Some of you knew I was looking, but without the official "WHAT SHOULD I BUY THREAD?!!?" I knew that all signs pointed to this car once I got to drive it. I just bought a 1991 Miata. Its stripped down aside from a/c and a limited slip. Hell, I'm surprised that the windshield wipers weren't an option. But I must say, its an amazing piece of automotive engineering. Before I divulge to much into it, here are the obligatory pictures.
Apologies for a dirty interior
The owner was barely a town away and the car was stored < 1.5 miles away from my house, go figure!! Shes got next to no real options aside from a/c and wears a recent repaint and rides on blown rear struts (a bargaining chip, IMO). After driving it (read: ragging it out) to be sure that the drive train was mechanically competent and that the clutch (read: checking for a limited slip) and brakes (hard cornering) were up to snuff, I peered around the car for any awful blemishes. Supposedly the trunk had water in it at one time from a "loose radio antennae not being bolted down." After thorough inspection, it looked alright and I couldn't find any indication of an accident or body damage other than some small, inconsequential dings. The owner is pretty certain thats all it was and took care of it asap and hasn't happened again. Even after all of the snow, it looks pretty dry. I figured that if water does come back, then I'll just be drilling some holes in the spare tire well.
But I digress- on to the review!
The first thing you notice about sitting in the Miata is that its small. Like really small. I keep bringing a grocery bag or two out from the store and expect to put it on the rear floor pan like I would my Trans Am. WRONG. Theres a trunk for that. Wheres the trunk pop button? Oh, dirka durh, there isn't one in a CONVERTIBLE! Fail. In a lot of ways, the cabin reminds me of my fathers old Hardbody Nissan truck. Its only equipped with the gauges that you need, the pedals at your feet, the shifter in your hand, and a crappy radio to listen to Poison and Skid Row on through crap-tastic speakers. But aside from the truck, this mechanical wonder is MUCH faster and handles FAR better than almsot any car I've ever driven (honorable mentions to an Elise I drove in 2004/5, a C5 Z06, and a new Mustang GT).
Working the clutch and gas is beyond simple in this car for everyday driving. Its set up almost exactly how I want it, but I'll adjust the clutch pedal for just a liiiiitle bit less travel. Manipulating the shifter is like playing with an old PacMan joystick on the arcade machine. The RPM's and speed rise in beautiful unison while emitting a somewhat bassy note through the tail pipe. Maybe its an exhaust leak, but I couldn't care. Once on the gas and rolling through the gears, the power of one hundred and sixteen horses from the one point six liter engine is more than enough to motivate the car to move with quickness while getting the rear end to step out of line over when pushing the right pedal past 80% throttle.
It does "suffer" from the notchy second gear when its cold, but honestly, its just the charm of an old car and therefore I dismiss it and embrace it. The limited slip diff will leave fun parallels if you drop the clutch for a straight line launch. The way the two rear tires battle it out for traction is reminiscent of driving an old Fox body Mustang- brutally exciting, smelly, and leaves you with a sense of self satisfaction as you lay down some rubber. Speaking of rubber, this car came with some decent Fuzion ZR1 tires (or something like that). They're like buying a case of Sam Adams, but not being able to afford the Sam Seasonal. Either way, they're competent, don't collapse much, and have me looking forwards to a set of R compounds for a track day. Since we're on road contact- the handling and feedback are amazing. Since the car lacks such "amenities" like power steering, you can feel the feedback from the wheel at all times. A car this light doesn't even need it. Heck, my old 240 didn't have power steering (by choice) and it was more of a task to lug around than this Miata.
Whether taking long and sweeping turns, or going in on what you thought was "way to hot" of an entry on a tight turn; the suspension, weight balance, and cars geometry get put to work and take whatever you can throw at it. In a turn that would put the nose of my Trans Am pointing the way I came under to much angle and to much throttle, the Miata drives in, hunkers down, screams to the redline, and says "WTF man, thats all you got?!" Around the corners, this car is simply a monster. I can't wait to hit more turns and push its limits (on a track of course). Or maybe not.
Simply put, I can't wait to get replacement struts and shocks for this girl to see how much better she can do.While there is plenty more I can say, I'm going to borrow the x/10 scale commonly seen on this board.
Exterior- 8/10. Looks like it dents easily, but has a timeless look being that its a fun to drive convertible. When the manly guys busted my balls at work and say "thats a car for gays," I replied with "Yeah, queers always point that out." I think it looks cool and the whole car was really designed well.
Interior 8/10. Not leather appointed, nor fully of amenities; Mazda took the minimilist approach. As previously mentioned, I'm surprised that the wipers aren't hand activated via a pull/push lever on the dash board. This car is a drivers car and displays what you need, where you need it. I'd like to have a numerical indication of the coolant temps though.
Mechanical 9/10. Only because more power is always better.
Even with 148k on this example, it runs and performs quite well given its age. There are at least another 80k left in this engine. Like the KA and SBC's, KISS is followed and makes DIY repairs and maintenance super convenient and easy. The heater blows hot air like crazy, too. Which is good because I constitute top down weather as anything over 39 degrees. However, it will be a back breaker though since I'm tall and bending over the engine bay tends to suck. The transmission and clutch are solid, brakes are more than acceptable, and the limited slip rear end still works! I'm lucky that this car was well taken care of, and will continue to maintain it as such. Not to mention...
ALL STOCK BABY!!!
The top operates easily and quickly and only belongs in one position, DOWN!
Overall- 9/10. The car is a blast to drive (even if its red and has blown rear shocks), is plenty quick & torquey, and has a character all its own. I have ZERO buyers remorse for this car and what I paid for it- especially since it was so close to home. Moral of the story- when in doubt, drive a Miata.
Style stolen from Jesda's Xmas card- minus the doggy.
then I was like 
