Looked at a Miata today, Gonna buy it!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
04/05/2019 at 23:44 • Filed to: None

I didn’t take any pictures, so some from the ad will have to do. Garnet mica is a pretty uncommon color generally but it’s pretty cool to come across. Unfortunately it’s not the original paint, but it was resprayed in the same original color. It’s not a perfect respray but it’s good enough for me. Looks great even at 5 feet but there’s some overspray and it’s not a perfect paint job. It runs great and has been maintained though which is what I care about. Also no rust, clean title, timing belt done recently, tires are about 2 years old, and it drove perfectly. 132k miles and asking price was $5200. Talked down to $4900 and hoping to make the deal tomorrow. Just waiting for a smog check, which should be a formality, but you never know. I imagine it will pass but just not having it done before sale is never a good thing. I will hold my breath until that happens and then I can call it final.

It is indeed an LS, I checked the suspension and the diff and the bose sound system to confirm. It originally had leather seats but they were redone with cloth along with a new top and the aforementioned paint job. Unfortunately since it’s an ‘03 it’s not a Torsen LSD anyways but I could always just install mine if need be.

So, why am I replacing my other Miata?

Yeah that’s not fixable. I did some disassembly today and was getting hit by chunks of what used to be metal with every go of the impact wrench. I’ll still rebuild the motor for future use but shell is a goner for sure.

Hoping the sale goes well for the red one!

DISCUSSION (23)

MarquetteLa > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/05/2019 at 23:53

Congrats! That red ought to look good with some gold/bronze wheels...

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/05/2019 at 23:57

Yeah! Nice new ski car.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/05/2019 at 23:58

Nice! Going for the lifting the body off the roller skate separation?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > MarquetteLa
04/05/2019 at 23:59

And some coilovers and my roll bar. I'd certainly like having two cars with gold wheels, that would be sweet. The stock 16s are too hard to find tires for anyways so I have an excuse to buy some wheels. Although I'd probably just save money and throw on the stock 15s I have on my rusty Miata now. Those are in quite nice shape and are pretty light. I do wonder what they'd look like dipped a nice bronze.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 00:01

I too like NB.

Kinja'd!!!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
04/06/2019 at 00:01

If it so much as gets foggy outside, it will not get taken outdoors! I can't have another one of these rust. Granted, there will be no wet stuff near the road though when I go skiing in July. So it's definitely high on my list to do a ski trip and track day in one weekend haha.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/06/2019 at 00:03

I definitely want to try that. Right now I'm just disconnecting all of the stuff in the way of the engine. And any Miata I buy will immediately get the front sway bar and exhaust. Followed shortly by the roll bar and eventually seat and harness. Although I plan to keep a stock driver seat and swap out for track days instead of dailying the track seat. I'm too old for that lol.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
04/06/2019 at 00:04

Mmm I'd want a clownshoe though, no need for the roof to come off. Although I quite enjoyed the z4 I rented once. Whatever auto Trans was in there was actually fun for a slush box. It made good sounds too.

Cash Rewards > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 00:05

Awesome!

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 00:08

For daily use, a rally seat can be a better option. The lower side bolsters tend to be shorter than a one piece road race seat, which makes them easier go get into and out of, although for four bolts and a wiring harness there’s not necessarily a reason not to s wa p when needed.

Chariotoflove > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 00:14

Nice! The roof looks a little rough in that second pic. Hope it’s okay, although a little exposure the elements never seems to stop you.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Chariotoflove
04/06/2019 at 00:20

Oh its definitely a brand new top, way nicer than mine is anyways. But I also plan to never drive in "weather" with the car. Which is easy enough in LA at least.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/06/2019 at 00:24

Swapping out the race seat is way harder than it should be though. Getting the bolts to line up is hard and requires quite a bit of shuffling to get it right. And this is because the seat is as low as possible on the mount and pretty far back as well. So a ratchet doesn't fit, requiring a wrench with an angle in it. I need to actually buy a set of ratcheting flex wrenches anyways but they're expensive!

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 00:29

They're such a good tool. They'll change your life for the better

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 02:12

I thought they used Torsen diffs until the end of the NB run

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 04:46

How did you get a Miata to rust in California?

random001 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/06/2019 at 09:55

I do not fit in a Miata.

facw > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
04/06/2019 at 10:12

It is a Mazda...

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
04/06/2019 at 11:11

Don't worry, it was rusty before I got it here. I just figured I'd run it until the motor died. It made it to 210k so I'm not unhappy. I've seen these with under 100k and rust this bad so at least I got my money's worth. I could still try to fix it but it's futile.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
04/06/2019 at 11:13

Nope, lsd became standard I'm pretty sure but it was the Fuji something or other in the '03+ which was generally seen as not a track worthy diff. It's better than an open diff but inferior to the torsen. I'll be sure to test it out though so I'll see if I notice a significant difference.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > random001
04/06/2019 at 11:17

Neither do I, stock at least. My head is over the roof like a giant in a toy car. With my setup, I basically sit on the floor and have about an inch of clearance from my roll bar (bare metal) to my helmet. It looks like just over two inches due to the padding but it's just barely enough to be safe in most cases. I'm not planning on doing anything beyond hpde though so I'm not overly concerned about it.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > facw
04/06/2019 at 18:27

They aren't in the habit of rusting away down here...

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/07/2019 at 16:51

hmm guess id have to do some research. My 03 has a LSD but i always just assumed it was a torsen just like previous. Oh well i havent had any issues with it