Anybody else notice how cheap miatas are these days?

[Tim Walsh]

The glass top is by far the best way to go. Mine came with a new plastic windowed top so I haven't bothered to change it.

Steve, I understand with that, I've gotten burned a few times here not thinking about the top being down.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Around here the kids think it's funny to spit/piss/throw trash or stuff into cars parked with the tops down. Fortunately it's never happened to me but I've heard enough horror stories where I NEVER leave my top down, even if I'm running into someplace for 30 seconds. I put it up to park, go in, come back, put it down again and then drive away. No way I'll leave the car parked with the top down.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by Tim Walsh

The engine rebuild only cost me $1500

Is that DIY or paying a shop to do it?

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Around here the kids think it's funny to spit/piss/throw trash or stuff into cars parked with the tops down. Fortunately it's never happened to me but I've heard enough horror stories where I NEVER leave my top down, even if I'm running into someplace for 30 seconds. I put it up to park, go in, come back, put it down again and then drive away. No way I'll leave the car parked with the top down.

Kids must be dumb these days...scattering a bit of bird food about for pigeons to enjoy would do a better job.

[BeerBurner]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

My cousin says that a hardtop is virtually mandatory for a miata because the little crappy plastic windows quickly become opaque.

I have the glass window'd soft top which I preferred greatly to the plastic window. Unfortunatley, it limited my choice in rollbars so I went with something less adequate... this was fine at the time because I wasn't planning on tracking the car, but since it is now my primary track flogger (cheaper to break than the 944) I'll have to rip it out and start over!

BB.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Christien

Is that DIY or paying a shop to do it?

I can get ya a whole miata engine in running condition out of a yard for $500.00 or less. You can drop a $1500.00 supercharger kit right onto a stock engine (remember the lower end guts of a miata motor is from a turbo 626 motor) and have a 14 second car.

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Around here the kids think it's funny to spit/piss/throw trash or stuff into cars parked with the tops down. Fortunately it's never happened to me but I've heard enough horror stories where I NEVER leave my top down, even if I'm running into someplace for 30 seconds. I put it up to park, go in, come back, put it down again and then drive away. No way I'll leave the car parked with the top down.

I have been known to leave my top down for weeks at a time. LOL.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Just check yer seat before you sit.

[VincentVega]

Originally Posted by Tim Walsh View Post
The engine rebuild only cost me $1500
Is that DIY or paying a shop to do it?

A new long block from Mazda isnt much more. Very affordable cars to own.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Around here the kids think it's funny to spit/piss/throw trash or stuff into cars parked with the tops down. Fortunately it's never happened to me but I've heard enough horror stories where I NEVER leave my top down, even if I'm running into someplace for 30 seconds. I put it up to park, go in, come back, put it down again and then drive away. No way I'll leave the car parked with the top down.

I very, very rarely leave the top down if I'm not in the car. Just another reason why I don't drop the top all of the time. I can raise or lower the top from the driver's seat in seconds, at a stop sign, or rolling at 15mph for instance, but it's still not something I want to do a dozen times a day.

I went to 125shifter's house one day in the miata a couple of months back. I stayed a couple of hours. When I came back out a bird had crapped on the driver's seat. Fortunately the stuff wasn't too juicy or abundant and came up quick and easy. That's another reason why I don't leave the top down.

[Tim Walsh]

Originally Posted by Chris Martin

A new long block from Mazda isnt much more. Very affordable cars to own.

a brand new longblock is about 2200 if you're a member of mazda motorsports(very easy to join). I DIYed my rebuild, and farmed out th machine work.

[Jim Garfield]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I just can't force myself to like ragtops.

It's funny, when I was growing up the really cool cars were all ragtops. TR3, TR4, MGA, MBG, 356, Speedsters, Cobras, you name it, all convertibles.

I kind of know what you mean though, I have no interest in a 911 cab, for some reason it doesn't seem serious enough....

The attractive thing to me is the bang for the buck, screw what any of the posers think. It's a hell of a lot of driving fun for the money. Repair costs seem to be in the same ratio of Porsche to Ferrari, as they are Miata to Porsche. And that's a good thing. As I say, a lot of bang for the buck....are you in to image, or having fun driving flat out?

[dd74]

Go here and see what's for sale:

http://www.miata.net/cgi-bin/isc/classifieds.cgi?action=showsub&CategoryID=106&Session=4985472e73759f4c

Invariably, there will be a Miata R or someone else's project - usually a supercharge or turbocharged Miata, that's already sorted out and running hard.

I've looked around on this site for a couple years. Miata R's are rare, but out there. I remember one turbo Miata with full suspension kit and rollbar said to put out about 220 hp going for about $6 or $7K.

You can't be that.

[dd74]

See what I mean...

This...



...is going for $6K.

http://www.miata.net/cgi-bin/isc/classifieds.cgi?action=detail&AdNumber=79371&CategoryID=106&SubID=1039&Position=8&TotalCount=23&Session=4985472e73759f4c&FirstPage=&LastPage=20&prevaction=show

There are at least two other modified Miatas I saw, one as low as $1,700.