WILLIS WONG’S NA8C
a RadRoadsters feature
Willis Wong’s NA8C has long exuded a classy, Japanese feel to the local meets. His story began when he was living in San Diego, and had an EF Civic Hatch, whose clutch was about to call it quits any second. The search began for another car, he contemplated of 240’s and MR2’s; then came a day when a friend of his told him that he should look into Miatas. The preferences suddenly took a back seat due to the need of a car to get to work. He ended up buying his first Miata, a 1997 in Montego Blue. He would eventually make most of his mistakes on this particular car, over the course of two years an MP45 supercharger and hardtop were installed; but the car really turned out to be a lemon.
Then in 2008, he found this particularly clean example while browsing Craigslist, and made arrangements to meet with the seller up in LA the next day. Upon driving the car, he noticed that it drove much better than his 97, so he ended up leaving the car there and drove this one back down to San Diego. The Montego would be sold two months later.
The Garage Vary rear finish panel and tail lamps were like a breath of fresh air for Willis, who was not aware of any Miata Clubs during that time. He went to a couple of local car meets, but just did not get along with the demographic. It wasn’t until the discovery of his first KINOD meet (based in SoCal) that he would immerse himself into the Roadster culture.
This special Roadster is heavily accessorized with what many Roadster nuts dream of! Lots of internet searching on Japanese websites, and handshakes with JDMpalace’s Sean Shokouh have resulted in this stylized, yet cohesive NA.
However, if there were one part that Willis dreams of, it would definitely have to be the R.S. Aizawa IRTB setup that was installed in the Blue Potato (RIP).
Willis loves to continually change up his car, whether it’s a Mazdaspeed steering wheel, or even the rare Mazdaspeed seats! Ever since he installed the R.S. Aizawa nose, he has been looking into making the car evoke a more race-inspired vibe. The interior as it currently sits is definitely a vintage style, and he says that he would like to incorporate a more racecar feel into the cabin. A Japanese spec rollbar is also in the cards, along with a set of SSR MK-II’s!
He has had many ups and downs with the car, and most recently, vandals turned on the poor car by smashing the windshield in. Luckily, it was replaced right before Blox! The absolute lowest point however, was when his girlfriend’s mom told him that the neighbor had backed into the car. “I was devastated when I got the news, and she thought that I would explode once I heard it! But there I stood, calm and collected, I had no anger, but I was in deep sadness man,”
Willis says he would like to give a big shoutout to his loving girlfriend Lisa, who has been putting up with his neglect due to the trouble his gone through with the car, also to; Kenjo Raif of GarageStar, Justin Principe, TJ Dela Cruz, Elliot Meme, Sean Shokouh of JDMpalace, Ryoku Rob, Alfredo of CarNBike Moto, his friends at MazdaRoadster.net, and Dilla his cat, and last but not least this current Rad Roadsters feature! "I had an awesome experience doing the shoot and interview!" - Willis
You can follow his build progress here: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread.php?3796
Want to get your miata featured?, drop them a line!
radroadsters@gmail.com
Engine:
CF Monsterflow CAI
Corn*s Make Corns Heat Shield.
GV radiator cooling panel
M2 1028 Shock tower brace
Koyo Radiator
Jackson Racing Header
Jetstream Carbon fiber Sparkplug cover
Jet’s N1 Integral Kobe cat back exhaust
Interior:
Nakamae type s Bucket seats
K.G. Works Gauge cluster W/ RS products mg gauge faces
Nielex Hazard switches
RS Watanabe Steering wheel
Hard Dog Double Diagonal roll bar.
Zoom Engineering cup holder
REV9 OE M2 replica aluminum pedals
Joyfast shift knob
S-limited door cards
Garage Star door bushings
Exterior:
RS Aizawa front bumper
RS Aizawa Hood
RS Aizawa headlight cover
Jetstream CF turn signal intakes
Ryoku Rob front and rear tow hooks
M2 1028 vitaloni side mirrors
Jetstream hardtop spoiler
Murakami M2 1028 replica trunk lid
Garage Vary nostolgic tail light conversion
RS active type 2 headlights
RS Watanabe type b wheels.
Suspension:
Tien Flex coilovers
front and rear racing beat strut bars
source: http://radroadsters.net/features/willis-wongs-na8c/
Photos by Kenjo Raif
Written by Justin Principe
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