$500 miata

Looks like a good challenge starter. Straight body and probably still a decent drivetrain.

http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/5299264738.html

SNC failure. Want that so bad.

What the heck is "SNC failure"?

In reply to KyAllroad:

"South-or-maybe-North-Carolina"? Is it weird to anyone else that both NC and SC have a Greenville, and it's not one city on the border?

Short Nose Crank.

Scottah wrote: SNC failure. Want that so bad.

Then buy the $1200 special listed here. It's closer to you and runs a whole lot better. No SNC failure on that one.

Yep, when the keyway is shot, the timing belt cog at the crank shifts a few degrees and the car makes no power anywhere.

On the other hand I put about 10,000 miles on one with that condition and the pulley epoxied approximately in place...it'll run but if you think a stock miata is a dog below 4,000rpm, a slipped pulley one is a slug.

Maybe just a recent botched timing belt job with the cams off a little bit? That would be optimistic though haha. The guy I bought my '90 from bought it cheap and supposedly found the cams were off by a tooth or two which made it slooooooowwww.

Very possible. One can hope. It helps if the seller can say "it had no power after I did the timing belt" or "it had no power starting 2 weeks after I did the timing belt". If it's the latter you're in trouble.

There's temp fix that could get some life out of it possibly. http://www.miata.net/garage/hsue/crank/loctite_1.htm

$500 and still negotiable ? Incredible.

At 26 years and 150k, it could also be a clogged fuel filter, bad coil, so many options. The crank can be fixed.

For $500 if the seats & top are in better shape than mine I'd buy it, swap those parts and go from there. Probably a good thing it's that far away.

I might be a jackass but what is short nose crank in lay men's terms?

In a nutshell, its more prone to the crank pulley bolt loosening and allowing the crank nose to get all boogered up by the wobbling pulley. Imo at this point in the cars' lives, its not gonna spontaneously fail, it happens when someone reuses a bolt or torques one wrong after replacement. Miata.net has a nice long winded explanation or three in their 'garage' area if you need to know more.