Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
I've got a 1990 Miata that I ran in SCCA showroom stock events in 1991, the first year the car was eligible for SSC competition. Back then the SCCA required a 1-year waiting period before they would classify a new car, so no one could race a Miata in SCCA Club Racing events in 1990.
I believe this car is the first one that ever won a sanctioned race event (in North America, at least). My February win at Willow Springs was the third race nationwide, after two early nationals in Florida. But those races at Sebring and Moroso were won by a Toyota MR2 and a Honda Civic Si, respectively. The World Challenge Miatas that ran SCCA Pro Racing events in 1990 never managed a victory, I think.
So now I'm going about refurbishing the car to as-raced SSC condition circa 1991. It has never been street driven and has only 6,700 race miles on the odometer, but it needs a lot of work as it was also the infamous "rally MIata". When I'm done I plan on bringing the car to the Miatas at Mazda Raceway event at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca in April of this year.
If anyone is interested, I'll post links to photos of my progress as I work my way through. I may end up needing help locating parts, parts that SM drivers probably throw away: interior carpets, trim pieces, seat belts, and the like. The toughest nut is going to be finding 20-year old 185/60R14 or 205/55R14 Yokohama A008-R or BFG Comp T/A tires. They can be worn, tinged blue and durometer at 1,000 for all I care; as long as they hold air they'll work for display.
Of course if any of you know of a race that was won by a Miata earlier than Feb 9, 1991, please let me know and I'll forget the whole thing!
Region: OVR
Car #: 08
Year : 95 Posts: 634
Status: Offline
posted
Dan, I'll have to check my pile, but I may have some old A008R or RS's. Will be a couple weeks before I can get there though. Definitely have some Yoko AVS intermediates in 185-60. Good luck.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by spdmonkey: Dan, I'll have to check my pile, but I may have some old A008R or RS's. Will be a couple weeks before I can get there though. Definitely have some Yoko AVS intermediates in 185-60. Good luck.
db
Nice! Maybe the tires will be easier than I thought. I don't remember if they were A008-R or -RS. Whatever the barely-DOT race tire was. But at this point I can't afford to be picky.
Region: NER
Car #: 12
Year : 1990 Posts: 830
Status: Offline
posted
I'd say contact Tim Buck and the guys at Mazdaspeed. I know that there were some people running those very early in professional series (Dave del Genio is one, IIRC).
I'm sure Tim knows who to ask if that car is historically significant.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
I've known Mr. Buck since he worked behind a Honda parts counter in Escondido. Sanders and I used to flag races at Riverside. I'm in contact with all of those guys!
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
The car is going back together, but now I'm running into parts that need replacing -- stuff that Spec Miata builders routinely throw away: stock springs & shocks, interior carpets, a basic 1.6L 4.3 open diff pumpkin (I have the housing). Any SM owners in SoCal want me to take some of this useless clutter off your hands?
Region: San Francisco
Car #: 35
Year : 1990 Posts: 110
Status: Offline
posted
Hey Dan,
I made it to storage today the 008's i have hidden awsy are 205's not 195's, let me know if you want them anyways (prob not) you can have them for shipping...
D
-------------------- Dan -- Green Miata #35 Integriteam/Integratis
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by Dan Cooper: Hey Dan,
I made it to storage today the 008's i have hidden awsy are 205's not 195's, let me know if you want them anyways (prob not) you can have them for shipping...
Must apologize, have both rear shocks and only one front shock. have all four springs and upper spring seats with only one stock shock hat. Sold my miata and I guess the rest of the stuff was with the car. Yours tho if you want and I am between Seattle and Tacoma about two miles off of freeway.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt: How about soem pictures of this project? Would love to see some of the original car and your WIP.
Ask and ye shall receive! Sorry for the delay - my day job got in the way last week.
Here's the first-win Miata during it's first win ...
Red hardtops were all they had when the car was initially launched, and showroom stock rules didn't allow us to paint cars non-standard colors.
White tops became available soon after the season started, and Mazda made sure I had one that matched so the car would look right.
I parked the car and stopped racing it in 94 or 95 because I was pissed at SCCA's inclusion of the Dodge Neon ACR and all of the factory IT parts and special performance specifications that car was allowed. That car was the beginning of the end of true showroom stock, as far as I was concerned. The class has been saddled with trunk kits ever since.
The car sat dormant for 5 years in my garage until the California Rally Series, the SoPac arm of the SCCA rally department, announced a new rallycross series in 1999. I decided to drag the SSC Miata out of hiding on a whim because the first event was at Holtville, a track I'd been to many times. Of course we wouldn't be using the track, but that didn't matter.
I knew a guy who had some old 14-inch rally tires, so I bolted them on to my otherwise 100% showroom stock Miata (open diff, stock suspension - the works). I ended up winning that first event, and the Miata dominated the 2WD stock class and won the championship.
After the Rallycross championship was in the bag, I modified the suspension, stripped the interior and added a skidplate in preparation for a real gravel stage rally. The car started, ran strong and finished the 1999 Treeline rally in the mountains just north of Los Angeles.
I'm still trying to find an event picture of the car at Treeline. The best I can do is this, a post-event photo taken for an article in Miata magazine at Tombstone, a Corona, Ca. paintabll park.
So not only is this the first-win Miata, it's also the oft-rumored Rally Miata.
Though the car has only 6,700 miles on it, I'm tearing it down and refurbishing it because of the changes it underwent in preparation for Treeline, the abuse it suffered during its rallycross phase and the effects of 10 subsequent years of outdoor storage.
Region: OVR
Car #: 88
Year : 1991 Posts: 2203
Status: Offline
posted
TOO COOL. I love motorsports history, especially with pictures! I can see it now - 50 years from now school kids will ooh and ahh over this car at the Mazda Hall of Fame and Museum.
Region: MidDiv / SOWDIV
Car #: #39
Year : 99 LS1 Miata Posts: 1749
Status: Offline
posted
Makes me want to locate my first SM...the first "customer car" Shannon Mc. built. Oh Yeah, "fittingly", Sam (who I sold it to) totaled it against the inside wall at TMS.
Shannon still has his "first one built."
-------------------- Mac Spikes IPRESS Racing MER East Street Auto SAFERACER Hoosier Carbotech MotorSport Ranch Cresson, Texas "To hell with you Gen. Sheridan...I 'll take Texas!"
Region: Lonestar
Car #: 75
Year : 3rd in the nation Posts: 505
Status: Offline
posted
OL blue was a good car Mac, won many races in that car in wheels of america series. I still remember test driving it in the thunderhill parking lot in Buda haha.
Well i guess it was gold and red when we got it from you.
-------------------- THAT JUST HAPPENED!!! -RickyBobby-
I remember testing that first customer car at Motorsport Ranch Cresson...except, it was RED then. At the time, I was racing an SSB Miata and I recall being highly impressed with Mac's ride. Who knew it would have become all of this a decade later.
-------------------- Steve Taake #1 SSB Mazda MX-5 Miatacage.Com/Mazdaspeed/Hoosier/Summit Racing/Pro Am Auto Accessories
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
Putting the wiring harness back in place under the hood. I finally brought my red '91 runner home from exile at the parking garage at work (a long story) to help me remember how all the underhood stuff needs to be routed. Note to self: Take more pictures during disassembly next time!
Weather is good for re-painting the roll cage this weekend. Planning to go to Ecology auto wrecking to hunt for carpet, random bolts and, if I'm lucky, a white RH door and matching rear bumper cover.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
Here are a few shots of what I've been doing thus far.
I started with the bare tub, fully stripped.
A cleaned-up tank and fuel lines were the pieces I reinstalled first.
The wiring harness was the next piece to go in.
Ken Tooker, my friend and crew chief back in 1991, helped me on the day the HVAC pieces and dash went back in.
Believe it or not, that odometer has less than 7,000 miles on it, and it's a true reading. This car has never spent any time on the street.
The original two-piece bolt-in cage needed a lot of sanding before I could re-spray it with the same Rustoleum BBQ black I used some 20 years ago.
The cage is back in place. Now all I need is some damn carpet. Why is that acquisition turning out to be so hard?
This cage, incidentally, shows evidence of two modifications that were necessary to enter the Treeline stage rally in 1999. Can you spot them?
1) The upper front corner gussets were a rally requirement (can't argue with that one at all.)
2) I had to extend the shoulder belt mounting bar behind the passenger seat for the navigator's belts.
The standard diagonal crossbar was a problem for Ken when he sat in as navigator because it prevented his seat from having a decent recline angle with the stock sliding seat tracks all the way back. He had to sit further forward than either of us would have liked.
SS rules circa 1991 made it necessary to re-install as much of the interior plastic trim as possible despite the addition of the roll cage. Safety second, right?
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
Thanks! I picked up some complete spring/shock units today. Now I can put the sub-frames back under this beastie. Got to clean all the control arms and other bits up a bit first, of course. Still need the main piece of floor carpet and tires.
I discovered that I did have a good 4.3 rear diff after all. Check this out. Ever see one like it?
The finless diff housing on the left is the original one from the car. A '91 housing with fins is shown for comparison.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
I'm finally starting to reinstall the Miata's suspension.
The rear knuckles will be ready to go back on once I receive the new hubs I ordered.
The left rear hub spun inside the bearing at some point. The inner end is now undersized and rattles around inside the race of the new bearing. It's been demoted to candlestick holder.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
I've hit my first Oh Sh*t moment on this project. One of the four steering rack weld-nuts stripped when I was re-installing the rack, and I didn't even get it that tight enough to seat the head of the nut. It's the forward-most one on the driver's side. I supposed I could chisel it off and use a nylock nut instead.
Or is there a routine fix that you SM aficionados all know about? Based on how fragile this design looks, I have to think it happens quite a bit.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
Getting closer. The original motor is back in the car, the power plant frame is installed and the driveshaft is connected. Now it gets easy.
For the last several years, the engine and trans have been residing in a random $750 Miata I bought from a cop. Today I had to yank it out so I could put it back in the correct car.
Now that it's back where it belongs, the rest will be easy. I'll have it running again in a few days.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
Got fuel, got exhaust, got battery, got coolant. It cranks, it stumbles, but it won't start or run.
See the Garage section for a detailed description and (hopefully) a discussion of this single issue. Something isn't right with the power to the fuel pump! I need HELP!
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
It's aliiive. Drove the beast on a lap of my cul-de-sac. Not finished, but running on her own power. No leaks, but it does stink a bit. Seatbelt buzzer won't shut the f* up.
Still riding too high on the hated rally tires until I get the BFGs that are supposed to be on the way.
Lights work!
Body work. It's a long story.
Bought a new salvage RH door. Color matches pretty good.
Next steps: fix trunk, install new old BFG tires, reinstall correct 1991 graphics, install belts and window net, shine up the paint a little (but not too much - need to keep it looking experienced.)
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
Nearly there! The rear end is fixed and the paint has been rubbed to a uniform color with a decent gloss.
Time for the right tires and period-correct graphics.
The trunk is more or less back where it should be. This doesn't have to be perfect; I'm leaving the scars and dings intact.
Miatas at Mazda Raceway happens in two weeks. I have only easy stuff to work out between now and then. If this were a real race weekend, I'd be swapping out tires, installing my numbers and tweaking stickers the night before the race. I've got tons of time at this point.
Region: San Diego
Year : 1990, 1991 Posts: 137
Status: Offline
posted
I'm finished! The car is fully back together. The last graphic was installed at the hotel, the night before the Miatas at Mazda Raceway event. Here are some shots:
At the front entrance to the Embassy Suites, Monterey.
Those Miatas that didn't fit into the "trailered track car" category crammed themselves into the parking lot for the pre-event BBQ.
The car was set up near on-site registration.
If not for the Mazda Raceway banner, this shot could have been taken 19 years ago.
The Pro version of this group shot, taken from a higher vantage point, will be even more impressive because it'll show even more cars.
Thanks to everyone who shouted encouragement, sent me parts, lent me tools, helped me wrench, lent me a trailer, gave me access to a tire mounting machine or simply said "that's cool" and kept my head in the game.
Next up: do something with my red 91 that will put me back on the track with a car I'm not preserving for posterity.
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It's a long story.
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