Contents
Page 1: her story
Page 2: her first pictures
Page 3: things I have done and will do
Page 4: current pics with 93LE interior

The $1200 Miata

I had been looking for my first Miata for several weeks when I answered an ad in the Birmingham News on Tueday, August 27, 2002. The ad said "1992 Mazda Miata, Does not run, $1200". My first reaction is "What does that mean?". "Does not run" can have many meanings, so I called the seller and he explained the situation to me. He said "the belts came off" on his way home from work and he parked the car a year and a half ago. I went out to look at the car on Wednesday, August 28. Upon opening the hood, I discovered that only the Alternator/Water pump belt had come off and it was still there half wrapped around the pulley (torn of course). The PO told me that he was not mechanically inclined and had never had a mechanic look at the car. It had become an extra car for him when it broke, so he just let the poor girl sit there. After looking over the car, I realized she was the one and decided to buy her. I returned on Thursday, August 29 with both new front belts and a battery (the original was of course dead from sitting so long). After installing the belts and battery, I managed to get her cranked and drove her home to Tuscaloosa that night. I have been driving her since.

I do not really consider this car to be a project car. She is my daily driver.

Condition & specs at purchase:

-164k miles
-'B' package with A/C
-Top in ok shape
-Paint on rear of car in rough shape
-Heavy aftermarket Progressive 15" wheels
-Half bald tires on above wheels
-Seller included the original alloys with the car, but two were dented beyond repair (I have since sold the two good ones)
-JVC CD player, with silly wiring and useless (also broken) Kenwood amp connected to the only speaker in the car :(
-Nice working Alpine alarm system (pleasant surprise)
-Broken power antenna mast
-Broken cables on passenger power window

On to pics....