18psi

iTrader: (76)

I'm permanently banning this waste of air if he really thinks we're trolling him.

We have quality standards to maintain around here.

bahurd

iTrader: (8)

You mentioned the car located in MD so figuring you must be somewhat close an easy CL search shows a few turbo cars to look at.

Candidate [turbo]: 2002 Mazda Miata Turbo, 6 speed with LSD - $5999

Candidate [non-turbo]: 1995 Mazda Miata M-Edition Merlot Low Miles - $7500

Candidate [turbo]: Turbo Miata for sale or trade best offer 300HP

Candidate [turbo]: TURBO Miata 73k miles with hardtop - $8950

I'm out...

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Damn it, stop Banning people. We have a great opportunity for this to be a teaching moment. We don't want to make more people go to CR or mnet screw up when we have the ability to help them. Especially when they're listening. We are the premier resource on the web.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

You're a troll

miatagofaster

Pro / Con List for those who don't read well:

Rust = Bad
Old / Used Super Charger = Bad
Old Kit only on the car for 5k = Bad / BS
No IC = Bad
Stock injectors, engine, etc on boosted car = Bad
Powercard / poor tuning = Bad

VS

Boosted / slightly faster than stock = Good


I have a BRP and I love it. Turbos are better (probably cheaper) and there are much better tuning options now. Not to mention when i hear someone say a mod like that is only a few thousand miles old it sounds like BS or they couldn't fix the issues with it.

Skins4thewin

I didn't mean it like that, I wasn't trying to make it sound like I wasn't believing what you guys are saying, nor do I have answers that i want to hear. I am not emotionally attached to the car or anything like that. I am most definitely listening and taking everything in. I was mainly referring to the 1500 dollar comment as that seemed really low even for a Miata that isn't supercharged, although I am no expert so I don't really have any kind of credentials to say whether it's accorate or not. My apologies if it sounded like that, it just didn't seem like a serious post at first. Am just looking for accurate info is all.

I definitely haven't made up my mind yet. I am taking the information seriously and am definitely leaning towards not making the purchase as there are indeed many warning signs it seems. I absolutely appreciate all of the info and am very eager to learn as these are my dream cars and I really want to own a properly done Miata one day. I would love to take a ride in a proper built Miata one of these days, maybe I will. I am located in Southern MD.

The guy is asking for 5300 for the car by the way. With all the issues and such it sounds like it's not worth it. I have a budget of around 6k and am trying to find a good SC Miata that's done right and has most of what I need for around that price. Not sure if that is realistic to expect that or not. If not then I will likely start saving so I can one day own my dream Miata, one that is fast and handles well but also good and reliable as it will need to last me a while.

After hearing the way that BRP MP62 & Borla sounds and feels, that's most definitely the combo I'll be looking for. Actually, I don't think the owner knows whether it's actually a BRP or Moss as I think Moss bought out BRP at one point didn't they? And thanks Sixshooter, I am most definitely here to learn.

B6Tfastiva

iTrader: (1)

Which side of the bay southern MD? My cousin has a mostly stock 03 he's been trying to sell if you'd rather build it yourself.

Skins4thewin

On the West side, over by the 301 bridge. I don't really have the time or mechanical knowhow to build it myself unfortunately which is why I am mainly looking for one that is mostly done. I can add a few things here and there as needed but my time, budget and knowhow only really allows me to buy one that has most of what I want done already. A stock one just doesn't have the power or driveability that i'm looking for, I want something with some oomph.

It may be tough to find a really good one with all the stuff I want for 6k, but I don't really need anything too crazy thats running a huge amount of boost, just a nice early 2nd gen with the factory ground effects that's been done right with a good reliable SC setup and a decent suspension that isn't slammed to the ground. Some of the smaller supporting stuff I can add later if needed.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Here in CA you can get a mint NB for 5 grand. I'm talking under 100k, all maint done, cherry car. You can also get a trashed but not destroyed NB for 2k-2500. No rust anywhere, just abused and not maintained. Which would STILL be better than a car with half it's body and parts rusted AND an ancient supercharger setup running on bandaid fueling and timing solutions from the 1980's that most likely trashed the engine worse than the 2k car I just described.

So no, I'm not trolling you. Trust me, you'll thank us later when you realize what a heap you avoided. You'd end up dumping about as much as asking price just to get it back to "decent" condition. Just look through the build threads if you don't belive me.

Skins4thewin

Lol thanks, you guys probably did save me from making a big mistake. I figured I would habe to spend 2 to 3 grand just on the basic stuff, and that's just what it would have needed to get it thru inspection and tagged. I am really glad I came here before plunking down the money for that car, which I admittedly almsot did because of how much fun the thing was to drive. It was the first Miata I had ever driven not including the other one I drove earlier that day and made me realize what I had been missing all these years. After driving a slow one and then the BRP and hearing that oh so sweet SC whine, I definitely know that I won't be buying one without a Supercharger.

Really? Those are some damn good prices. Are you referring to a stock one or one with mods? Hopefully I can find a good one around here for a comparable price that has all the mods I want.

Skins4thewin

Edit..... double post

LukeG

Just find one in good condition in a state known for not making rust buckets (CA, AZ, NM, NV, etc.) and ship it. I'd pay an extra $1,000 in shipping to get a car I'm not going to have to replace $1,000 or more in rusted parts on.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

We don't salt our roads. And Georgia is pretty safe for rust also.

Skins4thewin

Gotcha, although I really prefer to see a car in person and test drive it before agreeing to buy, so that could be tough. I will likely just keep my eyes open for something around here. I don't mind driving a couple hours if need be, so hopefully something decent will pop up within a 100 mile radius or so.

Skins4thewin

By the way, for the purpose of due dilligence, is there anh way to determine if the SC is one of the older BRP models or one of the new MOSS ones just by looking at it? If so, here's a pic of the engine bay. Can anyone tell if this is an older or newer model? Would help in order to determine exactly which SC I would want on a future car.

P. S. - I also have a Dropbox link here to a video of the guy driving it, so maybe it could help identifying it by hearing the way it sounds

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k931lp656z...58568.3gp?dl=0

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

These old kits aren't something that we attach additional value to a car for. If anything, i'd value a car less with one of these old setups. High chance of motor damage, and if i'm spending the money i'd get by selling the supercharger to replace a shot motor, i'd just as soon buy a non-supercharged one to begin with, and add supercharger later if i desired. Seems easier, and a guarantee that it would be done right.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

^what he said, plus the Roots type superchargers have a finite life and need to be rebuilt periodically. You need to examine the bearings and housings for contact and wear just like a turbo.

BarbyCar

iTrader: (1)

I don't have a definitive answer for you but:
The tensioner does not look like one from BRP - IIRC they were smaller diameter and had two idlers. Later BRP ones had autotensioners.

Skins4thewin

Ah ok, fair enuff. To be honest, car shopping nation wide just isn't something I am going to want to mess with, would rather not have to deal with shipping after a disaster I ran into with shipping a car a while back. That and I much prefer to be able to look at a car in person first before buying.

It may be difficult to find a rust free Miata locally, so expecting to find a perfect Miata with no rust at all and no wear may be a bit unrealistic. That being said, I think I would be perfectly happy to find one that is at least decent and that will require little work, that would be just fine for me. It seems unrealistic to expect to get a perfect one. If I am going to nitpick every little thing then I may never find one...

I also would much rather get one that is already supercharged as again i just don't have the money or knowhow to do that myself. It will be much cheaper to get one already built. I guess I will be passing on this one but will keep my eyes peeled. Is there going to be much of a difference in sound and power for the old BRP SC kit vs the new one? Cus I really loved the one on this car and may actually prefer this kit if there is a significant difference between the two.

MetalMuffins

iTrader: (1)

You also need to be realistic about buying a car that has been modified by someone else. There is the potential to run into issues down the road and have no clue how to go about troubleshooting because someone else decided to cut corners, or something just fails of it's on accord.

You're going to need some degree of knowledge on how everything is supposed to work whether you build it yourself or not.