Yeah, Road Atlanta is right there. But a long way from Atlanta proper.

 

 

Short update. Mostly good. Some disappointing.

We moved to Loganville. Got a decent house with a two car garage, on a great lot with a 1,500 square foot shop attached via breezeway. I will edit and add pictures later. Things are great overall.

However, the shop that I had working on my car has stalled. I haven't had any formal updates in months. One of the guys who does side jobs is trying to get my car running as it was when it came into the shop (except with built motor), but he hasn't seen the owner for weeks. As far as he can tell, the owner isn't even coming into work anymore. The plan as of right now is to get a list of the parts that the car was dropped off with and have the mechanic try to make sure everything is there and put aside. Between Christmas and New Years I will go and pick up my car and take it to Georgia, along with all my parts. The shop had my car for over a year. I paid them multiple thousands of dollars for labor after supplying all the parts myself. While the car was there it was broken into and had the gear shift **** stolen. Luckily nothing else was stolen that we can tell.

So, at the very least I am out two to three thousand dollars and my car still is still unable to be driven. But at least I will have it where I can actually do something about it.

 

Sad. Looking forward to meeting and seeing your car.

 

Oh Snap. We're over here in Grayson. Need to introduce you to the locals.

 

Thanks. I've been around. I just haven't gotten my Miata down here yet.

Storytime again:

Went up to Chicago for the Christmas break. I'm currently not worried about my car, though I am taking a wait and see approach.

Shop that it was at closed... but was moved only a couple miles away and to a nicer building. I actually spent a day helping him move the shop. Having a forklift at each end really helped. Had a good heart to heart with the shop owner. He wants to make it right. My new "Deadline" is March 5th so that I can have it detailed and ready for Import Alliance. (spectator side, not show side)

I do need to keep riding him a bit to make sure it doesn't get put to last minute, but at the moment I am satisfied with what I saw.

 

I would have just brought the car back instead of hoping things will take a complete 180. Theres a lot of us here in GA that would've been glad to help and could point you in the direction of reputable shops close to you. My buddy personally owns a badass speed shop in Loganville with a dyno and all the bells and whistles. Food for thought!

 

Well, if I would have brought it back, I would be finishing it with my fiance. I don't have enough money to pay someone to finish it. PLUS, I would need to have it transported. As I don't have a friend with a truck (at that time), that would mean renting a truck and trailer (because I would be transporting more than just my car). That would cost me over a grand. Maybe closer to $1,500.

If it's finished in March I can just fly up there and drive it down. If it's not drivable my friend with the truck will have finished his repairs. If he isn't done, another friend will be coming to Knoxville sometime around April. I can pick up the truck and trailer there and leave him my daily while I run home, drop off my car, and head right back.

I made a calculated risk. We will see if I get burned.

 

Sure thing I'm sure it'll all pan out in the end and you'll get to zip it around GA and enjoy it again. You should take advantage of the friendly local miata peeps they becomes your friends and ultimate resource . Beer and pizza goes a long way lol

 

Another status update. With the pandemic I told the shop owner not to worry about my car and just make sure to feed his family. I am going to pick it up in the next couple weeks and finish it myself. I'll probably start a new thread.

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Quick update, and likely the last one on this thread. The car is home in Georgia with me. Hopefully within the next couple weeks the project to return it to the road will be in full swing.

I am playing around with the idea of doing a YouTube series documenting the rebirth of this car. Even if that is not the case, I will be documenting it here on another thread, just perhaps without video. If the YouTube thing goes well, I am playing around with the idea of doing more cars that are in a similar situation than mine. Maybe not super complex builds, but rescuing cars that have kinda gotten abandoned to the point where the owner has no money to finish the car and otherwise it would be sold or parted out. Obviously this will cost money, so we would have to fund that via Patreon/GoFundme/Youtube. A lot is in the air, but maybe we can do some good in this world?