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Is Miata always the answer?
I'm not going to lie to you guys, Adrian's Miata is not for the faint of heart. Solid motor mounts vibrate the entire chassis, and amplifies as you row through the gears. Driver's side airbag has been removed in place of a quick release steering wheel. Tires rub the metal fenders (when turned full lock) enough to make even a seasoned veteran of lowered cars cringe. The rear quarter panels have been cut to make clearance for wider wheels and tires. Basic amenities such as heat, air conditioning and power steering? Gone...because race car.
Yet, I can't keep myself away from this car.
Right from the beginning, all of us knew this was going to be far from a typical inexpensive Miata build. The rear quarter panels had been cut to fit the fender flares seen above, however they were not included in the purchase, and they had been cut pretty asymmetrical, by almost a whole inch. In what seemed like only a few weeks, the motor was already being pulled by the whole Limitless crew to drop in a fresh Japanese 1.8 liter BP engine due to a head gasket failure. However, just 3,000 miles later the new engine was coming back out due to crank bearing failure and the connecting rods starting to knock. Luckily, Adrian had the stock engine fully rebuilt and (knock on wood) the car has been running like a champ ever since. The front fenders were buckled pretty bad at the edge, and it even ended up putting the nail in the coffin for my fender roller. However, Adrian is no quitter, and has stuck with this little beast for a year and a half now, and even though he's only been able to drive it for seven months total, it's come to be quite the canyon carver.
Although I do give Adrian quite a bit of shit with the typical Miata remarks, this thing is no joke. In the canyons (of Mexico, obviously), this car keeps up with me without even breaking a sweat. Although this car may only be making roughly 130 horsepower to the wheels, the car only weighs 2100 lbs, which really helps to balance it out. Maybe a good bit of it is the driver mod, but the speed Adrian is able to carry through corners is pretty ridiculous.
One of my favorite details of the car is the "sleepy eye" LED headlights as shown above...
...and also, take a look at how well those Autometer gauges fit in place of the factory A/C vents!
One thing I can guarantee, is that the Miata is a sports car done right. I love "pure" sports cars, and the Miata just checks all the right boxes. 1.8 Liters of fury? Check. 5 Speed manual transmission? Check. Convertible top? Check. Lighter than almost anything else on the road? Check. 50/50 weight distribution? Check. Heated seats, leather interior, touch screen head unit, or oversized wheels? Not a chance. This car is about having fun and being one with the car and the road. You feel every bump in the road, not because of poor engineering, but because you're supposed to feel them. I love simplistic sports cars, and the first gen Miata has been one of the best I've driven to date.
I just felt I should add right now that no, in a straight line this car is not fast. But that's not what the Miata is meant for! I feel that all too often, people are more concerned with bench racing, rather than actually getting out there and pushing their cars. 1000 horsepower won't help those who can't handle 100 horsepower. Like the FR-S/BRZ twins, S2000's, Mini Coopers, Civics, etc... these cars are momentum cars. You need to keep them at 100% through corners, but when it's there, the result is oh so rewarding.
Adrian's Miata sitting proper on a set of 15x9 wheels, coilovers, and Hankook Ventus V2 Tires.
As of right now, Adrian's future plans with the performance aspect of the build consists of using some form of CARB legal forced induction (supercharger or turbocharger is still up in the air), new bushings, sway bars, end links, and coilovers. As for the interior, a new steering wheel, tighter bucket seats, more gauges and a 6 point roll cage are currently in the works. Oh, and did I mention widening the body via a Rocket Bunny widebody kit and a meaty tire setup? Finally, (Adrian's words, not mine) after blowing up the F/I motor, Adrian plans on utilizing either a 13B-REW rotary engine swap from the FD3S RX-7, or an SR20DET from the Japanese Nissan 240sx.
All in all, would most consider Adrian's Miata "sketchy"? Yeah. But the fun is more than enough to overcome the fear, and to be completely honest, every time I see this car it gets more and more sorted.
Modification List:
-Fully rebuilt 1.8L BP motor
-Ported & polished cylinder head
-Raceland long tube header
-Raceland coilovers
-Fab9tuning solid motor mounts
-A/C delete
-Power steering delete
-Autometer water temperature gauge
-Autometer oil pressure gauge
-Quick release steering wheel
-NRG steering wheel hub
-MST (TE37 replica) 15x8 +0 wheels wrapped in 205/50r15 Hankook Ventus V2 tires
-XXR 15x8 +0 (front) 15x9 +0 (rear) wrapped in 205/50r15 Federal 595 RS-RR
Gallery
