New NA owner!! Body questions.

Hey all,

Been about a month since I acquired my 97 NA with 126k on the odometer. Definitely the most fun car i've owned to date, and i love this thing more and more every day. I do have plans on making this a time attack build, but first things first:

The previous owner had some front end damage on the thing, therefore the front fenders aren't lining up properly with the hood and front bumper. I'm thinking either RB type 2 front, or an oem replacement with GV lip. For fenders, maybe new oem with flares, or the +30mm from carbonmiata. Here are pics of said damage. Any input on the remedy would be greatly appreciated!

Attachment 13733Attachment 13734Attachment 13735Attachment 13736

Hard to tell from those photos, my guess is front support is bent from a front end crash, you'll need to replace it most likely.

Best bet is take it to a reputable body shop and get a written estimate with all the oem part numbers. Then you can buy the parts online and do most of the replacing of parts yourself and take it back to the shop for painting.

It appears there is significant damage under the sheet metal that was never repaired. I'd suggest removing the fenders and front fascia and having a frame shop straighten and align what is underneath. Or pull, heat, hammer, etc in the garage to straighten out the underbody before worrying about what goes on top.

Front left hit from the top shot in that photo of the driver's side inner fender well. Nothing some heat and hammer work couldn't fix, maybe a comealong (portable cable winch) and a solid anchoring point. Here are the factory chassis measuring points...

http://www.miata.net/garage/alignment/20.gif

http://www.miata.net/garage/alignment/21.gif