The UnSpecified Miata

I have decided that I own one-too-many Miatas, but first, I need to de-construct one of them.

I bought my first one (known as "The Black One") eight years ago and used it sparingly as a sunny day fun car. A few years later, I decided that I wanted to do some track days and time trials. I knew that a Miata would be perfect for that, but I thought mine was still too nice to risk driving on the track. So I found a second one (known as "The Green One") on e-Bay and bought it specifically for use on the track. Both cars are 96's. I built up the green one, loosely using the Spec Miata rules as a guide. I had thoughts about competing in Spec Miata, but I never did and the car was only used for HPDE type stuff.

I continued to drive the black car sparingly on nice days, until I replaced my old daily driven Accord with a new WRX. My daily driver became the car that I wanted to drive EVERY day, and for about three years, the black car sat in a corner of the garage.

So, I've decided to convert the black car into my track car and sell the green one, freeing up some garage space. Since I was happy with the way the green car had come out, I planned use the same components for the black car. I posted the green one on e-Bay with a reserve that was several thousand dollars below what it cost to build, but it didn't sell. I had several legitimate offers to buy it after the auction, but they were still less than what I was willing to let it go for. I wasn't expecting to recover all that I had put into the green car, but the offers would have basically covered what I had spent on parts. That might have been fine if I just needed cash or had to get rid of the car, but since I would end up buying all of the same stuff again, that would have been like selling the parts and throwing in the car for free.

The plan now is to remove all of the goodies from the green car, install them on the black one and then sell off the green car in basically it's stock form. At the time that I built it, I didn't have a digital camera, so I never documented the process. So, instead, I have decided to document the disassembly of my track car.

Come along as I un-build a Miata.

I started by removing the hard top, which was bolted in place with some brackets that I fabricated out of aluminum. I will probably put the hardtop back on when I'm done and sell it with the car, as I also removed the soft top assembly and I'm not sure if I will want to re-install it.

Then I removed some easy stuff, like the fire extinguisher that was mounted to the floor, my Hot Lap Timer setup and the upper part of the five point harness. Next came the Cobra Monaco S seat and the lower belts. Here's a photo of the rails that I made, in case you're wondering how to install a bottom-mount seat low in a Miata. They use the factory mounting holes in front and bolt through the floor at the rear. I spent almost as much time fitting the seat and making the rails as I did installing the cage, since you can't really see or reach under the seat once you get it where you want it. As I recall, I spent several days on that project. Before I reinstall it in the other car, I need to add some Loctite to the seat-to-rail bolts, as one of them had vibrated out completely and I never even knew it.

I removed the bolts from the front half of the Hard Dog bolt in cage and when I moved one of the joining sleeves forward, some metal shavings fell out. They ended up inside the cage tubes when I drilled the holes for the bolts to pass through. When I removed the front cage sections, I was really surprised at the amount of chips that came out.

It took me a little less than two and a half hours to get to this point. Next, I have to remove the rear half of the roll bar and reinstall the stock seat. At that point, I'll probably throw the hard top back on and turn my attention to the exhaust and suspension.

Stay tuned...

OK, I'll ask the really obvious question: why unbuild the "green" (Montego Blue, same color as my old '96) '96 just to build up the black '96 the same way? Why not just sell the black car?

Scott

Ditto....

I did think about that, but...

Green Car: 103,000 miles and a few dings and scratches,

Black Car: Less than half the mileage, absolutely flawless paint and body and I've owned it longer, so I'm more attached to it. In stock form, it would bring in more than the green one, but in most people's eyes, it's just a used car so the difference would not be that much. It's not like a low mileage early Miata is going to sell for $15k. If I sold this one, I'd probably regret it and I would have a hard time finding another one in similar condition.

Surprisingly, though, I've never really even liked black cars, but I do like the way the Montego Blue (green) looks with the black hardtop.

Saw your listing in several places, and was tempted, but no matter how inexpensive the car was, figuring in divorce costs always made it too high The car looked good in Pennsylvania in September.

car39 wrote: Saw your listing in several places, and was tempted, but no matter how inexpensive the car was, figuring in divorce costs always made it too high The car looked good in Pennsylvania in September.

Thanks. That was a great event, although I admit that I was kind of antisocial and kept to myself all day. It may have had something to do with getting up at 3 am, loading the car on the trailer and driving to Pennsylvania from Connecticut (in the rain) for a 7:30 start.

I actually packed up a little early, as I was exhausted and didn't want to make a mistake on the track, hurting myself or someone else. I've never gotten that much track time in a single day before.

I'm glad to see you're turning a decent Miata into a SM/track car. I have a very clean '96 M Edition with less than 75,000 miles. I could sell it for maybe $6,000, then buy another 1.8, but by the time I find a straight, rust-free car with a Torsen and good history, it will cost me probably $4,000.

I'm seriously thinking about parting out my '96M. I figure I could get $1,000 for top and interior. Maybe $400 for wheels and tires. Who cares that it's a "limited edition"?

The Ms aren't limited. Mazda made as many as they could sell. They're simply the Pimp Edition. Go for it!

I like to use 1991 BRGs and 1992 yellows as parts cars. Drives people nuts.

I had the day off again, so I started off with a trip to the junkyard.

We don't have self service yards around here and I only know of one place, about 45 minutes away, where the owner trusts me enough to let me go out into the yard myself. Fortunately, they have a low mileage Miata that took a light hit, just enough to total it. I had bought some stuff off of it a few weeks ago and I went back to get a rear shock tower brace, two plastic trim panels for behind the seat (I had to cut mine to clear the roll bar), and a few other little odds and ends. It had been picked pretty clean since the last time that I was there, but I got everything I needed for $25.

I got back home and I turned my attention to getting the back half of the roll cage out. There were six bolts through the trunk floor and all had locknuts on them. I was alone, so I had to use a pair of Vise-Grips inside the car and remove the bolts from below. Normally, my father would give me Hell for not using the proper wrench, but it occurred to me that when I installed the cage a few years ago, he was here to help. He's in his 70's now and so, in accordance with Connecticut state law, he has since moved to Florida. Vise-Grips would have to do.

I was pretty happy with my progress and I thought I could install my new used trim panels, the shock tower brace and start putting the interior back together. Then I discovered that the panels that I bought didn't have holes for the hardtop side brackets. Fortunately, Mazda marks the back of the panel for the oval hole. Last time, I used a sheetrock knife with mixed results, but this time, I used a Dremel tool with a cutting bit. It was quick and easy.

I still have some work to do before they can go in. I had forgotten that I needed to remove the upper mounting brackets for the seat belt retractors, along with a bunch of spacers for the shoulder belt anchor bolt. I looked for about half an hour and was just about to give up when I found all the pieces in an unlabeled coffee can next to my tool box. I was afraid that I would be headed back to the junkyard in the morning to buy a bunch of pieces that I probably had my hands on earlier in the day. I've moved that can around my garage for about three years without opening it. Now I just need to figure out the order in which they go together. The drawing in the shop manual doesn't look like the stuff that I have, but that's what came out a few years ago. I may have to dig into the other car for reference if I can't find some photos or a better exploded diagram.

And looking at the car without the cage, I have decided to re-install the soft top assembly. It would be foolish not to at this point. I did have to source some used front latches for the top, as I had pirated them for another hard top. I got lucky again: I looked on e-Bay, and found a pair with six minutes left in the auction and got them for $17.

At that point, I had to pick up and call it a day after another two and a half hours. Deconstruction has taken about five hours so far, with some lost time looking for the seat belt hardware.

Interesting! I will be disassembling a Miata soon myself!

Joey

After spending yesterday with my daughter, I got back to work on the car today.

My attention shifted away from the interior for a while, as I attacked some things outside and underneath. Since the back end of the car was up on ramps, I removed the rear sway bar and the adjustable end links, mainly because it made for a quick and easy start.

Notice the blue marks on the suspension's eccentric bolts. I made them for reference, after having a $315 (!) track alignment done at a nearby Porsche shop about a month ago. This way, if the suspension ever got knocked out of alignment due to a loose bolt, I could easily adjust it back to where I want it. Those marks, as well as the alignment, will soon be worthless.

Next to go were the fancy wheels and tires. Even though I wasn't ready to remove the shocks and springs, it didn't make much sense to keep moving the car around the garage on R-compound tires. They were replaced with the regular wheels that came with the car. I also went back to the stock 21mm lug nuts; they wouldn't fit the other wheels and I had to buy a set of 19mm's. Might as well keep them with the wheels.

The braided brake lines, Brembo rotors and EBC pads will stay with the car. The pads and rotors only have about 200 miles on them, but I can't see swapping them over to the other car. I also replaced the plastic splash guards while the wheels were off.

I removed the front and rear tow hooks and replaced them with the factory tie-downs. The front hook came off easy, but trying to put the stock one back on was a PITA, due to reduced clearance. I'll try again once I get the front of the car back up in the air, with the front spoiler and under tray removed. I'll also grab the FIAMM horns while I'm in there.

While I was up front, I "removed" the illegal Spec Miata cold air intake. It's as if it was never there!

Then I removed the rubber quick release hold-down things for the trunk lid, replaced the trunk latch and reinstalled the trunk release cable. That enabled me to replace the rear bulkhead cover, which was nice since I had to keep moving it around the garage and I was afraid I was going to ding one of the cars with it. I'll have to make some covers for the roll bar holes.

That was all I had time for today, about three hours worth. So, my total at this point in the project is about eight hours. My next goal is to reinstall the stock driver's seat. And it won't be as straightforward as you might think...

Looks great, and nice garage!

How low do you sit in the seat? I guess it's as low as it will go? I ask because I have a pair of (new) Cobra Monacos in the basement, not sure if mounting them that low will affect how well I can heel / toe, reach the pedals etc. Thoughts?

fifty wrote: Looks great, and nice garage! How low do you sit in the seat? I guess it's as low as it will go? I ask because I have a pair of (new) Cobra Monacos in the basement, not sure if mounting them that low will affect how well I can heel / toe, reach the pedals etc. Thoughts?

Thanks Fifty! I love that garage. I designed and built it myself along with the house. It's 26' x 36' with no columns and 10.5' ceilings. I can fit two Miatas in one bay. Power outlets everywhere, plus 220, lots of florescent lights, sink and a stairway to the basement. No heat, though, I ran out of money!

I built those seat rails to get me as low and as far back as possible, while leaning back bit. I'm 6' tall and I can fit under the hardtop with a helmet on. I think that the only way you could get lower would be to mount the seat flat and directly on the floor. I'm not sure that would be too comfortable though, plus I needed the tilt to get my knees up and gain some leg room. Also, there's no provision for quick adjustment. You need to remove the seat in order to move it forward on the rails.

Here's a quick update:

Today was the day that I was really dreading: Reinstalling the stock seat. I prepared for the big job by working a 15 hour shift last night (but only got paid for 14 due to daylight savings time. Damn), followed up by about three hours of sleep.

In order to get a seat really low in a Miata, you need to remove the two raised sections where the rear bolts for the stock seat rails attach. I removed these with a spot weld cutter.

Fortunately, I saved the pieces that I had removed. I sandblasted them and then sprayed them with Weld-Through Primer. I removed the rails from the stock seat and bolted them to the front mounting holes to ensure that I had located the rear mounts in the proper position.

I cleaned up the floor pan with an angle grinder fitted with a flapdisc and then sprayed that area with the primer as well. I had never used Weld-Through Primer before but I didn't want to leave bare metal on the floors. The primer was expensive, hard to find, made a lot of smoke and made it hard to make nice smooth little welds. I tried to duplicate the factory spot welds, but they didn't come out quite as pretty. There are a lot of them, though, so it's nice and strong. Then I sprayed the whole area flat black. Fortunately, it will be covered by the carpet.

I'm starting to regret that I didn't grab the carpet out of the parts car at the junkyard, as I had to cut mine in order to clear the front of the cage. I'll try to get back there in the morning. I'm sure it will still be there, I just hope it hasn't gotten wet.

Today's work took about two hours, for a total of ten.

Yesterday, through the miracle of baby monitors, I was able to get an unexpected hour and a half of work done on the Miata. I needed a clean and relatively straightforward project, so I decided to remove the oil pressure and water temperature gauges, the low oil pressure warning light and the LED shift light and all of associated wiring.

Everything came out without too much trouble and the wiring was labeled and saved for the next car. I reinstalled the original eyeball vents. The senders will have to wait for another day.

That brought me to 11.5 hours total.

This morning, a trip to the junkyard and $25 netted me a carpet set and a hood latch assembly that needs a bit of straightening.

I was also able to round up some other assorted odds and ends that would be useful.

Getting the carpet out of the parts car was harder than I had expected. Mazda must install the carpet before the HVAC assembly and I needed to make a small cut under the dash to get it out. Knowing that made the process of getting my old carpet out easier and I will save it for when I install the cage in the other car. The carpet installation was quick and easy and it looks great.

Next, I dropped the stock seats in, along with the seat belts and shock tower brace. That provided a big psychological boost. Everything installed easily and it made a dramatic difference in the car's appearance. I still need to put in some of the rear trim and the package shelf carpet to finish off the interior.

Chalk up another 3 hours, bringing us to 14.5

Yesterday, I had started messing with the soft top assembly, but when I discovered that I had drilled out the rivets on the rain rail and would need to put it all back together, I decided to leave it off for a few weeks. I put the rest of the interior trim back in and my wife helped me put the hardtop back on. The rear deck is a lot roomier without the folded soft top under the rear glass.

One hour yesterday.

Today's plan was to start by getting both cars side by side and up on ramps in order to swap some parts from one to another. I normally park both cars in a single bay of my garage, but I needed a little more room to work. Unfortunately, things did not go off as planned. The last thing I did on the previous evening was test out a power window switch that I picked up at the junkyard. Naturally, I left the key on and was greeted with a dead battery in the green car. I pushed it out into the driveway in the hope of starting it by popping the clutch in reverse (my only option), but I couldn't get enough momentum. The car was now stuck out in the narrow street. I ran up to the other car, stole its battery, swapped it in, got the car back in the garage and on ramps and then swapped the good battery back to the black car. Then I hooked up the green car's battery to the battery charger.

The black car hadn't been started in a couple of months so I pulled the fuel pump relay and cranked it over to build up the oil pressure. After reinstalling the relay, it fired right up and I drove it up on ramps as well.

I removed the big front sway bar from the green car, and since I no longer had it's stock bar, I pirated the one off of the black car. The big bar had been on the black car up until last year. It's a hollow bar that Jackson Racing used to sell and it is much lighter than the heavy solid bar that came with the Spec Miata suspension kit. (It's nice not being bound by the rules!). As I had discovered last year, it's much easier to R+R a sway bar on a car without A/C than on one with it.

Getting the stock bar back on the green car was key, as the car is now a bit more streetable, with matched bars front and rear. Once I put the catalytic converter back on to make it a little quieter, I'll drive it around a bit before I remove the coilovers. I also removed the front spoiler and replaced the front tow hook. The last job for the day was removing the remote oil pressure senders (gauge and warning light) from the firewall and replacing the stock sender. (Yes, I could have used a shorter line). Getting it out was much easier than installing it had been a few years ago. Removing the washer bottle made it much more accessible.

That took about three hours, due to the lost time messing with the batteries, one of which remains on the Battery Tender. The black car is still without a front sway bar and it has a stock bar on the rear, so I will install both big bars when I get a chance. I also soaked the exhaust bolts down with PB Blaster and plan to let them sit for a few days.

Total time: 18.5 hours.