And a small PS: We've run about three-quarters of a tank of gas through the car, and so far, so good. The stumbles went away with the old plugs, too.
Our Miata is back among the living. It was just a little smokey, however.
Um, yeah, we let it sit a little too long.
But our first drive in more than 18 months went well. Fresh Chevron for dinner.
We’ll be honest: Other than throwing some fuel stabilizer into the tank, our pre-park prep was nonexistent. We never intended to let the car hibernate so long.
Several Miatas have passed through our hands over the years, but our white 1992 has been with us the longest. We purchased it on Christmas Day of 1998, and since then we’ve bolted on a ton of parts, made a bunch of dyno runs, and covered many happy miles.
Unfortunately, we have also let the car sit—perhaps too long. The car has been in an auto-cocoon since the fall of 2009. Clearly that’s a crime against nature, plus we had some additional worries: Did the stasis hurt anything?
We’ll be honest: Other than throwing some fuel stabilizer into the tank, our pre-park prep was nonexistent. We never intended to let the car hibernate so long.
Our revival recipe was rather simple, as it was a mix of Marvel Mystery Oil and a jump start from a press car. Guess what? It came to life on the first attempt. We poured some Red Line SI-1 Complete Fuel System Cleaner into the tank, installed a new battery that evening, and filled up the tank with some Chevron super unleaded.
The car ran fine but had a miss when cold. Fresh spark plugs seem to have fixed that problem.
Now that our Miata is back and happy, we can make future plans. Track day, anyone?
And a small PS: We've run about three-quarters of a tank of gas through the car, and so far, so good. The stumbles went away with the old plugs, too.
How does that Red Line SI-1 Complete Fuel System Cleaner compare against ye olde Seafoam? I am huge redline fan and would be pretty interested in checking it out.
A quick check of the redline site shows that it retails for the same as Seafoam. hmmm, might have to see if I can find some locally.
You know, I have never personally tried Seafoam although I hear good things. Have to say that after sitting more for more than a year and a half, the Miata has been totally fine since coming back online.
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