Hey all, new to the forums but I wanted to start a build thread for one of my cars. Mainly to encourage a bit of participation on my end. I tend to stay away from the national stuff and hang out on my local forums (and /r/miata). Some SF Bay Area people might know this car already. It's been around to meetups and shows and was owned by the coolest parts guy, ever. He's been around the scene since the beginning and has a few Miatae as well. Most notably a supercharged '92 Sunburst which is quite possibly the nicest Miata I've ever seen.
It just so happened that he was thinking of getting rid of this 184k '94 R Package. I'd had a few conversations with him before about the car, but I never actually thought about buying it. At the time my '99 was down (it had been for a while, long story) and I was driving the S2000. The S is a fun car, no doubt, but it gets a bit boring when you can't be in the powerband. It's a bit soft and detached as well but I digress. I could go on forever with complaints!
The deal was struck about a month ago. I took it home, gave it a bath and took some pictures. I also browsed through the mechanical history, and what a huge amount of history it has. I've got every piece of paperwork starting from 70k miles. Before that, the dealer has the history.
Mods/Accessories
Powertrain - JR intake, RB Header, FM Cat, FM Midpipe, RB Power Pulse Muffler, Rebello Racing built head, Reflashed OBD1 ECU, Mazdaspeed 10lb Flywheel
Chassis/Suspension - FM Springs, NA Tokico Illuminas, FCM Tophats & Bumpstops, Racing Beat F/R Sway Bars, 949 Endlinks, FM Frame Rails, Beat Rush tower brace, HardDog Deuce, 15x7 +38 Panasport Pro-Rally, Bridgestone RE-11 205/50/15
Interior/Dressup - JDM Eunos MOMO, Roadwire Upholstered "Raodster" seats, R Package number plaque, Billet gauge surround, Billet needle caps, Billet E-brake, NC Shifter, Mazdaspeed pedal set, cool stereo with amp (I have no clue about stereo stuff), clear front markers, smoked rear markers & tail lights, JDM Eunos badging, JDM Roadster badge.
The things I've done so far are pretty minor. PO had some hardtop trim laying around so I put that on. I had 949 Endlinks laying around so I put those on, too. I also did plugs and have plug wires on order, even though the car runs silky smooth (was done 20k+ ago, figured it's time to do it). Ordered & received rear FM springs to replace the sagging ones on the car. I attempted to replace them already, but the shock shaft kept spinning and I didnt have any point to clamp on to it. So Monday I'm going to a friends house to smack it with some air tools, haha.
The last bit of maintenance it needs is the front eccentric bolts. Lots of noise from them, probably never replaced. Got those on order as well, coming next week. Oh! I also have some RB sway reinforcement blocks I'm putting on. And I plan to put the MiataRoadster short shifter in. Jesus this is really starting to pile up already...
Further in the future, the first "real" mod work I plan on is to put a MegaSquirt in it. The reflashed ECU seems to run a bit lean (no knocking, just plug reading) and the curve just doesn't feel right. It pulls well, though. Long after that, it's going to need a new bottom end. This stock one is burning a little bit of oil.
So, that's all I've got to put up for now. Thanks for reading!
TL;DR: Hi, I have a Miata. I'm gonna do things with it. Stay tuned!