Back to basics.
At least, that was the idea. After being so put off by the idea of having to strip my last Miata down just to rebuild it into what I wanted, I decided it was time to try something a little different. This would be my fourth NA Miata, but my first example powered by the 1.6L B6ZE.
Half of my Miata owning friends had 1.6s, and driving them always gave me a bit of envy. For reasons I cannot explain, there’s a slightly more peppy nature to the smaller engine. It certainly has less torque than the later 1.8L cars, but there’s a particularly buzzy sound and more rev-happy attitude that seemed to fit the chassis better.
The intention was to start with this clean sheet car that was stock, save for a roll bar, and toss on every part I knew I wanted and felt would make my ideal NA MX-5. But as usual something in the back of my mind stopped me.
I did get my money’s worth out of it. This was the first time I’d driven a stock NA in years. The crappy tires and dead dampers meant the limits were lower than low, but that also meant I could cane the ever-living daylights out of it without breaking any speed limits, and the car seemed to love it.*
Once more I got to experience the sweet rotation that’s so easy to provoke in a stock Miata. There truly is joy in hustling these cars through the tightest of switchbacks when no one’s around. Even in the rain I could keep the throttle welded to the floorboard, and while I would be working at the wheel to keep the car at sane slip angles, you really were able to experience the intention of Jinba Ittai that was embedded by the team that built it.
Alas, despite my adulation of the car’s soul, the numbers didn’t add up. Every night after hooning the car around the hills, I would come home and total up all the modifications I wanted to perform to make the car mine. Each time my cursor would hover over the “Confirm Order” button, only to close the tab and open Craigslist Autos instead.
The mod budget was too close to the asking price of another car I’d been eyeing. And besides, I’d already done the Miata thing, several times. After just a couple months, this car went off to a friend I’d managed to hook on these roadsters, who just so happened to be looking for something to play with.
I’d love to say they cherished it until the end of days, and honestly I’d intended to buy the car back if they got bored with it. Unfortunately, one of those sneaky light poles in a random parking lot decided to modify the front end. The last I saw of it, the valve cover was doubling as a headlight bracket.