Hey there, Miata noob here. I'm finally a Miata owner! I mostly grew up on V8s. I had a 69(350 swapped), 79(454 swapped) and 96 Camaro Z28, 87 Monte SS(350 swapped) and an 85 Blazer that was also 350 swapped. I didn't do the swaps, came that way. The Blazer was actually my first car and also how I got into wrenching. My dad and I put a high rise intake and Holley 650DP on it. After the V8s I bought a 91 Eagle Talon TSI that was a total shitbox but it was a BLAST to drive. Around 2002 a coworker asked me if I wanted to go to this Mazda test drive event because they had a little autocross setup that you could take an MSM around. From that point I fell in love with the Miata and have wanted one since, I just never made it happen. About a year after that I bought a motorcycle and rode those until recently. I fell off of cars when I inherited my grandmothers 4 door auto Civic. It was the perfect daily that I left bone stock and just tore it up on my bikes. Eventually sold the Civic and got a basic MT Subaru Impreza Wagon which I also left stock, I just love the cargo space you get with a wagon. One day I'll build a wagon project car. My father passed away in 2016 and I inherited all of his tools and a big enclosed trailer so I traded in the Subaru for a Tacoma. The Taco was great and never gave me any grief it just ran perfect, lovely truck. Now we're up to 2021, used auto market is crazy so I decided I didn't need the trailer or truck anymore(though I miss the usefulness of a truck bed) and sold while it was hot. I had the Tacoma for a few years and I MADE money when I sold it, WIN. So what did I do when I sold the truck? I bought a 2001 Miata with 64k miles from an old lady. It's a 5 speed with open diff, frame rails aren't smashed, pinch welds are good, no rusty panels, emerald mica green,

First thing I did when I got it was some required maintenance. Did my first timing belt job after reading a bunch and watching some youtube videos, overall it went great. Did the front crank seal, cam seals, new water pump, belts, plugs, wires and probably other stuff I don't remember. In an effort to maintain cylinder life I also did a super miata coolant reroute at the same time. Now THAT was a pain in the ***, especially on the VVT. That pipe that goes around the back of the block(EGR if I remember correctly) was a pain to get off as well as getting a wrench into the back to tighten the reroute down. I didn't swap to the old style head gasket, SM said the reroute is still and improvement for a VVT even without the gasket.

My gf and I love the Miata so much that I sold my bike a month ago. That also worked out with the current market. We both loved going out on the bike and will miss it but since I got the Miata last year, we were not taking the bike out. The Miata is just so much more convenient, she also drives a stick so we can trade off and she loves it. Her dream car has always been a Sunburst yellow NA, maybe someday. The money from the bike is now the start of my allocated spending for the Miata going forward with more being saved along the way.

I just bought a set of 15x8 RPF1s in bronze with ECS 205s. Tires feel great and are good enough for now. Next on my list is likely a set of XIDAs in 700/400. I'd love to put a roll bar in, especially for a bikini top, but still on the fence about the safety on that much debated topic.

Long term, I fell like I would be happy hitting 300HP so that's my goal, but I'm going to do it in stages. I'll probably do a MS3 soon and see if I can learn to tune the stock setup. Then I'd like to turbo up to 200-250HP keeping it in that safe for stock bits range, need a Torsen though. Then later down the line go to 300HP with forged internals. I considered skipping all of that and just putting a K24 in but I'm REALLY not a fan of the sound of a K motor especially with 3" exhaust. Just been trying to read as much as I can to plan out what all I need for the initial turbo install and how much it will cost to get there. Lots of great resources here I have been pouring over.

 

Pics of previous car projects, the miata and of course, your cat pls.

Welcome to our smelly corner of the interweb

 

Welcome...

Your plan is how this stuff should be done.
Starting with a nice clean car is far far easier than a **** box.
First order of business is wheels/tires, maintenance, suspension and you're hitting them properly.
Learning the MS3 on a stock engine is also win win. Learning this on a boosted car often leads to learning how to rebuild an engine.

A properly sorted 200-250 hp Miata is blast to drive, fairly inexpensive to build (can use stock motor) and should be reliable.
Cross the 300hp line and it gets more expensive, more finicky, and much harder to control.
You can let a newbie loose in a 200hp Miata where a 300 hp Miata requires a far more experienced driver.
I'm building a 300+ hp MSM but it will be limited below 250 for standard duty.
My wife also drives stick but she needs the lower power settings as to not be surprised by being able decimate the tires at will.

Having a stock appliance car (Civic, Taco, you name it) is a wise choice.
If you have a beater your play toy car will be more reliable.
If you are counting on a car you're modifying to get to work everyday it will let you down at some point.
I have 3 beaters (true roaches) 97 3/4 Chevy van, 99 Honda Accord, and a 2013 Veloster. All have over 250K and all are on hospice care.
My beaters I consider NAV cars (negative actual value) You can park them anywhere and if they get destroyed it's no big deal...

 

Thinking about it... I didn't take pictures of my cars back in the early 2000s. I think I have a polaroid of the front end of the 69 around somewhere lol. I wish I took more photos, smart phones weren't a thing and I didn't own a camera.

Here is a shot of the Miata(still need center caps):



And the most important one, the cat. This is Evey, she just turned 10 a month ago.




I'm would be comfortable driving a 300 hp Miata and like your plan it would probably be detuned for standard use. She would be fine at 200 but she is also a very conservative driver other than her highway speeds 😂.

Her car is our "main" car(newer Honda Fit). I have worked from home for the last 8 years so I don't rely on my car for much. She works from home 2-3 days a week since the pandemic. If I NEED her car for some reason during the day I just take her to work. We just moved to a new rental house that has a garage on the property. The owner is working on clearing out a garage bay to rent me for the Miata. Having a beater for me would be nice but we have been fine with this setup for the last year. We pretty much only take the Miata out in nice weather.

 

Camo Cat!
I'd be damned careful about sitting down on that couch.

Honda Fit makes for a perfect appliance car.

I have my own automotive shop but sadly still have to drive to work...