New toy! Miata!

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wfooshee

O, Woe is me!!
Joined
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Years and years ago I dated a lady who had a '91 or '92 red 5-speed she'd bought brand new. I really miss that car...

More recently, in 2004, I kept my son's '93 red 5-speed while he was deployed to Iraq. Little ******* took it back when he returned!

Fours weeks ago today I gave an airman at Eglin some cash for a '99 car in pretty decent condition. Runs great, has some "pieces" on it, and I now have my very own Miata 5-speed that nobody can take away from me! He bought it just for the time he was at the base, the way military guys do. He has a family back home and the car isn't much use with the kids.

It's a '99, which makes it simultaneously the oldest car I've ever bought, at 19 years, and the newest car I've ever owned, being a 1999 model!
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Only my 2003 FJR is a more recent model in my stable's history.

Arriving home, after driving through one of the heaviest storms we'd had in a while!
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Later that night, after the rain finally stopped:
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Some of the "pieces" I mentioned before are a cone filter intake, drilled and slotted rotors, the car is slightly lowered with adjustable coilovers (no damping adjustment, just ride height and preload,) front upper arms with camber slots, and the seats. Also spacers on the wheels to bring them out about an inch.

It has a new top, the previous owner had gone through it pretty well when he bought it, with new rad, new hoses, he painted the valve cover when he removed it for a new gasket (no oil in the spark plug galleys,) so it's all purty and stuff.
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The seats are an issue because the shoulders are wider than the stock seats, and interfere with the seat belt tower behind the door openings. That means that while I have enough leg room to work the pedals properly, I'm sitting more upright than I'd like and my arms are still a bit jammed up, and my head rubs the top, eventually removing what hair I might still have.
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When I bought it, the camber was slapped all the way in as far as it would go. Last week I brought it in just by eye, to get a more reasonable street alignment. Before:
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and after:
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Doing that pulls the toe in a bit, so I took it to an alignment shop here and had them measure and set. My eyeball camber was -1 degree on both sides, not too bad if'n I sez so m'self. But it had HALF AN INCH of toe-out!! There's no telling how much toe was in it before I brought the camber out! Perhaps this has been explained (inside shoulder at the right):
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The shop was great, completely old-school, measuring the toe with a big metal bar, no lasers around anywhere!
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My Miata is a stock 2013 Club edition. It is almost as much fun as a motorcycle. I had it on the Tail of the Dragon and the Snake last week with my wife. I thought it would frighten her hitting the dragon pretty hard, but she loved it and we ran back and forth a couple of times. We even made one pass on the Cherahola Skyway and a day on the Blueridge Parkway.

I know there are others on the forum who have a Miata.

 
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A really cool LD motorcyclist I know got to an age and a time where LD motorcycle riding wasn’t smart. Instead of stopping LD travel, he switched to a Miata and still perpetrates wicked long travel. I want one.

 
Totally understand where youre coming from.

Just did a 230 mile round trip to have lunch with other owners in the BMWCCA in my 330cic. Had fun on the I 75, trying to imagine I was Hamilton or Vettel racing in F1! Nothing crazy though......had the missus on board!

The FJR is great, the 330i a close second!!

 
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My 2007 PRHT Grand Touring Edition:

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Sadly, I sold it about two years back to get a truck.(2001 Ranger)

I do really miss it sometimes..... :(

 
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I had an 88 Mazda RX-7 ragtop back in the late 90s. 5 speed manual, bright red of course. That was a neat little car. Owned it for a number of years, and used it to teach all 3 of my kids the mysteries of the manual shift and clutch. Sold that to buy myself a Z3 2.8L, also with manual shift, also bright red. That car had too much power for the weight of the chassis to be a good sports car in the traditional sense. Sold that when I found myself reaching for the bike keys instead of the roadsters. Wish I had them both back now.

Have fun with the MX, Walt!

 
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I took a 2017 Miata RF for a test ride. Really enjoyed it. The 2020 is supposed to amp the HP up to 190 and add Recaros. That would be a great buy...in 2025

 
I took a 2017 Miata RF for a test ride. Really enjoyed it. The 2020 is supposed to amp the HP up to 190 and add Recaros. That would be a great buy...in 2025
Same one I am keeping my eye on when I retire in 3.5 years. Looking at club version with the LS Diff.

 
That Torsen diff is the shizzle!!! Even though the car is not real powerful, a little gas and the back end steps right around just like it should!

 
I was reading this recently about cars and stereotypes. It fits..

MAZDA MIATA

No, not the Hur hur, look at those gay guys in the chick car stereotype. The Miata is known for something else. Every Miata owner notices the crisp steering and nimble handling, unlike almost any other vehicle on the road. Even the ladies that bought it because its cute notice. Even the broke dudes that found a clapped out Miata to use as a commuter notice the world class handling, and start modding. The Miata is bought by true car people, or it turns its unsuspecting owners into them.

 
Yep. Always been a sports car guy. Mustangs aren't sports cars. Commaros aren't sports cars. Owned an MG Midget, and an Austin Healy 3000. Also drove a Datsun 1600 Roadster (remember those?) Almost bought a Triumph Spitfire....

(Not going to count the Porsche 911 S Targa I had because it was too big....)

The Miata was the embodiment of all those. The retractable hardtop made having a convertible for St. Louis winters a sensible concept. ;)

Looking back I blame being a motorcycle rider on it. Logged more miles the first 9 years after I was old enough to drive on a bike instead of a car. (Didn't even own a car until after that) So tainted by the handling and nibbleness of two wheels, I just couldn't accept an automobile that didn't offer some of that too...

 
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Same here, riding almost ruined driving for me. I echo all the reasons you sounded, which are to blame for the only car I currently own or ever will own to be a sports car.. not very practical, every woman I date says, then they shut the hell up, when they see what it can do.

 
It's just to bad they are so small. When I'm done riding I want a sporty convertible but I need to be able to get in and out of it NOT put in on and take it off
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. I'm not small and have a bad neck and back so entry and egress need to be easy. I have a friend with the Miata and the only way I go for a ride is with the top down.

 
I am definitely a car guy, despite what being married for 11 years almost did to me! I went fro 2004 to this car with automatics only!!! Nailing that 4th-to-2nd heel-and-toe at a right turn brought it all back!!!

Until I was married, I never owned an automatic. I had hot hatches, small coupes, whatever, but they were all sticks.I learned to shift on my dad's '66 MGB, although I never got to drive that one solo... it died not long after i turned 15.

Point is, my Miata was bought by a car guy, and helped turn him back into one after a serious lapse!

As for gay, I do recall seeing a powder blue Miata some years ago with two guys in it, with fabulous haircuts!!

And speaking of gay (or mistaken for...) my brother had a '69 Sprite. It had 3-point belts, but they weren't on reels. You had to adjust the belts after clicking them in, and the belt to pull was over your outside shoulder, hard to reach. It was actually easier to tighten each others' belts by reaching behind each other and across... We tried not to need to do that in crowded places.

 
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Most modern 4 wheel transportation is enough to put you to sleep. The automatic transmission is the biggest culprit in turning what might be something fun to drive into a coma inspiring appliance. But there are still cars out there that make driving exhilarating. The Miata is a unique throwback to the British roadsters of long ago.

I had a MGB for about a year when I first graduated from high school. It was a wire spoke, chrome bumper, 1967 I believe. Ill never forget my first Saturday morning solo drive in that car. It was a cool September morning and I pointed the wheel away from the city (we were living in a Boston suburb back then) and found some sparsely populated roads with actual curves. Even though Im 6 foot 2, there was plenty of room in that little car without having to really stretch for the wheel.

Even with dual downdraft Webber carbs, the little four cylinder was pretty anemic. But thats what a true sports car should be. Its all about the corners, and those cars were like a go kart. Im sure youve heard it before: Its more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow. That was it right there.

My MGB was roached, badly rusted when I bought it. Then the engine seized up on me on the very morning I was supposed to take my new girlfriend out for a ride through the country. The car wasnt worth the cost to repair at that point, so it went to the scrap yard. The girlfriend stuck around even after not getting her joy ride, and in fact we are still together now, 42 years later. She likes driving a manual shift car too.

Maybe I should find myself another MGB so I can give her that ride I promised?

 
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