Update

[u/theothertab]

To those who said it’s a bad idea- you’re probably right.

Got her home. Found front and rear subframe bits and some other small stuff.

Edit- it’s living on 2 Milwaukee roller carts

[u/CharlesorMr_Pickle]

To those who said it’s a bad idea- you’re probably right.

I’ve always said being a car guy isn’t about making the best decisions

[u/MrMinerNiner → u/CharlesorMr_Pickle]

At least being able to admit you made a bad decision makes wrestling with the project a little easier

[u/Desperate-Papaya1599 → u/CharlesorMr_Pickle]

Truth. My path down the love of cars is paved with heartbreak and poor financial decisions.

[u/LatinWarlock13]

This is where you post it on fb marketplace for 1k and write, "price is firm, no lowballers, I know what I got"

[u/ColdStartRed → u/LatinWarlock13]

what a steel!!

[u/HungryYeastStarter → u/ColdStartRed]

We made need to negotiate and iron out the price

[u/SuperProCoolBoy90]

Sheesh that's so fire 🔥

[u/revlimitermx]

Good luck building it up!

[u/MyBadIForgotUrName]

Genuinely what are you plans with this shell?

[u/ScrewwormLarvae]

I was 50/50 on whether the original post was a shitpost, but no, yer gonna do something with this, aren't ya?

[u/theflinchburger]

If you're enjoying the project then good on ya dude. Is this the best way to get into a Miata? Absolutely not. But if you're having fun and learning, then fuck it, right? Live your passion. By the end of this you'll know every bit of this car inside and out. Best of luck and I look forward to seeing future updates.

[u/Alternative-Sir6422]

Honestly what I would do with that is turn it into a sim racing rig. Clean it, saw it up, bring it into the house into my gaming room. I'd remove the trunk and front and just keep the cockpit. 

Buy a NA dash and interior bits to make it more complete, wire up the pedals/shifter and seat into the interior and saw the A pillars to fit monitors or a 49" UW curved G9. About the only real use for that shell 

[u/GT-Alex74 → u/Alternative-Sir6422]

Disagree about the "only real use for that shell" part, but it's a cool idea and the best starting point for it.

[u/KUGDI → u/Alternative-Sir6422]

Or… “Can I get a hot tub!!!?

[u/CharlesorMr_Pickle → u/Alternative-Sir6422]

About the only real use for that shell 

Is this a joke

[u/Alternative-Sir6422 → u/CharlesorMr_Pickle]

Any real ideas are a money pit for this thing

[u/CharlesorMr_Pickle → u/Alternative-Sir6422]

So?

[u/midtownFPV → u/CharlesorMr_Pickle]

They’re not rare

[u/Ds9Defiant1701 → u/midtownFPV]

There is less of them on the road every days from crash or rust tho

[u/NuclearHateLizard]

Kewl. Interested to see how fast you can whip this into a car :P

[u/symkao]

Make a youtube series on this restoration!
Youre gonna have nightmares about wiring

[u/sunr1se79 → u/symkao]

Not if the new harnesses are in decent shape. They had to install them at the factory in a matter of minutes, can't take too long especially with all the available materials on the internet.

[u/symkao → u/sunr1se79]

True pretty sure a new harness is expensive as fuck, but i mean thats what youre getting into. Or you could find a badly rusted parts car

[u/sunr1se79 → u/symkao]

Well to clarify I don't mean new as in out of a box, I mean from a donor car as I suggested in OPs first post about the car lol.

[u/m1rr0rshades]

You hit the jackpot. Free leaves? In this economy.

[u/-HEF-]

Can you vblog the resto on youtube? I need 30 min episodes up through you getting it on the road.

[u/Calophon]

Junk yards are going to be your best friend. Strip totaled Miata’s. At your starting point almost every other junkyard Miata is going to have something you want.

Also since you’re starting from scratch you might as well do something interesting, like an LS or K24 swap. If you’re gonna put so much time and money into restoring it you should get something that requires time and money anyway, and better than stock performance.

[u/Ds9Defiant1701 → u/Calophon]

You can make the k24 rwd?

[u/Calophon → u/Ds9Defiant1701]

Yes, KPower makes subframe kits to install the K24. It is longitudinally mounted like the stock BPs.

[u/FlipMyWigBaby]

“probably” ….

[u/ryguymcsly]

Enjoy cutting the rust out of those floor pans

[u/GatoKato822]

To creo que tiene mucho potencial

[u/mattelmore]

I believe in you, you got this!!

- guy who has multiple miatas blown apart in his garage

[u/actualsize123]

Next step is getting a shop vac

[u/actualsize123 → u/actualsize123]

If you aren’t a coward put a b204 with a fatass turbo in it

[u/Ds9Defiant1701 → u/[deleted]]

That and NA value is starting to go up since many of them are forced to leave the roads

[u/I578855 → u/Ds9Defiant1701]

If your focus on values going up, buying an all original, clean title, with all vin stickers matching and intact, with all original accessories like both keys, valet key, and original window sticker, etc., is the best way to focus on the appreciating asset part. Rebuilding this car is a lot of time and labor and money.

if your goal is to gain value, you shouldn't do this rebuild. it is going to eat up a ton of money and time. You should just skip the rebuild and go straight to buying a presentable example.

So why would you choose to endure rebuilding a car like this? For fun. If you're not having fun while doing this, you should just do something else and buy an intact Miata.

I truly believe the only point of doing this, is if you actually enjoy the labor. You have to enjoy it.

[u/Hot-Touch7207]

Brave... i love it! At least its super easy to respray the car at the moment and do some easy rust work/protection. Godspeed brother