pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/26/13 8:48 p.m.

For once in my life I am not procrastinating, waiting till the last minute or thrashing mindlessly to finish something in the days before it is due. Thats right I am actually starting a challenge build almost a year before the event is schedualed to take place

This year a few things will be different... First of all I am actually starting with a plan. Normally I find a car in the months leading up to the challenge that looks interesting and would perform OK. Not this time, I actually decided on a make and model and then began the search for the right canidate.

Second I will actually have a team mate this time. I invited my buddy and his family to the 2013 challenge and they had a blast. My friend Tom is stepping up for 2014 and will split the labor / cost of the car with me. Score!

This year after much bench racing I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Miata. I think it really is the answer. They autocross well and with some boost can be made decently fast in the drag racing portion of the event. Do I have a chance at the overall win, probably not but I am aiming for a solid top ten finish this year and I feel pretty confident that I can pull it off.

On to the car...

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/26/13 8:59 p.m.

After deciding that a Miata is truely the answer, I began my search. I looked in the usual places craigslist, autotrader, the local auctions etc.. to no avail. I found several car but none that really would work for the price point I am looking to spend. Enter copart.com...

As many of you already know copart is now open to the public for bidding. There is sometimes a deal to be had if you are willing to do a little work and can stomach their ludacris fees. I looked on their site and low and behold there was a perfect canidate in Savannah. I placed a bid online and waited. I watched the price slowly creep up in the days before the auction but in the end I was the high bidder at $725.00 Score!

What did this princely sum buy me you ask...

I am the proud owner, well actually Tom and I are the proud owners of a 1995 M-Edition Miata. It is a stick obviously and has 132K miles on it. It appears to be in good shape from the 10 pictures I have of it. I should get the car this weekend. I have my fingers crossed that there is no major issues other then the obvious slight rear end damage

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/26/13 9:03 p.m.

I will get better pics once I get my greasy little paws on the car. Here are the ones from the auction...

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/26/13 9:10 p.m.

Why is this beautiful car at the copart auction you ask....

It doesn't look to bad to fix... Did I mention that Tom used to work as an insurance adjuster and then a mobile painter / body guy. We should be able to fix this no problem.

DatsunS130
DatsunS130 New Reader
12/26/13 11:51 p.m.

I'm sure Tom will like the shifter in that. I can't wait to see the build. You should be aiming for top 5 and at least beat that ef civic you built.

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/27/13 1:25 a.m.
DatsunS130 wrote: I'm sure Tom will like the shifter in that. I can't wait to see the build. You should be aiming for top 5 and at least beat that ef civic you built.

Thats the plan. If he doesn't like the shifter in a Miata he needs to stick with automatics.

How are you guys doing? I expect to see the Volvo in the top ten this year...

DeadSkunk
DeadSkunk SuperDork
12/27/13 9:04 a.m.

Inspect the differential carrier VERY carefully. My NB was hit much lighter than yours and the diff carrier broke. Check the right side of it. There are 1/4" reliefs cast into the right side "wing" and the unit will crack or break right there if hit from the rear. This is a common problem on all 1.8 NAs and all NBs.

Swank Force One
Swank Force One MegaDork
12/27/13 9:07 a.m.

What are you going to do for the required cage/roll bar?

Lof8
Lof8 GRM+ Memberand Reader
12/27/13 9:41 a.m.

Nice. The M editions come with an LSD.

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/27/13 10:05 a.m.
Swank Force One wrote: What are you going to do for the required cage/roll bar?

It only applies if you are running non DOT slicks. I will be running r-comps so it shouldn't be an issue. As far a cage for drag racing is concerned I need to get it in the 12's first...

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/27/13 10:06 a.m.
Lof8 wrote: Nice. The M editions come with an LSD.

They also come with fancy seats, that are rare and some what desirable, I can sell them to recoupe some budget if the need arises.

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/27/13 10:10 a.m.
DeadSkunk wrote: Inspect the differential carrier VERY carefully. My NB was hit much lighter than yours and the diff carrier broke. Check the right side of it. There are 1/4" reliefs cast into the right side "wing" and the unit will crack or break right there if hit from the rear. This is a common problem on all 1.8 NAs and all NBs.

I will definitely check it out. Worse case I get one from a scrap yard. There is one on ebay for 119.00 free shipping.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
12/27/13 11:08 a.m.

If the carrier is broken, you can simply reweld the arm. It's not a problem, it's how the car is designed to deal with impacts.

Nice score!

pimpm3
pimpm3 HalfDork
12/27/13 11:30 a.m.
Keith Tanner wrote: If the carrier is broken, you can simply reweld the arm. It's not a problem, it's how the car is designed to deal with impacts. Nice score!

Good to know. My buddy is an artist with a TIG welder he could weld it for me if it comes down to it.

You'll need to log in to post.

Our Preferred Partners
pQx3QkhIVlS4vBDwASB9yequqVX0CaKMiovX6gCAqwgzbXlX9JtmHkscfOM8HuKM