First of all, I'd like to thank you for having the time to read my thread. For the past four years I have been a penniless electrical engineering student, whom has eagerly pushed a 1997, Geo Metro along the Houstonian highways. While the Metro delivered close to 55 (or more ) MPG on a daily basis, it simply did not fulfill my SPG (Smiles Per Gallon) expectations. Then one day, I finished my engineering degree and I happen to stumbled upon this 92' Miata for $1000. And thus, my lust for Miatas has begun....

The car came with 162K miles on the clock, a hardtop, a hardtop rack, and an extra set of stock rims. Oh, and tons of fleas from the previous owner's dog .

My plan is to build a somewhat reliable, autocross/track car that can be daily driven with little to no sacrifice in comfort and safety.



Things bought:

1- 10W30 Castrol High Mileage
2- Cibie Headlights
3- Hella H4 100/80W Halogen Bulb
4- Fumoto F-106 Engine Oil Drain Valve
5- Red Line (50304) MT-90 75W-90 GL-4 Lubricant - 1 Quart
6- Lubrimatic Fluid Quart Pump
7- Motorcraft XT-M5-QS Full Synthetic Manual Transmission Fluid - 2 Quarts
8- Harbor Freight 6" Polisher & Pads



Things to do:

1- General Maintenance.
2- Get AC Working.
3- Replace Throwout Bearing. (Loud noise when in neutral.)
4- Fix Torn Driver Seat.
5- Weld Stuff For It.
6- 3D Print Stuff For It.
7- Relay For Lights.
8- Add Lightness.
9- Fix Water Leak In Trunk.
10- Make it handle better.
11- Fix Rust in Front Fenders.
12- Add power.


Wish me luck!

 

Picked up a pair of racing seats and a Koyo radiator for $250. One of the seats is just a little narrow (14"), so I might have to use a a hydraulic jack to make it wider. Either that, or lose some weight :sweatdrop:

 

It's been a while since I have updated my thread. Things have been a little rough recently. I've got laid off from my job as I worked in the oil industry and the gas prices are ridiculously low. Let me know if anyone needs an electrical engineer :icon_cheers:

Nevertheless, I must admit that it's quite hard to have a bad time when you drive a Miata. I was pretty excited to attend my first track event on December 17, 15'. The event was hosted by Texas Drift Fest, and I had a feeling I was going to embarrass myself as I followed a few ND Miatas and Supras at the autocross track. Luckily, it rained a lot that day and I was not the only one that lost control of its vehicle. Of course, I blamed my poor performance on the rain hillyb:



The girlfriend now loves the Miata.

 

I'm a total noob. But hey, I had tons of fun! There weren't that many people at the track that day due to bad weather; so, I had plenty of opportunities to practice and get advice from more seasoned drivers. By the end of the day, I felt that I had slightly improved my skills. Plus, I also drifted the hell out my car in the rain! : 3gears:

 

I originally planned on fabricating my own roll bar, but I feel that I already have too many small projects. So, I just bit the bullet and picked up a roll bar that was in need of a Miata.


Does anybody know what roll bar this is? I think it's a harddog bar.



Taking the car apart:



That moment, when you realize that you had too many tacos during Christmas and you don't fit on your seat anymore:

 

Just designed a shift ****. I'll throw the .stl file in one of the printers and we'll take a look at the outcome during the morning.




M10x1.25 thread.

 

Not a good morning.

 

On a positive note, I had a chance to fabricate a bracket for my SPEC Miata seat, and also mounted the Rally Sport seat that came welded to a stock seating rail.



Also, after installing my roll bar I noticed that the soft top does not go all the way down since the glass window interferes with the harness bar. I'm now wondering if I should just get rid of the soft top, and use the hard top only.

 

I used a 4x4" steel plate to secure a pair stainless steel eye bolts and a set of quick real chain links for the six point harness. This the first racing harness that I have ever used, so I can't make a comparison to a more expensive set. Nevertheless, I must admit that this harness does a great job at keeping my body grounded to the ultrasheild seats and they seem to be made with decent quality.







50mm eye bolts turned to be a much longer than I needed. I will have to grind them off, just to ensure that nothing gets caught down there.

 

So I decided to ditch the soft top, and have the hard top installed permanently. Sadly, my roll bar interfers with the hard top's side latches. Then I remember I had a 3D printer nearby...



This bracket is only a prototype for fitting purposes. It's made out of PLA at 20% infill and it feels rather sturdy to be made out of plastic.



A PC ABS model will be developed at 100% infill once I verify and refine my design.

 

The PLA bracket fit pretty well. But since I have a roll bar in the way, I was forced to used hex bolts to be able to screw them in from the side. Also, there is an M6 screw that goes in right where the bar is and I do not have enough clearance to put it in.

Getting rid of the soft top, and adding brackets made the car a little more comfortable to ride in. I still have some rattling from the exhaust and the dash, but I hope to take care of that later. Last but not least, I did notice some slight vibration of the car at 75 MPH and I need to find the source of that.

 

So, I picked up a set of used Advanti Storm S1 and a some RC-1 tires. I'm a little worried about the longevity of these tires, as they appear to be track-oriented only. But who cares... It's a race car right?



32 pounds per wheel/tire.

 

Old VS New

 

Looking good today!