I've got a '90 in good general condition, which I like quite a bit when it's warm enough to drop the top. Going into the cold season, however, it feels more like a cramped, loud buzzbox than my beloved toss-around machine. I also kayak and surf, so I'm missing rack capability. I was planning to set it up for track days and autocross this winter, but that and fixing the ripped rear window's going to cost me around $2,500. Before I start cutting checks, I'm having a last thought: Might I be better off with a quick hatchback - something like a Civic SI? I'd be able to throw the entire family in the thing. It'd be comparably quick, cary my stuff, and nicer on cold days.
I bought the Miata for $400 with a bad head. throw in another $600 for registration and rebuilding the head plus the upgrades and I'm in for $3,500ish. Is it possible to get a decent track-prepped SI or comparable car for that ballpark? Or am I going to have to significantly raise my monetary expectations? Will I miss the Miata too much? Will I feel ridiculous as a 46YO in a car commonly associated with ricers? Will the El Nino bring more rain this year? Will Danica Patrick ever win a major race? Have I drank too mmuch cccofffee this morning?
I never enjoyed driving my Miata during the winter either. With the top up it does feel cramped and buzzy.
kreb wrote:
I bought the Miata for $400 with a bad head. throw in another $600 for registration and rebuilding the head plus the upgrades and I'm in for $3,500ish. Is it possible to get a decent track-prepped SI or comparable car for that ballpark?
Doubtful. Nor will a FWD car be as much fun.
kreb wrote:
Or am I going to have to significantly raise my monetary expectations?
Will I miss the Miata too much?
Will I feel ridiculous as a 46YO in a car commonly associated with ricers?
For a dual purpose car, yes IMO.
Yes, you will miss it everytime you are on track.
Maybe 
Keep the Miata and get another car for your other duties.
If money is the issue, why not DIY the top and rollbar, then track and autocross the car in stock form? And the chances are a used head will cost you less than a rebuild.
30 minutes into this, and nobody has suggested an e30 yet?
A miata is about the easiest car in the world to do springs and shocks on, and an alignment will be less than $100. The rear window is a stupid easy DIY so there's no reason to pay someone else to do that either.
My miata was a cramped buzzbox in the winter too, but they're fun as hell in the snow.
Not the most comfortable car for commuting daily in, I agree. But I don't want my CRX back as a replacement. The CRX was wonderful, but I'm much happier with rear wheel drive.
A ripped window can be fixed with tape. The thick packing tape, or the protective film tape. A ripped top can be fixed with fabric and fabric adhesive.
You can rig up racks easily enough. The cruder you're willing to go, the easier it is to rig them up. Bolting conduit hoops to the bumpers for example. Cheap, crude, effective. Sockets on the bumpers for removing the conduit bumpers would be more expensive and fancier.
Good feedback. Thanks! I thought e30 about 10 minutes after posting. But the ongoing costs of keeping an old Bimmer going versus a Miata might be significant.
I've already rebuilt the head. Thanks for the help Eric, if you're listening
I'm a little reluctant to do my own rollbar simply because the tolerances are so tight, and presumably the manufacturers already have that worked out. I can't see buying used shocks from anyone but a friend. And none of them drive Miatas!
Any other thoughts?
For the rollbar..go with the prefab one from Bethania Garage. I've had two and they fit well, are built tough, and come with great instructions to install them yourself. Great folks there too. I like the added safe feeling I get from them baring the benefit of meeting track requirements.
Is it just the read window that's crap on your top? If so I'd have that replaced and soldier on until you can replace the top. Most upholstery shops can do that if you're disinclined to try it yourself.
The Miata is a fun car but it is small and lightweight. The size keeps you from carrying anything of size internally. The lightweight thing means that sound deadening is not at the level of say....a Lexus. Trade-off's.
Now, you can make a FWD hatch as fast as a Miata. Lots of things are as fast or faster than our favorite track toy. You'll lose that RWD, drop top feel.
If you really want to haul stuff, get a wagon. If you want some top down fun then I'd say stick with the Miata and live with it's tradeoffs.
kreb wrote:
But the ongoing costs of keeping an old Bimmer going versus a Miata might be significant.
I don't know about that. BMW parts aren't that expensive and the cars are pretty reliable. Labor costs account for much of the Break My Wallet reputation, but they are pretty easy DIY cars.
For what it is worth, I go to the Pick-n-Pull about once a month for entertainment - I went this morning.
There were 4 e30s, including a nearly complete 325i with an untouched drivetrain. There were zero Miatas, and I've only seen one Miata there ever.
On the other hand, around here e36 cars are cheaper and more plentiful than decent e30s. Alas, I've only ever seen one e36 at the PNP, and it was pretty much stripped clean by the time I saw it.
Sorry, I intended to say DIY the rollbar install. Track-legal rollbars can often be found for under $200 second hand. The install takes hours, but doing it with a friend will save you a few hundred in labor.
I've owned three E30 325is's and while I liked them a lot, I moved on to Miata's because they're more fun to drive, cheaper to maintain, and easier to modify. I don't know that you'll beat the car you already have with a budget of $3,500 - unless local club rules demand that you have a hard top to get on track.
Have you considered adding a hard top to your miata? They go for around a grand but they make the car much nicer in the colder months.
Yeah, but a grand is a hard pill to swallow on a 20 YO car. I am looking at the 325is option a bit harder though. I drove a friend's e30 a bit and had a lot of fun. Early e36s look good too, but they seem pretty overstuffed compared to a Miata.
Keep in mind that if you ever get rid of the Miata, you'll get most if not all the money back for the hardtop if you sell it separately. It's one of those items that are consistently in demand.
Stupid question, but do hardtops make that big of a difference? And are there advantages to factory over aftermarket?
kreb wrote:
I'm a little reluctant to do my own rollbar simply because the tolerances are so tight, and presumably the manufacturers already have that worked out. I can't see buying used shocks from anyone but a friend. And none of them drive Miatas!
Any other thoughts?
I've watched used packages on ebay go for under a grand. As in sway bars, shocks, springs and bushings. Those are things like Koni shocks and such. At those prices, I'd be awful tempted to entertain a used set of shocks.
Hardtops do make a massive difference in winter (or what counts for winter here in Southern England). I certainly found my Miatas less drafty and warmer inside, plus I think one that's mounted properly (all six mount points) actually stiffens up the chassis nicely.
As to "what to get" unless you can get a known good expensive JDM YO! type aftermarket hardtop, I'd stick with a Mazda OEM one with a heated screen.
Hard top makes a nice addition for the winter months. Also, I believe that a rack system can be mounted, though it is not listed as being for the Miata. A search on Miata.net would likely find the appropriate listing to buy the rack system for. I remember that someone had their bike on a normal rack system.
Hardtops also add like 3 mph to your top end or something if that's something you're interested in 
Perhaps a 944 is in your future? It's like a Miata only with a roof (and some weight). But a well maintained one is perfectly usable during the winter.
I own one.. so I am biased.. E36 318ti. All the fun of the E30.. the looks of the E36.. light weight (for a BMW) and a HUGE trunk when you open the hatch.
It's not that hard to make a Miata quieter. A bit of sound insulation on the rear deck and bulkhead under the carpet makes a big difference. If you've got a hardtop, pull the damaged softtop out and enjoy your little coupe. My wife's 1990 runs a hardtop pretty much year-round and it's a nice tourer.
personally.. I drove one of my fiat spiders for years as my only DD... I would drive in sub freezing weather with the top down.
One year I even did it without heat when the heat fan rubbed through the core and put a hole in it. Ran for 6 months with the heater bypassed
mad_machine wrote:
I own one.. so I am biased.. E36 318ti. All the fun of the E30.. the looks of the E36.. light weight (for a BMW) and a HUGE trunk when you open the hatch.
Have to say, while I like the general idea of an e30/e36, I don't get the appeal of 4 cylinder Bimmers (e30m3 excepted). You give up that famous I6 smoothness and torque to save what? 100 lbs?
personally.. I drove one of my fiat spiders for years as my only DD... I would drive in sub freezing weather with the top down.
I understand that sentiment. The Miata with top up holds little appeal. I'd usually rather bundle up and keep it down.
+1 on the hard top.
Why not find the worst hard top you can find and bolt your racks directly to it. Want to carry something .... put on the hard top. I am thinking about adding a trailer hitch to mine and using one of those Harbor Freight rear shelf things to carry track tires or bicycles. If you need to carry more stuff HF also has some cheap small trailers.
