me towards the search button haha :bigtu:

i'll throw you a bone. https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...k-links-56507/

there isnt really a question here that hasn't been answered so dont start talking out of your ass unless you truly are stuck and confused.

welcome

Welcome and good luck with you're build! I'm sure you could grab a 1.8L engine from one of your local junkyards for $300-$500!