budget track miata

My friend and I have been building a track miata for the past few months with one goal: cheap as possible yet still safe and capable. We picked up the car for $500 and so far have a bit less than $3000 total into it. As many of the parts as possible were sourced from craigslist, ebay, forums, etc.

The car as we got it was 1991 with 146k miles, base model with AC and power steering that had sat for 4 years. We put in a fresh battery and a new main fuse and it fired right up! Dead raccoon in the engine bay and an ant colony in the parcel shelf carpet were pleasant surprises.

Mods right now: Stripped interior AC removed Depowered steering rack Removed soft top and added hard top

Hard Dog roll bar Kirkey seats IOport seat back braces G-Force 6 pt harnesses

NB Koni Sport shocks $40 ebay coilover springs and sleeves NB top hats NB front swaybar and no-name heim joint endlinks Disconnected rear swaybar $5 Rock Auto surplus organic street pads lol

Rennenmetal tow hooks Advanced Autosport vent windows

Racing Beat intake Muffler shop exhaust

14x7 Panasports with 205/55/14 Kumho V710's

How does it drive? Fantastic! Just don't expect the brakes to be effectual at all. We took it out to NJMP Lightning this weekend for a 2 day track day with the Mercedes Club and the car was very neutral and very predictable. The cheapo street pads lasted about 2 laps before fading to very weak, where they stayed the entire weekend. Luckily brakes were only important in turns 1 and 7 with our low power so we were able to drive around the problem. The car was competitive in the advanced group, where I was running, against the other Miata's and it troubled quite a few of the Benzs and Bimmers through the back section. Our cobbled-together suspension, while not particularly supple or sophisticated, was never lacking for grip or control.

Pics:

Ill be the first to say it...

Wicked cool graphics and sweet car overall!

Love it

I thought the spring mounts came off the Konis before you add coilover sleeves. That said, I really like the graphics Did you get that website to sponsor you and cover the cost of the graphics?

best. vinyl. ever

Yeah, the sleeves are supposed to be below the top of the shock body so they don't eat out of your suspension travel.

Get yourself some good track pads.

Great car!

Another vote for the vinyl on your hardtop. Two thumbs up!!

Y'all are rubbing off on me..it's getting to where every time I see an NA, I think "..man, I got to get one of those.."

Totally awesome! Two thumps up and its cool to finally see people interested in the passion of the race and not big budgets. Keep up the excellent work.

Love the top. Nice job.

Cool graphics and looks like you're building a cool car!

I've run Hawk pads on my Miatas, they work pretty well and seem to last quite a while. Oh, and you want braided brake hoses, makes a big difference to the way the brakes feel.

The car looks great. The more weight you can take out of it, the easier it is on the brakes. I was able to run 45 minute sessions in my lightweight miata on just cheapo parts store pads.

One way to lose weight would be to get rid of all the gravel in the engine bay

Looks cool, but really, don't skimp on brakes....

So do you also cruise around with the top down and some candy on the dash?

Another +1 on the top graphics!!

Perhaps if you did some black graphics around the headlights??

thatsnowinnebago wrote: I thought the spring mounts came off the Konis before you add coilover sleeves.

That's the case for using Ground Controls. eBay sleeves may not have the correct inner design to sit on the snap ring though. It doesn't matter as long as you don't end up in coil bind from the shorter spring.

Looks good! I'd spend a couple of hundred bucks on good pads, but the car should be fun to drive.

Does Chris Hansen know about your quarter panel graphics?

Thanks for all the compliments guys! I am trying to talk my co-owner/driver into some carbotechs, but at $250 a set lol...

thatsnowinnebago wrote: I thought the spring mounts came off the Konis before you add coilover sleeves. That said, I really like the graphics Did you get that website to sponsor you and cover the cost of the graphics?

The interior diameter of the coilover sleeves is too large to rest on the lip on the shock body, so we had to retain the stock perch. Since my co-owner/driver and I own the company, yes in a roundabout fashion :D

Salanis wrote: Yeah, the sleeves are supposed to be below the top of the shock body so they don't eat out of your suspension travel. Get yourself some good track pads. Great car!

The coilover sleeve extends less than 1/8" above the top of the shock, and the cut bumpstops fit right inside so we haven't had any loss of suspension travel with the cheap sleeves.

HiTempguy wrote: So do you also cruise around with the top down and some candy on the dash?

We keep the candy in the trunk, that's where they end up anyway.

Best graphics I have sceen in a long time

Get some used pads from a spec racer.

Here is my budget track day Miata - yours looks way better though. I started with a $1,000 91 model, sold the interior and wheels for $400. I gutted the interior and then I added the fun stuff.

Autopower bolt in roll cage, Full Spec Miata suspension, Kazaera KZ-M 15x7 rims with Toyo R888s, Corbeau drivers seat on slider (so wife can drive) and Kirkey passenger seat, G Force 6 point harnesses each side, Momo steering wheel, Rennen Metal tow hooks, Koyo aluminum raditator, SPI Induction Systems intake Performance brake pads

Absolutely amazing! Tiny budget, tiny car, big fun; right? I love the vinyl as well!

Monark, how do you get your dash cover off your car when you need to do work behind the gauges?

I keep thinking how much fun it would be to build a stripped out track-only Miata on the cheap. They're just so much fun to drive.

Then I remember.

confuZion3 wrote: Absolutely amazing! Tiny budget, tiny car, big fun; right? I love the vinyl as well! Monark, how do you get your dash cover off your car when you need to do work behind the gauges?

The cage doesn't restrict the removal of the pod over the guages - the pic makes it look closer than it is.

I see. Cool cars, guys!