selling my harley and considering a miata as a new toy. have???

[stringcheese]

Hello,

Im thinking a miata may be a fun new toy. I'm going to be on a fixer upper base budget of about $4000 for the car. I aspire to turbo it, ner seats, paint, carpet, top and in about 6 years hand it to my boys. I plan to restore factory wheels, and perhaps lower the final drive a bit.

Where is a good starting point for choosing the car? Which model/year might be a good canditate with lots of available turbo data, kits, roll bar, fun stuff etc?

[atank]

Here is a perfect Miata for you:

http://mazdaroadster.net/classifieds.php?listing=miata-93-le-for-sale-145659

http://imagecdn.panjo.com/images/f1572317-5418-460e-bcf4-9173fc7c4d2c.jpg

depending on your location............

[stringcheese]

Thank you...and nice. I saw your resto too. I need some research of my own on where to get turbo efi programing, kits, whatever. I have never looked at anything miata. But with the lotus frame of mind, I figure a little light car can be something of an ass kicker. I want to see whats avaikable for parst and junk too

[Dandy]

Craigslist is a great source for spotting undervalued cars. For your budget the NA (1990-1997) model is going to be your best bet. There may be a few NB (1999-2005) models that will suit your needs as well. Here is a decent reference for buying a used Miata: http://wiki.miata.net/tiki-index.php?page=Checking%20Out%20a%20Used%20Miata The Used Miata Inspection list is quite helpful.

The classified section here at MazdaRoadster.Net is a good source of used parts and is quite easy to use: http://mazdaroadster.net/classifieds.php For new parts, you can't beat the supporting sponsors of this site: http://mazdaroadster.net/content.php?118-Sponsors

Of the NA's, the 1994 model year (and most 95's) is favored by many as the best platform for turbo charging due to the more powerful (than the 90-93 1.6) 1.8 liter engine and simpler OBD1 electronics. If you are very mechanically inclined, then a $2-2.5k budget for a used turbo kit and parts is workable. If not, count on twice that. Once you start to mod the costs can add up quite quickly so it is best to have a solid parts list before starting so things don't get out of hand budget-wise.

The most experienced vendor in Miata specific turbo charging is Flyin' Miata (http://www.flyinmiata.com/). There is a lot of good information available on their website. There is a forum that is geared specifically towards support for Miata turbocharging (http://www.miataturbo.net/) but I have to warn you that they are not the friendliest bunch when it comes to noobs, so be sure and search and read before posting a question that has been asked a thousand times before.

The books available from this site: http://www.slowcarfast.com/ are another good source for planning your performance upgrades.