The miata that waited, a love story

[morr]

I think the bikini top would definitely be a good addition.

[I<3flippyheadlights]

I'm dying from the direct sunlight in florida, its a need at this point

[afc2112]

do you not have a/c?

[I<3flippyheadlights]

I do, but it has a leak somewhere so its mediocre at best. Also it makes my car sound like it has a supercharger...

[morr]

Yeah, the heat here is bad enough since my HT is bolted on and I never turn on the AC. I have a DIY solution for a bikini top though

[Boostedbeaner]

Awesome read and love you have for your car

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Yeah, the heat here is bad enough since my HT is bolted on and I never turn on the AC. I have a DIY solution for a bikini top though

cut the window out?

And thanks BB, its come a long way. Still has a long way to go

[morr]

cut the window out?

And thanks BB, its come a long way. Still has a long way to go

Haha nope! My buddy has one for his Jeep (for $50) and it's only slightly bigger than a Miata one, so with a bit of trimming/stitching you've got a budget bikini top

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Never thought of that....

[I<3flippyheadlights]

So I got a lot of parts coming in. Some maintenance, some other... Very excited

[I<3flippyheadlights]

So I got my "new" exhaust. I have had it for a few months now and haven't been able to put it in due to rusted bolts on my cat. Well my friends, Dad has a shop with lifts so I brought it to him and paid him to let me use the lift. He also helped me with the work. The headers were easy to get off, and so was the cat back. But the cat was so fucking difficult!

We torched the bolts, snapped the studs, couldn't get the studs out, torched again, greased, welded, drilled, rethreaded. In short, it was an experience. But in the end we finally got it all together! Now its nothing special, just a JASMA header and a bosol cat back exhaust. Its 2 and 1/2 inch but the header is a 4-2-1 and the best part, its not rusted through! I can finally drive my car without hearing a million cans rattling!!!!

I don't have a lot of pictures, so this is the after.


I also wrapped the headers in heat wrap. This was my first time doing it and I did it wrong. I didn't know I had to soak the stuff first. When I found out, it was already wrapped and coated in silicone spray. After putting it on, the car smelled like a 1000 asses just let loose the taco bell they had for lunch in my car. IT WAS SO BAD! But now its fine. Feels great to have back pressure, nice calm sound, and no rusty crap!





and heres the extra that feel off


Now I have more little stuff to do. I have a leak into my trunk and my carpet is soaked. Gonna rip it all out and maybe drill holes. I also have to get new regulators because I have a gap between my top and window due to crappy, broken windows. Water in the car sucks, my seat smells like... ass. So thats it for now, more to come soon!

[I<3flippyheadlights]

So I got to rebuild my shifter today. This is what I'm working with.

Top boot, and ebay short shifter. (comes with bushings and such)



So I went outside to the car, got relaxed and starting pulling stuff apart. Well I found this awesomness.



It was so nasty! Well I pulled that crap out, wiped things down and started unbolting more.
This is what I had left over





My top boot was destroyed, the lower was melted away, and bushing basically fell out, and the dirtiest oil came out of the shifter. Well i don't have pictures of putting it together because of all the grease on my hands and didn't want to touch my camera. But, I can say the ebay short shifter was total crap. On the eBay craptastic scale, it was a solid 7. But for 28 bucks I got all the stuff to rebuild my old shifter.

So I ripped my old shifter apart, put the new pieces on, then put it all back together. I put the new upper boot back on, slapped everything back together and my shifter feels awesome! I had to have a sit down with Amy, she thinks that bushings and boots are for wimps. I had to give her a scolding, she cried, we hugged and now everything is excellent!

[hippari]

berry nice! So I take that the feel of a rebuilt shifter is mos def everything and a bag of chips everyone says it is? What was junky about the ebay short shifter, btw?

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Well I couldn't get the eBay shifter to fit! It would sit low enough and the bearing in the front of the shifter didn't match the pilot thingie... (my vocabulary and knowledge of car parts are astounding, I know) But apparently that part doesn't exist in later models. But it really isn't a "short shifter". The metal ring they give you to replace your upper boot just doesn't let you shift as far. I know that sounds strange but switching from a rubber boot that moves, to a metal ring that doesn't. It gives the feel of a short shifter. But, I really do love it. My shifts are smoother, cleaner, and my shit doesn't jiggle around in gear... and I can find first gear!

[I<3flippyheadlights]

PHOTODUMP BECAUSE I LOVE WHORING MY CAR OUT TO EVERYONE MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA









Anyway, don't really know where I sit with my car. Getting bored in a way because I want to do stuff to my car but its my daily driver and I don't want it down for more then a day. When I say do "stuff" I mean supercharge/turbocharge. I don't have the funds, time, place and I don't think I want to invest more money into a green and red miata from 1990 with a oil burning 1.6l with an open diff. So what is the answer? POUR MONEY INTO ANOTHER CAR! I am keeping the my Miata because I love the thing to death, but I have to know when to stop and not be silly with my money. It will continue to be my DD and be the car I can depend on. She will be my rock. I will still buy things, maintenance, etc. Speaking of I have a plan for my Bikini top if it doesn't sell. Still some things I want to get but they might be left for other people to buy me. Christmas/birthday gifts for example.

Now what car have I chosen for all my money? Well it sort of just fell in my lap. I'm still working it out but its a 1987 MR2. It belongs to a friend and has been sitting for a few years. She drove it everyday then something broke and it cost to much to fix. "serious engine problems". She always told me she was gonna fix it but her life is super busy so I got a text asking if I wanted it. She would give it to me for free as long as I could tow it away and promise her it would run again. Sounds like a deal to me!

Unfortunatley because she is so busy its hard to get a hold of her. Also, the car is at her parents and they don't get along to well. Its going to be an adventure. In the end I figure MR2's come turbo'd/supercharged so it would be a better candidate for my first boosted car then my Miata that won't die. *knocks on wood*
Enough rambling, you people like pictures!



This is the photographers car. He wanted a shot of our cars together.... wtf was he thinking?


zombie, zip-tied lip!