Miata owner/lover stopping in to say hello!

[Klayfish]

Howdy gang, stopping in to say hello!! I picked up a 2006 Miata Grand Touring a few weeks ago and figured I'd introduce myself. This Miata is new to me, but I'm not new to the Miata world. This one is my 6th Miata since 1999. I've had 4 NAs and now two NCs. In fact, this NC is an exact copy of my first NC. Same year, trim level, color, etc... It's a 6spd, just the way I like it. Would you believe that it's basically a one owner car and I picked it up from a dealer for $4850!! Gotta love buying 'verts in the north during winter. I've had all kinds of wild and crazy fun cars over the years, but I keep coming back to the Miata. It's just such simple and pure fun.
06 Miata.jpg

I'll keep my eyes open for events and gatherings. If I can make one at some point, I'd love to. Challenge is time. I work full time, with an ugly commute. I live in Acworth and my office is in Lawrenceville. 60 miles each way. Plus have 3 very active kids who play sports nearly year round. But if my wife and I can sneak away sometime, we will.

Oh, and I see some postings by form member mrbill. Hey buddy!!! :wave: We keep running into each other. How's the family? We're doing great. I'm still racing, now pretty heavily involved (well, at least whatever my budget allows) in 24 Hours of LeMons.

[CaveRacing]

Welcome!

[miatastuff]

Welcome and Great buy! I miss my 6MT NC.

[Theo]

Man, that is a deal! Good for you. So do you prefer the NC over and NA. Have only owned NA's, very curious about the nb and nc.

[Zadnak]

Welcome! Let us know if you have an NC questions, some of us around here love the platform.

[mrbill]

Hey Steve,

At least it is not yellow with black stripes :whistle:

Personally, I'm doing a 2.5 Ford Duratec swap in a red 06 (my first NC out of 50+ Miatas) I picked up in November on a whirlwind trip up to Pottstown and back :shocked:

Family is good, I'm back to work after trying my hand at retirement (you know me, just can't keep still). How are the kids, sports? Kara?

No more racing for me right now, getting too expensive on the SVRA level, and forget SCCA, too many guys doing the arrive and drive thing for my tastes these days. Yet, I'm tracking down my original 95 "R" that Gary Jones restored before he passed away, so you never know what the future might bring.


Bill S.

PS: Come on up for a visit, my cell is the same.

[mrbill]

As for the racing, isn't this your team

[Klayfish]

Thanks gang!

Theo,
My feeling is that the NA (never owned an NB, but understand it feels a lot like the NA since they're closely related), is a very different car than the NC. To me, the NA is more fun on a tight, twisty road. It's lighter, has ridiculously fast reflexes and truly feels like a go kart meant for street use. It's also slower and noisier than the NC. The NC is still incredibly nimble, responsive and fun on twisty roads. The advantage it has, at least IMHO, is that it's a far better daily driver. A bit less cramped...though still small inside...cruises the highway better, is a bit quieter, has more creature comforts, more compliant ride. The seats, however, are some of the worst I have ever sat in. I hate the NCs seats, but have learned to live with them. I was shopping all over the map for a fun toy (you can see my daily driver Elantra in the background of my picture). Looking at '06-'09 Mustang GTs, Infiniti G35/37, Saab 9-3 verts, etc... I had been watching this Miata for a little while. It had been on their lot since June. I was about to pull the trigger on a Mustang when this dealer made an offer I flat couldn't say no to. 122k miles, in great shape. A bit of rust on right rocker, but considering it was in IL all its' life, not too bad. Need to change trans fluid and rear gear oil, shifter is a bit stiff when cold.

Bill,
I still miss my FFR...someday again I will have one. We're doing well. Kara is doing great, looks incredible (she's ripped beyond ripped). All three kids play lacrosse in the spring, so we're eyeball deep in it right now...and I'm helping to coach Josh's team. The boys play football in the fall, and Shelby stays with lacrosse. How old is your Josh now? The 95 'R, was that the red one?

Yes, that's my race team. The boat died a sad death. Throttle cable snapped on me while I was heading for turn 1 at NJMP Lightning. Thankfully I was able to bring it to a controlled and safe stop, but before I could reach over fast enough to kill the motor, it bounced off the rev limiter a few times. Spun a bearing. We put another junkyard motor in, but it promptly blew up. Parked it for the season, and in the off season found that cancer was too wide spread to safely put it back on the track. So we picked up a newer S10 with the better 4.3L and transferred all the suspension goodies to that truck. So we've got that, a '91 Civic hatch, plus several "satellite" teams of ours. One of the satellite team vehicles is sitting in my basement.

http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LSD1...6-_MG_4885.jpg

I tried my hand at race car ownership and am not really liking it. I have a teammate who lives down here with me and he's co-owner of it. But I have little skills to fix it, and he's really busy, so it's been sitting for a really, really long time. Blew the motor. We got an E36 318i as a donor, and have it all stripped down. Just need to find time to stick it all in the truck. You should try LeMons sometime, it's so much fun!!

[Theo]

Thanks for the feedback. Ha, I thought Bill was only kidding about that being your race team.

[mrbill]

Bill,
I still miss my FFR...someday again I will have one. We're doing well. Kara is doing great, looks incredible (she's ripped beyond ripped). All three kids play lacrosse in the spring, so we're eyeball deep in it right now...and I'm helping to coach Josh's team. The boys play football in the fall, and Shelby stays with lacrosse. How old is your Josh now? The 95 'R, was that the red one?

Yes, that's my race team. The boat died a sad death. Throttle cable snapped on me while I was heading for turn 1 at NJMP Lightning. Thankfully I was able to bring it to a controlled and safe stop, but before I could reach over fast enough to kill the motor, it bounced off the rev limiter a few times. Spun a bearing. We put another junkyard motor in, but it promptly blew up. Parked it for the season, and in the off season found that cancer was too wide spread to safely put it back on the track. So we picked up a newer S10 with the better 4.3L and transferred all the suspension goodies to that truck. So we've got that, a '91 Civic hatch, plus several "satellite" teams of ours. One of the satellite team vehicles is sitting in my basement.

I tried my hand at race car ownership and am not really liking it. I have a teammate who lives down here with me and he's co-owner of it. But I have little skills to fix it, and he's really busy, so it's been sitting for a really, really long time. Blew the motor. We got an E36 318i as a donor, and have it all stripped down. Just need to find time to stick it all in the truck. You should try LeMons sometime, it's so much fun!!

No, the 1995 Cobra "R" Mustang (#99 of 250) I raced SCCA (white with blue Shelby stripes)

1995R99.jpg

My Josh turned 26 this past summer, still lives in PA, two promotions in his company (wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Communication) last year, this year, employee of the year. He has a strong work ethic and Deb and I cannot be prouder.

As for owning a race team, not for me, I'm a one man show when it comes to racing, and I like it that way. The Club Cranky gang split geographically, Johnny Mac is back to NJ, Hank just outside Boston in a house overlooking the harbor, Cranky, somewhere in the south eastern portion of NC. Bill Karns, last I heard he was still in northern, NJ just outside of Manhattan, but had looked at a place in Spartensburg about this time last year, stopped in and saw Deb and I for a day, then back to NJ.......Nobody actively racing at the moment, kind of sad when you think about it......

Thanks for the feedback. Ha, I thought Bill was only kidding about that being your race team.

Nope, I wasn't kidding, I've know Steve and his family for somewhere around 18-20 years, remember when he got his first FFR Cobra replica, he was a wet behind the ears track wannabe in a yellow turd, now he is all grown up and has earned his track stripes.....LOL


Bill S

[mrbill]

As a follow up to someone who PM'd me about the affectionate use of the words "yellow turd", I present Steve's yellow turd on it's first outing at Pocono raceway (year, maybe 2001-2003?)



Along with my own FPSB Blue Turd (much faster than Steve and not in the same run group I might add :D )




The terms "FPSB" and "Turd" are both terms of endearment, as used in the organized days of "Club Cranky Racing", and are not meant to disparage or put down anyone or anything :rolleyes:

[Klayfish]

Wow, I'm amazed you've got that picture. Yeah, that would have to be something like 2002 maybe? And bragging on beating up on a rookie? :p I remember that track day, I just wanted to make sure I knew which way to turn and keep it off the wall. Jeez, it had a mild 302 and 2.73 rear end at that point. It was so much faster once I got the 351W and 3.73 rear. I'm certainly a lot faster driver than I was then, but still a conservative driver. My teammates jokingly call me "Good Christian Motoring". I love to mix it up and love running in traffic (in LeMons, you don't have a choice anyway), but if we're three wide approaching a corner, I'm the one who will lift. I'd rather bring the car...and myself...back in one piece. Therefore, I often wind up driving the craziest shifts of the race, because they know that even if I'm 2 seconds per lap slower than they are, I'll bring it back shiny side up.

And yes, Bill and I have know each other an awful long time, and he and his crew are partly responsible for my current addiction to racing. So thanks, Mr. crack pipe pusher...

Theo, yeah, that's really my race team. I started running 24 Hours of LeMons about 6 years ago. I'm totally hooked, I love it. We've built some wild cars...that "boat" got a lot of attention. It was actually a lot faster then a boat sitting on an S10 chassis had any right to be. It even won it's class once.

Only NC related question I have is that my car has what seems to be a very slight "surge" when I'm cruising and am at roughly 1/4 throttle. It's not dramatic, and is rather slight, but I can feel it. Almost feels like it's cycling on and off the gas a few times per second. It's barely noticeable, but I can feel it. Only happens while just cruising to maintain speed, light throttle. Goes away if I dip into the gas. Thoughts?

[mrbill]

And yes, Bill and I have know each other an awful long time, and he and his crew are partly responsible for my current addiction to racing. So thanks, Mr. crack pipe pusher...

Careful, as the keeper of the leash the holds back our Club Cranky lead investigator "Corky"



you of all people should know Club Cranky is everywhere, more than "Da Bunnies"


Does your wife know this picture exists :facepalm:

[Klayfish]

Wow, I had hair and everything. Skinny as a rail too...ugh.

Any thoughts on the slight surging I feel in the NC?

[mrbill]

Wow, I had hair and everything. Skinny as a rail too...ugh.

Any thoughts on the slight surging I feel in the NC?

start a new thread for the surging

as for hair, mine is 80% gray now :D