Miata restoration Archives - The Craigslist Miata

It’s Torsen Time! or How about a little LSD?

Sometimes you just have to go off Craigslist. Thanks to the people at The Parts Group from the great state of Florida, and with little thanks to the FedEx shipping clerk in California for making me wait another day, the meat and potatoes of the Craigslist Miata’s upgraded drivetrain has finally arrived.

Stay tuned for a full 4.3 Torsen LSD swap into an NA6 Mazda Miata from Hiro’s Auto Repair in Costa Mesa. The swap includes new axles, driveshaft and now the installation of Energy Suspension bushings. At least that’s what we know about.

Suspension restore serious work

Thanks to a pissing coolant pipe annoyingly located beneath the intake manifold, the Craigslist Miata makes a trip to Hiro’s where we not only replace every hose under the hood, but some very worn tie rod ends as well as front wheel bearings while we’re at it. New tires for the new wheels meant we needed an alignment anyway.

New wipers

Very simple job that goes a long way towards making the Craigslist Miata a lot nicer looking. An email from our friends at Project-g letting us know that the reconditioned wipers for the NA were back in stack, and way nicer than anything you can do over a long weekend. Check for availability. Now it doesn’t look like I got a ticket every time I walk up to the car.
http://www.projectgla.com/store/
PRO TIP: The blue tape really helped when it came time to reinstall

Suspension restore day 3

Because no good suspension restoration is complete without enjoying the fruits of one’s labor. Over 100 miles of solid carving along Mullholland Drive and the slop in the front suspension seemed to be gone. The non-pressurized power steering proved to be intrusive to the newly refined driving experience (until topped off), but boy does the Craigslist Miata soak up the bumps with new bushings.
PRO TIP: Always stop to enjoy the views

Suspension restore day 2

After feeling defeat from our O’reily’s sourced socket set, a trip to the Home Depot for some serious tool corralling.
PRO TIP: Breaker bars, blue gloves and are your friend
AMATEUR MOVE: Don’t tighten down one side without the links being in place on the other

Suspension restore day 1

After admiring the new wheels for a few days it’s time to dive in and get to work replacing the sway bar bushings.
PRO TIP: Get a good set of tools

New wheels fitting

After tripping over the new rims and being threatened by love ones, it’s time to get those rims on the Miata.
PRO TIP: Don’t drive on mystery tires

Mazdaspeed spoiler install

Some careful use of blue tape and an electric drill make installing the (replica) Mazdaspeed spoilers a possible one-person job. Interestingly enough, the back bumper on the ’91 Craigslist Miata had marks letting you know where to make the holes for a ’94 R Package (imitation) lower rear lip.

Steering wheel install

The Nardi had spent quite some time sitting quietly on the bookshelf, now it was time to restore its purpose. It took a little bit of courage to tinker with the 20 year old airbag, but once the cover came off things started to look a lot nicer inside the cabin.