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"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/11/2014 at 18:46 • Filed to: None

I bought a car this weekend! Now I am finally rowing my own gears and it is quite the experience so far. The most I had driven a manual car before was in a parking lot for a few minutes at a time. I had bought the car about two hours north of home so I had to get it home somehow! It was a bit of a baptism by fire but I got home without stalling or doing anything disastrously wrong. Hours of watching youtube videos certainly helped but this was the real deal.

Anyways, the car is a 2001 Mazda Miata LS in Midnight Blue Mica. Some of the cool parts of the LS version (for those that might not know) is that it comes standard with the LSD, leather seats, and a six-speed manual transmission. I believe there are some other unique features of that package but I will look into that more. The paint is really nice and the car is mechanically very sound. Recent maintenance before my purchase had included timing belt, water pump, drive belts, and a trans fluid flush. The guy definitely took care of it while he owned it so I think things will be good. There are a couple of rust spots (see below) but they are not visible from a standing position. I think the only thing that does not work is the CD player, but that is something I planned to change regardless. For now, I dont need music anyways since I need to focus on learning how to drive stick! I took some pictures since I gave it a good wash. Still needs a thorough wash and wax though.

The rust is right under the doors on each side of the car. The drivers side is a little worse than the passengers, but like I said its only visible when squatting down. I will likely want to do something about that eventually, but otherwise the rest of the car is mostly rust-free.

Earlier in the day, I took a picture of my Miata next to my Civic. This makes the Civic look huge!

I am very excited to drive a lot more!

DISCUSSION (23)

jkm7680 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 18:49

Very cool! Nardi wheel?

I'd be a little concerned about the rust though.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 18:51

Damn, that's clean.

Steve in Manhattan > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 18:51

Very nice - and same here. Bought a Volvo 142, manual, had to get it home. Took about an hour to get hill starts, everything else was easy.

Suby555 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 18:55

congrats! Welcome to the club!

(2004 mazdaspeed mx5)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > jkm7680
11/11/2014 at 18:57

I have seen worse haha. But yeah, I am going to plan to find a way to address the rust on the drivers side at least. Its a very small section so I should be able to do something about it.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 18:57

Ain't it a blast? That's awesome. My madre has a '99, but just the base model, with a 5 speed, cloth seats, but it does have the same Nardi wheel. Make sure you carve out plenty of backroads in it.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Steve in Manhattan
11/11/2014 at 19:00

Yeah, I had a bit of highway with no traffic and I was familiar with the route so it wasn't too bad. Just the beginning part when I shifted from 2nd to 5th a couple of times and didn't quite understand downshifting were complicated. I also had forgotten my ezpass at home so I had to actually stop for tolls. Somehow I didnt stall at those lol.

Ducky > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 19:00

welcome to the club! we're very glad to have you :)

Kinja'd!!!

505Turbeaux > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 19:02

Sweet congrats!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
11/11/2014 at 19:02

thanks! I hope I can keep it clean with the upcoming winter. I will try not to drive much once the roads get salty, but there is only so much I can do for that.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/11/2014 at 19:05

There are not a whole lot of twisties in my area but once the weather warms up in the spring I will take quite a few trips north just to drive better roads. Definitely enjoying it so far either way though!

Verdog ~ manual Bro, Bro - HellHawk Equipped > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 19:05

Kinja'd!!!

mmmmm.... Lean Cuisine. Lol

Nice car! Top and interior look good. Some headlight restore and you are on your way.

Alex B > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 19:08

Awesome. Love the tan interior. :)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Verdog ~ manual Bro, Bro - HellHawk Equipped
11/11/2014 at 19:10

Car must have been hungry! Yeah, the top is brand new (got the receipt from the guy) and the seats don't have any cracks. I found that toothpaste works wonders on headlights so I will be doing that soon. Next I gotta cage it lol

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Alex B
11/11/2014 at 19:11

The blue and tan really go well together. Definitely a key selling point for me!

Mattbob > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 19:24

"trans fluid flush" in a manual? wait what? Doesn't it use gear oil?

Mattbob > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 19:25

sweet! interior looks clean!

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 19:25

"Some of the cool parts of the LS version (for those that might not know) is that it comes standard with the LSD, leather seats, and a six-speed manual transmission." Ha! So the LS stands for, Limited Slip, Leather Seats & Lots of Speeds! Cool, nice ride but get onto the rust as soon as you can.

wallaby13 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/11/2014 at 20:55

LS came with the Nardi wheel and bose speakers as well. Looks good, clean out the water drains to prevent more water from pooling in the rust areas.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > wallaby13
11/11/2014 at 21:19

Water drains? Ill look into that, thanks!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Mattbob
11/11/2014 at 21:20

I forget exactly what he said. I know he had mentioned something about using liquid molly? I really am uninformed about terminology lol.

uofime > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/12/2014 at 10:07

don't wait, if you drive that this winter the whole rocker panel may end up with paint bubbling and rusted out. ask me how I know.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > uofime
11/12/2014 at 19:54

What is the best way to deal with that? If I'm gonna fix it, I'll do it right at least.