Two Miatas, $900 invested so far, what would you do?

[AnthonyS]

Okay I have two Miatas that I bought for $900 total. One is a '91 Auto with a blown auto trans. The interior has problems, it has a red title and the drivers door doesn't close great. It may just need a new door. I think they just patched it up minimally. The car is mostly rust free. My long range plan is to turn it into a Monster Miata using Martin's kit. I've owned lots of Ford Mustangs so a 5.0 drivetrain and tuning the engine etc. will be easy. I'm not worried about the swap at all, but its a few years down the road.

I have a 14 year old son. I want to teach him how to drive a manual, and eventually get him a Mazda3 as it's a good first car.

So the 2nd Miata is a '94 1.8 with bigger brakes and it runs and drives good. It's also a manual transmission. It is very rusty. It's rusted out at the quarter panel where the rain rails drain. The rain rail drains were clogged long ago and never cleared. The car is a disaster for this reason.

Now I'd like to get the first car ready for the V8 conversion roll bar, reupholster the interior (I have 4 seats to pick from now), do the body work and paint the car etc.... So in the meantime I'm thinking of swapping over the 1.8 the manual transmission, and why not grab the brakes and rear end too. For $900 and some time, I can have a great driving car to teach my son to drive a manual. I can also probably get enough cash in parts and scrap metal for all my left overs to reduce my total investment so far.

All of the 1.6 to 1.8 swap articles I've found say to use the 1.6 electronics, but I have a complete car, harness ECU everything.....

So what would you do if you had a rusted out but decent driving 1.8 car and a not running well stuck in 1st gear won't go over 20 mph 1.6 auto car?

I have a great new '13 Mustang GT to drive everyday and the wife has a '12 CX-9 so it's not anything I need to actually drive for a while. I can also teach my son about cars while we fiddle with it. Once he knows how to drive, I can begin the V8 conversion. I will be buying parts over the next few years.

I've decided to just get a 5.0 crate engine from Ford versus rebuilding one (almost cheaper) and to get a rebuilt or new T-5 for the swap. I can source all the other odds and ends needed in the yards or on the local mustang board.

Input and ideas would be appreciated. I of course will be willing to sell any parts I do not need cheap.... since I don't have much in the cars I mean cheap. I wanted to see if I could build a Monster for around $10K. I think I will go over that budget with the new crate engine now, but not much. And I really don't want to pull and rebuild an engine shortly after the conversion.

The 3rd option would be to part out and or sell both cars and get a nicer NA to start with. I could afford to do that easily enough, but I'm a cheap bastard when it comes to projects sometimes. I have too many hobbies.....

[POS Racing]

I'd part them out and start over.

I gave my 16 year old daughter a 6-Speed Miata as a daily driver 2 years ago, she also Autocrosses it with me. Great father daughter bonding time.

[OZMDD]

Rusty miatas are not worthy of anything other than part-out. Not sure where you are located, but rust-free miatas are the norm here in Dallas, so they must've lived somewhere else at some point, which is a bad sign. Part of what makes miatas great is their chassis, which is screwed once rust starts. Definitely not a good platform for a monster car.

The best advice is to sell them off or part one or both, then spend $1500 -$2k on a running-but-ugly car for him to learn to drive in. Or spend $3k and have a solid, dependable NA with a clean title, straight rust-free body, working AC and can be a perfect monster platform in a few years.

[gabkwong]

The best advice is to sell them off or part one or both, then spend $1500 -$2k on a running-but-ugly car for him to learn to drive in. Or spend $3k and have a solid, dependable NA with a clean title, straight rust-free body, working AC and can be a perfect monster platform in a few years.

Or ... buy my 99 NB for $5K. It is the best looking and well cared for 99 around here and has all the mods (except boost) already!

[Rogue]

Obviously your handy, so throwing the 1.8 parts at the '91 is fairly straight forward.
Good learning for a youngun.
I have done a bunch of 1.8 swaps using the 1.6 ECU, its the way to go.
you won't even need the FM swap kit, but its easier to get the coil rack.
I don't use the TB adapter anymore, but its easier as well.
So almost for maintenance/expendables you could have a real decent Miata.
Enjoy this one and find a nice body when you are actually ready to go V8.

Do that and take your kiddo out to AutoX like POS did.
Teach him to handle a car and not just drive a stick.
Fun, Fun!

[redmenace]

I'm thinking of swapping over the 1.8 the manual transmission, and why not grab the brakes and rear end too. For $900 and some time, I can have a great driving car to teach my son to drive a manual.

Yep. Toss the slushbox and manualize the 1.6, then gas n go. Then take your time parting out the rusty one.

[cwisenheimer]

Hold the phone. Before you part out the rusty one, let your son learn how to drive a manual with it. Once he's proven he can be trusted with a car (i.e., he doesn't have a wreck in the first 6 months), THEN part it out and get the Mazda3. I've known too many kids that wreck their first car within a few months (or less) of ownership*. If you already have the car for cheap, use it as a potentially disposable learning tool.


*I include myself in that group, btw. Totaled my '69 Bug within 3 months. It worked out though. I bought myself a '71 Mach 1 to replace it. Win!

[Rob®]

I have a 1990 roller that needs a few parts you have already, only 102k miles. Silver with black interior. The only rust is on the driver's rocker. Has a few aftermarket goodies on it. Trans included, but no clutch. $500 give or take.

/shameless plug

[AnthonyS]

I have a 1990 roller that needs a few parts you have already, only 102k miles. Silver with black interior. The only rust is on the driver's rocker. Has a few aftermarket goodies on it. Trans included, but no clutch. $500 give or take.

/shameless plug

Not at I remember reading about your car a month or so ago. May I come see it? I can CL the quota car if yours is nicer easily enough. Then I can swap the 1.8 parts over to it.

The 1.8 car is a TX car. The owner never replaced a busted rain rail. I've owned Miatas before. The rain rail is the only thing you need to watch and keep the drains clear....

Rob PM me more info and photos if possible. If its a nice silver roller i want it.

[OZMDD]

Now that sounds like a good plan.