captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:I also just noticed the steering wheel, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't that steering wheel indicate an option package that includes some desirable bits? I'm thinking that you may have a torsion limited slip and possibly a shorter gear ratio based upon that observation (I could be completely wrong, but I'm here to encourage verification).
I'd have dry ice, a heat gun and a suction puller on that driver's side quarter panel today.
Should have the torsion with the leather seats IIRC. Not sure about gear ratio.
In reply to Appleseed :
I'm just trying to put myself through college.
In reply to Stampie :
Yeah the leather was the other telltale on that I noticed the steering wheel first but then after making my post I noticed the leather and thought the same thing.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
My last Miata had that Nardi steering wheel, but with cloth seats. It had no Torsen. To come with a Torsen it should have the power windows, a wind blocker, power antenna, and cruise control also.....I think. The leather seats were another package, too.
Edit: Gear ratio should be the 4.30:1
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
It's got all that.
Various combinations are listed here. Regardless of which packages it has, a great deal in the current market, especially at that mileage. It appears to be very similar to the one I brought to the Challenge four years ago. Does yours have the Sport suspension with Bilsteins ?
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
My last Miata had that Nardi steering wheel, but with cloth seats. It had no Torsen. To come with a Torsen it should have the power windows, a wind blocker, power antenna, and cruise control also.....I think. The leather seats were another package, too.
Edit: Gear ratio should be the 4.30:1
In 99 the factory tan leather interior and top only came on the "LP" (leather package) which included the torsen LSD when equipped with the 5-speed manual. And yes, all the 5-speeds were 4.3 (I think automatics were 4.1, but this clearly isn't one so that doesn't matter). The Bilsteins ("Hard S" suspension) were not available in the LP.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
And honestly at this point with the age and popularity of the first two generations of miatas, I think the market is going to stay where it is with regards to their value, and low mileage examples such as this, even if not pristine, if comestically repaired using OE parts with documentation, are honestly 5 figure cars when presented to the right market.
I mentioned horse trading earlier in the thread and there's actually a significant possibility that this example, once the cosmetic defects are corrected and repaired, could be horse traded for a higher mileage Miata that's already fitted with a functional, reliable turbo setup that isn't a project car.
Stampie said:Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:I'm confused.
I thought I read the words "turbo," and "second Miata," early in this thread. I don't remember any mention of flipping it.
Sudden attack of rationality?
Sorry I wasn't clear. So my main plan is/was buy a turbo Miata for me and hand down my NA to Lil Stampie. Back up to that was find a cheap beater Miata for him so that's why I noticed the NB when I did. Plan was not to hand the keys to a 32k Miata to a beginning driver. Well I already failed that I guess because I let a 13 year old drive the NB the last 200 yards down the street.
I agree with that plan. You can get a good price for that Miata, and it would much more sense to buy a turbo car that's already been sorted.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
It does not have the sport suspension but I just happened to pick up a set of those Bilsteins free off the board a couple of weeks ago.
Yeah I have a lot of thinking to do. Do I go crazy on this car or do I buy an already built turbo Miata. My metal image of a silver NB with Burgundy hard top wearing the new FM wheels in black was looking really good.
FWIW, to captdownshift's point......low mileage, decently presented NBs are being listed for $10-12K here in Michigan. Obviously that doesn't mean they got that, but still, a fair chunk of the ask is still good. You got a car with 90K less on the odo and no rust compared to mine for Challenge money. I like my ex-Challenge NB because of it's supercharger, but it's rusting in the usual NB spots, rockers and front frame horns. I'd love to stumble on the bargain you did.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
I think my car is a "bitsa" build. I've got leather, tan top, bilsteins (don't know what springs), the wood steering wheel, shift knob and dash trim, cruise ,air, Torsen etc. BUT, there's a fog light switch in the dash and no place for fog lights in the fascia. After 22 years of use any of these cars can show up with a hodge-podge of options. I doubt that's the case with Stampie's car, given the mileage and circumstances of the purchase though. A fun car none the less.
In reply to Stampie :
I think a silver NB looks great with a silver hardtop and dark wheels....kinda vintage looking. My hardtop is black and I've been tempted to change it to silver. LOL, I've tried more than once to organize a meet where everyone with mismatched hardtops shows up and we all do some horse trading. Hasn't worked yet.
Stampie: talk deadskunk out of his supercharger and game on with the rest!
You know you loved the instant torque of mine. The supercharger should get you that, only woth a more broad usable range in each gear.
Do it!!!
I see Lil Stampie is still rockin' that same t-shirt. I guess he knows a good thing when he finds it.
The car is cool too.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
The supercharger is nice, but it's probably only making 6 PSI of boost, so 180ish HP, maybe..... I have been contemplating putting it up for sale , given the silly pricing prevalent these days and taking my profit to buy a nicer NB. I figure the "premium" for the supercharger ought to buy substantially less mileage and a car that's been put away winters, a common practice up here.
Supercharger+massive injectors+E85.
Why E85 if only running 6-9lb of boost? IATs.
That's how and why you'd be able to go from 6lb to 8-9lb
(Water meth is the other option)
All that said, I'd still horse trade for a prepped Miata with forced induction, as I want to see more creative ways to get firepower to the challenge
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:I think my car is a "bitsa" build. I've got leather, tan top, bilsteins (don't know what springs), the wood steering wheel, shift knob and dash trim, cruise ,air, Torsen etc. BUT, there's a fog light switch in the dash and no place for fog lights in the fascia. After 22 years of use any of these cars can show up with a hodge-podge of options. I doubt that's the case with Stampie's car, given the mileage and circumstances of the purchase though. A fun car none the less.
Check the sticker on the door for the factory suspension, if it says "sport" then you had the base suspension, if it says "hard S" then you had the sport one with the Bilsteins. 22 years down the road I'm not at all surprised that someone has changed the shocks. :)
The wood stuff was a dealer-installed appearance option. The fog lights were all port-installed for NB1, IIRC there aren't any bumper covers for NB1s that have fog light holes pre-drilled in them (you buy the bezels separately and then have to drill holes), so if it was replaced due to crash repair it's entirely possible that the fog lights just got left out.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
Mine has already been to the Challenge. Did pretty well.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
The tag says "sport s", so that's the base spec. Now that I think about it, I bought a set of Bilsteins and springs from a fellow in Battle Creek that I think were from an NB2 with the Hard S suspension. I put those on after the 2017 Challenge. My Heinz 57 car !!
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Which brings up a fun exercise that I find myself doing once or twice a year, peaking back at old challenge results and thinking, you could get THAT chassis as a starting point for a build for challenge money!!! For example, BMW 2002... amongst many others.
It brings up the thought process of another exercise. Say Stampie fixes and corrects the cosmetic issues with the Miata. Then enters it in the challenge as is stock, and doesn't build it at all, say he continues to do this for five or six years and only drives it around the block once or twice a week and trailers it to the challenge to compete each year. If values keep going up, in theory in 5 to 6 years he could keep the mileage under 40k them horse trade it for something it the $20k range and have that be challenge legal. With more EVs coming out in the near future, would a model 3 be in the $20k range in that timeframe? If so how would downloadable subscription features and items on a car be budgeted. Would there still be a generation of Z06 in the $20k range at that time?
Pandora's box could be opened with regards to fun and creatively, just don't put a tarp over it this time.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
Don't hate me but I have two BMW 2002s. One has a $800 start for Challenge budget and the other is documented on the board $0 budget.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
Challenge arbitrage is a helluva drug when it's a seller's market.
In reply to Stampie :
Do tell.......any pictures?
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Looks like about 2 feet ago for Lil Stampie but everything is on this page:
And no it's not his car. I've told him he can have it after I die.
You'll need to log in to post.
