SOLO2.ORG Ultimate Autocross

there's a miata being sold by a family down the street and the price is outrageously low. here's what we know about it:

1990
5 speed
190k
new brakes, clutch, battery

the miata was the husband's baby but has been gathering dust sitting in the garage. they have 3 kids and mainly drive the ol' mini van. we talked to the wife and she's not sure if the timing belt has been changed or anything, but for the price they want, we could always get a new one.

are there any mechanical problems or anything with '90 miatas we should know about?

respond ASAP, we may be making our decision tonight!


(CINDY WANTS THIS CAR!!!!! :) )

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Mommy's fast and Daddy's slow! :-D

are there any mechanical problems or anything with '90 miatas we should know about?

One important thing: if you're not 100% sure you'll take it you should NOT go drive it. Nadeem conviced us to take his 97 out for a spin one nice winter day (top down of course) and when we got back he was :D and mentioned that he was considering selling it. We owned it about a month later and can't imagine not having one now :honk:

The '90 has the smaller 1.6 engine and has the least amount of chassis stiffening. You need to have the tire/wheels balanced really well or the car will shudder quite annoyingly at speed. IMHO the 5-speed is the only car to buy, I wouldn't bother with an automatic.

Only problem I can think of is the crankshaft nose was prone to breaking. Rather than try to explain it myself, here's a link:
http://www.miata.net/garage/crankshaft.html

Might want to consider a roll bar too, I personally wasn't comfortable driving without one. It's kinda sobering when you look over and your eye-level with the door handles on the cars around you.

thanx for your replies! we got it! :D :D :D

cindy now has a car, well i will on friday, and i don't have to bother everyone to give me theirs anymore!

i'm sooooo excited! :bouncy: :honk: :bouncy:

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Mommy's fast and Daddy's slow! :-D

Congratulations and welcome to the Miata owners club :)

Now you should start reading everything you can find in the Garage section of www.miata.net :) As there are couple of points worth checking on any new old Miata:

1. Check what kind of battery you have ("e;Mazda"e;, Panasonic, Westco, Optima or Duralast) and the condition of the vent hoses. Very important to prevent trunk floor rusting through or worse. Especially if you've got that "e;Mazda"e; OEM replacement - which is a "e;wet"e; one and should be regularly checked for leaks .

2. Get your Miata aligned ASAP using (you'll have to choose how agressive you want it). Misaligned Miata will not handle properly in the wet.

3. Check that you have 4 good tires. Otherwise don't drive it in the wet/icy conditions.

4. When doing the timing belt make sure to replace the water pump, idler pulley and tensioner spring. Apparently these little cheap spring are never in stock at any of the Mazda dealerships. You'll need to order in advance :(

5. Check for leaks at the clutch slave cylinder under the rubber boot - it seeps in there slowly and almost never visible on the outside. I've discovered mine only after I lost all clutch fluid. Luckily for me it was while car was sitting in our parking lot so I wasn't stranded in the middle of nowhere.

6. You're welcome to ask me questions about Miatae tops - if there are any issues with yours.

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Paul
2008 VW GTI - wife's black toy
2004 Subaru WRX Sport Wagon - for sale
Looking for 1998-2003 Toyota 4Runner

Watch it Paul, she's still a minor in this state! If she has any trouble with her top I'm sure she'll keep it under wraps.

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SLUF

LMAO! haha thanx bud. :p

and Paul, if we have any questions i'll probably be PM-ing you, because you seem to know your stuff! :)

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Mommy's fast and Daddy's slow! :-D

Cindy when you start autocrossing the miata make sure you join http://www.mazdamotorsports.com just takes two events per year to keep current and you get great discounts on mazda parts.

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Co-founder of A.D.D. motorsports Circa...Dude your not going to.. What was I doing?

TLMotorsports Photography

"NASCAR = Non-athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks"

Originally posted by SLUF: Watch it Paul, she's still a minor in this state! If she has any trouble with her top I'm sure she'll keep it under wraps.

Now, Bud, I was talking about Miata tops...
But I like that Freudian slip of yours :action-smiley-073:

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Paul
2008 VW GTI - wife's black toy
2004 Subaru WRX Sport Wagon - for sale
Looking for 1998-2003 Toyota 4Runner

gracias pete, signed up today! :cool:

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Mommy's fast and Daddy's slow! :-D

Cindy,

Congrats on the new (to you) Miata. They are a joy to drive. Phil clued you in on the only big issue for the early model 1.6 engines, the crankshaft. Be sure when you have the timing belt replaced you take it to a shop that has Miata experience. Might be a good idea to to print the articles from Miata.net to give to the mechanic doing the work. The problem as I understand it comes in part, from over torquing the bolt in the front of the crankshaft. It amazes me how many mechanics overtorque bolts.

Going to take on ES with the car?

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Bryan Sechrist,
Thanks Jan for the 06,07 Mini codrive
ES '91 Miata, out of the garage for this season?
Past Region BoD
Course Chief
Novice School Chair

Couple other things to check on an older miata. You have to remove the center console to get to both. First check the rubber shift boots for deteroriation. At 190k miles its almost certain they need to be replaced.

Also pull the shift rod out of the transmission and check the oil level in the shifter turret. If the rubber shift boots are bad its almost certain to be low or empty. Low shifter turret oil isn't really a critical problem, but the car tends to shift a lot better when its properly filled; used 90 weight or 80W/90 gear oil.

As for the timing belt change, its not only critical to get the bolts torqued properly; there's also a small "e;key"e; that must be installed in the correct orientation or crankshaft failure is soon to follow.

Originally posted by Pete Wells: Cindy when you start autocrossing the miata make sure you join http://www.mazdamotorsports.com just takes two events per year to keep current and you get great discounts on mazda parts.

?? Pete and other Mazda owners

I was going to look into registering with Mazda motorsports but I felt that if I joined it would be the same as if I sent them a personal letter inviting them to void my warranty. Should I go ahead and join or wait 5 years :D

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Cindy
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quote:
Originally posted by El Kabong:

I'm confused - will there be a STFU class in 2006 or not? Cause it sounds like several people would belong in it.
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Congrats on the purchase Cindy

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Cindy
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quote:
Originally posted by El Kabong:

I'm confused - will there be a STFU class in 2006 or not? Cause it sounds like several people would belong in it.
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Originally posted by Cindy: Originally posted by Pete Wells: Cindy when you start autocrossing the miata make sure you join http://www.mazdamotorsports.com just takes two events per year to keep current and you get great discounts on mazda parts. ?? Pete and other Mazda owners I was going to look into registering with Mazda motorsports but I felt that if I joined it would be the same as if I sent them a personal letter inviting them to void my warranty. Should I go ahead and join or wait 5 years :D

I have had no problems with warranty. The only problems: recall for fog lights and a new battery at no charge when I should have paid 75%

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8 BP "Anne's Revenge"
13 CS "Silver the Miata"
Sam Platt Memorabilia Collector