At the end of last summer my red 90 Miata had a serious case of floor board rot so I gave it to a friend who did a lot of cutting and welding and was able to fix it up.
In January of 2015, the itch hit for another affordable street car. I starting looking on craigslist and found a 97M and called about it. Unfortunately the car had rocker rust issues so I passed on it. A couple days later, in 5 degree temps, I went and looked at a 96 Miata that was under about 6 inches of snow. After getting the frozen doors open, I took it for a quick drive and thought it was pretty nice. The rockers were totally rust free. So I negotiated a price.
After getting it home, I started to find the little stuff that was wrong, so my unintended build started.
First up was replacing the valve cover gasket and the CAS Oring. Someone needs bitch slapped for overtightening one of the coilpack bolts.
Next up was redoing the bombed out drivers side seat and replacing the rotted door speakers. I went with some $40 Pioneer speakers which sound pretty good. I also cleaned and regreased the window guides while the door panels were off.
Last edited by wannafbody; 06-01-2015 at 09:11 PM.
Next up was the Ebay GV lip and the Tougerun rear spoiler. I also added some Two-Six Motorsports revalved Bilsteins paired to 450F/300R springs with a RB solid front swaybar. I thought I was done with this rebuild. And then things took an unexpected turn...
Last edited by wannafbody; 06-01-2015 at 09:11 PM.
As a precaution, I decided to pull up the parcel shelf carpet and take a peak. Unfortunately, I found the gas tank cover rusted. So I ripped out the carpet and checked for leaks. I found a small leak and decided to replace the rain rail before more damage occurred. I also sandblasted the gas cover and painted it. The rust was mostly surface rust.
Next came the process of unbolting the softop and removing it to replace the rain rail. In the process of lifting the softtop out of the car, somehow I ripped the perfect tan top...not just a small rip but about a 10 inch rip right up the side. I was pissed at myself.
After a day or so to get over my loss, I started looking for a new top. I tore the old top apart and found a part number. Running that through Google revealed that the previous top was an EZ On top that was manufactured in 2010. Since it seemed to be a quality top, I decided to reorder the same 630 EZ On top but this time I decided to change the color to black.
I'm impressed with the quality of the EZ On top. There are cheaper tops and there are more expensive tops. For a vinyl top, this one seems about right. I chose the plastic window version with the zipper. Glass window versions are also available. I also replaced the rain rail with the flexible PCV version. *If you choose to install a rain rail without riveting it to the top, make sure that you fill in the small holes or else you will get some water coming in behind the rain rail.* I could have saved some time and aggravation if I had realized this.*
Over all, the installation of the top isn't nuclear science difficult but it is tedious and requires patience and a helper. I'd budget 10-12 hours for a first time install. There is an excellent video on YOUTUBE for reference purposes. Doing an install by yourself will probably save $500 or more in labor charges. That should be enough to cover pizza and drinks for your helper and leave a little spare change in your pocket.
The change from tan to black really gives the car a more aggressive look. It also compliments the black lip and spoiler.
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