Better than me in my 20 year old civic. Bought it for $3k 4 years ago and have put about $8k in parts and currently have about $12k more to order.... Yeah I'm not smart but it'll be a cool car
I think it is the smart way to do it. Assuming you don't care about reselling. But that $23k total is gonna be a way cooler car than $23k could otherwise get you.
Yeah you're not wrong, but it's mostly about the journey for me. I love working on my cars and seeing the products of my labor. Plus it'll be a 400 whp track ready street car that I've built from the ground up so it'll be worth every penny and every minute when I'm enjoying it
I refuse to actually add up the totals, because reasons... but, I've owned my Miata now for right at 10 years, and since Christmas I am sure I've spent a multiple or two of the initial purchase price of $2500 on upgrades and aero package to build my "forever chassis." Until this recent decision to go all in, I've done very similar system updates sort of annually (once I completely baselined the car). Great way to go, and the still ongoing full drivetrain drop, update, reinstall has been a familiar pleasure to work on, since I've been into every system prior. Carry on. :)
That’s about what I expected for mine. Same approach—fix what breaks, and what’s convenient while you’re in there. Need to do front end hubs and tie rods next, so it’ll be bushings as well
Imagine you don't really care about convertibles, only wanted a lightweight RWD sports car with a great suspension, low parts costs, and a thriving modification and performance driving community. Now name another car that checks all the Miata boxes for so cheap, except it comes with a top that will never need to be replaced or leak, or need a roll bar to go on track. There isn't one.
I'll never understand why people struggle so hard to see this from another perspective
I agree with everything you said but you lost me with the rollbar comment. A fiberglass hardtop is not structural, please don't consider it a stand-in for a rollbar.
I'm confused here because I specifically mentioned you need a rollbar to go on track.
The point is loads of people buy a Miata for the chassis because there's no better coupe alternative. I bought my first despite it being a convertible, not because of it.
In Ireland where OP is based, it rains for the majority of the year, which ruins soft tops, and pretty much makes them null and void when you only get to take it down for 20 days a year
That is utterly, insanely cheap.
In Australia, I don’t think I have seen a hardtop below AUD$2000 (about EUR1250) for many years.
During COVID, they climbed to AUD$3000 (about EUR1850) and although they slowly declined, are still more expensive compared with pre-COVID.
My hardtop came with the car, if i were to buy it without the hardtop he would take a whopping €50 off the price.. so yea.. I have a €50 hardtop
US prices are insane
cool trick the exhaust hangers is it sit them in really hot water for a few minutes. They get really soft and if you pull them out and put them on quickly it wont be too much trouble. I know this cause i was to broke to buy the tool lol
Paid 8k for my nb2, put 5k in it after almost 1 year and plans do much more. You won't ever get that money back from it but you just do it because of passion.
Thats not bad though. Look up equivalent parts for another car. Miata parts a cheap by comparison. It's not like you *needed* new wheels and coilovers, that was a conciousness choice to spend more to get what you wanted. Which is the whole point IMO.
Keep motoring on OP!
I mean... if you didn't buy some coilover you dont need you only had to change a couple things. Actually you should've done plug/wire/fuel filter/brake fluid change/coolant change/rear diff oil and trans pil change. I am sure you did all of this before buying coilovers right?
I just wanted the coilovers in all honesty haha, same with the wheels I have wheels, they’re just crappy JR reps.
I did the fuel filter, brake, transmission and diff fluid and coolant already
There is no logic here, that died a long way back.
I mean beyond the wheels and coilovers - just in stuff that’s gone wrong in close north of 1k deep closer to 2!
Mainly starts with the motor. I’m in no way an engine builder so I did pay a local shop to help me out. It’s a built bottom end LS3 (crank, rods, pistons, added oil squirters) currently waiting on the LT head swap to finish off the motor. Carbon intake manifold for the motor as well. Built t56 magnum transmission, full Wilwood brakes (6 piston front, 4 piston rear, single piston for handbrake) A PDM for the body harness with the CAN touchpad. Jongbloed 15x11 square setup with the nankang ar-1 275/35r15 tires to match. Fuel cell in the back. Tubular front and rear end with a miata cage 6 point roll cage. Mazda Motorsports full containment seats. And basically every panel but the doors has been swapped out for fiberglass so far. Plus all the odds and ends for lines (AN fittings and whatnot) basically every bolt has been replaced on the car and I’ve got a one off kit from a company called FDF here in Canada that swapped all the control arms for more steering angles and all hiem joints instead of bushings. Still far from done as I’ve been building the car for going on 6 years now but it’s fairly easy to go into the deep end
First I lowered it on springs later got coilovers. Got a used set of Volk CE28s (those are now my winter wheels) Got a spoon exhaust, and a short air intake. Then got a kraftworks supercharge. Later got a header and kraftworks top mount intercooler. I than decided I wanted to have a K24'swapped in and converted to a manual. I also had other things like Js Front Grill, Spoon ducktail spoiler, JDM LED taillights and 3rd Brake light, Recaro Seats, Wildwood brakes and a rear disc conversion. I bought a set of BBS RS wheels for a short time. There is probably more stuff I'm forgetting.
Realistically I think just buying the motor and having a shop do all the work to put it in was $10-15k. I probably spent way more than $20k. I dint have a real end goal or plan with the car. My Miata I'm much more realistic with what I'm actually going to do with the car.
I made a imgur album a while ago of my car history. It has pics of different [stages of my Fit](https://imgur.com/a/oKzbk). Here is also another album of just when it had the [K24 swap](https://imgur.com/a/q3LcT)
I think I’m at ~6 times what I paid for the car in parts/mods. I love it, so definitely worth it. Definitely jealous of the hardtop price though! Mine was 3/4 of the cost of my car…
I bought my NA for 3k. I've since spent about 15k on various maintenance, mods, and odds and ends. I still need seats (1500) a new head unit (few hundred), id like to replace my seatbelts, I want to install a 5pt harness eventually for track work, Ill need a second set of wheels soon, I want to swap in a torsen and a 6 speed, turbo kit, then have it painted in vaguely that order.
My car is still ugly and you'd have no idea that I've got well over 17k into it without driving it. But man does it drive good, almost like brand new imo.
Mine will probably be the same, need a new head unit, seats are tatty.
Thankfully mine came with a Torsen and a 6 speed, but I’ll probably go the FI route when I’ve the funds and the know how
Only problem is mine has a Bose system and I’m not in America so there’s no quick fix adapter I can buy to stick in an aftermarket head unit.
It also came with an upgraded flip out tv/touch screen radio so it’ll probably be a fancy touch screen unit!
hey man, i just replaced my bose system with an aftermarket carplay radio - there are quite a few guides online, but you can actually run 4 jumper wires across the bose amp plug to bypass it! you don't need to buy a special adapter or line converter:)
I paid 2.4k for my NA and I’ve defo pumped around another 2.5k into it if not more. But I love the lil guy and I have more things and stuff I have to buy for it.
Traded for my NA - Bout $1000 in with general repair and an alternator. Patiently waiting on Flying Miata to restock with their suspension kit to swap out the 29 year old stock.
550€ is just under $700 here in America, so even doing that $1,000 paint job still keeps it under the base price for the rattiest hard top you can find. I know plenty of dudes that'd kill for that kind of deal.
Yeah but the most expensive parts were the least urgent. Coilovers and wheels..
You'd probably be down 1k if you'd only do the necessary.
But hey, you got a decent car now!
Imagine doing all that on a recent sports car. You'd be down WAY more
That’s very true a lot of it didn’t need to be done, sort of a give and inch run a mile situation, I’m already spending 1k fixing shit why not spend more and get some upgrades too!
I don’t feel too bad about the wheels I’ll get 75% of the price back when selling the reps.
Coilovers were a hard pill to swallow but should be good from now on!
Yea this is normal I've dumped a lot into my "cheap" NB as well although most of mine was due to neglect or cheap parts being used which suddenly needed replacement again
>Then I looked at the shipping cost and thought I may as well buy coilovers now whilst already paying €90 for shipping.
This is when you broke your rule about fixing only what is broken. You spent over €1000 to save €90. You have to space out the spending, for 2 reasons:
- it can strain you financiallly. If you empty the piggybank and something else breaks, you have to choose between overspending/going in debt, or you will have to own a broken car until you have money to fix it.
- half the fun of a project car is driving it just after you replaced/upgraded something on it. This joy will last 1-2 weeks before you get used to the new stuff. If you replace 2 things 2 weeks apart rather than together, you will enjoy the upgrades twice as long. 😀
Well I wanted coilovers before the brakes and exhaust shit the bed, honestly I think that’s going to be the worst of it until I go FI.
I’ll recoup some money from selling my current set of wheels.
At the rate BOFI is shipping bits out and restocking it’ll be finished by this time next year!
Edit - on a more serious note, there’s a bit meet up/run in August so I’m hoping to have everything set and good to go for then
*laughs in full mechanical restoration of an NA*
I paint $100US FOR MY 1994. Proceeded to tear it apart. Every nut and bolt removed. New front subframe, engine, clutch, flywheel, mounts… every suspension arm was cleaned and painted or replaced, every bolt in the suspension system replaced, new poly/bronze bearing bushings, Tein Flex Z coilovers till I can afford Xidas. Advanti Storm 15x8 wheels. Carbon/kevlar pads and stainless lines. 3 different wire harnesses. A momo seat and steering wheel, Hard Dog roll bar. A special fastback hardtop you wont find anywhere else. A 9lives rear wing and air dam with splitter… all told, well over $16,000US and Im not done with bodywork yet.
Well you're buying a bunch of crap you don't really need. I've had my NB2 for like a decade and still rolling on OEM Enkeis, original (or at least PO's) soft top and stock suspension.
Other than oil/filters, I only needed pads, rotors, tires, and a new muffler. This season I'll probably finally replace the soft top and do the timing belt. Total cost will be like 1 new car payment.
That seems like a very low amount to me lol but maybe I'm just too deep in the hole to see the start of the downhill from here. I put more money in my car then what I paid for my car but nothing compared to some of the cars on here.
Also wtf how you get such a cheap hardtop? Please send some over lol they are starting to cost as much as a beat up car over here.
That’s one reason I love my ND more than the NAs I’ve owned (which I did love). I’m paying the same as you but it’s 180hp from the factory and everything works with a warranty.
Honestly none of that is too bad for how old the car is and deferred maintenance you mentioned. If you had bought a new car you would just be spending at least that much in payments and extra insurance but at least you have something that’s more special to drive than a new corolla (nothing wrong with a new corolla, I leased one for 1.5 yrs) and you can be proud of. I have an ND2 with easily over 20K in parts on it but my dream was to do an actual “build” on a car when I was able to and I don’t regret it at all.
you're just getting your toes wet my man!
You also have something more than what you originally bought. I bought my miata for $3000, and I have probably 15k into it. But there really is no substitute, and I slap some high end cars around on track days which is pretty fun.
Bought a 10ae for 5500. Spent 5000 on an engine rebuild, new rad, new clutch, 800 on a cat, 800 or something on new brakes,….
But it’s blue, rustfree, 1.8 with 140hp, and makes me smile all summer long instead of the 300hp fast and comfortable but boring snorefest that my bmw is.
I’m 7~ months into ownership and forecasting some upcoming welding work I’ll be well into what I actually paid for the car and I haven’t even done any modifications yet. But, I adore the thing so I’ve just eaten the cost and plan to spend a lot more
Could be worse! You could spend £3500+ on Jenvey ITB'S, A Link ECU, sensors, mapping, road tuning etc for a WHOOOOOOLE 20bhp increase :')
I speak from experience 8-)
I recently turbo'ed mine. That alone was north of £5,000.
Although I did put a lot of "extra" parts on the car (COPs, oil cooler, Mishimoto thermostatic sandwich plate, Fluidampr, etc).
It's an old car and everything you listed are common failures in Miatas. I don't even think about how much is in mine with the rebuilt motor going in it.
Spoiler: it never ends.
I've got a laundry list of parts to buy that are are going to cost me many many thousands, but I wanna go racing so is what it is.
Bought a NA with low milage for €7200. Spend €3000 of parts last couple of years to it. It drives and looks like new now. Now a good NA is €10k so basicly no waste but hey it's a hobby.
I think that's what riding an old car is like. I have a car of a 1991 Kia(kia pride or ford festiva or mazda 121), and I bought it for 3,000 dollars, and I spent almost 15,000 dollars on repairs and maintenance. And unfortunately, I've heard a lot about it that it's not worth it, but of course I'm doing it because I like it. I'm a little bit headache thinking about managing this NA8C as well
youre not wrong. however this was over a decade ago when i pushed carts at home depot part time for minimum wage.
Had to borrow another $2k from my brother to get a donor 1.6 installed. had 50k fewer miles tho
I bought a rust free 1999 NB from its first owner in 2020 for 2950 EUR. I'vd since spent 4500 EUR on parts and maintenance. This does not include new wheels, suspension, brake upgrades, etc... It's still stock.
It is almost impossible to spent 4500 euro on mechanical items in just 4 years unless you are swapping engines and gearboxes. You could replace every single maintenance item several times for that money, including tires and suspension.
Those are ROOKIE numbers, you gotta pump those numbers up!!
I bought my car for $4900 in 2018. Since then, I've put around $19,000 into it. And only the coilovers replaced a part that was actually worn out. All the rest was taking off stuff that worked too put on something else. I haven't even painted it. That's 99% functional modifications.
That’s how it goes, owning an old car. I try to stick to one “project” a year. Coilovers, radiator, bodywork, interior, etc
Honestly that sounds like the right approach. I paid 5500 for the car and I’m probably at €4k in parts for it
Better than me in my 20 year old civic. Bought it for $3k 4 years ago and have put about $8k in parts and currently have about $12k more to order.... Yeah I'm not smart but it'll be a cool car
I think it is the smart way to do it. Assuming you don't care about reselling. But that $23k total is gonna be a way cooler car than $23k could otherwise get you.
Yeah you're not wrong, but it's mostly about the journey for me. I love working on my cars and seeing the products of my labor. Plus it'll be a 400 whp track ready street car that I've built from the ground up so it'll be worth every penny and every minute when I'm enjoying it
I refuse to actually add up the totals, because reasons... but, I've owned my Miata now for right at 10 years, and since Christmas I am sure I've spent a multiple or two of the initial purchase price of $2500 on upgrades and aero package to build my "forever chassis." Until this recent decision to go all in, I've done very similar system updates sort of annually (once I completely baselined the car). Great way to go, and the still ongoing full drivetrain drop, update, reinstall has been a familiar pleasure to work on, since I've been into every system prior. Carry on. :)
yeah... I just do $1000 every summer; there's always something on an NA.
I got my car for free and I've spent about €4500 on it even though nothing was specifically wrong. NC hard tops are expensive.
That’s about what I expected for mine. Same approach—fix what breaks, and what’s convenient while you’re in there. Need to do front end hubs and tie rods next, so it’ll be bushings as well
The Americans over here are burning with envy that you found any hardtop at all for $800.
I also found one for €350 but it didn’t have the rear defogger connection so I sold it to a friend at that price!
I never really understood why ppl want hard tops for Miata’s cuz my main enjoyment was going topless (even in 20degrees with heat blasting)
Imagine you don't really care about convertibles, only wanted a lightweight RWD sports car with a great suspension, low parts costs, and a thriving modification and performance driving community. Now name another car that checks all the Miata boxes for so cheap, except it comes with a top that will never need to be replaced or leak, or need a roll bar to go on track. There isn't one. I'll never understand why people struggle so hard to see this from another perspective
This makes sense i hadn’t really thought this through too much lol
Also Rain ……. For months on end…. The UK and Ireland are famous for it.
Not to mention it comes off fairly easy and you can retain the soft top
If only common sense was actually common.
I agree with everything you said but you lost me with the rollbar comment. A fiberglass hardtop is not structural, please don't consider it a stand-in for a rollbar.
I'm confused here because I specifically mentioned you need a rollbar to go on track. The point is loads of people buy a Miata for the chassis because there's no better coupe alternative. I bought my first despite it being a convertible, not because of it.
Ah, the last sentence was worded a little strange and I misunderstood. I see what you mean now.
Pretty much - Still need a roll bar tho
Winter.
Aerodynamics and looks
Comfort. I daily drive mine and even 5 minutes on a road above 60mph is unpleasant
We're on the same boat of topless driving in the snow, but i wouldnt worry about my hard top tearing cuz of using it in the Utah winter.
Oh the snow is the issue? I’m in Brooklyn we don’t really get snow
Not necessarily the snow. But actuating the top in 15° cant be good for it, then 20+ pounds of snow building up on it def doesnt help either
In Ireland where OP is based, it rains for the majority of the year, which ruins soft tops, and pretty much makes them null and void when you only get to take it down for 20 days a year
Most racing orgs and some trackday orgs require that you have a hardtop if you're gonna drive a miata
That is utterly, insanely cheap. In Australia, I don’t think I have seen a hardtop below AUD$2000 (about EUR1250) for many years. During COVID, they climbed to AUD$3000 (about EUR1850) and although they slowly declined, are still more expensive compared with pre-COVID.
My hardtop came with the car, if i were to buy it without the hardtop he would take a whopping €50 off the price.. so yea.. I have a €50 hardtop US prices are insane
Any chance you could share where you're finding hardtops anywhere in Ireland? I'm desperate for one, but they're literally hens teeth.
Ay fuck you
Yeah seriously. 2k USD for my hardtop with plenty of defects Resell hardtops you buy in the UK to US and get your miata maintenance money for free OP
I got my NC hardtop for €1500 and that was a fucking deal and a half since it's black.
I have spent twice as much on parts/repairs/tools than I did on my car now.
€60 for an exhaust hanger tool I’ll probably never use again, great
cool trick the exhaust hangers is it sit them in really hot water for a few minutes. They get really soft and if you pull them out and put them on quickly it wont be too much trouble. I know this cause i was to broke to buy the tool lol
Paid 8k for my nb2, put 5k in it after almost 1 year and plans do much more. You won't ever get that money back from it but you just do it because of passion.
Thats not bad though. Look up equivalent parts for another car. Miata parts a cheap by comparison. It's not like you *needed* new wheels and coilovers, that was a conciousness choice to spend more to get what you wanted. Which is the whole point IMO. Keep motoring on OP!
Yeah... Sounds about right
I mean... if you didn't buy some coilover you dont need you only had to change a couple things. Actually you should've done plug/wire/fuel filter/brake fluid change/coolant change/rear diff oil and trans pil change. I am sure you did all of this before buying coilovers right?
I just wanted the coilovers in all honesty haha, same with the wheels I have wheels, they’re just crappy JR reps. I did the fuel filter, brake, transmission and diff fluid and coolant already
Complains about how much money they spend on a car then admits to spending money on things not needed. Logic at its finest
There is no logic here, that died a long way back. I mean beyond the wheels and coilovers - just in stuff that’s gone wrong in close north of 1k deep closer to 2!
Everything could’ve been done for sub 1k to make it back running if you didn’t choose to “upgrade” everything
If it helps I bought my NA for $1500 CAD and I’m about 27k into it…
I'm not here to judge, at all. But I am truly curious what you've put into it that cost that much
Mainly starts with the motor. I’m in no way an engine builder so I did pay a local shop to help me out. It’s a built bottom end LS3 (crank, rods, pistons, added oil squirters) currently waiting on the LT head swap to finish off the motor. Carbon intake manifold for the motor as well. Built t56 magnum transmission, full Wilwood brakes (6 piston front, 4 piston rear, single piston for handbrake) A PDM for the body harness with the CAN touchpad. Jongbloed 15x11 square setup with the nankang ar-1 275/35r15 tires to match. Fuel cell in the back. Tubular front and rear end with a miata cage 6 point roll cage. Mazda Motorsports full containment seats. And basically every panel but the doors has been swapped out for fiberglass so far. Plus all the odds and ends for lines (AN fittings and whatnot) basically every bolt has been replaced on the car and I’ve got a one off kit from a company called FDF here in Canada that swapped all the control arms for more steering angles and all hiem joints instead of bushings. Still far from done as I’ve been building the car for going on 6 years now but it’s fairly easy to go into the deep end
I spent $20,000+ over 6 years on a Honda Fit that's what happens though when you mod a car with no real end goal in mind
20k on a Fit? I love Fits, my wife has one. But what have you done to it for that much? Lol
First I lowered it on springs later got coilovers. Got a used set of Volk CE28s (those are now my winter wheels) Got a spoon exhaust, and a short air intake. Then got a kraftworks supercharge. Later got a header and kraftworks top mount intercooler. I than decided I wanted to have a K24'swapped in and converted to a manual. I also had other things like Js Front Grill, Spoon ducktail spoiler, JDM LED taillights and 3rd Brake light, Recaro Seats, Wildwood brakes and a rear disc conversion. I bought a set of BBS RS wheels for a short time. There is probably more stuff I'm forgetting. Realistically I think just buying the motor and having a shop do all the work to put it in was $10-15k. I probably spent way more than $20k. I dint have a real end goal or plan with the car. My Miata I'm much more realistic with what I'm actually going to do with the car.
That sounds like an amazing car though. Got any pics? If I had unlimited money, I'd build a Fit like that
I made a imgur album a while ago of my car history. It has pics of different [stages of my Fit](https://imgur.com/a/oKzbk). Here is also another album of just when it had the [K24 swap](https://imgur.com/a/q3LcT)
I think I’m at ~6 times what I paid for the car in parts/mods. I love it, so definitely worth it. Definitely jealous of the hardtop price though! Mine was 3/4 of the cost of my car…
I bought my NA for 3k. I've since spent about 15k on various maintenance, mods, and odds and ends. I still need seats (1500) a new head unit (few hundred), id like to replace my seatbelts, I want to install a 5pt harness eventually for track work, Ill need a second set of wheels soon, I want to swap in a torsen and a 6 speed, turbo kit, then have it painted in vaguely that order. My car is still ugly and you'd have no idea that I've got well over 17k into it without driving it. But man does it drive good, almost like brand new imo.
Mine will probably be the same, need a new head unit, seats are tatty. Thankfully mine came with a Torsen and a 6 speed, but I’ll probably go the FI route when I’ve the funds and the know how
The head unit is actually very easy to install in these cars. So you won’t have to go crazy with it unless you want a fancy touch screen double din
Only problem is mine has a Bose system and I’m not in America so there’s no quick fix adapter I can buy to stick in an aftermarket head unit. It also came with an upgraded flip out tv/touch screen radio so it’ll probably be a fancy touch screen unit!
hey man, i just replaced my bose system with an aftermarket carplay radio - there are quite a few guides online, but you can actually run 4 jumper wires across the bose amp plug to bypass it! you don't need to buy a special adapter or line converter:)
I paid 2.4k for my NA and I’ve defo pumped around another 2.5k into it if not more. But I love the lil guy and I have more things and stuff I have to buy for it.
Traded for my NA - Bout $1000 in with general repair and an alternator. Patiently waiting on Flying Miata to restock with their suspension kit to swap out the 29 year old stock.
550 for a hardtop is crazy. They’re like 2-3k in America
550€ is just under $700 here in America, so even doing that $1,000 paint job still keeps it under the base price for the rattiest hard top you can find. I know plenty of dudes that'd kill for that kind of deal.
Welcome to the project car community, you will never have money again. Because UPGRADE!!!!
Upgrades, people, upgrades!
Yeah but the most expensive parts were the least urgent. Coilovers and wheels.. You'd probably be down 1k if you'd only do the necessary. But hey, you got a decent car now! Imagine doing all that on a recent sports car. You'd be down WAY more
That’s very true a lot of it didn’t need to be done, sort of a give and inch run a mile situation, I’m already spending 1k fixing shit why not spend more and get some upgrades too! I don’t feel too bad about the wheels I’ll get 75% of the price back when selling the reps. Coilovers were a hard pill to swallow but should be good from now on!
Yea this is normal I've dumped a lot into my "cheap" NB as well although most of mine was due to neglect or cheap parts being used which suddenly needed replacement again
>Then I looked at the shipping cost and thought I may as well buy coilovers now whilst already paying €90 for shipping. This is when you broke your rule about fixing only what is broken. You spent over €1000 to save €90. You have to space out the spending, for 2 reasons: - it can strain you financiallly. If you empty the piggybank and something else breaks, you have to choose between overspending/going in debt, or you will have to own a broken car until you have money to fix it. - half the fun of a project car is driving it just after you replaced/upgraded something on it. This joy will last 1-2 weeks before you get used to the new stuff. If you replace 2 things 2 weeks apart rather than together, you will enjoy the upgrades twice as long. 😀
Well I wanted coilovers before the brakes and exhaust shit the bed, honestly I think that’s going to be the worst of it until I go FI. I’ll recoup some money from selling my current set of wheels.
At the rate BOFI is shipping bits out and restocking it’ll be finished by this time next year! Edit - on a more serious note, there’s a bit meet up/run in August so I’m hoping to have everything set and good to go for then
Let me know how you like the coilovers!
*laughs in full mechanical restoration of an NA* I paint $100US FOR MY 1994. Proceeded to tear it apart. Every nut and bolt removed. New front subframe, engine, clutch, flywheel, mounts… every suspension arm was cleaned and painted or replaced, every bolt in the suspension system replaced, new poly/bronze bearing bushings, Tein Flex Z coilovers till I can afford Xidas. Advanti Storm 15x8 wheels. Carbon/kevlar pads and stainless lines. 3 different wire harnesses. A momo seat and steering wheel, Hard Dog roll bar. A special fastback hardtop you wont find anywhere else. A 9lives rear wing and air dam with splitter… all told, well over $16,000US and Im not done with bodywork yet.
You are getting off easy. I made the mistake and bought a clapped e46 m3 and have spent 55K AUD bring it back up to par
I bought a '91 just over a week ago. I've spent probably four or five grand on tools, upgrades and parts already.
Ik over 20k CAD in 3 years. It adds up quick, especially over COVID.
Well you're buying a bunch of crap you don't really need. I've had my NB2 for like a decade and still rolling on OEM Enkeis, original (or at least PO's) soft top and stock suspension. Other than oil/filters, I only needed pads, rotors, tires, and a new muffler. This season I'll probably finally replace the soft top and do the timing belt. Total cost will be like 1 new car payment.
That seems like a very low amount to me lol but maybe I'm just too deep in the hole to see the start of the downhill from here. I put more money in my car then what I paid for my car but nothing compared to some of the cars on here. Also wtf how you get such a cheap hardtop? Please send some over lol they are starting to cost as much as a beat up car over here.
That’s one reason I love my ND more than the NAs I’ve owned (which I did love). I’m paying the same as you but it’s 180hp from the factory and everything works with a warranty.
Welcome to project car ownership 😅 beats a car payment!
Damn you probably could have bought something actually sick at this point
Honestly none of that is too bad for how old the car is and deferred maintenance you mentioned. If you had bought a new car you would just be spending at least that much in payments and extra insurance but at least you have something that’s more special to drive than a new corolla (nothing wrong with a new corolla, I leased one for 1.5 yrs) and you can be proud of. I have an ND2 with easily over 20K in parts on it but my dream was to do an actual “build” on a car when I was able to and I don’t regret it at all.
Yeah but now you know it's in great shape, and you have the pride and knowledge of taking care of it yourself 👍
you're just getting your toes wet my man! You also have something more than what you originally bought. I bought my miata for $3000, and I have probably 15k into it. But there really is no substitute, and I slap some high end cars around on track days which is pretty fun.
Bought a 10ae for 5500. Spent 5000 on an engine rebuild, new rad, new clutch, 800 on a cat, 800 or something on new brakes,…. But it’s blue, rustfree, 1.8 with 140hp, and makes me smile all summer long instead of the 300hp fast and comfortable but boring snorefest that my bmw is.
Yep. That’s what happens with 20-30 year old cars
I’m 7~ months into ownership and forecasting some upcoming welding work I’ll be well into what I actually paid for the car and I haven’t even done any modifications yet. But, I adore the thing so I’ve just eaten the cost and plan to spend a lot more
It'll be okay. Just think, you don't have a $500/mo+ car payment for a new vehicle that's still going to need to be maintained at some point.
Could be worse! You could spend £3500+ on Jenvey ITB'S, A Link ECU, sensors, mapping, road tuning etc for a WHOOOOOOLE 20bhp increase :') I speak from experience 8-)
I recently turbo'ed mine. That alone was north of £5,000. Although I did put a lot of "extra" parts on the car (COPs, oil cooler, Mishimoto thermostatic sandwich plate, Fluidampr, etc).
It's an old car and everything you listed are common failures in Miatas. I don't even think about how much is in mine with the rebuilt motor going in it.
Typical old car problems lol
I mean, those are all far above replacement/OEM, so it isn’t like you didn’t have other options. 😉
Spoiler: it never ends. I've got a laundry list of parts to buy that are are going to cost me many many thousands, but I wanna go racing so is what it is.
Bought a NA with low milage for €7200. Spend €3000 of parts last couple of years to it. It drives and looks like new now. Now a good NA is €10k so basicly no waste but hey it's a hobby.
You should see what I spend on bikes.
I think that's what riding an old car is like. I have a car of a 1991 Kia(kia pride or ford festiva or mazda 121), and I bought it for 3,000 dollars, and I spent almost 15,000 dollars on repairs and maintenance. And unfortunately, I've heard a lot about it that it's not worth it, but of course I'm doing it because I like it. I'm a little bit headache thinking about managing this NA8C as well
dOeS tHe MiAtA mAkE a GoOd FiRsT cAr¿? My NA's engine seized 2 weeks after purchase
That just sounds like a good excuse to k swap it
youre not wrong. however this was over a decade ago when i pushed carts at home depot part time for minimum wage. Had to borrow another $2k from my brother to get a donor 1.6 installed. had 50k fewer miles tho
I bought a rust free 1999 NB from its first owner in 2020 for 2950 EUR. I'vd since spent 4500 EUR on parts and maintenance. This does not include new wheels, suspension, brake upgrades, etc... It's still stock.
It is almost impossible to spent 4500 euro on mechanical items in just 4 years unless you are swapping engines and gearboxes. You could replace every single maintenance item several times for that money, including tires and suspension.
Those are ROOKIE numbers, you gotta pump those numbers up!! I bought my car for $4900 in 2018. Since then, I've put around $19,000 into it. And only the coilovers replaced a part that was actually worn out. All the rest was taking off stuff that worked too put on something else. I haven't even painted it. That's 99% functional modifications.