Category: Import
Status: Clean Title

I have a 1994 Mazda Miata for sale, in USA - California.

Mileage: 122xxx miles
Engine Size: 1.8L


Asking price is $3500



The time has come for me to let go of my 1994 Miata. It’s a 1.8l no option car which is what I was looking for when I purchased it. No AC, no power windows, no power door locks, not even power steering. So you get OBD1 with the 1.8l motor, and no options to weigh it down or complicate things. I’m perfectly capable of complicating them on my own. I have owned this car for 4 years now and the only time it ever gave me issues was for a broken charge wire from the alternator. Fixed that after some trouble shooting and it hasn’t had any issue since then. The car currently has 122k miles. I had big plans for the car, but it’s getting to that time in life where I can afford to have a car payment since we purchased a house, and the need to have a baby seat is on the horizon. I know you can fit a baby seat in a Miata, but not with the wife at the same time so the need to go a bit larger is apparent. I’m not looking for any trades as we need the money for the Miata to use as a down payment towards the new car. I’ll try to be accurate as to listing the condition and parts for and on the car that I have, but feel free to contact me with any questions.

When I picked up the car the only modifications were an aftermarket stereo, some American Racing 14” wheels, and a K&N filter. At that time it had roughly 98k miles on it. The top and timing belt had both been replaced around 86k miles a year previously according to the previous owner. The condition of the top is still good on the outside, but has started to show some wear on the inside. The rear glass window is crystal clear and the zipper works great. The first modification I did was to install an aftermarket steering wheel and quick release kit to give me a bit more room in the cabin, and make it easier to get in and out. You can read up on that install here: https://www.miataturbo.net/general-miata-chat-9/another-nrg-wheel-install-34627/
I have just recently added a deep dish wheel that was 30mm larger to help with leverage due to the new suspension modifications I recently completed. I’ll get to that a bit later.

I always parked the car unlocked because the stereo was worth about 1/20th what a new canvas top would cost, and sure enough some stole the stereo, so I wired an amp to the existing door and headrest speakers and just have an 1/8” headphone jack that I can stick in my phone to use for music. Simple and effective. Other interior modifications include the dash hood being removed because it was broken, an STRI LED analog voltmeter with peak recall, and I moved the rear view mirror from the roof to the dash. I still can’t see much out of it, but the mirror doesn’t obstruct the view of uphill corners any more. Also, the car has some worn out seat covers, as the seats themselves were very sun faded and torn up from being left out with the top down too often. I also removed the drivers side door handle and replaced it with a nylon strap for more leg room. I still have the armrest and it will come with the car if you want to switch back.

As for underhood modifications there isn’t much. I was planning to go turbo so the only mods were done for ease of use, preventive maintenance or as a plan to support later mods. I started with a Buddy Club radiator cap I had laying in the garage from a previous project. The next thing I did was an oil filter relocation that upgraded to the Ford FL1A filter. Cheaper, bigger, and more options. The filter sits in front of the passenger side wheel. The hoses that came with the kit were crap and started to leak. I replaced one with a hose made at the local parts store, but upgraded the other one just recently when I installed a Mishimoto oil cooler. As you can see in the pics it has the lines running externally because I liked the look, but there is plenty of room to run them inside the front bumper if you want to change it up. All of the fittings on the Mishimoto braided lines are -10, and I just used Vibrant adapter fittings to connect them to the 1/2 NPT fittings on the oil filter relocation parts. I also added an NRG catch can to help stop too much oil from getting into the manifold. Only other underhood mod is an NRG aluminum radiator diversion panel which needs to be cleaned up with some metal polish, but works well as I noticed my coolant temps drop when driving with it at higher altitudes on hot days.

For exterior modifications I was forced to do most of them when I had an incident with worn out tires and aggressive driving. I side swiped a K rail at about 40 when the back end washed out on me. Front fender was toast, and rear was a bit dented. Replaced the wheels with a set of stock 14” wheels and some Hankook RS2’s. They are old, but they grip quite well and are wearing pretty good too. The front fenders were both replaced by AIT Racing D1 style fenders and the rear was pulled and filled by a professional body shop. That left the car with 4 different exterior colors between the new primer, fenders, old paint and black door sills. So I decided to save a bit and used Carbon Fiber Wrap on the whole body. It’s a nice look from about 10 ft, which is what I was going for with a daily driver. It was my first time so there are a few spots that due to poor layout of the panels are wearing a bit, but I have some left over wrap and can get another 30”x60” sheet if needed. When I did the wrap I used some green spray painted accents on the fenders, mirrors, and rear trim panel to dress it up some. Maybe not to everyone’s taste, but easy parts to take off and repaint or just cover. I used a bunch of NRG green fender washers to bolt the fenders on and to mount the radiator diffuser panel under the hood. Also used one to fill the hole in the hood from the broken washer nozzle that was missing. I removed the antenna since there is no radiator. Also added a Garage Vary style lip to dress up the front end a bit. The headlight blew out so I replaced them with aftermarket HID conversions. They suck for light pattern, but I never drive in the country at night so I never bothered changing them back. The HID kit itself is pretty good, but the housings are crap.

Now onto the suspension where most of the upgrades have been implemented. I bent the front wheel and the upper control arm in the accident. The front upper control arms were both replaced by some aftermarket adjustable units made by TC sportline. I like the way they ride, and the suspension felt much more solid with them installed over the stock rubber bushings. The wheel had contacted the stock spring and I was worried the shock may have bent too, so I replaced the springs with Tein S-techs and used Tokico HP shocks in the front and Tokico Illumina’s in the rear. I love the Illuminas, but he HP’s are just stock replacements basically. That was all done about 3 years ago. About 2 years ago I upgraded to Hawk HPS pads on all 4 corners with brand new Centric rotors. I also installed stoptech stainless front lines. I was going to do the rears too, but the kit was missing the 3 way fitting and I didn’t want to wait on the brakes so the rears are still rubber. I just had the brakes bled 2 weeks ago and the parking brakes adjusted as the pedal had gotten a bit soft. Within the last year both front lower ball joints were replaced by Megan Racing units. I also have the lower control arm bushings, but decided not to install them since the stock bushings were still in good shape upon inspection. Lastly I was unhappy with the trade off between tire wear, turn in, and ultimate grip with the front end and felt that more caster would help balance everything. I customized the mounting spacers on the upper control arms to give much more caster. Each side is running about 8 degrees now. With the larger steering wheel the effort is still stiff, but the tire wear is great and turn in and grip are still very strong too. I have more of the spacers if you want to go back to the light stock feeling steering by changing them out. I used the car more for sweeping canyon runs than auto-x so this made sense for me.

I had plans for this car that sadly are not going to come to fruition under my ownership now, but someone will end up with a great car with enough parts to really make it into a fast car. I wanted to go turbo and purchased a sub-100k mile motor out of a wrecked 94. The engine is complete from valve cover to oil pan. I don’t know if the crank pulley is ok still as the car was in a front end collision, but it does have the intake manifold, throttle body, injectors, clutch and flywheel still attached. It turns with just a 3/8 ratchet and has been stored in the garage for 2 years now. I wanted to rebuild it to handle big boost while I was driving this car, but baby is going to end that dream. Cams are still in it too if you just wanted to do the In/Exh cam swap. There is a NIB Gates Timing Belt kit that will go with it. I also have a full clutch type LSD rear diff from an RX7 that will come with the car. Lastly, I ended up with a decent little turbo off of a 91 Mitsubishi Eclipse that I was going to use to start piecing the turbo kit together. All of the extra parts will be sold with the car unless you don’t want them in which case I will make a separate for sale listing.

The car runs great, but it does have it’s minor faults. Namely when the oil is old or low it will get a bit of lifter tap upon startup. Just turning the motor off and letting it sit for 2-3 seconds before restarting it will make it go away. It also leaks oil. It leaks slowly, but from a few places. I was not concerned since I had the spare motor. The horn doesn’t work because a wire in the column broke during the stock steering wheel removal. Other than that it’s solid and everything works as intended. Windows go up and down easily. All the gauges function and lights work. If you have any questions feel free to contact me. I'm asking $4500 or best offer for everything. If you don't want the spare motor and diff, then I am asking $3500 OBO.

Eric
805-588-VIII 457

 

Car is still for sale. Price is OBO.