Zajicek

Hey, whats up, hello.

I'm Cole, 26, in college right now working on the brains, got out of the Army last year. I lift heavy things, have tons of theoretical knowledge about cars and a substantial disposable income all earmarked for car parts.

Picked up a 1991 Eunos from an importer in northern Washington state a couple months ago. RHD, N/A 1.6 and auto trans. Currently at 69k original km (~43k mi). Soft top drips annoyingly and the idle likes to play games with me.
Thus far I have installed: 15x7 RPF1's, 205/50R15 Dunlop Direzza DZ102, silicone vac hoses from carbonmiata (which came yellow instead of the white I ordered, so I tried to silicon coat them tiffany blue and it turned out like garbage.), Momo prototipo wheel, Cibie E-code headlights, and a "my other ride is your mom" sticker.
I've attached some pictures as well, not 100% sure how to do that right, but I think I got it.

I've been creeping for a while, and I wanted to start taking this build seriously so I joined up and hopefully I'll learn something.

I'd love to find some meets in the Seattle area, I'm pretty sure there are some around here, just don't know anybody.

astral

Curious why you imported a Eunos rather than buy a LHD car in the states already? Surely that must have been expensive. You bought a very nice example nonetheless.

Pretty much everything looks solid on your set up right now, although I probably would have gone with the 15x8 RPF1's, as they will fit the 205's much better (stiffer sidewall, not stancenation stretch) and look very aggressive with next to no fender modification required (possibly mild rolling depending on ride height. I ran 15x8 ET28 and had no rub with DD ZII's 205's with no fender rolling).

Anyways, great choice on the Cibie's. Much better than the Hella housings. I assume you did some research to come to that conclusion, as the Hella's are first on the list and cheaper on Amazon. Keep up the research.

Zajicek

Because RHD is "JDM tYte yO", but honestly I just had the money at the time (6700) and I wanted the RHD cool factor. I also get more exercise actually parking and walking into fast food joints since the drive through is out of the picture.

Glad I'm not doing anything too offensive yet.

That's a good point on the wheels, I was just thinking weight at the time, I didn't really consider the whole package. I wish I had waited at this point because Tire rack just came out with the Bronze RPF1's I had wanted but couldn't find.

Yeah all the comparison posts between the Hellas and the Cibies said the Cibies took the edge. I could use better wiring and bulbs, but I'm at better than stock output already just with the lenses, so I'm happy for the time being.

alienmiata1

iTrader: (2)

+1 on the 15x8s. Looks like a clean Miata. I'm local in Seattle, so if you ever need a hand, don't be afraid to reach out

astral

Wiring not as necessary, but get a set of the Hella bulbs in the Cibie housings. You will be amazed at light output and the fantastic light cut off.

Zajicek

Alien,
Thanks, I appreciate it, might have to take you up on that when I start getting into the guts of this build.

Astral
Ok, cool. Are they shielded or anything? I just picked up a pair of H4 silverstars to go with the Cibies for now.

Good to meet you both

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Welcome to the forum.

I'm going to say it was a mistake to spend 2 to 3 times as much as market for a stock 1.6 car. The 1.6 has a smaller diff and axles that must be replaced at a cost of $600-1500, trouble prone crankshaft, smaller brakes front and rear, a non-variable TPS, smaller clutch and flywheel, smaller fuel tank, less frame bracing, etc. I'm not being mean, just pragmatic.

And you are talking about a supercharger.
Study. Then buy.

Zajicek

Six,

Thanks for the welcome.

I'm going to have to disagree with you just a bit. The market for miatas and all cars for that matter is stupid in Seattle. Market for a 1.6 with 200k is around 3500, 1.8's are around 4, and they only go up with low mileage and clean paint. You're definitely right about the mechanical downfalls of the 1.6, no argument there, and I'm sure you know more about it, but I got a super clean, super low mileage, stock car for probably about the same as one would go for in the local market. I'm sure I could flip it for 10k locally.

You're right about researching before buying, but if I wanted something different, I would have just saved a few grand more and gotten an S4 with 350hp, awd, and modern amenities. I picked the lightest chassis with solid handling and infinite upgradeability because I wanted something that would grow with me as I built it.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

I understand.

And the S4 is a 4000lb fat piggy and much slower than a 220whp Miata, so you've made a good choice there.

alienmiata1

iTrader: (2)

I do have to disagree about the market. I did spend 3500 on a 1.6 about 2 weeks ago with 180k on the clock, but it was in pristine condition with a hardtop. Other than that I spent 1600 for a 1.6 with 200k on the clock about 10 years ago and 1500 for a 1.8 with 150k on the clock about 2 years ago. Neither had a hardtop. In Seattle a hardtop is worth 1500 in good condition, so I basically spent 2k on the one I just picked up. Having owned a couple 90's cars with <50k miles, I can tell you the cars are usually better maintained with more miles on them. If people aren't driving the cars, the maintenance slips their minds.

That being said, you did say you bought the rhd for jdm tyteness. It's hard to put a price on that because of how new they are to the market. I do think you could have got a better car for less money, but the rhd is unique. I like the car, but performance wise you did decide to spend a lot more money. Trust me, I know a thing or 2 about making a 1.6 car into a monster. I have about 25-30k into mine.

If you want a show car, I like the decision to buy the car you did. If you want a racecar, there's better options out there. For a DD, I'm not sure how I'd feel about the rhd. Either way, I'm excited to see what this car becomes and to watch you learn as you go.

Final thoughts, both for reliability, ease of build, and fun factor I'd at least consider a turbo. You can buy a MKturbo kit for cheap and have a blast driving the car for less than you'll find a supercharger kit for. Plus superchargers work better on the 1.8.

Zajicek

Six,
Exactly my thinking.

Alien
You would know more about the local market than I would, but I think your most recent price is where the trend is going here. I agree with you for the most part about low miles=less maintenance, but since I got it from Japan, the low miles make sense to me, they have increasing taxes for every year older a car is, taxes for certain motor sizes, taxes for mileage, taxes on everything.
Yeah, being one of maybe a few hundred in the country is pretty cool honestly. The uniqueness is worth it to me, but yeah I do expect to have to shell out more cash in the long run.
That would probably make more sense for me, I have a turbo sitting in my workshop (Td04-14t) which is probably around the right size. Reliability though, I thought turbos would be harder on the trans given the increased torque vs say the rotrex I was planing for.

alienmiata1

iTrader: (2)

Keep in mind I also got a hardtop with my recent purchase. Something I'd highly recommend in the PNW. As far as a turbo, I'd say torque won't be an issue. Especially only running 8-10#. Turbo is the way to go! It will be cheaper and more efficient. Besides it is miataTURBO.net!

Zajicek

That's true. The importer had some come in more recently with hardtops around the same price, so I may have gotten a raw deal. I'v been trying to find one for a decent price but craigslist has failed me so far, I refuse to pay 12-1500 for chipped paint and broken seals. I was talking to Mark at carbonmiata, but shipping is like 600 bucks on top of 1800 for the CF hardtop, It would almost certainly be the only RHD one with a CF hardtop in the country though...
Yeah, that is true, I just like being difficult I guess. Why have fun for cheap when I can torture myself and still pay more? Makes sense to me.

alienmiata1

iTrader: (2)

True! Having an LE for my race car, I know what it's like having a rare Miata!

Zajicek

Had to google what that was, very cool.

Which made me google mine too, It's got V-special mats, don't know if it's actually a v special, but all the specs seem to fit. It says that the V-special came with a LSD? Is there a way I could verify this from the outside of the diff? That would drastically change my plans drive train wise if I had a strong enough pumpkin from the start.
Looks like I need to open the inspection hole and try to get my face up there? I could just unbolt the back end and see, but I'd like to know before I go buy new gear oil for it, no reason to put the good stuff in a glass diff.

alienmiata1

iTrader: (2)

No matter what a 1.6 diff is glass. The 1.8 was when they started using the torsen. You can verify by looking at where the axles bolt to the diff. https://www.miata.net/garage/diffguide/ the 7th and 8 pictures on this page are what you're looking for.

Zajicek

Steadily adding to my reference bookmark collection, that is a great resource, thanks!