Wanted: Miata for newbie

[3B'dB3]

N

The soft-top is not too bad at the moment so I'll wait and see. Thanks

Now that we got some snow, do you still think the same thing?
The hardtop quiets things down a good bit, and makes it just a little bit more weather friendly.
I highly recommend one, but you could always spend the money on new raceparts instead!

[cuppatea]

Well, believe it or not, I'm not really noticing the road noise as much .... perhaps, I'm still utterly enamored by driving this car But on the practical side of things, I have bought some winter wipers for her so that I won't have to shred the current ones. She also has a set of Blizzaks on her so I won't kill the both of us this winter.

[OBrien839]

I was looking through this old thread as I am giving some serious thought to buying a "track/weekend" car this Winter. Using my daily driver on the track has been too stressful and all the signs are pointing towards the Miata as a good car for this purpose.

I had some questions for the many Miata drivers/owners here:

Would I be better off finding a car that isn't modified for the track yet? Or is it better to find something already prepped knowing it has more wear and tear due to track usage? I can see needing to spend a good chunk of change just to get it track ready but is it worth it to get a car that hasn't been pushed as hard over it''s life? Ideally I'd like to have it be street legal/pass inspection etc.

Listings like this are interesting:
http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/4716439647.html

My goal is to have a good working car that is fun to drive on the track. It doesn't have to break records.

Is there a "maximum mileage" I should try to stay under when I start looking?

Any other general tips when searching?

[962porsche]

personal I have never been a fan of Miata's there like gnats at the track .
3 years ago I traded painting a 1953 pickup for a 1993 Miata . it sat for 2 years and I just took it to a comscc event for Thompson 1 and 2 . it's stock but what a blast the car was . I have never used as little fuel in any of my other track cars . I would leave the car as is but it's a mid pack runner in T30 so I am going to build the car to the class rules for T30 .
he car has 120K on it and does not use any oil at all . I checked the oil level after every run and it did not use a drop .
if you want to be a front runner in a class you will have to put money into the car other then that if I just wanted seat time I would leave the car as is .
if I were to just use the thing for track days the only things I would do is get a set of good performance tires add in some more camber and run it .
even though I still think they are so gay I do now have a all new respect for them .

[jeffw]

I was looking through this old thread as I am giving some serious thought to buying a "track/weekend" car this Winter. Using my daily driver on the track has been too stressful and all the signs are pointing towards the Miata as a good car for this purpose.

I had some questions for the many Miata drivers/owners here:

Would I be better off finding a car that isn't modified for the track yet? Or is it better to find something already prepped knowing it has more wear and tear due to track usage? I can see needing to spend a good chunk of change just to get it track ready but is it worth it to get a car that hasn't been pushed as hard over it''s life? Ideally I'd like to have it be street legal/pass inspection etc.

buying a built car, especially one that's caged, will always be cheaper than building it yourself.

In general, Miatas are easy on consumables, so buying one that's seen the track isn't the end of the world. I've purchased 3 'previously tracked' miatas, and the most common item I've had to replace is transmissions. One of them at 150,000 track and street miles on it when it finally failed

Bushings, engine mounts, hubs and bearings would be at the top of the list to replace on an unknown car w/o detailed service records, followed by other suspension parts.

[nile13]

A friend will actually be selling is Spec Miata this winter if anyone's interested. I do think that buying a car prepped for what you need is much cheaper and less hair-pulling than building your own.

[OBrien839]

Thanks for the responses so far folks. To elaborate more, I think I would rather start at the bare minimum for track use. Having a car that is fun to whip around is just as important as something that is easy to maintain and have for a Summer cruiser on the weekends.

If i were to get a "street" Miata - the bare minimum is a roll bar, harness, and arm restraints I assume? Due to these requirements - it seems like you usually need to install new seats. Are there any other mods that need to be made just to have the car ready for the track?

[Grippy]

If you can find a car that comes with a hard top that is a bonus even if you don't plan to use it now. If it has leather seats it probably has the LSD, although some cloth cars also have LSD. If it comes with better shocks than stock or a bolt in roll bar even better. I would look for the cleanest chassis (no rust) you can find.
Also the 90-93 1.6 cars have a viscous LSD which wears out, the 94+ cars have 1.8 with a Torsen LSD which never wears out. 99+ cars have the nice glass back window.
FWIW you probably don't want to drive a caged car on the street.

[OBrien839]

As a basic example, would this be considered a good deal?

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/4716439647.html

[Grippy]

I think this is a better deal, 1/3 the mileage, better parts, roll bar, no rust.
http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/4715508971.html

[OBrien839]

wow that's weird I meant to post the one in Bourne that you put up Grippy, I must have copied the wrong link

[dinoracer]

As a basic example, would this be considered a good deal?

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/4716439647.html

Last line on this ad's a good one:

Reason for sale, Girlfriend said she wanted to build an NC track/autocross car with me. Therefore, need to purchase an engagement ring pronto.