Might just buy the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything...

... known more commonly around here as a Miata! '94, 95K on the clock, allegedly runs and drives great, comes with the factory hardtop, and is about the same color red as the GRM banner at the top of the page. from what I've seen, it's stock except for an aluminum shift knob and maybe an aftermarket head unit. I'm going to look at it tomorrow and get a pre-sale inspection done by my preferred shop, but just looking at it and test driving it, is there anything I should watch or listen out for? eventually I'm planning to get it running real nice in STS or STR (dunno which ST class they toss Miatas into these days), but to start out I'm just going to get a set of RE11s on the stock 7 spoke rims and a Hard Dog Hardcore Hard Top bar, M1 or M2 depending on whether it's a glass roof soft top or not, then go from there as money and time allow

and here I was gonna say "42"

no, isn't 42 the number of apexes a man must hit?

42 Miatas? Im pretty sure you achieve automotive nirvana if you get that many.

Possible R model? One can hope......

it doesn't seem to be the R-model, but you never know, I plan to get the VIN tomorrow and get both a carfax report and get my local Mazda dealer to run it and see what factory options it had. the guy wants $4K for it, which seems in-line with the buyers guide, but KBB and most any other big-time car appraisal place claim the value to be anywhere between $3,300 and $3,500. I don't want to pay more than I have to, but at the same time I don't want to low-ball the guy too much and have him decline and move on to the next contestant. pretty much every '94 and up Miata had a factory Torsen, right? the buyer's guide is a bit vague on that

mndsm wrote: 42 Miatas? Im pretty sure you achieve automotive nirvana if you get that many.

30 more to go...

94 also the last year of the OBD1 miatas right?

In reply to Slyp_Dawg:

No, not all 94+ Miatae were blessed with Torsens. The base and A/C package cars (like my old '96) did not have them. I think B and C package cars got them but I'm not sure.

well, this one has the alloy 7 spokes, so I'm guessing it's not a base, but other than that and the fact it's likely not an R-package (no front air dam, no rear spoiler) I don't really know what it is

Slyp_Dawg wrote: well, this one has the alloy 7 spokes, so I'm guessing it's not a base, but other than that and the fact it's likely not an R-package (no front air dam, no rear spoiler) I don't really know what it is

Still, though...it's worth a look, innit? Keep good thoughts for the Torsen; you may be surprised. Good luck, and don't let the smile on your face screw up the price negotiation.

oh it would be worth a look if it was a no-options base, given that at least a FM 2.5 suspension or a V-Maxx Stage 2 is in my future with a [much] further in the future upgrade to Afcos and I plan to sink at least what I pay for the car back into it via Flyin' Miata and POSSIBLY Moss Miata

Unless it's a base, it's got the Torsen. It isn't until 96/97 that you started having to heap on the options to get the Torsen.

for 94 only: if it's an R or has a leather steering wheel, it's got the Torsen.

Just make sure that there is no rust ahead of the rear wheels.

'95 Was the last year of the OBD I.

it looked rust-free, and a local Mazda dealership basically gave it a clean bill of health, apart from what they claim to be a hard brake pedal indicative of a brake booster going out (I didn't notice it at all, brake pedal felt fine and that car would damn near stand up on its nose under hard braking) and an oil weep down the back of the block, which I'm guessing is the cam angle sensor o-ring saying "replace me! replace me!", and the tires were evidently worn funny even though a visual inspection before I drove it showed them to be virtually new. and the 3rd brake light wasn't coming on, but that's something I can check on myself and would be easy to fix if it turns out to be true. it did have a trailer hitch, which could come in handy when race time rolls around if I've got a tire trailer put together by then

I DEFINITELY know why the answer is always Miata, after putting about 20 or so miles of test-driving on this particular one. VERY VERY VERY fun car to drive, handles great, engine is nice and strong and would pull well to 6K and probably beyond, even though I didn't test that theory, the gearbox was INCREDIBLY nice, and the noise it made was quite nice to listen to. I gotta find me a good tunnel now. oh, and it's the only car I've been able to kicker-style heel-toe downshift, although I'm gonna need a lot of practice doing that not on public roads, my technique is a bit lacking. the guy won't go down past $3,800, which given the condition of the car and the hard top sounds pretty reasonable. I'm going to run the carfax tonight, and pending it being clean (I'm expecting it will be) I'm buying the car tomorrow

EDIT: just ran the carfax, so the only thing I'm waiting on is for tomorrow to roll around and the Miata will be mine and the money will be his

If you liked it at 6k, you'll LOVE IT at redline

Welcome to the club. Watch your mail for info on the blood initiation and secret handshake

Slyp_Dawg wrote: oh, and it's the only car I've been able to kicker-style heel-toe downshift, although I'm gonna need a lot of practice doing that not on public roads, my technique is a bit lacking.

I cant really get the kicker style down pat and can only do the normal heel toe with clunky shoes. However, I saw this and plan to make a similar part for mine to make it easier.

http://www.miatamania.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=79055

you can also note that Flyin Miata does similar with their pedal kits

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=5677&parentid=0&stocknumber=21-74000%20%201990-97

Kicker style?

it would be where you actually use your heel on a pedal, not just the left and right sides of your foot.

yeah, the only thing I can think of that might help is either those pedal extensions, or maybe something that extends down, like a backwards "L". of course, if you heel-toe like Nick Ham does (find an in-car pedal shot of Nick Ham driving the #70 Mazda RX8 GT car and you'll see the technique I'm trying and replicating with lots of mediocrity), the stock pedals work reasonably well

I found the easiest and cheapest mod for heel-toe on the Miata was to simply reach into the foot well and bend the gas pedal closer to the brake. Much easier heel-toe work now, and the gas pedal will never get stuck in the carpet (on the transmission tunnel), which is more common than you would think.

That's what I did on my ZX2SR. Worked great. Except. At an autocross, when I just wanted to brake, I had to make sure my foot was fully on the brake pedal.

BTW, a bad third brake light is often a broken wire at the trunk hinge. Super-easy to fix. And welcome aboard!

thanks for the pointer and the welcome Keith, I was likely going to go for the simplest solution that the bulb was burnt out, and end up going through around 3 or 4 bulbs before I figured it might be something else. I was reading the SCCA regs for ST_ and subframe connectors (I'm assuming that's the category the framerail braces would fall under, right?) can only be attached in 3 points: front subframe, rear subframe, and somewhere in the center. given that, would throwing a set of FM framerails on my Miata stick me in CSP, or do they not extend all the way to the subframes and thus wouldn't be subframe connectors and be allowed in ST?

I don't answer questions about SCCA classification I simply don't know. I can help answer questions about the parts in question - and they don't reach the subframes. They just stiffen the chassis itself.