1994 POWER STATION MIATA

2004 - In the beginning, there was The Fish...The Fish started life with us as a $500 Miata sitting in a field for two years with a broken timing belt. The car looked like it had been parked at the bottom of a lake that subsequently dried up. Can you say dry cracked mud? Sounds like a perfect candidate for the $2004 GRM Challenge! With the car in this condition, and knowing we were going to strip it down to bare bones, it was dubbed "The Fish". Unfortunately we managed to blow it up on our way down to Florida, so didn't make the competition.

"Bongo" Ferber (of Flyin' Miata fame) is pictured at left, getting things sorted out. The Fish has undergone progressive development in an effort to see how far the little Miata could take us as... with surprising results. Although we are a shop, this car was originally built the way most people do it, on nights and weekends in their garage, on the cheap, with lots of beer :-) Various parts were scavenged for the project; an intercooler from a Saab, turbo plumbing from a Volvo and an RX-7, a turbo from a Nissan... but the combination proved surprisingly potent!

2005 - Street driven, track worthy With our $2004 budget blown, we took to the street and track in the GRM Challenge configuration. I didn't want to spend a ton of money on the thing, just wanted to see how fast it really was... power came in at 275 RWHP, with a fat torque curve. Although the car was still plated and driven, it didn't stop me from doing all the free stuff I could, so out with the interior. The season closer was a PCA event at Putnam Park where The Fish was the fastest car of the weekend. Man this thing is hauling arse, and we haven't even developed it yet! Check out the video here.

2006 - A proven winner Finally the decision was made to enter competition with the car. Since the car did not fall into any road racing series, NASA's unlimited Time Trial class seemed like the best fit. In the GRM Challenge configuration that we started with, the car technically should have been in TTB, but we knew during the season that many changes would be coming, and wanted to compete in the class we would eventually end up in.

As the season progressed, we did much testing, tweaking and tuning on The Fish. Many items were changed, the car was made lighter, we had a bit more power on tap (~285HP) and the thing was starting to get quite sorted out. Our effort netted the Indiana/Ohio TTU Championship, as well as finishing 3rd in Midwest on a partial season. Ultimately, the car would place 5th at the NASA Nationals at Mid Ohio, bested only by a pair of Evos, a STi, and a Caterham.

Using only the finesse tools shown in the picture above, the car has proven to be exceptionally reliable with very low maintenance. And although it is no longer street driven, it could be. Still, it belongs on the track...

2007 - Time to race! With the introduction of NASA's Super Unlimited/Super Touring classes, The Fish finally has a place to race, so this year the car will again undergo numerous changes in an effort to make it as fast as possible, the ultimate track Miata. Super Touring 1 will be our home, up against the best production cars in the world... very much like what we hope to see at this year's GRM Ultimate Track Car Challenge! Can the little Miata hold it's own? We think so. Here's why...

2007 Power Station Miata - The Fish - Specifications:

- Power Station 1.9L Mazda BP DOHC I4
- Power Station custom turbo system, GT3071R ball bearing turbo
- Race weight: 2150 lbs
- Power Station "Hella Fast" 15x10 3pc wheels
- 275/35-15 Hoosier A6 Meaty Dogs
- Power Station "Mystery" springs
- Custom valved Koni race shocks
- Power Station "De-accelerator" big brake package
- Power Station "Chill Out" thermal management system
- Enhanced aerodynamics package, chassis reinforcement

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