"nerd_racing" (nerd189)
07/13/2017 at 07:23 • Filed to: None
0
14|
"nerd_racing" (nerd189)
07/13/2017 at 07:23 • Filed to: None | 0
| 14 |
Good Morning Oppo! Clean SE for your time!
I purchased a 91 Miata SE from my dad, who I helped get the same car from Baltimore last year. The car is super solid, has the original pieces that make it an SE except for the tan tonneau cover. It has 158k miles on it, but no rust at all that I can find. The car has some dents here and there from hail damage and both front fenders have some dents. The only problem, it is an automatic.
I have a 90 parts car that is a 5 speed, and the mechanical skills to swap it. My dilemma is that the car is an extremely solid SE and it even has the numbered plaque on the center consul. But I would be killing the originality of a good SE. Should I hammer out the dents, touch up the BRG paint, and send it off to someone who will appreciate the automatic? (which isn’t that bad to drive at all, been DDing it for over a month now) Or should I 5 speed swap it and make it a little more fun to drive, and also pop out the dents and touch up the paint?
PartyPooper2012
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 07:32 |
|
Are you in a car flipping business? It doesn’t sound like it. Swap it. Hoon it. Enjoy your life.
You will be so much happier knowing you took a barely desirable automatic car and flipped it to most hoonamobil ever.
Get it gutter!
|
nerd_racing
> PartyPooper2012
07/13/2017 at 07:35 |
|
Not really a flipper, but I rarely keep cars longer than 2-3 years. I am currently building up my savings to get an AZ-1 within the next year though. This car is a fun stop gap between now and then.
pip bip - choose Corrour
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 07:36 |
|
manual swap it and then hoon it!
|
PartyPooper2012
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 07:39 |
|
I am a firm believer in having the engine and tranny work at peak. Who cares about few dings. I have a car with acorn damage. Like hail, but smaller and all over. I can care less.
New hood alone was gonna be close to a thousand with paint and all. Fuck that.
Arrivederci
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 08:07 |
|
BRG SE’s aren’t that valuable and one with 158k probably won’t ever be a legit collector, so do what you want with it!
Chuckles
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 08:15 |
|
It’s a tough call. I might list it for sale just to see what you could get for it, and if that’s enough to buy a Miata with a 5 speed and maybe even the 1.8L engine instead of the 1.6L, I might go that route.
|
nerd_racing
> Chuckles
07/13/2017 at 08:26 |
|
There are a few 94-95 miatas for sale near me. I mean I also have the 93 I’m welding the roof to and 13B swapping. I’ve been buttoning up and selling off cars so that I have my time freed up to work on it again. Maybe I should just smooth out the fender dents and sell this guy off so I can get back to working on the RX-5 project.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 08:27 |
|
From what I’ve heard, doing the swap isnt too hard. But then again, nothing is too hard in a Miata anyways. Just dont forget the odds and ends that are different auto/manual. If its got no rust, its worthwhile doing. Only question, is it a 1.6? Honestly I dont think any 1.6 is worth keeping in the long run. It’s all about the NA Miatas with NB2 VVT swaps in them! But really, just the 1.8 is fine to build off of.
|
nerd_racing
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
07/13/2017 at 08:34 |
|
NA6 so it’s the 1.6L and the detuned one at that (because auto).
|
Chuckles
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 09:56 |
|
I would think that someone out there would love your 91 SE with the automatic. If you’ve got other projects, I’d say just spruce up the SE and send it to a good home. The manual swapped SE might be fun, but cars with a swapped transmission might have a limited market when it’s time to sell. Sure it’s fun, but it might not be worth the time.
For what it’s worth, I picked up my 94 Miata with the 1.8L and a 5 speed with under 80k miles on it about 2 years ago, and it’s a blast.
Nick Has an Exocet
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 12:17 |
|
Swap and don’t worry about it.
I have a 1991 NA6 Base 5 speed that I’m mechanically rebuilding for an Exocet transformation. These cars are like Legos - it’s awesome.
How does it drive? No idea, it’s hardly left my garage since I started working on it :)
|
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 12:32 |
|
Yuck haha. I mean I suppose its still a Miata and at least that makes it lightweight. But I drove an NA6 at an autox once and it just felt so slow compared to my own NB2. I managed a better time (by 2 whole seconds!) thanks to better tires but it just felt so slow. “Slow car fast” and all that, but that was too much.
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 13:38 |
|
I would sell it given that it appears to be not the most desirable engine option and has an automatic (and uhm you seem to have quite a few interesting projects already, so you don’t seem to be short on driving giggles!). It seems like everybody and their mom is trying to get hold of all the clean NA miatas they can find – so if this one is clean fix up the dents and sell it while the market is hot, and use the money for your AZ-1 (that sounds awesome!). Once the NA hits true classic territory buyers will presumably be more picky about the truly desirable ones and an automatic with a 1.6 probably won’t be as sought after, as compared to today where any clean NA gets drooled over.
Then Something New
> nerd_racing
07/13/2017 at 13:41 |
|
In my opinion, the best early generation miatas are ones with immaculate interiors, that’s the HARDEST part to get right on a miata.
You’ve got a lot of things going for that car with the BRG paint and tan interior. With that 5 speed in the car you’ll transform it into a true driver’s car. You’ll enjoy it, and when it comes time to sell you’ll easily find someone else that will enjoy it just as much, if not more.
You’re on the right track. Do the thing. Don’t look back.