Hey names Ivan!
I'm a Russian in the USA and always been lurking in the motorsport and car world, and now, I needed to buy myself a daily driver since my primary car is no longer street worthy (the 240sx) and I had a friend needing money and he was selling his Miata that was sitting around for a few months already, so I decided to pick it up!

It's a 1990 NA with about 200k on it.
The motor has been replaced with another 1.6 with approx 150k on it and had a new water pump, timing belt, and gaskets.
Only mods are aftermarket e-fans, Jackson racing Intake and exhaust header, with a custom exhaust (quiet and nice), and some Godspeed coilovers (honestly surprised how well they ride and go through corners, will eventually upgrade, so tips would be great!)
Also has a harddog roll bar, quite happy that it's there!
Car is in great condition other than the white bumper and fender, the car was in a parking lot incident so no structural damage.
Bushings and other parts of the car are in great condition and came with a new top so I cannot complain!

It came as a stanced daily/weekend car, but my goals are to use it as a daily and keep all my comforts intact.
I also want to improve the suspension and use it as a weekend road warrior and I would like to get into track events.

I have currently been involved in Drifting for the last 3 or so years, and 2013 was my first Pro-AM season so the car is no longer able to get me from point A to point B.

I live about 4 hours away from Deals Gap and cannot wait to go there once more but on the Miata this time!
Need to upgrade the brakes (these are worn out bad and warped) and possibly tires soon with a few paychecks.


So, enough of me talking, but if you got any questions, feel free to ask away!
And I'm pretty new to miata's, so if there are any known issues I should know about, or any tips on things I should do first to suspension since i would like to focus on handling and possibly add power later on (would be happy with 160hp haha)

First off, here's the reason why I cannot have nice things O.O



And here's my Miata









And here is the only picture of the engine bay so far, ignore the random T25's, I got this picture to prove that 2 turbos COULD fit into the engine bay haha




Looking forward to stealing all your miata secrets!

 

Welcome to the forum. I will get back to you with questions tomorrow because my laptop battery is dying.

 

Thanks!

And appreciate any tips and suggestions!

 

The 1.6 cars have very weak differentials that can fail under stock power so unless it has been swapped with a 1.8 unit already, don't pound on it. You will need the larger axleshafts too.

The 1.8 cars had bigger rotors and calipers that will just bolt on upgrade for your car.

Watch out for wobble in the front crank pulley as that can be a symptom of a larger problem.

 

Not sure if the diff is 1.6 or the 1.8 version, but seems to be in good shape.
Been beating on the car ever since I bought it. oops haha.
And motor has been swapped so It's pretty good, I'll check up on the crank pulley and other stuff and make sure it's fine.

So, would it be worth upgrading to the 1.8 brake parts?
my 1.6 parts seem to be doing the job pretty well.
Also, what size difference are the 1.6 brakes from the 1.8? I'll be purchasing new rotors and pads, so I might as well purchase the 1.8 ones and then pick up the 1.8 calipers later.
And are the rear calipers bigger as well in the rear on a 1.8?

 

I believe the pads are the same but the calipers are located further from the center to allow the larger rotors, but I'm not sure.

The rear rotors are different, but I don't know about the rear calipers. You might have to spend a few minutes in a parts catalog to figure it out.

 

Okay I see, thanks!

So pads are the same, and I'll try to do some research on the brakes.
It'll be a worth while upgrade I guess since I need new rotors and pads either way.