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.
Just downloaded Pixel Car Racer and can’t put it down. Turbos, rims and Rocket Bunny kits galore! Currently all you can do is race against the computer, but a few locked features (including Togue mode) promise to take the Super Mario-like experience to a whole other level a la Drift Stage minus the Miami Vice color scheme. However the 8-bit look adds a certain charm to the look and feel of the game as you can modify almost every aesthetic as well as performance characteristic of your car. Go try it now before they try and charge you.
Mad Mike’s RadBull is based of the Mazda Miata and is powered by a four rotor-twin turbocharged monster of a motor that gladly spits flames as he flies around the track. Kyle Mohan and the MazdaTrix MX-5 may be down one rotor, but equally rips around the banks of Evergreen Speedway in Monroe Washington outside of Seattle. Enjoy the sights and sounds from the grid at Formula Drift Seattle with this quick little walkaround video of the Red Bull sponsored machine, just make sure you turn your speakers way up.
When I bought this car off of Craigslist, it leaked oil and power steering fluid. After losing the engine, Hiro’s got me going again and we were only gushing the hydraulic fluid at low speed when going from lock to lock (sounds a lot like parallel parking) with all the dinosaur juice safely still inside. After today, neither.
We caught up with Formula Drift Pro Kyle Mohan who campaigns a 20B powered ND Miata. Check out the video for all the brap-brap zoom-zoom your heart can handle.
After spending a few minutes playing with Photoshop, realizing we had a new logo to work with. One thing led to another and this Steve McQueen Gulf liveried inspired Le Mans racing jacket went from classic to crazy. Special shout out to all The Craigslist Miata supporters including Mazdaspeed for providing racing discounts, Hiro’s Auto Repair for when it comes to serious work, Dunlop tires and of course Valvoline with their wonderful High Mileage power steering fluid which we buy by the case.
It’s about time we come up with some stickers (coming soon) this was the first in the trial run. It started out all black, then blue for the website; but then a look at the complimentary color wheel made something in me go all Orange and Blue. Go Gators!
It was finally time, after a year of excuses the Craigslist Miata was as in a good a shape as any to hit the infield of Irwindale Speedway for the Formula Drift sponsored Thursday Night Drift. For $75 you are free to run what you brung until the lights go out. While this is more of a practice session for those honing their skills in fully-built machines, Thursday Night Drift is open to almost any car, so long as you meet some pretty basic safety standards, and you got a helmet.
The plan was to pump up the tire pressure and mount the snow tires to the rear. 45 PSI was as far as I dared tread on the street tires, and the lack of a fully functional handbrake and the need to drive home at the end of the night meant these were pretty much fun runs. I tried to enter at the top of second gear, stab the brakes and get the back end to step out and ride the slide as long the little Miata could. Transitions were OK until all power steering pressure was lost and then a grinding sandy noise ensued, not to mention the transitions became much mire “herky jerky”.
At the end of the day the footage affirmed that the sensations experienced behind the wheel were exponentially multiplied compared to the level of “drifting” that was achieved. A gigantic thank you to the Formula Drift staff that volunteer there time so that we can have a safe place to get sideways, at least until Irwindale Speedway stands no more.
Being chosen to participate in the Optima Ultimate Film Festival with SNOW DRIFT, we just had to go to the screening at Formula Drift New Jersey at Wall Speedway (only a short ways away from the Jersey Shore). Highlights included an RE Amemiya FD RX-7 complete with 993 front end and of course some smokey sideways drifting action. Special thanks to Kyle Mohan for the interview.
What a difference a year makes. Second annual AutoX for the Craigslist Miata. The runways of El Toro seem to be our home track. Started the day at 74, then a 72 and finally a very low 70. All runs with passenger for maximum fun. Other cool cars included an old Scirocco with some pretty aggressive stance. Thank you very much to the man at tech who lent me the air compressor and suggested starting around 40 PSI for the new tires.
Doing your part in the Golden State means riding dirty. However $5 worth of quarters can make the Craigslist Miata incredibly shiny. You gotta’ look good if you plan on passing tech. Rather have them talking to you about the hardtop than harking on that power steering puddle.
PRO TIP: The bolt that holds the striker plate to the windshield is an 8MMx20MM
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.
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
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
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
I was looking at Instagram and saw something about the Optima Ultimate Film Fest. They were looking for video of cars being pushed to the limit. Turns out there was an action cam category. 100% POV. 2:00 limit. Thanks to the ride along from the Mazda Ice Academy, we got that.
-Shot: GoPro Hero4 Black
-Edit: Final Cut Pro 7
-Song: Pomade by Silent Partner
UPDATE: SNOW DRIFT was chosen and screened at the Optima Ultimate Film Festival at FDNJ and is in the running for the finals at SEMA. Sorry but they told me I had to take the link down until then.
I always loved old cars with new wheels, the only problem with these NB Sport rims by Enkei were that they needed a good scrubbing. A bucket of car wash, some new brushes and a handle of Simple Green should do the trick. Also, first time playing with Plastidip. Plan is two coats of black base, one coat of gold (when I can find it) finally followed by some clear. Let’s see how this goes.
The Rocket Bunny kit looks so good on the NA, knowing one is running strong in D1 with 13B power just makes you feel a little better. Thank you Alexi, just when you thought the spirit of drifting was waning, Noriyaro brings back the FUN that comes from sliding cars sideways. Continue reading “D1 Miata”
The Formula Drift season begins on the streets of Long Beach, this year was a wet one. Also the first time running the signature sponsor’s POV cameras.
I’d read that the tach in the NA Miata is powered by an electrical connection on the back of the cluster that can work itself loose over time. I know there’s oil pressure, but it looks like the engine’s not spinning. Continue reading “Weak tach”
