Xceler8x
Xceler8x GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
7/6/13 8:06 p.m.

Our story starts way back in the ought's. Most people say that means in the 2000 - 2009 years but we all know it means "We ought to have enjoyed it more."

I'm at a party in the year 2006 and a friend is there who knows I race cars. I'm regaling, read boring the E36 M3 out of, everyone there with stories about how Miata's are fast and wild machines. Designed to cut up a race track and defeat Corvette's on VIR's long straightaways. I was drunk. The previous statement proves this was true. Also, everyone knows Miata’s are for girls and come in colors that best match purses or decorating schemes.

At the end of my story my friend woke everyone up and consoled that one girl who was crying. It's cool. Every party has that one girl who cries every time. Then, he pulls me aside and says "Hey, I know where a Miata is at that this old lady owns. She never drives it. It just sits there." In 30 seconds I was sober as a judge. That's when I started asking questions about options, hardtop, year, general condition aka "How rusty is it?" He told me what he knew from driving by it each day at 25mph. It had a hardtop. It was black. The seats where leather but they were cracked - bad.

Needless to say I was intrigued.

Then life happened. I bought and sold three Miata's in various states of decay. Some of that decay was even due to mileage and use instead of my modifying them. I had a son. In the back of my mind, was that Miata. So much so that about three years ago I drove around looking for it and couldn't find it. I then talked to a friend and he pointed me to the location.

It was as described from what I could see from the road. Black, hardtop, tan interior, but it also had hail damage and a trunk dent. I walked away thinking "If I ever get back into Miata's again I might even walk up to the door."

Over the next three years I'd drive by there and check. It was always there. Just with a bit more leaf mold. Always in the same spot.

The other day I had just bought some new shoes and sunglasses. I was feeling pretty special. That day I said "Self, we're going knocking on that old ladies door about that black Miata with the hardtop." Luckily, she answered. To make sure she'd open the door I stood way far back from it with my arms hanging loose and my shoulders rolled in so I would seem less intimidating. Some folks are really intimidated by nerdy white guys who weight south of 200 lbs inquiring about Miata's. That's what I told myself anyway.

When she answered I said I was there to look at her Miata if she didn't mind. She said that was fine and then said the magic words "It's even for sale for the right price.."

I skipped around to the drive way like only a man asking about a Miata can. It was a little better, and a little worse, than I expected. The tan leather seats were not split at all. The top portion of the dash had mold spots. The interior was dry but the trunk was really wet and most likely the mold source. The tires were dry rotted. The rear brakes were frozen as she'd set the parking brake back in 2009. Of course, it would not start since this isn't a Cinderella story.

I low balled her, she countered. I looked around the yard and noticed the faded child's toys that still had fall leaves on them in July. I looked at the backyard that was overrun with ivy and with dead trees all over. I also checked out the house which was losing a gutter and had some rotten wood sections on each side. I accepted her counter and her jaw dropped. I couldn't dicker with her on the price at all. Besides, her counter was what the hardtop and intact seats were worth. If she was happy, so was I.

Well, I went home and got some cash. I came back and she signed the title over. It was then that it occurred to me. I hadn't heard the thing run. AW crap.

I put the key in it and turned. All the dash lights came on but one solid click from the starter. That was it. That’s when I decided to put my prodigious mechanical ability to work. I had once changed a light bulb. I had performed a brake job on a foreign car. I had even remembered that Ford’s of a certain vintage have fuel injection cut off switches and used that knowledge to start my then girlfriend’s Mother’s Taurus. I could handle this.

I went to the store and purchased a new battery. Nope. Still a solid click. I then checked the connections and all looked good. I then hammered on the starter with a long jack handle a few times. Nada. I touched the starter and it was cold and had some dead leaves on it. Nope. The “leaf” was a giant dead spider with fangs I could still see in it’s face even though it most likely spun it’s last web in 2010. Yeeek. Time to reconsider.

I went home and jumped on Miata.net. It sounded like the starter was bad. Anyways, it was towing time. I’ll skip the tow story but it involved many exciting hours sitting in my car and being stood up by the driver. A couple of hours later after I left he called and said he had the car on his truck and was on the way. Typical tow story. Nothing worth saying there.

Once it was at my house I checked it over further. By that I mean I tried the starter again once the wheels stopped moving off the tow truck. I got one “row-row” from the motor. That’s the sound a motor makes when it’s trying to start. It was then I pulled the plugs and noticed they were all oily as hell. I tried the starter again with the plugs out. The motor turned easily. Hmm. Oh, also a lot of crap came out of the plug holes. I cleaned the plugs with brake cleaner and put them back in. I then also remembered to put fresh gas in. Told you I was an excellent mechanic. Just to prove it I’ll let you know I was smart enough to squirt some starting fluid on the air filter before trying to start it again.

Damned if the thing didn’t start. It smoked a bit. It blew some white smoke out of the tail pipe for awhile. Then it idled like it ran last week. To make sure I wasn’t dreaming I cut it off and started it again. Then I let it run until it was up to operating temp and it seemed fine. The test drive had no more excitement than clearing the rust off of the rotors.

Pics or it didn’t happen? Consider this as evident…er…evidence. Stuff to look at so you don’t think I’m a liar.

That line along the bottom half of the car is dirt and leaf mold. It was in ivy up to the center of the wheels. No rust in front of the rear wheels or behind the fronts. Floor pans seem solid as well.

Check out how the old leaves and tree poop fill the rain tray below the windshield.

Check out the cobweb between the passenger seat and the hardtop B pillar. The whole car was like that. Cobwebs between the passenger seat and the glove box. There's also an ant colony living somewhere. I see them all over the rear of the car after going for a drive.

Catatafish
Catatafish Reader
7/6/13 8:19 p.m.

Nice lucky you!

Slippery
Slippery GRM+ Memberand Reader
7/6/13 8:22 p.m.

Thats a cool story! Sounds like when I bought my Miata, it was sitting for at least 4 years. I finally talked to the owner and pushed it over to my house (he lived a block away). Some starter fluid and 20 minutes later the car was running.

mndsm
mndsm PowerDork
7/6/13 8:27 p.m.

You sir, are an excellent wordsmith, and that was a story worth reading.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
7/6/13 8:29 p.m.

Nice score! LOVE your writing style, kind of reminds me of Dave Barry.

egnorant
egnorant SuperDork
7/6/13 8:38 p.m.

Sounds very similar to my purchase of the worlds ugliest Miata! Black with tan interior and a hardtop...but an automatic.

Only a 2 year sitter but it had been abused by a young college student.

Bruce

Gearheadotaku
Gearheadotaku GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
7/6/13 9:32 p.m.

Challenge priced?

noddaz
noddaz GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
7/6/13 9:39 p.m.

Fantastic story.... Thanks.

sethmeister4
sethmeister4 HalfDork
7/6/13 10:11 p.m.

Awesome! And a very entertaining read! Time to start a build thread!

Kenny_McCormic
Kenny_McCormic SuperDork
7/7/13 12:37 a.m.

Cool find. Change the oil, last week, 3 year old oil tends to be full of condensation water and gets rather corrosive, bearing and journal eating corrosive.

Maybe the plugs were oily because somebody had the decency to fog it?

tr8todd
tr8todd HalfDork
7/7/13 8:36 a.m.

I've lived that same story a half dozen times with TR8s, except for the getting freaked out by spiders thing. In fact I will probably be buying another one on Saturday that has been sitting for years in an old guys garage.

Xceler8x
Xceler8x GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
7/8/13 10:42 a.m.

Thanks for the congratulations and compliments on my attempt at JG style writing.

To answer some questions:

  1. Yes, WAY under challenge price. Being a non-runner, a sitter, and having other issues I was able to get this car for cheap. If I decide to sell the car it will pull more than double what I paid for it. Having 84k on the odo, the schload of options, and being an unrestored survivor style car....I'll have to investigate it's proper price if I sell.

  2. I checked the oil and I'll change it as soon as feasible. The stuff is clear and honey colored now so I'm thinking it was changed and barely run.

  3. I suspect someone took some measures to keep the car from deteriorating at some point. The hardtop was installed potentially saving the soft top. The driver's window regulator failed but someone zip tied the window in place so as to save the interior. The oil in the cylinders was no mistake. Also, it was a lot. I'm sure someone poured that in as the car doesn't smoke at all when running. I haven't driven it enough to know about oil ring or valve seal/guide issues so no numbers on oil consumption. I did find a broken bolt from the valve cover lying on the valve cover once I had the car in my garage. It looks like someone snapped it off and then laid it right there. Also, the rad was full of very green water so this should've saved the block from any freezing issues.

I'll chalk this one up to saving a car and having it work out well so far. I'm really surprised actually. When I first got it I was wondering if it was even a runner. Thank God it was/is.

Now I've ordered a window regulator and hope the window motor is good. $150 on Amazon. I'm checking on tires but hoping someone local has a pair of 15 inch takeoffs I can buy. I'd rather start with 15's so I can then buy some 205-50/15's to fill out the wheel wells. If that doesn't happen I'll go with the stock size from tire rack considering I can get 4 of them for right around $250 shipped.

I'm resisting the turbo bug. Damn it. Resisting it is tough. If it becomes my driver then it will most likely be turboed.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury MegaDork
7/8/13 10:49 a.m.

great thread. Would read again

e_pie
e_pie HalfDork
7/8/13 10:57 a.m.
4cylndrfury wrote: great thread. Would read again

.

beans
beans Reader
7/8/13 11:00 a.m.

I <3 black and tan NA's.

yamaha
yamaha UberDork
7/8/13 11:03 a.m.

Yea, sounds like someone filled the cylinders with oil or atf. I use about a teaspoon of atf in cylinders to lubricate the rings before turning an unknown engine over.....Seems that whomever left that there, had the right idea. You are lucky you didn't try push starting it....that would have been hydrolocking from hell....

Xceler8x
Xceler8x GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
7/8/13 12:54 p.m.
beans wrote: I <3 black and tan NA's.

Me too. Much like beer as I age I find that I like brown or tan interiors more and more. Same with metal flake brown paint jobs.

yamaha wrote: Yea, sounds like someone filled the cylinders with oil or atf. I use about a teaspoon of atf in cylinders to lubricate the rings before turning an unknown engine over.....Seems that whomever left that there, had the right idea. You are lucky you didn't try push starting it....that would have been hydrolocking from hell....

I thought so too. I thank that long ago caretaker each time the car surprises me with something that works that shouldn't. Stuff like the electric antenna and stock Mazda cassette/cd player.

I couldn't have tried to push start the car if I wanted to! I'm a loner when it comes to this stuff so I was by myself when working on it. Also, the rear brakes were locked on from having the parking brake engaged since 2009. I was surprised when it rolled off the wrecker.

Ian F
Ian F PowerDork
7/8/13 1:19 p.m.
Xceler8x wrote: 1. Yes, WAY under challenge price. Being a non-runner, a sitter, and having other issues I was able to get this car for cheap. If I decide to sell the car it will pull more than double what I paid for it. Having 84k on the odo, the schload of options, and being an unrestored survivor style car....I'll have to investigate it's proper price if I sell.

If you do decide to sell it, let me know. Especially if you can determine if the A/C works. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or space to deal with another project so I realyl need a car that's sorted. Just passed on the '99 posted in the Open forum this past Sat because it turned into more of a project than I can handle right now.

Xceler8x
Xceler8x GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
7/8/13 3:12 p.m.
Ian F wrote: If you do decide to sell it, let me know. Especially if you can determine if the A/C works. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or space to deal with another project so I realyl need a car that's sorted. Just passed on the '99 posted in the Open forum this past Sat because it turned into more of a project than I can handle right now.

I'll definitely let you know if I decide to move it on. I'm fixing the driver's window and will put some new tires on it to get it inspected very soon. In VA this is the way to gain a bit more cash at sale as you can then say "SEE! Road legal! No deathtrap here! I'd let my own daughter fornicate in the back it's so safe!" Trick here is there isn't a backseat! Therefore, no fornication! But the rubes buying cars don't make these leaps of logic like I, super genious, am known will do.

AC is a bit weak at the moment. I'm thinking, hoping, it only needs a top up of the ol'R34. I'm hoping there aren't any holes in the expensive parts known as AC guts. Either way, being in VA with summers that are slightly colder than Death Valley and with the humidity of a turkish wrestlers jock strap I'll have the AC fixed before any sale happens.

fornetti14
fornetti14 GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
7/8/13 4:04 p.m.

Time to drive the hell out of it.

Ian F
Ian F PowerDork
7/8/13 8:16 p.m.

In reply to Xceler8x:

Thanks. I know what you mean. My E30 didn't have a valid PA inspection when I bought it... and that made what I thought was a decent purchase a good grand or two too much when it failed effing miserably (emissions). Three years later I'm still so disgusted with the car I haven't bothered, and because of that I'll lose my shirt when I sell it (also why I've been procrastinating about selling it...).

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