Need opinion on track car
 

I have two miatas and I need opinions on which one to make into a track car.

The first one is a red 1990 model. It has a 1.8 from a 95 and a 5 speed and torsen from a 97. It had a GT2560 turbo mounted to a HKS mani and a home made down pipe and exhaust setup. It also has a hard dog rollbar, racing seats for the driver and passenger and 15x7 wheel with falken azenis 615 tires. This is how the car was when I bought it. I then built a MS2, a DIY WB controller, installed 550cc injectors and mounted a FMIC. I am running it at 6psi boost and is moderately street tuned. The engine and the transmission leaks oil all over the place. I am thinking about pulling the engine out and doing a timing belt change and replacing all the seals.

The second miata is a silver 2002 model with a salvage title that I bought at an auction. It has crash damage and I haven't even started it yet. It need a new front subframe and other stuff. I bought a complete subframe setup with steering rack, a-arms and spindles. I haven't invested money into buying the airbag and seat belt stuff yet. The plan was to make it road legal and use it as a DD car.

I also have a full set of used koni race shocks with NB/ISC top hats with 700lb/400lb springs, RB hollow front sway bar (1.6 model) and ES polyurethane bushing. I was originally planning on mounting these on the red car, but, if I choose to track the silver car I am hoping I can install these on it.

My dilemma is about choosing the red car or the silver car for making a track car. I have never driven on the track or done any autox. This will be my very first experience on the track other than one other track day I did on my bike. I will be very happy building a track car like Trackspeed's rental car. I want to become a better driver and have fun on the track. I have some money (~1k) to spend on converting the car to make it track worthy.

What do you guys think?

-Raj

2002 drive train/suspension on the 1990.

The 2002 has better aero but the 1990 is lighter.

Sounds like the 1990 is good to go other than some maintenance items (bad seals) and possibly a track reliability mod or two. If you can repair the 2002 and sell it or DD it I would do that. You said you have about 1k to spend on making the car track worthy, that won't get you anything if you are starting with a stock car like the 2002 and still have to repair it.

Part out the 02, swap the subframes into the 90 along with the drivetrain, sell the 95/97 drivetrain, and put that money towards track reliability mods.