Long Overdue $200 Miata Update (Part 6)

"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay) 05/21/2018 at 15:30 • Filed to: $200 Miata, Decay's Beaters, Miata

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I realized over the weekend that I havent’t made a $200 miata update in almost a year. And after seeing how nice AestheticsInMotion’s car is in person at the oppo meet, I decided to finally post an update on my pile.

As of the last update I’d found an old early 2000's miata turbo kit in a relative’s basement. Well it turned out that it’s actually a 1.8 kit, so for now my cheapskate miata turbo dreams are on hold.

The offending manifold

The actual turbo is pretty neat, never put hands on a variable vane setup before, amazing that people were pushing close to 300hp on this little thing back in the early 2000s. Shown for reference below next to a Garrett GT28 housing. Both on the hood of the Miata which has doubled as a workbench area for for me over the past year.

So, with the scope of the project shrinking a bit, I decided to give her a proper shake down at a local autocross. I picked up a cheap set of NB wheels off of craigslist to get rid of the 50lb 18" chrome wheels that came on the car, and replaced the three (!!) wheel bearings that those wheels had trashed.

Upon arriving they informed me that zip-ties and bungees were not enough to hold a battery in place. So I took a quick trip to the hardware store and improvised this

There was no way I was going to fit my marine battery into the stock location, so I traded off a little of the already limited trunk space for a proper mount.

Once I got out there the car was a bit of a handful. The wet ground wasn’t helping, nor were the 8 year old all season tires, but the car was really slide-ey. And not repeatably so, it would react differently through the same course when given the same inputs. Still managed to do alright with a raw time squarely middle of the pack, but the car was fighting me the whole time. On the way home, someone flagged me down to inform me that my wheel was wobbling. Turns out, two of the wheels I’d bought had a pretty bad bend at the hub causing almost a quarter inch of toe change per rotation. The only thing I can think, is that the guy I bought the wheels off sideswiped a curb somehow without any curbrash. In any case, that explained the unpredictability when driven hard. I put the two stock daisy wheels with the most tread back on and the car felt a lot less sketchy at the next event.

The next order of business was taking care of the clutch hydraulics. There was an internal leak somewhere that would slowly bleed off pressure while I had the clutch depressed. For the most part I could drive around it, but it wasn’t exactly great for traffic (or in the grid at events). Thankfully parts for the Miata are real cheap, so I got a new clutch slave and a new master cylinder for around $40

Brake fluid is good for paint, right???

At this point the car had mostly become my daily driver (Sort of, I ride a motorcycle every day, but it became the car I’d use most often when a car was needed) and aside from the terrible fuel economy it actually didn’t have many issues! Seriously though... 22mpg highway... on a light weight 1.6l 4 cylinder :/

I ended up taking it to cars and coffee a few times for a laugh along with the (at that point) three other friends from the BRZ scene who I’d convinced to buy cheap rustbucket Miatas.

I continued to drive and autocross it for the rest of the year. At the last event of the season I gave it a little too much clutch kick to clear a pivot cone and the diff finally gave out. Actually I’m amazed it lasted as long as it did, the service records I’d found in the glove compartment indicated that a “chunk” had come out of the diff during it’s last service. Gave me a reason to finally put in the LSD that had been gathering dust.

I probably should have replaced the subframe while I was there, but I didn’t particularly feel like fighting every single suspension bolt being seized on that day. Diff went in without much issue and performs pretty well (for a VLSD), but I haven’t had the chance to have it out on track yet.

A few weeks later a seal blew in one of my front brake calipers. They had been feeling pretty mushy for a while, but I’d assumed it was air trapped somewhere in the system. I came out after work one day to find some fluid on my tire.

Rather than bother with a rebuild, I just bought a new set of front calipers for right around $100.

They took the squishy feeling brakes right away, in hindsight, that seal was probably on it’s way out the whole time I’d owned the car.

The next thing of note that happened is that I found a great deal on a hardtop, unfortunately it was two hours away and sold before I could make it out. On the bright side the guy offered me a hell of a deal on a Hard Dog roll bar and some knockoff CCW wheels (which I mostly wanted for the decent tires)

I had to make a few of my own backing plates to mount it all up, but should be good to do some real tracks this year!

That’s pretty much everything from the past year or so ( year and a half since I bought the car)

Project Accounting
Car $200

Clutch $100

Clutch Hydraulics $40

Door $40

Battery $40

LSD and spare rear subframe $250

Set of Stock Wheels $20

2x Federal 595 tires $80

Extra exhaust $70

Plug Wires $25

Front Brakes $104

Roll Bar and Avid 1 wheels with Toyo T1-R Tires $300

Total $1269

This is the first time I’ve actually added it up, turns out I’d been under estimating my total out of pocket by around 30%. I was hoping to get it track ready for under $1k (kind of an arbitrary goal set at the beginning) , but I don’t think I could find anything better for $1300

CalzoneGolem > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 15:35

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I don’t care much for Miatas but your $200 Miata is my favorite.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 15:39

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You should bring this to the next PNW oppo meet if you come!

Decay buys too many beaters > CalzoneGolem 05/21/2018 at 15:43

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Awww thanks!

FWIW I really didn’t care for them either, mostly bought it as a joke. But they sure do start to make sense when you drive them hard.

Decay buys too many beaters > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/21/2018 at 15:47

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For sure! I almost brought it out this weekend, but the weather was just too nice to not let the triumph stretch her legs a bit.

Mercedes Streeter > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 15:58

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One of my next cars has to be a Miata. Ever since I first took a drive in one I can see why people love them so much.

Decay buys too many beaters > Mercedes Streeter 05/21/2018 at 16:07

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Then the question becomes, what would it take to be able to tow a track prepped miata behind a smart? :p

MatisyahuSerious > Mercedes Streeter 05/21/2018 at 16:09

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if we went in halfsies, could it be our ata?

Mercedes Streeter > MatisyahuSerious 05/21/2018 at 16:57

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Sounds communist lol

Mercedes Streeter > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 16:58

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A much more powerful smart. :( However, I can (probably?) tow my smart with a track-prepped Miata because...why not? :D

sony1492 > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 17:12

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I like how the body work has gone from somewhat sanded at the beginning of the thread to somewhat sanded with a hint of spray paint at the end.

Decay buys too many beaters > sony1492 05/21/2018 at 17:21

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Ha! I’ve been using it as my test spray surface before painting things that matter, there’s probably half a dozen colors in there.

One of the things I’ve got planned for this year is to have a “bring your own paint” barbecue where people can paint the miata whatever color they want.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 17:29

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Damn that’s harsh man. Referring to your car as a “test spray surface”. Poor little car

Decay buys too many beaters > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/21/2018 at 17:37

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Poor little car!?! I rescued her from the woods! That paint is mostly covering the Bondo!

sony1492 > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 18:05

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-Clears throat-

AestheticsInMotion > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 21:06

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300hp turbo Miata in the early 2000's. Gnarly.

Also I second CarsofFortLangley. Bring the Miata next time so I *potentially* have someone I can keep up with!

Decay buys too many beaters > sony1492 05/21/2018 at 21:17

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I think license plate fender flares would fit the motif of my “build” a little better :p

Decay buys too many beaters > AestheticsInMotion 05/21/2018 at 21:21

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I’m not sure how much of that is 300hp, and how much of that is “300hp” It was running 15psi to redline, so that puts it in the realm of possibility.

And yes! Next time I’ll bring it for sure, with the weather being what it was the vert was a very close second choice.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 22:18

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lol damn. Bondo... no good. I appreciate you rescued her from the woods! Was partly kidding haha

Decay buys too many beaters > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/21/2018 at 22:24

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My offense was also kidding :p

For reference, what I started with

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Decay buys too many beaters 05/21/2018 at 23:39

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Shitty people leaving her to rot in the woods. Looks much happier at your home!

Decay buys too many beaters > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/22/2018 at 00:06

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I think the abandonment was a matter of the clutch going out and not having the money to fix (have you seen the shop rate on a clutch job these days!?)

I thought the 18" chrome wheels were the far more egregious issue!

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Decay buys too many beaters 05/22/2018 at 10:34

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Yea why would anyone put those on a Miata. No I haven’t seen the going rate for clutch jobs. Bad??

The way I see things is if you purchase a car or any item; you then have the responsibility to maintain that thing yourself or pay someone to maintain it for you or you should not have purchased said thing.

The clutch probably went out from the extra stress of the heavy 18” wheels and probably coupled with shitty driving (judging from their obvious poor taste in most everything haha).

Decay buys too many beaters > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/22/2018 at 12:17

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Yeah, it’s pretty bad, usually a little north of $1000

As for why it went out, just a part failure, filed squarely in the “shit happens” folder. I have some pictures of the area that failed back in a previous update

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-200-miata-part-2-1785095845

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Decay buys too many beaters 05/22/2018 at 12:37

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Damn I wouldn’t trust myself to take apart my clutch/transmission... but my na8 is my only car, so no time for a learning experience gone wrong haha.

Also is that the original clutch? It says exedy on it. Wondering if that was oem.

Decay buys too many beaters > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/22/2018 at 12:45

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Lol, well the whole point of this project for me was to do as much as possible with as little as possible. I also had the luxury of time on my side, didn’t have to rely on it as primary transport. I’m pretty sure it lived on jack-stands in my garage for about 3-4 months while the motor was out.

Extremely unlikely that it was the original clutch, trans had 230k miles at time of removal and motor had been replaced at some point with one of unknown mileage. The clutch I put in was an identical Exedy and it was sold as “OEM equivalent”

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Decay buys too many beaters 05/22/2018 at 14:46

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Got ya and yeah that’s nice to have that luxury! Was just curious. I am afraid I may have damage to my pilot bearing (or something else). Getting a little chatter when clutch pedal down or when putting shifter in gear (until it warms up and also not everyday). Gonna try to change out the clutch fluid cause like I said I can’t just try to figure out taking apart my clutch at the moment!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Decay buys too many beaters 05/31/2018 at 21:08

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I think you should put a giant wing on it. Bigger the better. Honestly I really like some of the wings on Miatas, there are functional ones but it’s rare to be going fast enough to make use of it lol.

I love just driving the piss out of my Miata. It is the perfect car to not give a shit about, top off the oil when it burns away, keep good tires on it, and continue to abuse it day in and day out. I have over 200k on mine now and it desperately needs paint. I feel tempted to never paint it just because I like the “rugged” look. But since I can afford it, I kind of want it to look nice again.

Decay buys too many beaters > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/31/2018 at 21:16

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Will a giant diffuser do?

I hear you! I bought mine as kind of a joke. I mean, it was $200 and abandoned in the woods. I’ve since fallen in love with these little things. I probably put more miles on it than any other 4 wheeled thing in my garage. She gets beat on pretty much constantly and keeps on asking for more.

I’ve actually started shopping for a nicer one, want to get into a decent 1.8 torsen car before they are all gone.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Decay buys too many beaters 06/01/2018 at 14:04

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NB cars tend to be cheaper, so there’s always that option. I like that the interior is slightly nicer in the NB and as cool as pop-ups are, lights that actually work are better lol.

Decay buys too many beaters > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/01/2018 at 14:14

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Can’t do it, I need the popups!

How else am I to signal other miata owners?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Decay buys too many beaters 06/02/2018 at 12:36

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I do severely miss that functionality. I wave at Miatas all the time and am jealous of the popup response. I’m used to waving at other WRX/STi when driving my Subaru though so it comes naturally to wave at everyone. I often mix up which car I’m in. Many unreturned Miata waves to turbo Subaru lol.