Wow the last post here was over two years ago! A lot has changed, and a lot more is going to change in the near future! Let us get up to speed?
EDIT: Some pictures won't show up so just imagine them!
Now please, bear with me here as most these photos come from instagram. I imagine quality and what not is going to be kind of low, but this will be the only time I promise! (Also obligatory instagram plug: crispychicken49 ) It's wear my build has mostly been documented for some time!
The last update was made my Junior year of high school. The rest of the year went by pretty uneventfully. I was a leech so the most done to my car was filling it up with gas. Just before summer break my car's radiator took a giant dump and spilled coolant everywhere. Out with the old plastic fish bowl and in with a tank that would make Seaworld proud in the form of a Koyorad 36mm radiator. Unknown to me was a bad fan fuse that later caused the car to overheat while it idled in my driveway. With no evidence of a blown headgasket I soldiered on.
That summer it was time to de-leech myself and get a job. Why not start at as a grocery store bagger? Not too complex and I can start to afford car parts, win-win right? Well...
In retrospect the job wasn't really that bad. It was your average minimum wage job. Plus it got me this.
That right there is an Enthuza XR Lightweight exhaust for the NB Miata. Finished in Aluminized steel because I'm cheap. It replaces the muffler with a resonator and is 2.25" ID mandrel bent. Yes it was super freaking loud when it was first installed. It gave an Abarth 500 a run for it's money. Over a year later? Still loud, especially from behind, but it has mellowed out quite a bit. It has a nice deep racecar like tone without making your ears bleed. I get tons of compliments from Miata guys and the friends that sit shotgun, so I'd definitely recommend it!
Here's a link to it for you NB guys. He also makes Turbo versions and NA versions. He has seemed to go dark the past month so I'd definitely give a call or email before ordering.
Now finding the cash to get gas, hang with friends, and buy car parts all on a minimum wage budget was not easy. Over the course of 3-4 months I saved up just enough to give my radio a little upgrade. See the SE NB's came with a 6-CD changer Bose Headunit. Well the CD player has broken and I got tired of having a half functional head unit that took up a bunch of space (double DIN). On to the internet!
My biggest criteria was that it was Single DIN (you will see why) and could play off my phone while looking relatively OEM. That is a much taller order than I thought it would be. Of course I eventually found one. From my picture down below it looks like a Kenwood KDC-BT582U. To change a Bose headunit in the Miata requires the use of a Scosche line level adapter. Thankfully all the stuff is included if you head on over to
Crutchfield! In fact, choose your car and Skynet will find all the things you'll need in order to make it work!
So why did I want a Single DIN radio? For this.
I wanted a working water temp and oil temp/pressure gauge for my car, especially after my overheating saga that I slimmed down into a few good sentences. Unfortunately at this time the OPG gauge only read pressure when the oil temperature was above 190 F. It has stopped reading completely as of now. At least I have the dummy gauge to tell me I actually have some pressure!
I believe that install was done at the start of the second semester of Senior year. I'm not too disappointed about the OPG gauge, it was a clearance as-is gauge and it looks cool! How can I deny my inner rice? Plus I had something big to save for...
Reading this thread earlier makes me smile a whole bunch. When I first started the thread I thought that by the end of my high school career I'd have a turbocharged beast of a Miata sitting on Xidas and wide track tires. For those who don't want to math this late in the year, that was about $11,000 worth or parts.
I figured if I worked 30 hours a week at a little above minimum wage I'd be able to do it. That plan was going perfectly until I actually started working. Maybe just start off small right?
Second semester senior year meant three things to me. Prom, college, and car parts (not in that order obviously). I got accepted to University of Texas at Dallas, and I planned on majoring in Mechanical engineering. Fun stuff! It was about a week before prom when I got all the parts for my car that I had been ordering for a while. All said and done it was probably about five parts per corner. Plus some detailing equipment!
While my girl-friends were getting themselves ready for prom, I was getting my car ready. The day before I got home around 1:00 from my dual credit class. Crunch time. This was where all the AmmoNYC and Chemical Guys videos would truly pay off. Two buckets, ten towels, one clay bar, and a determined peacock trying to show his feathers. All and all it took about 6 hours, but the surface was buttery smooth and oh so shiny. Who really needs a repaint after all?
I also decided to pull off those front headlight masks. Much better! Also at some point in here my parents bought an ND Club. Fun car. Really fun car. I still like mine better though!
Prom was a blast. It's so much fun going with friends instead of worrying about dates and what not. Besides there is only room in my heart for my Miata. It's like dating a horse girl.
That being said it doesn't end there. Remember that big project I was talking about? I think it is time I give y'all a hint.
Or maybe just show everything!
Yes those bumpstops were trimmed down. For my coilover setup I decided to go the Better Bilstein Coilover route as seen on Miataturbo.net. Those familiar with Ground Control coilovers will recognize this. Basically you take a Bilstein HD or MSM Bilstein shock, put some coilover sleeves on it, and get some springs. My particular setup is an NB HD, 450 lbs/in front, 300 rear, 36mm bumpstop and extended rear top hats (1.5"). The car is amazingly comfortable on the street and handles great!
I also took advantage of the time to rip off the tupperware kit. The car looks like an NB now, well then!
Here it is all shined up and ready for a meet called ECM. Huge meet, tons of cars. For those near the DFW area definitely come! Right now it is in the mornings but after the holidays it'll be back to evening hours. Huge Miata turnout too!
The school year was coming to a close now. I had a bit of leftover money from working and the graduation money was coming in. There was just one last thing the exterior of my car, and any great Miata, was missing.
Those are Advanti Storm S1's. They're basically the basic 🤬 wheels for Miata's. I've been eying these for a long time, ever since I started this thread. I wasn't going to settle for anything less than a 15x9 anyway. I wrapped these babies in a Hankook RS3, 225/45/15. I had to wait almost two months for these but it was completely well worth the wait. Here's what they look like on the car.
Now we bring ourselves to a transitionary period. I quit my job working at a grocery store and wanted a bit of time off from working. Nothing crazy, just a few weeks to get used to college and what-not. The mods stopped for quite a time, in fact they really still haven't caught back on. Of course I definitely have plans on what to do next, there is nothing wrong with taking a break. After all the car is for me, not anyone else. That being said there was one thing that really bothered me...
See all that black stuff? That is tape. That holds the body kit on along with 5 screws per side. No manner of goo-gone and plastic razors could take that stuff on. Texas heat does terrible things to adhesives. With my new job working as a mechanics assistant, I started saving back up for stuff again. This time, body work.
Here she is as of Thursday. No more hole in the front bumper. No more tape. All the holes have been plugged and paint chips have been filled. This is how it looked when it came from factory, just less faded.
Shout out to "The Body Shop" in McKinney for doing a great job!
I think that just about catches us up. Things to come are a full exhaust, Megasquirt ECU, flex fuel sensor, and stiffer springs. It never stops really. That being said looking at my plans every time I update this thread nothing really pans out exactly how I imagined it, and that is perfectly fine with me! The build of a car isn't about what ends up, not at all. It's about how we got here. The weird quirks, friends we make, and fun we have, of which there is plenty. Thank you all so much for reading this great wall of text, and I promise to update much, much more in the future!
Happy Holidays!
) No noises however so I don't think it's gears and the engine revs perfectly fine. The only thing I and someone else on miata.net can think of is the mounts. Right now I'm just going to drive it, and get a job. I feel guilty about my parents paying for stuff. Until I get the money to replace these things it'll drive at 90% health. 
