I finally found the answer....

I'm not a fan of red but a co-worker had this for sale so I picked it up. 1990, 184k. Needs paint work, at least on the hood and the pink bumpers but at least there does not appear to be any body rust. Anyone have recommendations for a good body shop in Cincinnati, Dayton, or ,Columbus? Car also needs a new exhaust but I don't think I want to go with the stainless system I see on the flying miata site, anyone have a less expensive option to suggest?

I've been trying to figure out what to with the car. Spec miata? V8 swap? Or just drive it as is and not spend $ on it? My mechanic skills are pretty limited though.

I've always wanted one of these cars so I'm glad to finally have one. It reminds me of my old 914,just as low but not as cool. Still fun though.

Honestly, I'd just drive it the way it is and have a blast on all the curvy roads. If you have a hankerin' to get aggressive with it, you should hit an autocross or five but you already knew that. You'll figure out your priorities in no time doing that.

Where in the country is this? Northeast? Midwest? If you're in a road salt state, get under it and look for rust before embarking on any large-scale plan.

It looks very presentable, though. At least in the pics.

"Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus"

Upgrade to 'better than OEM' suspension and drive the piss out of it.

SnowMongoose wrote: Upgrade to 'better than OEM' suspension and drive the piss out of it.

Funny, I was going to say "refresh suspension with some poly bushings, perhaps some shocks, and then drive the piss out of it."

184k, 26 year old car. There's no piss left in it.

plance1 wrote: 184k, 26 year old car. There's no piss left in it.

Low miles for a Miata, so there is still plenty of piss left in it.

Granted, that may be because its kidneys have shut down... ;-)

plance1 wrote: 184k, 26 year old car. There's no piss left in it.

You'd be surprised.

Enjoy it when the weather doesn't suck. Keep your eye on Craig's list for used performance parts. Pick them up when they are cheap and learn how to bolt them on. I just saw a set of bilstein NB shocks and struts nearby for cheap. Do some of that and just have fun with your new toy.

Join the Mazdaspeed program and get the Bosal Spec Miata exhaust.

plance1 wrote: "Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus"

I thought you might've bought it somewhere else and drove it home.

I would drive it, as is, for a while. I would hold off on the repaint and first get it up to perfect running condition.
You mention that you have little mech skill. A Miata is the perfect place to gain some skills. Working on the Miata is simplistic and rewarding. In addition, it's repairs are well documented and supported on the Internet so there is tons of guidance online.

I would start with fresh fluids and generally making sure the engine is right.
From there I would refreshing the suspension. One of my first steps on the suspension would be some 15" rims and 205/50/15 tires.
You can shop used for these rims since the Miata is a popular 4x100 size. Anything with 4 lugs from any year Miata will fit.

Congrats!

Drive it, enjoy it, upgrade when something breaks or absolutely requires attention. If you like it, keep a look out for another one that doesn't require 5K worth of upgrades and paint to make it a 3K car. There are lots of them out there. No need to be the guy that buys a cheap one and put tons of dough into upgrading it, when there is a cheap one thats done. Same thing goes for just about any enthusiast car.

Drive the paint off of it! Upgrade when you find something broken or when you need a bit more excitement.

Tires,wheels, shocks if it needs them and go drive Ohio SR 555 from Zanesville south.

Also remember that miatas used single stage paint at that point, so you might be surprised what a good detailer can do with some aggressive polish... A 200 detail job might get it presentable enough that it doesn't "need" painting or not be an eyesore to you.

My coworkers never have cool cars for sale. The last car for purchase here was a 1998 LeSabre with a blown tranny.

The upside was that it was available here in our parking lot.

plance1 wrote: 184k, 26 year old car. There's no piss left in it.

There was not much to start with, but it was never the point. Under 200k Miatae are just broke in. If the crank don't wobble and it has compression (I prefer a leakdown test), just keep going. Do a timing belt if it has not been done recently.

These cars love good tires (I like Azenis),fresh shocks and an alignment. Unless you can see that the bushings are bad, I would leave them be. Replacing the top is nothing to be afraid of either if it should need one.

NOHOME wrote:

plance1 wrote: 184k, 26 year old car. There's no piss left in it.

There was not much to start with, but it was never the point. Under 200k Miatae are just broke in. If the crank don't wobble and it has compression (I prefer a leakdown test), just keep going. Do a timing belt if it has not been done recently. These cars love good tires (I like Azenis),fresh shocks and an alignment. Unless you can see that the bushings are bad, I would leave them be. Replacing the top is nothing to be afraid of either if it should need one.

I agree with NOHOME. Timing belt is pretty easy, FM makes a tool that makes timing the cam gears even easier (I built my own crank holder) although you can get it a tooth off easy. It'll still run fin just hot idle gets really rough.

On the tires front, Dunlop ZII Star Specs are another good choice and a really cheap one at that. If I liked my Dunlops anymore, they'd be beer.

You should bless it with the divine power of booooooost!

Put cheapo exhaust on it, refresh suspension and drive drive drive!!

Woody wrote: Join the Mazdaspeed program and get the Bosal Spec Miata exhaust.

That's just mean.

Less expensive exhaust here: http://www.yonaka.com/Yonaka_1990_1997_Mazda_Miata_NA_Catback_Exhaust_p/ymcb-mia9097.htm

Although you can never really go wrong with FM. Quality peeps and quality products.

EDIT: Totally agree with the "refresh the suspension" sentiment. Just spend a couple hundred extra and actually upgrade a little rather than OEM replacements. I have Koni Yellows on mine. It made a HUGE difference. A front sway bar, set of Star Specs, and performance alignment and you're good to go.

If you're sticking with the stock springs, Koni STR.t (orange) are a good option. Same valving as a yellow on full soft and a lifetime warranty. But yeah, Miatas are sensitive to shocks. Assume anything on the car is worn out unless it's a Koni.

If you're going to do bushings, do rubber and not poly.

Keith Tanner wrote: If you're sticking with the stock springs, Koni STR.t (orange) are a good option. Same valving as a yellow on full soft and a lifetime warranty. But yeah, Miatas are sensitive to shocks. Assume anything on the car is worn out unless it's a Koni. If you're going to do bushings, do rubber and not poly.

Keith, would you mind explaining the cons of going all poly bushings in the the NA/NB suspension? My 2003 has 118K miles on the OEM parts and over the summer it's going to get a full suspension refresh/mild handling upgrade, and I had been pondering poly (will not be competetively raced, but will see some 8/10s level HPDE days at Hallett). And yes, you are probably going to get some of my money