Okay, so now the snow is melting and the sun has come out to play. Here in California, we're getting a teaser of what Summer is going to be looking like- hot and dry! I've packed up the skis and it's time to shift gears to the next activities.
So I've got this long neglected and nearly forgotten Mazdaspeed Miata that's been sitting in my driveway under a cover- it's been there in that condition for over two and a half years. I told my wife that I would sell the car after I picked a different project car. Back 2018, I paid the registration, then I needed to get the car smogged. The battery needed charging, so I charged it and tried to get it running to clear the smog monitors, but the battery would die after 2 days. The I would have to start the process all over again! I got behind schedule, so I would have to be driving the car with outdated tags! Eventually, I just gave up on it. Meanwhile, I would get interested parties asking me about the car. No one ever panned out. My good friend, John, gave me an extra Miata battery that he had, so I put it on a trickle charger. There it sat for 6 months...
Two weeks ago, I woke up with a renewed energy to get that car started and to get it registered again. I uncovered the car and popped that battery in the trunk. The car started easily! I gave her a quick washie washie, pumped up the tires and took her for a spin. Man! I forgot how much I loved to drive that car! The trick was that now I had to drive enough miles to clear all the monitors to ready the car for smog. I drove it to work and every chance I could get. Every day, I would stick the bluetooth OBD2 device in the port and check how the car was doing. Finally, the car was ready! I went to my local AAA and paid all my fees (and late fees), then got the car smogged. (It took two tries- the first place failed me, because he couldn't find a CARB sticker on my cat.) Then I ran back to AAA to get my registration and current sticker! All in one day!!
It didn't take long for me to realize that I really didn't want to sell the car. The car was purchased in cash. The insurance on the car is less than $300/year. And I have recently dumped SO much money into the car! I'll never get that kind of money back again. It just got a new paint job- $2800. The engine had starting problems. $600 for a CPS. It had a persistent CEL and that cost me $800 to get fixed, since my local Miata "specialist" didn't know that this particular model has TWO solenoids in the evap system!! The Michelin Pilot Sport tires are practically brand new (I just had them rotated and balanced for the first time today). And it cost me $400 to create a second key for the car!
This Miata is special, because it's actually a Mazdaspeed Miata. Only in 2004 and 2005 did Mazda put in factory turbos into the MX-5. Only about 5400 cars were every produced. But selling the car is problematic because it has racing suspension and to return it to stock would take so much work, plus I would have to spend $100 to get an alignment afterwards. It also has a roll bar, which isn't stock, so it could bring down the value of the car. But I really didn't feel like ripping it out.
Now, I'm on a mission to return the car back to how it was before I was going to sell it. That means I have to re-buy all those go-fast parts that I sold off! I also have to buy another stereo system, since I stole it and put it in my Jeep. Today I was able to get Costco to balance and rotate my tires. Just by doing that, it took away the small steering shake that I was feeling. I spent some time getting the suspension ride height to where I wanted it. Just driving the car reminded me of when I first bought the car eight years ago- I would look for any excuse just to get in the car and take it for a drive. For me, the ergonomics of the Miata fit me exactly perfectly. All the controls are just a comfortable arm's length away. It's like the car was designed for me!
I'll post updates on the work that I'm doing to the car. I'm actually considering autocrossing this car! There's a regional event happening at the beginning of May. I'll go check it out to see what it's like- I'll just be an observer.
