25 years ago, we bought our Garage Rescue Miata | #TBT

Which Miata?

First off, it's no secret that we have been fans of the Mazda Miata since its introduction as a 1990 model. Its advent meant that for the first time in years, the average enthusiast could buy a competent, fun-to-drive, two-seat convertible that didn't cost a mint and wasn't burdened down with unnecessary comfort and convenience options. No one ever said that the car was a rocket in a straight line, but the Miata offers a nice, advanced package.

While there were few selling lists at first, buying a Miata is relatively easy today, as nearly half of the 200,000-plus cars produced to date have been imported into the U.S. Choosing the right car is usually a matter of matching the year and equipment desired with the budget on hand.

Miatas fall into two basic groups: early and late. The early, first-generation cars were manufactured through the 1997 model year, and easily identified by their pop-up headlamps. In 1999, the fixed­ headlamp, second-generation model made its debut. (Technically, there is no 1998 model.) 

During its model run, the first-generation car did see some changes, though they tended to be pretty minor. The biggest performance change that occurred between the car's 1990 introduction and the 1993 model year came with the addition of a rear subframe brace in 1992. During this time period, some of the comfort and convenience packages, as well as logos and emblems, did see slight revisions, too.

The biggest change for the early cars came in 1994, when a 1.8-liter replaced the original 1.6, adding some more horsepower and torque to the package. (In stock form, the 1.6 produces 116 horsepower and 100 ft./lbs. of torque, while the 1994 1.8 produces 128 horsepower and 110 ft./lbs. of torque.)

Along with the new engine, the 1994 Miata also received dual airbags, larger brake rotors, updated emission-control equipment, available wider wheels (14x6 inches vs. 14x5.5), a front subframe brace, a larger gas tank and a rear cockpit brace. As one might expect, performance was improved, although the slight increase in weight (2293 pounds versus 2216 pounds) as well as a steeper final drive ratio kept the new car from being a total runaway. Still, in stock class autocross and road racing, 1994 quickly proved to be the faster car. 

A special, performance-oriented package also appeared with the updated 1994 model. This new R package included the makings for a competitive road race or autocross car:  Blstein shock absorbers, slightly stiffer rear springs, and larger front and rear anti-roll bars.

The 14x6-inch alloy wheels and Torsen limited-slip differential–optional on Miatas from 1994 on–came standard on the R, while power steering, power windows and power door locks were not available.

From the outside, the R model was distinguished by a small front spoiler, rear lip spoiler and rear wrap-around valance. Many came with twin Shelby-style stripes, but these were not mandatory and have also been fitted to non-R Miatas.

Major changes after this 1994 revision were once again few, al­though engine output was slightly increased to 133 horsepower start­ing with the 1996 model year.

Aside from these year-to-year changes, the Miata enthusiast also has a wide range of special edition models and option packages to choose from. While the R model was the only factory-built performance model offered, Mazda sold limited numbers of Miatas fitted with extra niceties like leather interiors, BBS wheels, Nardi steering wheels and tan convertible tops.

Exact combinations of equipment varied depending on the model and year, but the limited-edition paint colors included British Racing Green, Montego Blue Mica, Merlot Mica, Starlight Blue Mica and Marina Green Mica. In addition, a limited number of black cars with rep leather interiors were sold in 1993, and for the 1992 model year Mazda produced 1519 yel­low Miatas. (Gener­ally considered to be the rarest production Miata, these usually aren't cheap, either.)

For the 1999 model year, Mazda released a consider­ably updated Miata. While similar in ap­pearance and layout to the earlier cars, the new Miata featured a 140-horsepower en­gine, revised suspen­sion geometry and freshened sheet metal. As the 1994 model had done to the earlier cars, the new Miata pretty much outclassed all previous editions on the race track. (This phenomenon may happen again, as the 2001 Miata is expected to produce 155 horsepower.)

Despite these upgrades under the hood, the first-generation Miata is still a blast, and there are tons of things you can do with one. Like most used cars, prices get more reasonable as the years go on.

At the low end of the spectrum, you have very high-mileage, ratty and non-running cars with prices ranging from just under $2000 to around $4000. Asking prices for clean 1.6-liter cars seem to range from $4500 up to $9000, although we have seen super-low-mileage, limited edition and highly-modified early cars with asking prices top­ping $12,000.

The 1994 and up, 1.8-liter cars seem to run from $7000 to $18,000, with the desirable R models hanging in the $10,000 to $12,000 range. The newest, 1999-up cars have asking prices ranging from $17,000 to about $23,000. As one would expect, location and time of the year can also influence price.

If you're buying a Miata for motorsports use, there are a few mod­els and years to seek out. For SCCA Street Prepared autocrossing, where some updating and backdating is allowed, starting with a pre-1994 car gives you a slightly lighter package, as the doors feature one less side-impact bar. It also yields a lower buy-in price.

For Stock class autocross, all 1.8-liter Miatas are placed in B Stock, which does give an upper hand to the second-generation cars. The 1.6-liter cars were recently placed in C Stock, giving them a new lease on their competition life.

For most enthusiasts, however, the best buying advice that we can give is to get the nicest car for the price. Starting with a clean car that doesn't need a ton of work usually frees up more time for weekend autocrosses and late-night drives with the top down.

Our Car

When the time came for us to buy a Miata, we took our own advice and searched the clas­sified ads for the right car at the right price ­and we found it on the first try.

The first–and only–car we checked out was a Crystal White 1992 model equipped with the popular A Package: l4x5.5-inch alloy wheels, air-conditioning, power steering, cas­sette player and leather-wrapped steering wheel. (There are probably a zillion cars out there exactly like this one.) A base-model car would have worked just as well for us, but this one was particularly clean and had just 68,000 miles on the odometer. We broke open the piggy bank, and $6800 later we had our own Miata. 

We bought the car from a local Chevy dealer, so no background information was available. It was extremely clean, appeared to have its original paint and showed no signs of ever hav­ing been hit, so we felt confident with our pur­chase. The top as well as the back window were in good condition, too.

However, since we couldn't verify the car's maintenance history, we changed the timing belt soon after our purchase. Like a lot of small cars, the Miata uses an interference-design cyl­inder head–if a timing belt snaps, the valves and pistons tend to get very friendly, with di­sastrous consequences. A new belt runs about $35 at the local Mazda dealer, and if you're not up for changing it yourself, most mechan­ics get around $200 to do the work.

After getting the timing belt changed, we did what any normal enthusiast would do: we sim­ply enjoyed the car, 300-treadwear tires and all, running it in Stock class at local autocrosses.

Coming Up

In the next few issues, we'll detail the build­up of our Miata. Like most enthusiasts, we're going to sta11 off with the basics-upgraded shocks, wheels and tires-and then progress to engine and driveline upgrades. For updates between issues, check out GRM  www.grassrootsmotorsports.com.