The first week of ownership of the Miata! The good, the bad, & the ugly

"mycarneverruns87" (mycarneverruns87) 04/25/2014 at 15:38 • Filed to: Miata, review

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Hello Opponauts and Jalops! Like the title says this is a look back at this past week since I have recently bought a Miata because !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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I found this car on the list 7 days ago and surprisingly enough, it was only 30 miles away which is close for me. The ad said 1991 Miata with 62,000 original miles. Needed a couple things but ran good. Best part was that it was listed for $3250 which meant it was worth investigating. The guy was very cool and very honest about the car before hand so I bought it for $3k after some long talks and drove it home smiling the whole way!

Now, the car was in need of a few things to be really nice including a new top, good buffing, some dings pulled, and a thorough cleaning among other odds and ends. This week I have been working on getting it more road worthy as well as cleaning up the inside along with the engine bay.

Here is what I started with:

Interior was very dusty and had a broken console but the seats were not torn and everything else was in great shape!

Stone stock and lookin' grimy. It needed some plug wires and a valve cover gasket but runs very smooth with no smoke!

The battery cables were questionable. I am not sure of factory ground location but this is how it was.

Cable was about a foot too long...

The first order of business was to replace the battery and clean the trunk area:

Then the interior:

Along with a new console:

Then on to the engine bay...my favorite!

I figured since I was pulling the cover I would paint it as well. Crinkle black!

VHT high temp crinkle by the way...lays out very nice

All together after a quick rinse and de-grease session. I also added a K&N drop in filter and new wires.

Nowhere near done detailing the engine bay...

After all of this she is in tip top mechanical condition and I have been enjoying the car to the fullest. It is a great driving car for sure but it does have its quirks. My biggest gripe is how the rear end feels when being pushed a bit. I plan to get some adjustable shocks to remedy this. Overall the car is super easy to drive, quiet, and economical but mainly just plain fun. My friends have all fallen in love with the little thing and want one of their own now!

I will continue to clean the car up to make it look like an actual 62,000 mile car and will get there before too long. A top and buff will go a loooong way! Some wheels and tires will also help...I have my eyes set on some Konig rewinds because Japan!

As of now, I am going to drive this thing as much as possible and enjoy it as it was designed to be. Next week I should have my new OEM Miata keys here along with some sweet key chains I will post up! I will also have the OE tonneau cover, jack, tool kit, and center caps to help the original image.

In closing I recommend everybody to at least go for a ride in one of these cars as they are just plain fun! Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap replacement parts, and great on gas.....what's not to love?!

Enjoy some pictures from my lunch break today on my favorite road! Hwy 79 between Louisiana, Missouri and Hannibal, Missouri.

Party-vi > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 15:42

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Sweet ride - that crinkle black came out noice!

mycarneverruns87 > Party-vi 04/25/2014 at 15:43

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Thank you! I have used the same stuff on some of my Harley parts so I was confident it would.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 15:48

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posts like these are among my favorites on Jalopnik. I love seeing a car transform at the hands of a caring owner.

EL_ULY > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 15:49

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it's so awesome!!!!! Hopefully all those other bits come out good also. She's a beauty\m/

Spoon II > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 15:57

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That Crinkle black is great, I might have to give it a go on some of my beetle parts. Also, sweet ride!

mycarneverruns87 > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 04/25/2014 at 16:05

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Kind words sir. :)

mycarneverruns87 > Spoon II 04/25/2014 at 16:06

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Thank you!

mycarneverruns87 > EL_ULY 04/25/2014 at 16:07

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I can't wait to get the car buffed. No paint is peeling and it still has tons of color. Should look great.

Chairman Kaga > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 16:08

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You've made that Miata very, very happy. Kudos.

mycarneverruns87 > Chairman Kaga 04/25/2014 at 16:10

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It had sat in a shed for probably 4-5 years while getting dinged up from bumping objects as well as not being driven. When I went to look at it, it had not been started since x-mas! It is getting the life it has always dreamed of. We have a date for an Auto-X outing on the 4th!!! :)

mpa-burner2 > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 16:12

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Have fun - my first Miata was a '91 - loved it.

Hwy 79 is fun from Louisiana to hannibal. The roads on the Illinois side are also beautiful as well - Louisiana is usually the end of my drive up - starting in Alton heading up the river road, then through the farm lands.

mycarneverruns87 > mpa-burner2 04/25/2014 at 16:14

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Yea I take the Illinois side as well. Both beautiful. I really am spoiled with great driving roads. I love Missouri.

mpa-burner2 > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 16:17

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Are you from up in that area? I'm down in St. Louis.

Lots of fantastic roads in the Midwest - I didn't realize what I mas missing when I lived in NY l0ol

Chairman Kaga > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 16:24

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Awesome. I do miss the auto-x. And jebus, what a find! Lucky.

My GTV6 had been sitting under a shed barn for a couple of years. Sort of similar deal. Some basic love and she seemed to respond with gratitude to her new owner. Some days I wish I had a MIata instead of a moody Italian machine, and other days I feel way too cool behind the wheel to let things like NLA gaskets and worn out synchros get me down.

mycarneverruns87 > Chairman Kaga 04/25/2014 at 16:33

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Even missing shifts you are much cooler than I in your GTV6 lol

Garrett Davis > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 16:34

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Wow, excellent job on that valve cover. Looks great.

I'll have to pick up a nice, stock older Miata like that some day. Great cars.

mycarneverruns87 > Garrett Davis 04/25/2014 at 16:37

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They have their flaws but what car doesn't?! It was very much worth the price I paid for it.

mycarneverruns87 > mpa-burner2 04/25/2014 at 17:44

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Yup, I live in Bowling Green and work in Louisiana.

The Real Dacia Sandero > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 19:49

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Nice looking NA and great deal.

Look into some different suspension options on Miata.net. I'm running the Flyin Miata Stage 1, and I'm pretty happy with it. Decent ride and great handling.

A big thing too is alignment. The factory alignment is terrible, so either FM's or 949 Racing's alignment specs will help out a lot.

Lastly, sticky tires will help out even more. Best deal is TR Motorsports C1m with 205/50/15 Dunlop Z2s. Right about $900 delivered, and only 1lb more weight than the stock wheel setup.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > mycarneverruns87 04/25/2014 at 23:59

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Looks great man! Love the little things people do to their miatas to make them special like the black cover

Kaltrop > mycarneverruns87 04/27/2014 at 00:19

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Lookin good man!

mycarneverruns87 > The Real Dacia Sandero 04/28/2014 at 09:13

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I have been looking at that FM stage 1 kit. I am sure I will do something. The main thing is that I do not want to take any resale value away from the car should i want to sell it.

mycarneverruns87 > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 04/28/2014 at 09:14

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It is all in the details for me.

The Real Dacia Sandero > mycarneverruns87 04/28/2014 at 14:34

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The Stage 1 kit won't take away resale value. Either way, it's easy to swap the suspension, so you could remove it and get a good bit of cash back plus no worries.

mycarneverruns87 > The Real Dacia Sandero 04/28/2014 at 15:24

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That is likely what I do...just got my Flyin' Miata catalog today!

Nintondo-San > mycarneverruns87 05/02/2014 at 21:14

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That looks awesome! What year is it? Nice job cleaning her up as well. Reminds me a lot of what I did when I recently picked up my '95 with double the mileage.

I still need to tackle the engine bay. How did you go about the cleaning process?

mycarneverruns87 > Nintondo-San 05/03/2014 at 11:33

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91 and thank you. So far I haven't "detailed" the bay. Just sprayed some engine bay degreaser over everything and rinsed. Then I took some cloth to easy to reach areas.

Nintondo-San > mycarneverruns87 05/03/2014 at 21:30

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Well, it still looked pretty good! Did you have to cover up any of the electrics, or were you just careful to avoid them?