Liam's NA Miata - Finally back on the road!!!

[LeadFootLiam]

Well, I made the unforgettable purchase of my first car today, a 1990 NA Miata! Got it for $2500 bucks, has 240,000kms on it, its a little high; but the engine pulls strong and starts no problem every time.

I will be updating this thread, as my "build" I guess you could call it progresses.

I love the car, I understand why car journalists love it so much now, the gear box is AMAZING, despite being a 24 year old car. The engine is strong and I am surprised how quick the car feels, and it is quite easy to unsettle the back end in the wet, even without trying.

Still trying to get used to driving standard as well, I have only stalled it once haha. It will take sometime until I am completely comfortable.

First photo I took once insurance was sorted out.

I then went for a cruise with my buddy and took this photo.

Pros:
Brand new soft top!
New oem exhaust
Strong engine
Buttery gear box
Everything works, no mechanical issues (yet lol)

Cons:
Paintwork needs to be corrected
Small bit of rust on the right side of the car
Tires are not very good, at least in wet conditions
Has a stretched e-brake cable
Needs a wheel alignment
Has a slow leak in the rear right tire

So right now I don't plan on modding, I want to do as much preventative maintenance as I can. Unfortunately I have to wait till next paycheck because I am broke lol.

If I do modify the first part will be a roll bar, because that will save my life in a rollover.

Let me know if you have any preventative maintenance ideas, and advice for my Miata

Stay tuned! 👍

 

[Hayden]

Everyone on GTP knows you've put a lot of thought into this purchase and it's great to see you're so happy with it! Have fun with that beauty and happy motoring 👍

 

[CarBastard]

I'll have you know that I dream of owning a Miata...but even a tired old NA costs close to US$20,000 where I live. You've made a great choice and even though a car guy enjoys his first car regardless of whatever hunk of crap he gets, you've got something special that you'll enjoy even more.

Best wishes!

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Everyone on GTP knows you've put a lot of thought into this purchase and it's great to see you're so happy with it! Have fun with that beauty and happy motoring 👍

The owner really made the purchase stress free, super nice guy, let us test drive the car for around an hour. He was also a Miata enthusiast and owner a 97 M Edition, so his knowledge about them was reassuring.

Thanks man!

I'll have you know that I dream of owning a Miata...but even a tired old NA costs close to US$20,000 where I live. You've made a great choice and even though a car guy enjoys his first car regardless of whatever hunk of crap he gets, you've got something special that you'll enjoy even more.

Best wishes!

WOW thats a crap load of money! I hope you make the dream a reality sometime. I am glad I didnt get a junker, I can put the elbow grease and pride into this. It's exciting!

 

[FordMKIVJ5]

First thing I'd do is fix the leak in the tyre, you'll get fed up quick of having to keep filling it up with air. Plus if the leak gets worse you could easily come back from a day at school (I'm assuming you're at school?) and find you have a flat.

Also sort that rust out (I take it it's just surface rust?), the thing with rust is deal with it as it appears. Many people leave it thinking they'll deal with it all at once, only for it not to just be surface rust anymore. 👍

 

[Clark]

Yeah rust is like a cancer, the earlier you find it and deal with it, the easier it is to treat and stop spreading and/or returning.

 

[homeforsummer]

Small bit of rust on the right side of the car

As others have said, get this sorted soon. On an MX-5 it's likely to be a lot less "small" than it appears from the outside.

Tires are not very good, at least in wet conditions

This, and this:

Needs a wheel alignment

...are also well worth sorting - a good set of tires and an alignment is just about the best thing you can do to an MX-5. Makes a massive, massive difference to how they drive.

 

[Ronald6]

I agree that new tyres and an alignment are the first repairs I would (and did) do.

Definitely take care of the rust problem but more immediate needs should come first.

I would recommend an OBD2 Bluetooth device, as @Thatman suggested to me, but I don't think your car is OBD2 compliant. Might be worth looking into. My MPG increased by about 10, it payed for itself within two tanks of gas.

If you drive at night alot, especially outside the city, I would recommend upgrading your lights to HID projector. It's already saved me from hitting a dear.

Keep the maintenance current. And the inside clean. A happy car is a happy driver.

Nice wheels, and a rag-top, very nice.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Thanks for the advice guys! I will post some photos of the rust later today.

Definetly gonna read up on how to fix the rust, before it spreads all over.

All this will take time sincd I am totally broke and only have enough for on tank of gas lol. Thanks again guys.

 

[FordMKIVJ5]

Thanks for the advice guys! I will post some photos of the rust later today.

Definetly gonna read up on how to fix the rust, before it spreads all over.

All this will take time sincd I am totally broke and only have enough for on tank of gas lol. Thanks again guys.

If it's just surface rust you just clean the area, sand it down until bare metal is visible underneath (all the rust gone) and then give it a coat of primer and then try and get a matching body colour. If it's more than surface rust it might take a bit more fixing.

You'll want to start with a relatively heavy grit and then go for a finer one to smooth it over for a finish on the paint, otherwise it might be a bit untidy.

 

[Slash]

If it's more than surface rust the only thing you can do is cut it ALL out and then weld in a new piece of steel and start grinding to get it smooth. Then prep and paint.

If you don't get rid of it entirely, it WILL spread.

 

[Harry6784]

Glad you got it, looks like you'll be enjoying it!


Some things you should always do after buying a used car: (Prices are just cost of parts, you should be able to do the labor yourself )

1) Fresh fluids. Flush the radiator, brake fluid, clutch fluid, engine oil, transmission oil, differential fluid and any other fluid since you don't know when they were changed last. ($20 - $70 depending on which fluids you get)
2) New filters. Air filter & fuel filter are critical to an efficient engine. New cabin filter isn't a bad idea either on a 24 year old car ($30)
3) Clean the engine bay. Getting rid of the baked on grease and oil not only makes the engine run cooler but makes it look nicer ($10 + a hose)
4) Spark plugs + wires. ($50)
5) Seafoam! This stuff work great in cleaning your fuel lines and injectors making your engine run smoother. ($10)
6) Give it a good wash and polish ($15)
7) Take out all the seats and the center console. Go to your local Walmart and rent a Rug Doctor. Clean your carpet and try not to be shocked when you see how much filth comes out. ($50)

After the regular maintenance, I'd focus on the suspension. New shocks, springs, bigger brakes, sway bars, better tires...etc.

 

[Slash]

Seafoam is definitely something I'd look into doing. Cleans the carbon off everything and you might notice some new found power that was restored a bit.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Thanks @Harry6784 for the list. Especially the seafoam, gonna go over to lordco and get some!

Here is a photo of the rust guys.

 

[Slash]

Take this from someone who restores vehicles with rust 100,000 times worse than that...that's beyond surface rust bud...beyond gone. Only way to fix that is to cut out a large chunk and patch it the way I said, unless you can find a cheap patch panel for it (installation still applies).

That's pretty far gone. And trust me when I say that, I have a truck where the entire body is literally toast. No other way around fixing that. Once rust starts, if it's a tad more than bubbles, the only way of combating it is to cut out that section of the body and replace it.

While you are at it, I'd have the body undercoated as well. That should ward off rust a bit better as well. Don't do it with bed liner or other generic crap either. Flat black or just black paint in general will be plenty. We had this done on our pickup and the underside looks fantastic after all these years.

Pinch welds seem to be decent as well, that's a good sign of good body rigidity, but I'd need to see the rest.

Now would be a good time to go over every nut and bolt on it and make sure nothing has seized up together and nothing has "rust welded", where rust fuses nuts and bolts together.

 

[homeforsummer]

Yup. @Slash has it there - with that much surface rust the inner sills are likely gone too. I spent a lot of time at an MX-5 specialist when I was writing the book and saw plenty of evidence of what they look like below those sills - it ain't pretty.

That's where I'd start with the preventative maintenance - unless the tires are really bad right now, I'd get the rust fixed and then move on to tires and alignment.

The problem, incidentally, is probably clogged drainage holes. There are little holes in the bottom of the sill where water from the soft top filters through channels in the body. Unfortunately, holes on the bottom of the car get clogged with road crap very quickly and all the water just builds up inside - rotting the sills from within. On a really rainy day you can actually hear water sloshing about in there.

 

[Slash]

Being that I live in the rust belt, one of the first things we do before we but a car is to research most common and problematic rust areas in cars we might be looking to buy before we do so. I would suggest you do the same as soon a possible and then start checking them. This car is old enough that I wouldn't doubt somewhere else there's problematic rust starting since this car looks like it was driven a fair amount.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Take this from someone who restores vehicles with rust 100,000 times worse than that...that's beyond surface rust bud...beyond gone. Only way to fix that is to cut out a large chunk and patch it the way I said, unless you can find a cheap patch panel for it (installation still applies).

That's pretty far gone. And trust me when I say that, I have a truck where the entire body is literally toast. No other way around fixing that. Once rust starts, if it's a tad more than bubbles, the only way of combating it is to cut out that section of the body and replace it.

While you are at it, I'd have the body undercoated as well. That should ward off rust a bit better as well. Don't do it with bed liner or other generic crap either. Flat black or just black paint in general will be plenty. We had this done on our pickup and the underside looks fantastic after all these years.

Pinch welds seem to be decent as well, that's a good sign of good body rigidity, but I'd need to see the rest.

Now would be a good time to go over every nut and bolt on it and make sure nothing has seized up together and nothing has "rust welded", where rust fuses nuts and bolts together.

Thanks for your knowledge Slash, guessing I better get cracking on that. I have never repaired rust before, would it be better to take this to a body shop? Or do it myself?

If I do it myself should I follow this method?

 

[Slash]

You aren't experienced enough and likely don't hve the proper tools and work area so you probably should take it to a body shop and have them do it but be aware its going to cost a pretty penny. Rust repair is not cheap to fix especially on a unibody style car. Its different with a body on frame car because you can just replace the panel that needs replacing but with a unibody you have to cut it completely out (this holds true on certain sections of body on frame cars though). Then other things have to e done in preparation like sanding and whatnot so you are better off taking it to a pro. Rust is not something you want to sleep on. My pickup went from having a halfway decent body to needing every last piece of sheet metal and cab entirely replaced in not a lot of time because we let it sit and stopped taking care of it though driving it doesn't always help either. The point is take care of rust before it gets to the point that its not worth fixing. In the case of my pickup being body on frame I can replace individual panels as needed but that's not the case here. I can't quote you because every shop has different labor fees but body work is very invasive to a car and needs to be done correctly the first time so I would start saving because you are going to need it. It wouldn't be so bad if you could do it yourself but since you aren't experienced yet, a shop is your best bet.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

You aren't experienced enough and likely don't hve the proper tools and work area so you probably should take it to a body shop and have them do it but be aware its going to cost a pretty penny. Rust repair is not cheap to fix especially on a unibody style car. Its different with a body on frame car because you can just replace the panel that needs replacing but with a unibody you have to cut it completely out (this holds true on certain sections of body on frame cars though). Then other things have to e done in preparation like sanding and whatnot so you are better off taking it to a pro. Rust is not something you want to sleep on. My pickup went from having a halfway decent body to needing every last piece of sheet metal and cab entirely replaced in not a lot of time because we let it sit and stopped taking care of it though driving it doesn't always help either. The point is take care of rust before it gets to the point that its not worth fixing. In the case of my pickup being body on frame I can replace individual panels as needed but that's not the case here. I can't quote you because every shop has different labor fees but body work is very invasive to a car and needs to be done correctly the first time so I would start saving because you are going to need it. It wouldn't be so bad if you could do it yourself but since you aren't experienced yet, a shop is your best bet.

Okay. Is there anything I can do to stop the rust from spreading, while I save up to get it professionally repaired?

 

[Slash]

Remove as much as you can with your hands. I'd tell you to cut it out but I'm not sure how confident you'd be doin that. Remove what you can, grind down what you can, sand some of it down and sand the paint down in the surrounding areas then prime the hell out of it with some black rustoeleum until you can get it there. Get all of it; under it, in front of it and behind it.


You aren't going to completely prevent it but this will help slow it down a bit.

 

[FordMKIVJ5]

Okay. Is there anything I can do to stop the rust from spreading, while I save up to get it professionally repaired?

Do what Slash said. I'll just add that you should thoroughly clean the area and make sure it's fully dry before applying any primer/rust proofing, a lot of people don't and just end up trapping salt and moisture under the paint which simply causes more rust and flakes off with your paint.

The best thing you can do is keep it in a garage (preferably heated, keeping it in a damp garage is almost worse than keeping it outside).

 

[homeforsummer]

Being that I live in the rust belt, one of the first things we do before we but a car is to research most common and problematic rust areas in cars we might be looking to buy before we do so. I would suggest you do the same as soon a possible and then start checking them. This car is old enough that I wouldn't doubt somewhere else there's problematic rust starting since this car looks like it was driven a fair amount.

Generally, Miatas aren't too bad for rust. NAs, at least. NBs can be pretty poor.

The main areas they go are the ones shown in Liam's photo - only a lot of that will be internal, as well as external - and it's also worth lifting the carpet in the trunk and checking around and under the battery, as that can go too.

Arches can also rust a little, but if none is visible then it won't be a problem - and they bolt on and off anyway so aren't a major job to repair. And the bonnet/hood is aluminum, so no worries there.

What I would say is that if one sill looks like that, check the other even if it doesn't look as bad externally. Unless it's been repaired well in the past, I'd expect it's similarly crusty inside the opposite sill.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

There is rust on all four corners on the car, the one in the photo above being the worst. The other areas are just starting to rust, so that can give me practice with sanding and bondo.

 

[Slash]

No. Do not put bondo on it, all that will do is make it worse. Do exactly what I told you.

Bondo is only for after the sheet metal gets entirely replaced. Not to cover rust holes.

 

[Aquarelle]

There is rust on all four corners on the car, the one in the photo above being the worst. The other areas are just starting to rust, so that can give me practice with sanding and bondo.

De ja vu, I feel like we've been here before.

Slash deals with old Fords that are full of rust, he knows what he's talking about. Take a step back and follow his advise which is based on experience.

I don't know why you feel the need to ignore people who are trying to help you because you think you know better but if you're not careful people are going to stop trying.

That being said, congrats on your MX5, I'm very glad and proud that you came back to earth and went with a sensible (and might I add brilliant) choice of car.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

De ja vu, I feel like we've been here before.

Slash deals with old Fords that are full of rust, he knows what he's talking about. Take a step back and follow his advise which is based on experience.

I don't know why you feel the need to ignore people who are trying to help you because you think you know better but if you're not careful people are going to stop trying.

That being said, congrats on your MX5, I'm very glad and proud that you came back to earth and went with a sensible (and might I add brilliant) choice of car.

I know that, and I am not trying to out smart Slash, clearly I didn't know that bondo would be worse, not trying to act like I know better, jeez.

And thanks.

No. Do not put bondo on it, all that will do is make it worse. Do exactly what I told you.

Bondo is only for after the sheet metal gets entirely replaced. Not to cover rust holes.

There are some spots on the car that have very minor rust, and from MY SPECULATION, only needs to be grinded and sanded, no need for sheet metal, I could be wrong. I will post photos tomorrow morning.

 

[Slash]

Yes small spots of rust and be funded and sanded provided it doesn't look like what you posted earlier. Then you can put bondo over it and paint it. I'm not much of a fan of body filler though except for very light stuff like what you are describing. If the rust is very minimal you may not even have to use body filler. The thing with grinding and sanding is you don't just do the area of issue but around it as well. Rust spreads and rust starts before you can see it. So you want to sand down about an inch or so around the center of the problematic rust area. Once you do that then you can prime and paint but the issue I see with paint is that matching the body color will be difficult due to paint fade over time. You might match the code and the color it was before fadin but compensating for that is goin to be difficult. I doubt you have money to have the entire car painted since you are young like me. The problem with putting bondo over an untreated section of rust is that it doesn't treat the heart of the problem, it basically just covers it. It traps and rust and water which in return causes even more rapid oxidation spreading the rust much more rapidly.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Yes small spots of rust and be funded and sanded provided it doesn't look like what you posted earlier. Then you can put bondo over it and paint it. I'm not much of a fan of body filler though except for very light stuff like what you are describing. If the rust is very minimal you may not even have to use body filler. The thing with grinding and sanding is you don't just do the area of issue but around it as well. Rust spreads and rust starts before you can see it. So you want to sand down about an inch or so around the center of the problematic rust area. Once you do that then you can prime and paint but the issue I see with paint is that matching the body color will be difficult due to paint fade over time. You might match the code and the color it was before fadin but compensating for that is goin to be difficult. I doubt you have money to have the entire car painted since you are young like me. The problem with putting bondo over an untreated section of rust is that it doesn't treat the heart of the problem, it basically just covers it. It traps and rust and water which in return causes even more rapid oxidation spreading the rust much more rapidly.

I'll post photos so you can judge and give me advice, my local auto parts store can match the paint for me. I can also look into a Maaco paint job, I have heard good and bad things about them.

Also what do you think of this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mazda-Miata...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b2691285

Would I be able to take out all the rusted metal and replace the rocket panel and fender with that? Seems to be a legit product, and I think it could cut down on costs to have a body shop repair it.

What do you think?

 

[Slash]

Seeing as I don't know a ton about Miatas body that would be the ideal way to go to avoid all of this


You are still going to have to paint it though. Looks like a patch panel to me.