So here is my story: I was in Afghanistan when I decided I wanted a light weight older production car that had to be rear wheel drive, 5spd, and had a history of great handling. Many cars crossed my mind to include a s2000 (out of price range) 1g dsm/2g dsm (power reasons) and many more. I remember when i was in highschool my buddy brought in his 91 red miata 5spd into autoshop class. I got to drive it and instantly fell for the lust of wanting one. Ya they lack power but hell, the fun of hitting the curves was the best part. I feel the lighter the car the more you get out of your power modifications, hence horsepower/wgt ratio. I first bought a 1989 supra 3.0l turbo 5spd for $2k, had 146k miles on and was in rough condition, and they are heavy as hell!!!. I bought a low mileage engine from japan (osakajdmmotors.com) for the supra and tore the head off, put a mls gasket on, arp's, minor port/polish, new ct26 yoda turbo upgrade and then joined the army and sold the car to my best friend chris, which he still has after 6yrs that i have seen the car since I am currently still active duty army 11B (Infantry). Anyways, I decided to start my passion back up after now being stationed here in ft hood, texas (well now being stateside) i now have access to clean cars in the local areas. I couldn't really do anything being stationed in Germany for my first 3yrs, although there were plenty of skylines and rhd evo's i could get for $10k, I even got to drive my platoon leaders r33 skyline, badass! anyway, now I am here in texas and found this 1990 miata 5spd with only 73k miles on it for $2k. It was owned my a doctor and driven everyday total of 4 miles to and from the hospital..lol. I feel that has to be a great find so i bought it just yesterday 20th of july 2012 (for people who read this thread yrs later, whatever). I have been researching the hell out of this car the past few months and what everyone has been doing to them and the results they get from them. I plan on the following modifications:

Engine
-Megasquirt DIYPNP
-GM IAT Sensor Kit/$29
-Innovative Wibeband O2
-Begi Exhaust Manifold
-Begi Turbo GT2854 or 16g (not sure yet)
-Begi Downpipe 3" MSteel
-Begi Oil/Water SS lines
-Begi Fuel Rail Kit
-DIY Intercooler Piping Kit
-Ebay Intercooler
-Ebay Oil Catch Can Kit
-Ebay DIY Intake
-Silicone Hose Kit
-Apexi Filter
-TurboXS BOV
-Walbro 190L Pump
-Fuel Pump Install Kit
-FPR
-Ebay MBC
-RC 440cc Injectors
-PNP Injector Clips
-DIY Water Injection Kit

Drivetrain Chassis
-FM Coilovers Full Kit
-Powersport Brake Kit
-SS Brake Line Kit
-SS Clutch Line Kit
-Fidanza Flywheel
-ACT 6 Puk Kevlar Clutch

Exterior
-XXR 522 Rims 15x8 black/polished
-Kumho Escta Tires 195/50R/15
-Front Lip Spoiler w/Rear Spoiler
-Fender Flares
-7" Headlight Angel Eye

Interior
-Momo Hub Adapter
-Momo Steering Wheel
-JDM used Seats
-Water Temp Gauge
-Oil Temp Gauge
-EGT Gauge
-Oil Pressure Gauge
-A/F Gauge
-Boost Gauge

probably missing some things but you get the idea of my route with this car.

Oh by the way, the funding for this car is going to be literally built with my own blood, donating plasma every month for $240/mo. the rest is left over army income.

I will also be buying carbonfiber and kevlar weave material and start molding my own parts, if they turn out good i will offer cheaper then retail price service for you guys, to include carbonfiber sleeved IC piping , this will be a while though.

So here is my pics of my find:


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My recommendation for power, Bypass the motor you have in it. find a 1.8 out of a 94-04 some 99-04 have a vvt head, others dont. the 1.8 is a better platform to build off of then the 1.6 that is in your car, and doesnt have the short nose crack issue. also the rear end in the 90-93 miatas are notoriously weak so be warned they can break under stock power.
For information on megasquirt and turbo check out our sister forum MiataTurbo.net

 

Super clean find! You have a nice platform to start with and am looking forward to seeing what you come up with. RTM above me is right though... I was lucky enough to scoop up a '94 Miata for really cheap and a friend of mine had a '99 Longblock sitting at work with a re-manufactured head that I bought off him for even cheaper. So once I get it back in the car it'll be rocking a preferred 1.8L combo, look into the swap it's damn near drop in!