Crash course on the "answer": NA Miata

Ok, so a '91 Miata showed up in the wholesale lot at work. I can get it for $8-900, but I want to make sure I look at all the right things. The purpose of this would be for a fun A to B car for me until I find something more permanent (I was going to be practical and look for a beater Corolla/Prizm, Civic, or Sentra, but a cheap Miata is hard to pass up). Being a Miata, I would also take it to an autocross or 5 while I've got it. I would change the oil, fix anything major, clean & wash it, then drive the piss out of it. Hopefully, at the end, I would sell it to one of you and it will go to the Challenge or something. Or become an Exocet.

It's got 165k on it, 5 spd manual, stock. The top as a few taped spots on it, and the front end appears to be a little tweaked. I'll get in in the shop in the next few days to inspect it on a lift. I'm sure there's a "Learn Me" thread for these on here somewhere, but since the search function is DOA, I figured I'd just ask. So go ahead, learn me.

Watch out for rust, particularly at the rear of the rocker panels just in front of the rear tires. This is there the rain rail drains through some tubes that tend to get clogged with leaves. The rust will start on the inside and bubble through the paint. It's not pretty, but if you're going the Exocet route, it's not a concern.

I don't think mileage should be a concern. Mine has 280,000 miles on it and it's still reliable and fun.

Tops can be had for around $200 and I think the job is pretty easy while leaving the frame on the car. The most "specialized" tool you'll need is a rivet gun. I thought it was a fun job. If I didn't spend an entire hour struggling to install the rain rail upside-down (oops), the job would have taken about 8 hours. It was my first time ever installing a top too.

Somebody who is more knowledgeable than I of the 1.6 engines will probably chime in about the crankshaft pulley bolt. I think they were slightly too long in some of the early cars and because of this, they bottomed out before they got to their specified torque. Then they fell out. I don't recall how to fix this.

Everything confuzion said, plus:

Check the very bottom of the fenders, behind the front wheels. This spot is also prone to rust, but easy to check. Pull the two bolts that attach it to the pinch rail, and one or two of the inner fender fasteners. A ton of leaves and E36 M3 will likely fall out, then check for rust.

The CAS will likely be leaking oil(back of the head, passenger's side). The leak itself isn't the problem, it's the fact that a prolonged leak will eat through the heater hoses that are directly beneath it. Replacing those hoses is a little bit of a PITA.

Check for slop in the transmission. If it doesn't feel like the best 5 speed you've ever shifted, if it has any slop at all, you'll likely need to rebuild the turret, which isn't expensive at all.

Almost all of them "tick" for a few seconds at startup. It's HLA noise, though some really bad ones can do a fair impersonation of rod knock.

Almost all of the short nose crank 1.6Ls that were going to have issues, have already had issues. At this point I wouldn't worry about it, unless you are deadset on doing a timing belt/water pump. Then it's low hanging fruit

Also:

100% chance the shocks are blown.

If there are any misfires, check the plug wires first. The OEM NGK blue wires seem to last the longest. Off brand wires seem to last 10-15,000 miles before they start misbehaving.

You can get some "free" hp/tq by advancing the timing, provided you're willing to pay for premium fuel: http://www.miata.net/garage/ignition.html

I've never seen a $200 replacement soft top. Most of them run $400-500 after shipping, etc. The problem there is that occasionally you can snag a $700 or $800 hard top. People expect a good condition soft top, but will pay more money if your miata has a hard top.

confuZion3 wrote: Somebody who is more knowledgeable than I of the 1.6 engines will probably chime in about the crankshaft pulley bolt. I think they were slightly too long in some of the early cars and because of this, they bottomed out before they got to their specified torque. Then they fell out. I don't recall how to fix this.

Shortnose crank problem.

I'd do a leakdown test and look for burned exhaust valves.

At that price, if it runs and drives you're a fool for not picking it up. Worst case is you can do some basic maintenance on it, polish it and sell it for a profit in April/May when the market gets hot.

The key points about them have already been touched on for major known "issues".

At that price, I'd almost hope for rust so I could drive it shame-free in Iowa winter!

get it, you like BG chassis cars they share many basic components just turned sideways. Then once you get your BG car you'll be able to parts share.

Well, that was easy. This thing is a rusty pig, so I ain't touching it. Looks like it was hit in the back too, the frame rails are creased. No thanks, I'll keep looking. Thanks for the good info, though!

FYI, the short nose crank problem was not due to an over-long bolt. It was a relatively weak design that failed rapidly if misassembled or improperly torqued. The later design failed less rapidly under those conditions. And they still fail, it's not something with a timespan.