No but seriously, hi. So I introduced you to 'Phira yesterday and today I thought I would post a bit about myself.
My name's Taylor. 26 years old, a bit of a geek/nerd (I can never keep those two straight) and deathly afraid of technology. Well okay, so I'm not really deathly afraid of it. I don't go to sleep at night worried that the stack of burnt-out laptops in my closet is somehow going to combine with the '88 Macintosh sitting next to it and then somehow assimilate the Betamax on the shelf below it before it bursts through the wall into my bedroom to seek revenge...
But I do think there are places that companies are putting tech where it doesn't need to be just yet. A friend recently regaled me with the tale of his friend who, after buying a new Jaguar, started it one morning to find that the little motorized gear selector had frozen halfway up. He couldn't shift the car into gear so he called the dealer who sent a flatbed. The flatbed operator asked him to put it in neutral...need I go on? 'Phira's relays click pretty loud when it gets cold out but I'm comforted by the knowledge that they're easily replaceable should they go the way of the Confederacy.
Anyway...back to me, heheh.
I'm a BA major at the University of New Orleans a.k.a. "The High School By The Lake" (which isn't as funny anymore since they built an actual high school right next door) and at the moment I wait tables in the New Orleans French Quarter...a taxing occupation to say the least. I enjoy the outdoors just as much as I love playing homebody, curling up in front of a (currently nonexistent) fire or going full veg-mode and watching Hulu+ or Netflix all day.
I also enjoy taking pictures of people doing asinine things with their cars/trucks/motorcycles/family members. Like this gem of a parking job at the Office Depot in Bucktown the other day.
I'm a tinkerer. There's no getting around that. If I have the tools and time to take it apart and if not getting it back together right away won't impact my life too severely you can bet it'll be in pieces by lunchtime. I have electrocuted myself because of this tendency...twice. Once on the capacitor inside an old Sony television and once when i was tinkering with the aforementioned Betamax (also a Sony product...coincidence? I...think...NOT! DUN...dun...DUUUUUNNN)
Most of my tinkering at the moment comes in the form of maintenance on 'Phira. She's getting up there and a lot of stuff needs replacing, some of which I just have neither the time or wherewithal to do myself.
The Story So Far
To start with I should probably explain how a "good ole Southern boy" whose first car was a pickup truck and whose second was a heavily-modified import ended up with a Miata (we'll get into the idiotic stereotypes and jokes later). This picture pretty much explains it all.
Yup, you guessed it. That's me. In the early 90s. With my aunt (or "She who would be my mother"). In her 1990 1.6 B-Package Miata. I practically grew up in that car. That and a Volvo 740 Turbo wagon that my mom owned until they traded it for a *gag* Suburban. If you still need an explanation, I never really liked the pickup truck all that much. I did learn how to drive a stick in it though which is why the 2006 Civic sedan that replaced it was ordered with a 5MT. The Civic was responsible for getting me into the tuning scene and precision driving. Even though it had the lowly "i-VTEC" R18A1 I could still give the typical non-enthusiast driver in a K20Z3 Si a run for their money just on the shifter mods I'd added alone.
So here's what happens next...
Well I get a bit tired of the FWD on Gracie and decide it's time I stop plowing my way around the city and learn about oversteer. So I start shopping around and manage to coordinate the sale of the Civic (after I part her out of course) with the purchase of a 1997 Miata STO from Hyundai of Slidell (more on that in a minute).
As she comes to me, 'Phira is in good shape except for one glaring omission by the dealership: whenever it rains the trunk turns into a swimming pool thanks to a cracked rain rail. They explained (lied) that the damp trunk when I picked up the car was from a tech leaving it open during an overnight deluge. Chalk one up for experience: always bring a gallon of water when buying a convertible to check for leaks. Once I figure it out I come up with the best solution short of replacing the top: lots of towels crammed under the carpet by the rain rail and a California PopTop to shed as much water as possible.
I quickly set about familiarizing myself with her innards. I perform a reasonably successful attempt at a timing belt service...
Replace her aged Wagner sealed beams with Sylvania Silverstar sealed beams...
...and I quickly learn that not only do they do no better a job than what they replaced, but the higher wattage bulbs burn out after 3 months due to the weak factory wiring's inability to supply sufficient oomph and therefore I replace THEM with a pair of French-sourced, European-spec Valeo Cibies...
...which are vastly superior, use inexpensive replaceable H4 bulbs, and look like old Porsche headlights apparently. I'll come back to this bit another day for a more in-depth treatise on the woes of the American Government's approach to vehicle regulations. For now just a few bullet points on the Cibies (pronounced "seebeeyays". Think "French accent"). They have stamped and polished metal reflectors instead of molded glass like DOT sealies, higher-quality optic glass lenses, offer the option of a 4watt "City Light", are available in almost all standard sizes (the small 165x100mm rectangles are no longer made by Valeo but comparable units from Bosch are available) and just plain make the car look...better. I guess because of the almost artistic Fresnel lens design compared to the ugly block-and-groove DOT lenses.
I decide to tackle the stereo next. I don't have the coin for speakers AND a new head unit so I replace the speakers. I get the parts from Clearwater and, let me just say, they sound GREAT! The STO, like most of the "Special" and "Limited" Edition Gen1 Miatas has a unique sound system. A pair of 1-way door speakers provides the oomph and then in each headrest are a pair of smaller speakers wired in stereo (each seat has a "left" and "right" speaker). You can see the OEM headrest units in the picture below.
Unfortunately, though I'm not sure if it's a common problem, the door speakers have both suffered cracked tweeter mounts by now, resulting in an incessant buzzing when the Bass drives deep. My guess is that it is due to the harsh door closure but I disconnect and remove them for sanity's sake.
Around this time I start working at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, LA (just outside of New Orleans). I don't have as much time to tinker so most of my projects are relatively small, like painting the yellowed Mazda centercaps and discovering, to my amusement, just how small a Miata really is.
I order new "OEM-type" replacement shocks just to stave off vertebral compression. Also a full set of I.L. Motorsport suspension bushings as well.
For Christmas last year I only get one car-related item, which is a set of truly cool racing pedals from Flyin' Miata who designed these to go on their track cars. Note the extension of the accelerator for better heel-toe.
I'm kind of digging the "Harvard student who just popped down to the city for the weekend in his MG" vibe I have going so I buy an oiled leather satchel off of Etsy.
And I discover that January is NOT the right time to try shaving your head if you've never done it before and drive a convertible.
I go all out for Easter. That's 100% linen baby, yeah. And orange suede shoes.
(no I do not look like a pimp. a pimp looks completely different)
(no I do not look like a pimp. a pimp looks completely different)
And I feel much better after realizing that the cable company can't even get their own set-top boxes to work.
I get tired of looking at the ugly old Airbag warning stickers on the Miata's oft-removed sun visors...so I cut out the decals (and left the visors installed) and at the same time, I bolt on 'Phira's new custom plate. People immediately start calling her "Sapphire" and my manager tries to write me up for ignoring emails he incorrectly sends to another employee simply because her email address has the word "sapphire" in it. I weep for the education of future generations.
With hurricane season fast approaching, I finally...FINALLY replace Saphira's top with a top-of-the-line cloth Gen2-style top with a glass window, defroster and headliner. The zippered window is finally banished from the car and my neck and shoulder sing their gratitudes.
Due to budgetary constraints however, the defroster isn't hooked up yet since the parts needed are expensive, especially if I plan on using the ultra-rare OEM Defroster/Foglight combo switch.
Around this time, I receive two big boxes of fun from the guys out at Flyin' Miata. Yes, I pay for them.
Contained within are a pair of new blueprinted front hubs, a full set of new slotted brake rotors, braided stainless flexlines, some Ate Type200 DOT4 brake fluid, a new lightened flywheel, a new clutch to go with it plus brand-new pilot and throwout bearings. There are a few more odds and ends but that about sums it up. The brakes are done shortly thereafter, including a new rear caliper after its seal blows fluid everywhere while bedding the rotors. Dramatic Before and After shots are below.
After replacing the convertible top I also place an order for a rollbar with slight modifications to the double diagonals to fit the glass window top. This is supposed to take 2-3 months but they have a few already made and on the shelf so they drop-ship one to me within two weeks. It's still sitting in my living room wrapped in foam sheet along with the SFI foam padding and leather wrap waiting to be installed.
I have a blast during Halloween '13 and actually go to one of those huge parties they have. So much fun! (If you can work out which party this is you win an interweb. If you figure it out and you don't like it you lose two. So that's an overall loss of 1 interweb from your original count)
I go by Paretti Mazda to look at the gorgeous new Mazda6 and look what they have on the showroom floor:
An original 1980 MG-B with less than 80 original miles on the odometer/milometer. The dealership had been the area carrier back in the 70s and 80s for MG and this was a display model that was put away in one of the storage sheds out back and forgotten about. I wouldn't want to try and put that top down though.
So! That about catches you up to where we are now! I'm going into finals week so don't count on too many updates until this weekend but once its done with I'm sure I'll be a right old Chatty Kathy. Until then, enjoy this lovely photo of 'Phira parked under a tree.
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