Car Questions

[Chaos]

Hey all,

I've been getting an itch to buy myself a 2 seater roadster/spider. So far, the 2 i've been looking at are the early 90's Alfa Romeo Spider, and the MGB Roadster (70's)

Does anyone have any other suggestions? much appreciated.

[Joe in LA]

Hey all,

I've been getting an itch to buy myself a 2 seater roadster/spider. So far, the 2 i've been looking at are the early 90's Alfa Romeo Spider, and the MGB Roadster (70's)

Does anyone have any other suggestions? much appreciated.

For similar money you could get a Mazda Miata in excellent condition. Much more reliable/usable on a daily basis, and cheaper to fix. I had a '90 and loved it.

[racer2c]

For similar money you could get a Mazda Miata in excellent condition. Much more reliable/usable on a daily basis, and cheaper to fix. I had a '90 and loved it.

I have (or I should say my wife has, but I drive it more) a '90 Miata also. I got it for $500. It needed a front wheel hub assembly, radiator, and thermoswitch in order to get on the road, but I did all that over the week end myself (very easy). The most fun you can have for a grand besides a motorcycle.
Very easy to work on. Very reliable. Also, you can add after market do-dads to make it a bit more masculine i.e. racing stripes, roll hoops, aero-kits etc. The after market is huge for Miata's.
My brother in law drove it around the neighborhood a few months ago and liked it so much he went out and got his own '90. He got his for $3000 in perfect condition, garage kept and an engine bay that looks like it just rolled off of the line. $3000 for a '90 is about the going rate for a decent one.

[nz_climber]

My parents just brought a 2000 toyota MR-S, the latest version to the MR-2 its a good little car - with alot of get up and go :thumbup: even the older versions of the MR-2 are funn to drive, and reliable to hell and back. Not sure how they are priced on your side of the planet thou :confused:

ps/ I still think MX5(Miata) looks like a girls car (or guys that wear pink clothes) ;)

[Chaos]

I have to admit this one caught my eye:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=5356&item=2479161755&rd=1

...i realise it's ebay, but he's in my neck of the woods, so i can check it out.

[Chaos]

I had a look at the prices of the miata on autotrader.ca (since i'm dealing with the Toronto area) and they are a little cheaper than that of the Alfa or MG, but i like the style of these better...it's the european roots in me :p

[Joe in LA]

I had a look at the prices of the miata on autotrader.ca (since i'm dealing with the Toronto area) and they are a little cheaper than that of the Alfa or MG, but i like the style of these better...it's the european roots in me :p


If it has to be Euro, I think I'd take the Alfa--more expensive to run than the MG, but a lot more sophisticated/modern of a car--even if its roots are nearly as old as the MGB's. Until the Miata came along in mid-'89, I was planning to buy an Alfa.

I would think about an Fiat 124/2000 as well. I knew a few folks who had them and loved them. Again, not quite as agricultural as the MGB.

One other thought--if you are willing to spend 10-15K, you should take a look at a six cylinder BMW Z-3. You can buy a pretty nice one in that range. I had a 2.8 until recently, and really liked the car.

[skidmarks]

I have an '84 Spyder Veloce, 113k miles and it is more reliable than an '88 Civic I used to own.

[CARTNUT]

Miata, SCHMIATA!

You could have this beautiful baby, my '93 Escort Wagon, with only 166,000 original miles for only $2,995! 5-speed, AM/FM Stereo, A/C (broken), new brakes, and I'll even throw in the roof rack at no extra charge! This curve huggin' baby is Bridgestone shod, Powered by Ford. You can't beat that!!! Hurry, Won't last long!

http://www.discountautopa.com/eBay/44524/44524.JPG

'NUT :gomer:

[Winston Wolfe]

"NUT, you absolutely RULE !
What a swell guy, offering up that "soon to be classic".
I like how you have disable the A\C so as not to rob that smooth running powerplant of any of that all-to-valuable, wheel spinnin' HP !!!!
And removed that bothersome Roof Rack, which not only takes away from the clean lines of that bad boy, but ruins the near perfect aero drag coefficient!
Dont forget to add on those "Powered by FORD" stickers, which are a guaranteed 5-10% additional HP for those long runs out on the highways and byways of the Inland Empire ! :p

[nz_climber]

Miata, SCHMIATA!

You could have this beautiful baby, my '93 Escort Wagon, with only 166,000 original miles for only $2,995! 5-speed, AM/FM Stereo, A/C (broken), new brakes, and I'll even throw in the roof rack at no extra charge! This curve huggin' baby is Bridgestone shod, Powered by Ford. You can't beat that!!! Hurry, Won't last long!

http://www.discountautopa.com/eBay/44524/44524.JPG

'NUT :gomer:

does it have push to pass?? :D

[CARTNUT]

Winston Wolfe:
"NUT, you absolutely RULE !
What a swell guy, offering up that "soon to be classic".
I like how you have disable the A\C so as not to rob that smooth running powerplant of any of that all-to-valuable, wheel spinnin' HP !!!!
And removed that bothersome Roof Rack, which not only takes away from the clean lines of that bad boy, but ruins the near perfect aero drag coefficient!
Dont forget to add on those "Powered by FORD" stickers, which are a guaranteed 5-10% additional HP for those long runs out on the highways and byways of the Inland Empire !

That's seriously not overly exaggerated!



nz_climber:
does it have push to pass??

As WW alluded to, it did when the A/C worked, now it's FULL TIME RAW FORD POWER!! All 96hp!

(I'm surprised nobody questioned the price...)

[ferrarigod]

I wanted to get an RX-7 twin turbo. Mom and Dad said WAYYY to fast. So I said fine, let me get a Miata and a turbo, and they said, ummm, ok

So now I have a 93 Mazda Miata 1.6l's last year, with a Greddy turbo. 10psi @ about 3300rpm, and about 200-240 at the rear wheels depending on weather.

The car is nimble and feels unbelievable without the turbo. If you get a good brake set, like I got, slotted rotors/ceramic pads, the only thing it is missing is acceleration. And all Miata's have a few routes for increasing HP once you desire. Whether it be turbo or supercharging the car is amazing.

I can't say enough positive things about my Miata. Nimble, great turning, amazing in the rain, and rear wheel drive, an oddity in today's world. Just a great basis either for Sunday crusing or Autocrossing and best of all you can put as little or as much money in it as possible. My brother has 2 Miata's, a new 2003 and a 1992 that he is gonna rebuild and hopefully enter in at least one Miata Spec race.

I suggest the Miata, its a newer car, and just goes where you want it, parts are easy to come by as even the newer cars share many parts, and can interchange with the older ones for increased performane. I just can't say enough.

Even RX-7 driveshafts and rearends and such fit if you get increased HP. The power with a turbo is addictive. Just drive one and you'll understand how great the Miata is. It is an all around car with plenty of power potential. Everything is there but power, and thats easy, only costs $ :thumbup:

:)

[ferrarigod]

Also if you need European roots, the Miata is an exact copy of the Lotus Elan of the 60's. Seriously weird, same head lights(as the 89-98 Miata) same interior setup. Everything, Mazda did copy a great car, just wanted to prove some Euro heritage.

I can't stress the aftermarket enough. Reliable and upgradable were very important to me, and that helped me come to the Miata after the RX-7 was nixed.

Oh yea, and before my friend with a 94 RX-7 took apart his engine, put in a Japan-spec engine and single turbo, my car was faster than his stock 94 Twin Turbo. He had about 20-30 more hp, but I got him with the low weight. Now he has 450hp at the rear wheels, and spins the tyres in 3rd gear at over 100mph, so I lose the races now :(

But I'm ok, 0-60 of about 4.5-4.8sec is fine for me, 0-60 of 3.6 in his car is just redundantly fast:gomer:

Chaos if you are near Gainesville, Florida sometime in the summer and I'm not in Europe, you are free to try my '93 Greddy Turbo'd Miata

[nrc]

I had a look at the prices of the miata on autotrader.ca (since i'm dealing with the Toronto area) and they are a little cheaper than that of the Alfa or MG, but i like the style of these better...it's the european roots in me :p

Be sure you like the style of their engine bay and undersides. You'll be seeing them a lot. :)

Miata. Seriously.

[nz_climber]

Be sure you like the style of their engine bay and undersides. You'll be seeing them a lot. :)

Miata. Seriously.

OR you could just mount the parts that break most on the bumper for easy access (see the crazy japanese thread!) :gomer:

[Classic Apex]

One of my best friends in High School had one of those 70's style MG's. Fun little car. But performace wise it was a complete pooch.

Also, I'm only 5' 10" and it was always an acrobatic act just to to get into the passenger seat. Wierd sensation draping you arm over the side of the door while driving, and knowing your knuckles were only a few inches above the ground. :D

[Methanolandbrats]

MR. 2 Turbo if you want a modern driver.

Fiat X19 for something older.

[chop456]

If you're a wealthy mechanic, buy an MG or an Alfa.

If you want a car to drive, get a Miata.

[P1]

If you're a wealthy mechanic, buy an MG or an Alfa.

If you want a car to drive, get a Miata.

Former '73 TR6 owner agrees with chop

[Jag_Warrior]

If you're a wealthy mechanic, buy an MG or an Alfa.

If you want a car to drive, get a Miata.


It also helps if you either enjoying walking... or have a good cell phone plan.

[Ankf00]

It also helps if you either enjoying walking... or have a good cell phone plan.
:laugh:

can you hear me NOW?