I found new homes for the Miata and the Ferguson. I had Fergie for sale (forever, so it seems) for amounts ranging from “here’s what I have into it,” to “surely it must be worth this,” to finally “OK, I guess that no one cares if it’s restored or not.”

I sold the Miata to a friend here on the island for $1,500. (I gave him a discount as he really needs a car and doesn’t have a lot of spare cash, a situation I’m all too familiar with. Saves the hassle of selling it, too.) I had the car a year, and new top aside, it didn’t need anything other than a flex hose for the rear brakes. The Miata got a consistent 30 – 31 MPG, too.

I have done very little to this car and it has, thus far, been very reliable. It’s fun to drive–though it’s not as personable as the MGs. I put a new $150 top on a long while ago, which was a pleasantly easy and speedy operation. It doesn’t fit as well as it might behind the door glasses–but I just used the pre-punched holes and bolted it in place without any hand fitting. It’s waterproof and folds up and down as it should, so I’m satisfied.

I also have had to replace one of the flexible brake lines in the rear as a caliper was sticking. That’s it for repairs or running costs aside from petrol.

I traded the tinted side windows to a friend who put his un-tinted windows into my car, which removed one of the aesthetic issues I didn’t like. Now to find a cheap white trunk lid without a luggage rack…

The gearbox sounds like it’s full of marbles (it had no fluid in it when I bought it, filling it made no difference to the sound), but it functions perfectly and doesn’t seem like the era-without-lubricant fazed it much. The A/C has no charge–which is OK as I don’t really have a use for it. And I have a new valve cover gasket, which I’ll fit at the next oil change.

I’m just about to roll over 149,000 miles. I’ve gotten as low as 29 MPG and as high as 31 in my normal driving style. Turns out this car is fairly unusual, in that it doesn’t have power steering, windows, etc. It’s better for that, I think, can’t imagine needing power steering in this light machine, and fewer electrical items on an aging car is a good thing.

I would like to change the exhaust note. I consider my white MGB, Reggie, to have a near-perfect four-cylinder exhaust note. Slightly deep, slightly gruff, not too loud but pleasant, typical of older MGBs and MGAs. The Miata is much “buzzier” and tinny. It’s actually a bit loud, in a “kiddie-ricer-fart-can” sort of way. Maybe I can just hang an old MGB exhaust on it…

Seeing as tomorrow is the monthly Whidbey get-together, and it’s going to be a nice day, I went and got the MGB out of storage and stuck the Miata in for a day or so. The fuel pump on the MGB is sticky, so it took awhile to get it going. I’ll put a new pump on later this year. (Famous last words!)

This is my “new” “cheap” ($2,000) “winter car.” I looked at all sorts of interesting older machinery, but in the end I showed a bit of sense and avoided several cars which needed work (lots of work, generally) to be decent transportation. This machine is a 1990 Mazda Miata with about 145,000 miles and all of the assorted dings accumulated in 20 years. Runs well, overall it’s in OK condition, and everything seems to work.

The previous owner used photos of a different car in their CL ad (people do this?), and glossed over a ton of stuff. The carfax was clean, though, and the car drove fine, so as usual I threw caution to the wind. From their description: “The exterior is perfect except for two small dings you can barely see.” This discounts all the other dings, but does account for the twin, long, painful dents at the front, one on the passenger fender, and one on the bonnet, where a ladder fell onto the car. Barely see these? Do people really not notice stuff like that?

Car has A/C but no other options (so no power steering, power windows, or the like, which I’m happy about). Aftermarket wheels (fine), tinted windows (Arizona) and a cheesy roll bar which is coming out soon. Also has a trunk luggage rack, which I generally detest–this one has not changed my mind. Car was in an accident at some point which warranted a new driver’s front fender, but didn’t damage the bonnet or warrant an accident report (at least nothing that showed up on a carfax). The headlight pod on that side needs a bit of adjustment, you can see it’s sitting slightly proud. Car has been repainted the original white, not a bad job, but some over-spray to clean up on some rubber trim.

I’ll be replacing the top (rear window zipper has come adrift, and it’s cheaper to get a new top than to repair the window), adjusting the headlight pod, removing the “style” bar, bleeding the clutch (the fluid looks lethal), and maybe seeing what a paintless dent guy can do for a limited amount of money. Interior is pretty decent and doesn’t really need anything other than some massaging of the stereo install–the surrounding radio trim piece won’t fit into the space available in the Mazda console, so the installer left it in the glove box; I can use a Dremel to trim the trim and make it fit, I think.

It’s a fun car to drive and handles very well, and while it doesn’t feel more powerful than my MGB I’m sure it would beat it in a stoplight drag. Most importantly, it should also get about four times the gas mileage of the truck while being considerably more amusing to drive. And I look forward to being able to drop the top quickly on days when it’s not raining.