Bauer's NA8 "The Miata"

[Bauer]

Hi guys

I found my '94 NA8 about 30 minutes south of Hobart after seeing it advertised in the local rag. I made the call, asked her heaps of questions, negotiated a price, then I made the decision to go and have a look and embarked on the 2.5 hour drive to see it.
What I wanted was something cheap, after finances said I had to get something of equal or lesser value than my ute, and I picked 'The Miata' up for $6500. It needed a few things done to it to get it where I need it to be mechanically and I will be doing that over time. First stop was to be the battery which I sorted out tonight. It had a standard Century battery in it. So I dumped that out and gave the boot area a good wipe out with a damp hot sponge before fitting a more appropriate battery.

Overall it was in pretty good condition. It has done 215000kms with no record of the timing belt being changed at ~200000 so I will get that done soon (along with a new radiator). From the labels on the door sill, it looks like it began life in Qld as it has been tattooed by a Brisbane Mazda dealer with some pretty rugged (read - they aint coming off real easy) stickers.

So I took some pics to show what it is like as of today and I hope to show some updates as time goes by. It will take a while to get it where I want it but that is just the (financial) way it goes.

taken on the trip back to the northern (aka tropical) part of Tassie on the day I bought it


taken today when my daughter and I went for a run through some country roads

[Jeo]

Looks fairly clean and sounds like a good buy. Nicely done.

[93_Clubman]

Congrats - sounds like a good buy, especially in Tas where there are fewer NA8s.

[Steampunk]

$6,500?!?! woah, that is cheap-as! Congrats Stu!.
You may as well do the whole kit'n'kaboodle when you are doing the belts, ie. water pump, rocker cover gasket and associated o-rings, crank seal.
Also look into replacing your coolant hoses, especially the one that goes from the engine into the heater-core:
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=37859

That gearknob is looking a bit sorry.....

[Bauer]

That gearknob is looking a bit sorry.....

I will be sure to do some close up before and after shots. Then you will see how sorry the current gearknob is.

[Bauer]

Well I have spent a few $$$ lately as I fully expected and planned to do.

Gearknob, radiator, scuff plates, timing belt, waterpump etc

ASI radiator. Very happy with the service I received and how well it fit. Highly recommended.


The Skunk


Scuff plates. Shiny!


and on the car now I have a new (well new to me) set of wheels. Photos of how it looks will come soon. I like it though

[Hammer]

Whoa! The engine bay looks just like mine with that Cooling Pro radiator.

Nice find @ a great price.

[Bauer]

I spent some time today doing a few bits and pieces and I found out a little bit of history of my car. Useless information but interesting to me none the less

I pulled the console out to a) make sure it was both shifter boots that needed replacing. I assumed it was considering the previous owner was far from an enthusiast and b) to pull the tape deck out to make way for a new head unit.

While it was out I took the opportunity to fix the droop in the vents. All good now

When I pulled the tape deck out I found a laminated parking permit. It was for QMEC, 61 Mary Street. Knowing the car originated from Qld I used google maps and yes indeed, I found it. QMEC seems like a large Govt office so it doesnt tell me anything of a past owner but it was interesting to see where my car has been prior to making its way down to tassie.

[Bauer]

Went to Symmons Plains today to take a peek at the Shannons series

Was down at the fence taking a few piccies and when I looked back at the spectator mound I couldnt resist taking one of the MX-5

[Tezzax5]

Went to Symmons Plains today to take a peek at the Shannons series

Was down at the fence taking a few piccies and when I looked back at the spectator mound I couldnt resist taking one of the MX-5

Looks excellent,very very nice!!

[94 clubman perth]

Love the wheels, just what I want for mine! What's the make, size and offset?

[Bauer]

Love the wheels, just what I want for mine! What's the make, size and offset?

Chaparral Wheels, 15 x 7, 38mm offset and yeah they are great.

[94 clubman perth]

Very tasty, i'll be looking into those wheels.

Looks like you had clubman wheels on it when you bought it.

Neat engine bay, I reckon you did well. Tas is probably a bit like WA, good cars are few and far between and there seems a huge price gap between these prices and eastern states. When I was looking for mine I would look at the car sales sites over east and cry! You get it good over there!

Saw lots with the wrong battery and eaten out paint in the boot. Sponging out the boot is a good idea like you did, but take it a step further and get about a cup of hot water and a few table spoons of bi-carb soda (regular kitchen variety-cheap as) mix it together and pour it anywhere acid may have spilt from the previous battery, it will neutralise any acid (acid bubbles and goes blue/green ) then just wash it out. Works like magic and wont damage anything.

[trader]

From the ride hieght in that last pic looks like you've done some work on the suspension too!
Looking good.

[Bauer]

Playing around with the camera on my iPhone


The latest mod. My wife calls me an idiot. I call them military aviation awesomeness. They are valve caps that saw service on an RAAF AP-3C Orion


You may call it an Allen Key. I call it the bastard of a thing that was on the road that went through one of my Yokohama S-Drives.