Just a little update on what I drive.

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MazKid

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For one, not the 323 anymore. I haven't seen the poor car in over a year now...it's still ours though...

Of course I still have my '94 Protege...gathering turbo parts now.

The real reason to post this is my newest addition, my 1994 Miata Package A 5 speed.
miata282fe.jpg

miata296in.jpg


That's how it sits now, but the exhaust tip is a tad bit bigger. :)

Anyway, I bought the car Nov. 19th. A customer of my dealership came in with it, looking at Outback XTs, and when I saw the car I went to the saleswoman dealing with the lady and told her that if the customer was going to trade the car in, I'd buy it. Kind of illegal for me to do(taking profit from the dealership), but when I saw the condition of the car I didn't really care.
I got the chick's number(I know what you're thinking, but I'm not interested in 30-somethings with boyfriends), and called her. Of course the biggest question was "How much are you looking to get for the Miata?", and she said "$2,900 seems fair" I said "Oh(high-pitched, lol), I'm very interested". She drove the car to my house so that I could test-drive it. I knew I had to buy it, there was no way I could let it pass me by. She drove it to the dealership the next day where I purchased it for $2900.

~100,000 miles, 2 year old Mazda soft-top, always serviced at my dealership. Becides front brake pads and turning the rotors, and an alignment(2, actually, and needs another...long embarrasing story but I managed to hit a curb, something I haven't done in any other car ever, and bent the right front lower A-arm), and new fluids, I haven't had to do anything else.

Now comes the fun. I got a FREE hard top from my dealership...it was in my dad's work area, a warranty claim. It was painted at my dealership pretty crappy, the front edge is slightly warped as well(makes some wind noise at 100+mph), and it's Titanium, as you can see. It's off of a 2004 MazdaSpeed. A $1,595 value, plus paint and hardware, for $42 for 2 pieces of hard ware and 4 screws needed to put it on my car.

I also have learned that I can trade parts with whole-sale cars. We had a '99 Miata come in, beat to hell and didn't start, and once I got it to start(lots of starter fluid) it knocks very bad. But it had a set of the 15" wheels with Yokohama ES100s. I asked my used car manager if I could trade wheels. He said I could...little did he know I was going to give him 14" Protege LX wheels with mis-matched unballanced tires. But I did. The Miata wheels are in pretty good shape...very little curb rash but the inside edge of 3 of them is bent, somehow. Once ballanced they're fine though.

I've also got a Jackson Racing hi-flow converter and a bosal-brospeed cat-back, both used but in great condition. Car sounds good, is quiet(something the Protege isn't, with the 2.5" downpipe-back exhaust and all), and drives like a dream. Best $2,900(well, $3,300 total as it stands) I could have ever spent!

-Ryan
 
You should talk to 194gvan. Last I heard he was considering buying a Miata.
Congrats Ryan. Looks and sounds like it is in very very nice condition. Congrats on the $42 hard top too. Cant beat that deal. Now get some videos and replace your old avatar. :sly:
 
I know, I need to take vids...haven't had the time, place, or equipment recently. :)

Here's what the car looks like with the soft top, before the wheels of course(those 14"s now have the good tires off of my 14" Protege wheels, and are in my basement).
miata139bz.jpg

The interior(not a great angle...)
miata117hh.jpg


And here's what the Protege looks like:
bothcars119ew.jpg
 
you lucky SOB! Thats a great price, and it looks really good! Im guessing $2900 was what she had probably been offered as a trade in price.

Im trying to find a first gen sometime this year, although Ill have a hard time trying to beat that deal you got ;)
 
No...she never got far enough to get a trade-in quote, and she had some other guy wanting to buy it before me. She ended up buying one of my dealership's Outback XTs that we dealer-traded to another dealership...then she was going to sell the Miata to this other guy, but he backed out. That's when she called me, and told me $2,900 because she had no place to go with the car, living/working in a more upscale limited space part of St. Louis county. After buying the Subaru, she had to take the car to her work's parking garage(she's an architect, and quite eccentric at that...first thing she showed me before the test drive was the air-horns she put on the car, saying that she liked the sound...I removed them a few days after buying the car, and put a regular Millenia horn on there. Can't have my sports car sounding like a clown mobile) to stow it there until someone could buy it.

And no, you won't get a deal like me. It was pure luck, timing, and coicidence. The free hard top and wheels/tires were purely because of my job. Funny thing is, the hard top existed months before I bought the car...originally my brother and I were going to sell it and split the money, but I told my dad that since the hard top was there, I'd have to find a car for it. He laughed it off, until I told him about the one I was really going to buy...he still didn't believe me, then I bought it, telling him it would be in a storage unit(we have 8 Mazdas at my house, and I was told I couldn't buy an additional car until my brother moved out(and he's still here, with 3 Mazdas). Screw that, I brought it straight home, and it never left.

It's got the usual salty-road rust on the bottom of the body infront of the rear wheels. I was supposed to get it fixed during the winter, but I kept driving the car, I couldn't resist. I don't know when I'll get it fixed, with nicer weather on the way. Ohh well, it's not that bad.

Once you do find that Miata, you'll never know why you didn't get one sooner.
 
Wow, MazKid. I'm very jealous. It looks like it's in great condition. A real beauty. I've got occasional access to a Miata, and if I found the right one I'd buy it in a heartbeat. They're so fun to drive, it negates the 'chick car' stigma. They don't look too bad, either (although I can name plenty of cars I like more, visually).
Congratulations!!
 
Thanks! I have fun every time I drive it, I just have to keep myself in check so I can aviod hitting the curb like I did before...twice actually...but who's counting...

I'll have to find some auto-xes I can go to.
 
Not a bad find, and definitly in great condition. I've always found that style to be the most "manly" of the Miata's. Is there a short shift kit installed on the car, or is that how low the shifter sits stock?
 
SRV2LOW4ME
Not a bad find, and definitly in great condition. I've always found that style to be the most "manly" of the Miata's. Is there a short shift kit installed on the car, or is that how low the shifter sits stock?
its stock :)
 
Yeah, the shifter is stock...they sell stock shift kits but I don't feel like getting plastic burns on my arm. :)

NB and NC Miata shifters sit even lower. The NA shifter is perfect, and with the heavy shift knob it shifts smooth unless it's really cold.

Charged67 - what do you mean? More accessories or what? I plan on getting the front lip found on R-package cars...can't decide whether to try to find a used one, or just pay the $150 for a new one from my dealership that comes with all of the hard ware. It makes the car look a lot sportier.

Other plans for the car are some sort of intake(I'd like to find a Monsterflow used, as it evidently creates more power than other intakes, but I might end up just taking a 90 degree bend and some straight pipe and making my own...it's pretty easy on a car without cruise control because there's a nice space on behind the left headlight), a header(Racing Beat or Jackson Racing), and the "exintake" mod people do to BP engine, which consists of taking an exhaust camshaft and using it for the intake camshaft. It's been reported to give 5-8whp, even more with adjustable cam-gears...I've got one already but I have to cut off the CAS to use it, and I've been lazy and don't want to screw with my car's timing. I'm also going to get another one for the Protege next time at the yard...it'll make more power on the Protege because of the RX-7 AFM.
 
Nice cars, I like MX5s despite the fact that many people still view them as a "girly car". Probably because it could beat their POS round a track....

Nice Protege too. Does it have the BP DHOC Turbo motor? And is it 4WD?

In NZ we got them under the Madaz Familia name in GTR and GTX guise.
 
Revheadnz
Nice cars, I like MX5s despite the fact that many people still view them as a "girly car". Probably because it could beat their POS round a track....

Nice Protege too. Does it have the BP DHOC Turbo motor? And is it 4WD?

In NZ we got them under the Madaz Familia name in GTR and GTX guise.

Nah, the US Protege came with the B8 SOHC and the BP DOHC non-turbo in the LX, and that's what I have. The US did get 4WD Proteges, but they are kind of rare, only had the B8, and very few were 5 speeds. The front bumper on the Pro is off of a 323/Familia GT-X, that's why the car looks so mean. The wheels and tires help...I need to lower the car just a little.

I'm going to turbo the Protege, and I've already got a BP-T manifold and my brother is supplying me with a F2T turbo. I've still got a lot to get, intercooler, piping, downpipe, oil lines, boost gauge, boost controller, etc etc.
I'm not going to make it as fast as possible, just quick and reliable and I'll be happy.
 
Hey, Ryan, nice car. Sounds like you're definitely working the angles to fix it up. Keep going with it, man!
 
Oooh, nice. I want one, one day.

Never seen a Protege before. Looks like the offspring of a 95 Impreza and a Evo II. Well, to me it does.

Good to see you again!
 
And to think that my dad was 15 minutes away from buying one (mid 90s miata). . . Then the lady (at a garage sale) sold it to someone else before we got back from getting the check.

Soo . . .my dad bought a volvo instead . . . gr.
 
Roo
Oooh, nice. I want one, one day.

Never seen a Protege before. Looks like the offspring of a 95 Impreza and a Evo II. Well, to me it does.

Good to see you again!

The Protege is Europe's 323, same '90-94 years. Shares the chassis with the 323 hatch and 323F/Astina.

Mine only looks like an Impreza/Evo II because of the front bumper...the stock US front bumper sticks several inches farther out, looks like the front of a boat, and weighs a lot more because of the damn US-spec crush support. Here's a pic with the stock bumper:
protegegood1.jpg
 
If the BP in the Miata ever completely dies, I'd seriously consider a 2nd gen non-turbo 13B swap. I can't see myself pulling the BP for no reason, it's just not how I do things...but if it bit the dust somehow, I'd put a 13B in it, or try to atleast. ;)
 
oOOH I just found one today, may go check it out tonight with cash in my pocket because it sounds like its about as good a deal as you got, although I dont get any free wheels, its a 93 (1.6l), and has about 145k miles. Comes with a hardtop and a tan leather interior, from what I can see in the pictures it looks like its in great shape but hopefully I will see in person tonight :) I'd hate for it to be sold by the weekend and miss out on it myself. If it runs and drives well, and is recently inspected for safety and emissions, Ill probably get it.
 
Nice miata you got there, and yummm, I see a nice looking FC3S in those pics! I'm guessing its an NA GXL? Either its in real good condition from what I can see! Lets see pics of that too!
 
ND4SPD
Nice miata you got there, and yummm, I see a nice looking FC3S in those pics! I'm guessing its an NA GXL? Either its in real good condition from what I can see! Lets see pics of that too!

NA base, and it doesn't look very nice. It's my dad's car, and he hasn't driven it in a while. He never washes it, never takes care of the interior exterior. It's got a bit of rust, and thinning paint...runs great though, as it should because he bought it back in '96 with a blown motor, and got 1 of 20 new 13Bs Mazda made in a 2 week period because they ran out of rebuilt units.

I've driven it a few times, and it's awsome. The power delivery is the best part...it's got a feel and sound that you can't find anywhere else. He's got a '93 Probe GT that he mainly drives because it's faster, smoother, better stereo, more creature comforts, etc. Haven't heard any plans to sell the RX-7, so that's good.
 
MazKid
Nah, the US Protege came with the B8 SOHC and the BP DOHC non-turbo in the LX, and that's what I have. The US did get 4WD Proteges, but they are kind of rare, only had the B8, and very few were 5 speeds. The front bumper on the Pro is off of a 323/Familia GT-X, that's why the car looks so mean. The wheels and tires help...I need to lower the car just a little.

I'm going to turbo the Protege, and I've already got a BP-T manifold and my brother is supplying me with a F2T turbo. I've still got a lot to get, intercooler, piping, downpipe, oil lines, boost gauge, boost controller, etc etc.
I'm not going to make it as fast as possible, just quick and reliable and I'll be happy.

Oh man, once again the U.S misses out...

Yea, I thought it was a GTX cause of the bumper :)

I'd be quite happy to have a Familia GTR if I could get my hands on one that hadn't been molested by some gangstas(cut springs etc). A mite fragile gearbox and driveline though from what I hear.
 
Long time, no see, Mazkid!

MazKid
The real reason to post this is my newest addition, my 1994 Miata Package A 5 speed....~100,000 miles, 2 year old Mazda soft-top, always serviced at my dealership....Now comes the fun. I got a FREE hard top from my dealership...it was in my dad's work area, a warranty claim. It was painted at my dealership pretty crappy, the front edge is slightly warped as well(makes some wind noise at 100+mph), and it's Titanium, as you can see. It's off of a 2004 MazdaSpeed. A $1,595 value, plus paint and hardware, for $42 for 2 pieces of hard ware and 4 screws needed to put it on my car.
That's a hell of a goodwill warranty claim! We have to tag, bag, and return anything that expensive at Lexus. Then again, I got free front seat belts due to, um...good connections.

I also have learned that I can trade parts with whole-sale cars.
I always eye the wholesale 1st-gen-GS's, but they're usually in terrible shape. About the only parts I need are a '94 Owners Manual, and a working CD changer. I don't really miss either one.
 
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