GRM Buys World’s Grossest Miata May 24, 2005
It's a prize right up there with owning the ugliest dog or the smelliest sneakers. The world's rattiest Miata now lives with GRM. Look for photos of this $1200 prize to be posted soon. Just don't touch it unless you have had a tetanus shot. On the plus side, it does run and drive.
Another Miata convert May 25, 2005
Joe now has this totally gross Miata. It's really gross. We just picked it up this weekend, and he took it for his first "pleasure drive" last night. Today he came in and said he now realizes why some of us are so into these cars. That makes four Miata owners here on staff, with several others among the extended family. Bummer mine is currently blocked in by three other vehicles.
Our newest Miata May 31, 2005
We'll get to the why and what in a bit, but here is the World's Grossest Miata. And we own it. Lucky us.
We paid $1200 for this 1991 A-package car, and the goal is to keep the project low-buck. While the price was low, the car does run and drive fine. We discovered some rust on the package shelf today, but that didn't dampen our spirits.
Hey, Nice Rust! Sep 28, 2005
The Miata was designed to be a modern interpretation of a classic British sportscar. Well, shortly after purchase we found out that our little Rat was trying a little too hard to be a Brit. A little inspection showed that beneath the carpet on the parcel shelf was an abundance of good ol' fashioned, character building rust. Fortunately, the rust was pretty much contained on the bolt off panels used to access the fuel tank and filler pipe. A quick trip to BSI for extra panels cost only $25, and with a little help from Rustbullet, and a bit of seam sealer the car was once again rust free. While we were at it, we decided to replace the worn out old top with a newer one provided when we purchased the car.
Since we had a complete top mechanism we didn't have to mess with stretching new material over the frame, and the installation was a straightforward bolt-on affair. Removing the parcel shelf carpeting revealed the top mounting rails which are bolted to the body. After cleaning out all the misc. leaves, dirt, and other funky stuff that had collected there over the years, we decided it would be a good idea to give the rails themselves a sanding and painting as the corrosion had taken a foothold. Unfastening the top mounting bolts near the safety belt mounting points, and the rear bolts left the top free to be taken off, and the new one was installed. It fits nicely, and now as an added bonus, the driver can actually see out the rear window.
World’s Grossest Miata gets some body work. Mar 10, 2006
Well, it's been some time since we last reported on our little rat Miata. As you know, the car was gross, and had a bit of rust, but upon further digging we also discovered that the frame had been tweaked in the front end collision it suffered. We wanted to have the car straight, and not leaning to the right (we have lots of them liberals here at the office!) so we took it to the local auto technical college to have it lined back up. The college does good work for no charge, but the catch is you have to wait until they get to it. Fortunately, the process only took a couple of weeks, and we got our Miata back fixed and ready for the installation of the nosepiece, we found on E-Bay ($75), and our new (used) $100 fender that we found outside of Atlanta. Ken Gearin was nice enough to paint the pieces as a holiday gift, and soon our little rat was looking... well, a little less like a rodent, and more like a ugly dog, or duckling, but hey, she has a great personality! Ya see, the mounting brackets were mutilated in the wreck, so our panel gaps make a Saturn look like a Lexus! No worries, we can fix that later, now the sun is shining, and there is driving to do! We have even driven the little Rat in it's first competitive event, a rally cross down in Homestead FL. While we didn't come home with any trophies, the trusty little car drove the 5 hours down, and 5 hours back without any issues. The trip was made a little more pleasant by the new steering wheel sourced on e-bay ($40), and the Kenwood CD player with speakers ($100) that we got during a closeout sale at Best Buy. We also bit the bullet and changed the water pump, pulleys, and timing belt to make sure carefree motoring would be the rule of the day.
Soon we will be upgrading, or painting the wheels, and we are looking to cheaply improve the suspension. Stay tuned as the miles and smiles pile up!