From Trans-am to Miata
 

Hey everyone,

I've been reading here time to time in the past few months of my Miata ownership for knowledge here and there, and I've finally decided to join.
I think I need the help :noob:

I'm used to third gen F-body stuff, Trans-am and Iroc-z suspension builds are fun... But a turbo miata is better :firedevil

Unfortunately, my crank pulley fell off on the highway a few weeks ago, so I've been looking around (and saving money) for another pulley. Hopefully I'll be back on the road soon!

After that I have a lot of work to do with it. I really would like to get the suspension stupid tight (nice roads where I drive, Mission Viejo. No potholes!). I'd like to do a 1.8 swap (I have a '92), and do the turbo kit the right way, from scratch. PO had a godspeed kit installed, I was a :noob: . I'll keep it anyway just in case I want to scrap a 1.6 with it one day... :jerkit:

Kit has served well though. Became very paranoid after I read about a lot of the exhaust manifolds cracking, but mine has held well (I don't drive TOO crazy... >_>)


All in all, I hope through this board I can get the knowledge I need (through search first!), the parts I need (through the parts section... I guess), and some friends along the way.

Cheers

Funny thing is I went from a Trans Am GTA to my Miata. My GTA was pretty built, but my tiny turbo'd Miata would crap all over it and it gets twice the fuel mileage.

Exactly! Nice to see more GTA guys out there hah... I still have my '88. I got 12-13mpg with it around town. Supercharged with an old Paxton SN93, fuel pump, ECU, suspension all around, etc. About 8k in the car.... I thought mid 13's felt hard in the T/A, until in the Miata I saw the needle hit 10psi, followed by the clutch slipping in second which was scary. 8) . Been addicted to the silly little car ever since... Makes the T/A seem like a waste of money... a heavy waste. Still fun though!

Welcome aboard, Jake.

Funny story: My only first-hand exposure to the F-body world, apart from one 1977 model, comes from a former co-worker of mine who practically has a bow-tie tattooed on his forehead. Apart from the El Camino, the '74 Caprice Convertible, and the two Cadillacs, his pride and joy is a 1982 Z28 which is, shall we say, not stock. The car looks like complete dogshit on the outside, but despite the presence of a funny carburetor-shaped thing on the top of the engine and a complete absence of forced-induction, is shockingly fast.

One day, he happened to be riding in my car as we were going to lunch, and I took one particular corner as I often do, hard on the throttle in second gear with the tail-end rotating out noticeably. He turned to me and asked "Is this thing rear wheel drive?"

Uh, yeah Robert. That's why there's this huge space between the two of us which is oddly transmission-and-driveshaft-shaped overall. Robert was a brilliant engineer, but from his point of view, all Japanese cars are a 1975 Honda Civic.

To be fair, I also once had to run out and stop the technician at a smog-check station in Ohio after he rolled my car up onto the dyno with the front wheels on the roller and the rears sitting on dry pavement. That would have been ugly.

It's Japanese, of course it's front wheel drive!

I had a 89 iroc-z, damn I love 3rd gen f bodies. I WILL own another one some day. Do you have any pictures of yours?

Miss her...
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1353356054

My buddy has a '91 Firebird 5.0 with a 5spd, damn near open exhaust, love that car, purely for the sound.

Welcome to the site theirlizardking, thanks for joining up!

WOW! I didn't know there were this many folks here with third gen love. This SO wasn't the thread I was expecting.

Congrats on getting a turbo Miata. They're a blast to drive and the handling is superb.
I also own an '88 T/A and recently finished up my turbo miata. I love both cars for different reasons, but its hard to choose which will be driven on any given day! Both vehicles get tracked and while they're strong in different areas, they're still a blast to drive. The Miata gets WAY better gas mileage and is faster (as thirdgen mentioned), but the T/A will yield you A LOT of attention and thumbs up on the road and on the track.

Here's a few shots of some auto-x action of my mostly resto'd Trans Am for nostalgias sake:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1353434331
(reeling it pack in after the pendulum started to swing)

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1353434331
Slalom.

Am I the only one who noticed that he said his crank pulley flew off on the highway? Guessing it's not a SNC motor because it's a 92' but I have heard of losing pulley's even on the LNC. If he lost a pulley, the motor is probably toast right?