Just bought my first Japanese car. ('96 Miata)

[deadken]

I'm 46 and have worked as an automechanic for over a decade (almost 20 years ago). I've driven many a car and owned quite a few as well. But, I've never owned a Japanese car. Sure, I used other peoples Japanese cars for extended periods, but somehow, I've never owned one. Until this week.

I've been looking for a Miata, MR2, 1980-83 BMW 320i/is, or RWD Volvo turbo for over a month. I've seen a lot of cars, but none that were what I was looking for (a good car at a good price). Finally, I ended up buying a 1996 Mazda Miata and am supposed to pick it up tomorrow (had to switch plates / insurance / registration). I wanted something pretty simple, rugged, reliable, and affordable. Here is what I got:
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detai...gId=128828670&tracktype=usedcc&aff=national#0

Right now, the biggest problems I know of are:

A coolant leak which could be as bad as a head gasket (leaking externally), but might be a water pump. I haven't looked very close, I just assumed the worst case scenario and offered a price that reflects that.

It's an Automatic, but I'm supposed to pick up everything I need for a manual swap for $400 on Sat or Sun. When I do the trans swap, I'll likely be installing a set of FM Frame rails (butterfly brace might come later).

Yes, it has about 190k on the clock, but that isn't a big concern with these cars / engines. So, the plan is to get it tomorrow, fix the coolant leak (hopefully, just a water pump / timing belt replacement) and use the car until the weather gets nicer. Then, do the trans swap and frame rail re-enforcement.

Suggestions and comments always welcome (including some ribbing)

 

[Crono]

I'm not a big car guy but I love Miatas. Would love to get one eventually if I don't get a Elise or (ideally, in my dreams) an Exige first. Congrats. 🙂

 

[yhelothar]

Coolant leaks on the Miata is usually due to worn hoses, and for a 96 car, the hoses are definitely due for a replacement if they haven't been replaced yet.
If it's leaking from the water pump, this would leak from the front of the engine. You'll see it drip down by the crank pulley. However, the water pump is a very simple design and is known to be very reliable on the Miata.

You could buy the full set of OEM hoses here. http://parts.arlingtonmazda.com/products/COOLANT-HOSE-KIT-(PKMIAD1005).html

 

[natto fire]

Heh, I am kind of the opposite in that my first 10 years of driving I only owned Japanese cars. Have never owned a Mazda but several Toyotas and Honda/Acura cars. My first American vehicle was Jeep.

I always liked Miatas for the purist aspect, but found out when I worked at a salvage yard that the more affordable generations were way too small for my 6'4" body.

Good luck on the trans. swap. I did my fair share of OBD conversions on Hondas and caught flak for that in real life (not posting to forums at that point) but I never did a trans swap considering there were so many unmolested Hondas at this point before the the ricer craze took over back in early 2000.

An MR2 was always on my short list too, but I never acquired enough funds to translate the work I was doing to the car I wanted.

Did some SCCA Solo II in my Integra, and the Miatas would clean up their classes which made me want some RWD magic all the more. My first car was an '84 Cressida, but I was stuck with FWD for a long time after that car succumbed to oil starvation.

Depending on what your ideas are for the car, I would personally go for power adding and good tires before anything else. It might seem like a good deal to get struts and chassis stiffening mods, but in my opinion you should learn how to handle such a brilliant chassis first, and then get your power mods before finally improving handling.

That era especially can benefit from some more torque, which a turbo will happily give it to spank cars costing quite a bit more.

Good luck on the trans swap, I always tried to avoid that work because of the expense when non automatic examples could be had for the same price or less depending on the car.

 

[deadken]

Thanks for the comments. I had a belt and hoses kit from Flying Miata in my 'shopping cart'. At $159, I was considering just getting the parts local. But, the link given for the Arlington Mazda kit shows a 9 hoses for $60 less. The thing is that the FM kit has a silicone lower hose that is supposed to eliminate the 2-piece lower hose. Decisions, decisions...

Frankly, I haven't looked for the coolant leak yet. I'll look into it closely after I actually take possession of the car. I figure I'm not terribly worried about doing a head gasket, but certainly I'd be very happy if it just ended up being a water pump since I planned on doing a timing belt / water pump change to the car pretty soon.

The reason I figuring to add the frame rails so soon is that I imagine it'd be a lot easier if I do it when the transmission is out and the car on my buddies lift. I don't see the sense in driving the car for a while and then installing the frame braces later when the parts are 'only' $159 and the car will be on a lift with the trans out. I understand what you are suggesting with getting to know the car first, but I think I'll take the simple road. Heck, it is very possible that I'll be doing the transmission swap in the springtime. By then, I should have an idea of how the car is without them (of course, providing we have a couple of clear dry days this winter).

Trust me, after a month of looking I took this car because of its condition and value. I figure $400 and a few hours of work and I'll be way ahead of the other Miata's that I've seen listed for sale over the last month. With any luck, I'll put in a weekends worth of work with the car on my buddies lift. At $1,800 for the car, $400 for the transmission, and probably close to $800 in parts (new clutch, timing belt, water pump, maybe even the head gasket) I'll be in for a total of $3k. I'm pretty sure I could get that back reasonably quickly with all of the receipts (the car is black and comes with a hardtop (hardtops sell for around $1k alone)).

I don't want to do performance mods anytime soon. I can't see going with a turbo or supercharger. Maybe eventually a full exhaust ($1k and over 10HP according to FM), perhaps a 1999+ head and intake (almost another 10HP) later down the road, but right now I don't see going nuts with this. For now, I like the idea of simple and reliable. I have other project cars for going overboard with.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2267986

 

[thedarkwolf]

The radiators tend to go if it hasn't already been replaced.

I've had a heater hose blow on me which is a bit of a PITA to change, not a lot of room on the back of the head.

These cars have a water cooled oil cooler on them and if those hoses haven't been replaced it could be one of those. With them you get both the joy of working in the tight area on the back of the head and the really tight area around the oil filter. There is a brace running from the intake to the block you can remove and leave off that makes things easier. I just by passed the oil cooler on mine for a long time till I felt like working on it.

 

[deadken]

Thanks for the information. I neglected to mention that the seller stated that the radiator was just changed. I'm thinking of ordering one of those complete hose kits and just changing everything. I won't decide which one I order until I get the car home and take a look at that lower radiator hose. Then I'll decide whether to get the Flying Miata kit or the one from Arlington Mazda.