The MX-5...and you., Dig into your inner auto enthusiast. Options

[blu94gt]

I already had the bug before you started this thread, but tomorrow I'm going to look at this Miata. Probably going to end up selling the Celica to get back in another one.

Saw you on the Miata forums Swiss, I added a question to your thread.

This post has been edited by blu94gt: Sep 2, 2010 - 1:53 PM

[SwissFerdi]

^ That's a great deal. Low on mileage, up to date on maintenance, and just the right price.

And thanks for stalking my thread, bro.

[GotToyota]

I already had the bug before you started this thread, but tomorrow I'm going to look at this Miata. Probably going to end up selling the Celica to get back in another one.

Saw you on the Miata forums Swiss, I added a question to your thread.

That looks like a great deal. Be sure to ask about the timing belt and when it was changed, also ask for paper work. If they don't know or don't have paper work, I would consider looking at another one. The 1.6L's had some short crank issues and if the timing belt was improperly done it can ruin the motor.

[blu94gt]

I already had the bug before you started this thread, but tomorrow I'm going to look at this Miata. Probably going to end up selling the Celica to get back in another one.

Saw you on the Miata forums Swiss, I added a question to your thread.

That looks like a great deal. Be sure to ask about the timing belt and when it was changed, also ask for paper work. If they don't know or don't have paper work, I would consider looking at another one. The 1.6L's had some short crank issues and if the timing belt was improperly done it can ruin the motor.

Thanks, I remember having to worry about that doing the timing belt on my 90. I found a couple articles that say in mid-1991 they updated the crankshaft so all the 92 and later model years are fine.

I called and am going to look at it tomorrow evening around 7. It's a gentleman and his father sharing it as a recreational vehicle and decided they would rather spend their fun-money on dirt bikes. Hopefully it's in as good of shape as the ad makes it look, I'm going to finish cleaning up the Celica tonight and tomorrow morning and post it for sale on Craigslist.

[SwissFerdi]

How much are you asking for the Celica?

I'm debating whether to sell mine as-is with two sets of wheels, or selling all of my mods separately.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 2, 2010 - 4:33 PM

[blu94gt]

I'm not entirely sure how much I'll ask. I'm thinking asking $4500 but I don't want to go too much lower than that. I'd thought about asking $5,000 but I'm taking into consideration the couple of rust spots on the hatch and the fact that the tires are worn and a little noisy from the car the wheels came off of. Otherwise it's all stock so I have nothing to part out. Maybe something like $4800 and see if anyone is interested.

All I know is when I search Craigslist there are 6gc's going from $3,000 to $10,000. There's another 99 with 122k for $3900 but it's in rough shape and has a salvage title.

[SwissFerdi]

^ Good luck.

If I can talk this down to 2750 or 3000, I think this might be a good deal. One of the only silver ones I've seen.

http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/ctd/1924445568.html

[blu94gt]

^very nice, sounds like a nice car if you can get it for that

I just got back from looking at that 93, and I'll tell you what it wasn't nearly as nice as the ad portrayed. Yes, it did have that maintenance done, but nearly everything else was wrong. Interior worn, dash had weird bubbles, scrapes and dents all over the place like they ran into everything they drove by. Car pulled hard to the left and the wheels were visibly toed-out. Transmission was very sloppy, not the tight-precise shifter a Miata normally has, plus it made a lot of grinding on deceleration. Also was DRIPPING gear oil as it sat idling.

On the plus side, the roll bar was a very nice leather wrapped Racing Beat, and the de-powered steering rack was awesome, I would definitely recommend looking up how to de-power it, made the car feel like a go-kart.

Basically, I'll keep looking. Few others on craigslist around here:
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/1934652383.html
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/1933829834.html
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/1908612816.html

I'm not a huge fan of red, but those could be winners. Wish they had less miles but meh, better if they're in good shape than just having low miles.

Also this one, has BBS's and looks decent:
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ctd/1922775107.html

[SwissFerdi]

^ I like the black paint and BBS wheels, I've seen one here for sale with a red leather seats as well, it looked really nice. Too bad it was ripped up. I like the first one though, seems like a solid car, and the owner seems to know a bit about it.

As for me, I can't trade the Celica. So what I'm going to do is build up a budget of about 750 and buy an MX-5 that needs a bit of mechanical TLC and otherwise has a beat-up exterior. My plan is to service the engine to make it run perfectly and also make sure that the tranny and brakes are in perfect order and that I have some good, grippy tires. Then I'll invest into suspension, probably a strut-and-spring setup since I'm not going to dump massive money into this car. I'll be driving it for auto-cross only, so exterior damage isn't an issue and I'm toying around with the idea of just ripping the entire interior out, so I don't need to worry about the condition of that either. Eventually, I'd like to get around to replacing any severely damaged panels and giving 'er a budget rattle-can paint. All in all...it'll be a project car which will allow me to learn my way with mechanics and also let me experiment with body work.

So basically, I'm still looking to get an MX-5, it just won't be a DD and it won't look glamorous, in the beginning. I'll call it my track slut.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 6, 2010 - 11:15 AM

[SwissFerdi]

Bump for ideas, input, encouragement? Any thoughts are appreciated.

[saleeka]

My sister's good friend drove around a stripped out 1991 red miata for her first car. The rear window eventually went opaque and the top leaked now and then, so she had the top replaced last summer. It set her back almost $800, so I’d recommend finding one with a top in really good condition.

This one in your area seems like it could be a good buy:
Red 91

Some things I know about the NA series cars:

The 89-93 NA's have the 1.6, and the 94 and up NA's have the 1.8 (with an extra 18-20HP)

Factory LSD was viscous type pre 96, and 96 on cars carry a Torsen LSD setup (more reliable)

R cars have standard Bilstein shocks and no power steering

94 and newer cars have strengthened chassis braces for better side impact protection.

[SwissFerdi]

Yeah, I've seen that red '91 as well, I test drove it actually. The drivetrain was too shaky for me to even consider purchasing it.

But if you look up there, I've narrowed my budget down to under 1 grand...this will be a project car. Thanks for the other info!

[njccmd2002]

Im too big for the miata, they are nice, plus it makes no sense if i already have a vert, with 200 hp n/a well 197.

I see a lot of old men driving these, makes me wonder midlife crisis. They look fun, but i went with the celica back when i was looking..

[SwissFerdi]

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto/1880457592.html

This one could be worth looking at, it's about two hours away from me.

[njccmd2002]

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto/1880457592.html

This one could be worth looking at, it's about two hours away from me.

fixing the top is going to cost ya

[SwissFerdi]

No it's not. See the part up there where I said I wanted a project? I'm doing everything on the car myself, so no cost except for time...and money spent on tools and parts. Don't think I want one with the top broken from the start as this car will sit outside...unless I can park it in my mom's garage (and no Your Mom jokes, assholes).

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 10, 2010 - 7:36 PM

[richee3]

Your mom's garage is so big- nah, never mind.

That one looks good. Like Noberto said, the top could set you back some. But it gives you an opportunity to buy a new top with a glass window so it doesn't get fogged up and you can't see through it. For the price though, you can't go wrong.

This post has been edited by richee3: Sep 10, 2010 - 9:29 PM

[SwissFerdi]

If it drives well, the top is OEM (or as good as) and not damaged, and if he's willing to take 500 for it, I might just jump on it once I has the cash.

[azian_advanced]

just put a tarp or car cover over it.

[SwissFerdi]

So you'd go for it?