Garage of thesaabstig

So today I noticed that I had exactly $25,000 in my checking account. What to do? Blow it all on a car! I mean, obviously, come on....

My quest lead me to several dealers and some interesting cars. There was an E36 BMW M3 that I liked but I hear parts are expensive for those and I suspect it had been overheated, NOT something that BMWs usually tolerate. PASS. Did some more window shopping but nothing really sparked my interest... then I happened upon the local Mazda dealership.

Tucked in the back of the lot, covered in dust and un-loved, was a BRAND NEW 1994 Miata R-Package! The salesman I worked with said this kind of thing was normal. I'm a little skeptical, honestly, that it's normal for a dealer to keep a car on the lot for almost 2 decades but hey there it is. To make a long story short they were, of course, desperate to get this car off the lot after 18 years. Needless to say, I got a killer deal. A brand new Miata WITH an OEM hardtop for just $7000? SOLD. We breezed through the paperwork, he handed me the keys, and off I went!

Took the car straight home to rid it of the layer of dust. Here it is, in the garage, post-detail:





Now, I must admit, I was a little hesitant to tear into this car. With just a double-digit number of miles this thing could have some serious collector value some day. But cars are meant to be driven, so stuff that. The next issue was whether to keep is original or not. Unfortunately, 18 years of sitting does a number on cars and much of the originality would be lost anyway. With that settled, lets get to business!

The suspension needed a complete refresh, as all the rubber parts were very deteriorated. A full compliment of stock bushings and race springs/dampers later, things were much better. While it was all apart I decided to upgrade to sport brakes as well. Next I looked at the tires and found that they were, unsurprisingly, dry rotted beyond all use. I'm surprised they even held air. As such I opted for a set of Konig Daylites wrapped in a fresh set of sport tires.

Next I turned my attention to the engine bay. The stock 1.8 BP is a good engine, but sitting seemed to have its toll on that as well No worries, though, as I yanked it out. My first though was, of course, GM's LS-series V8. Tested, proven, its everything that I wanted. Unfortunately, the guy selling engines insisted it wouldn't fit since it's not a Mazda engine. Shame. Instead I opted for some boosted magical spinning triangles courtesy of an RX7 Spirit R. With the power more than doubled over stock I decided to call it a day. After another beer, though, I decided that the interior wasn't so hot anyway and it would be better lightened. Then a buddy showed up and gave me a 2 way differential - sweet!

So here it is now....



Specifications
Car:1994 Mazda Miata
Power:280
Torque:231
Weight:2,124
Class:A519

Build List

Spoiler:

Bank Statement:

Spoiler:

So, um, did I do this right?

Welcome to BNB mate... You may want to resize the photos though... They're quite large.

Re-hosted and lopped off a couple hundred pixels.

Thanks!

Yes you did it right. Welcome to BNB (I'm failboat from GRM)

I assume you're interested in Time Attack, Autocross, and wheel to wheel racing if enough guys can get together for some races. So here are some useful links:


The thread isnt stickied but the common time trials specs that TRK hosts are here:
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(he is about due to post another)

When I am hosting a time attack, I usually only limit it to B class, no Forza aero and No slicks

Autocross will be a whole different animal, open to multiple classes and probably up to A class. The testing thread is over but more information on all that and to view the preliminary indexing results:
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(will probably start it up in a few weeks.)


If you dabble in drifting theres plenty of that to go around with user hosted online meets on the reg, and I am hosting a points drift challenge this week.

Basically I guess you can think of all the offline challenges like BNB rivals challenges. If you have any other questions dont hesitate to ask, enjoy the budget minded madness..

Welcome! retro already did a great job giving you all the info you need but if you want to know more you can always ask in the "frequently asked questions" thread in the chatroom.

Enjoy!

welcome to built not bought

Welcome, nice story! Looking forward to the rest.