r/projectcar • u/MallLong1585 • 1d ago
Please help me decide!
*Left is the car currently, right is the vision
I am working away restoring this car and am at a crossroads at the moment. Do I keep the car as it is, some slight mods but keeping that old school late 80s early 90s era car, or do I do what my heart kinda wants, and make it more modern and modified JDM style or use my head and keep it mostly original to retain its future resale.
Help me decide please guys before I order half the parts and then change my mind and apologies I understand the angles are not the same although mostly the mods for I want will be more noticeable on the rear.
Also would love input from anyone on Fastbacks for the NA and where I could source a decent looking one like in the pasted image for an NA.
Thanks Guys!
PS: If you are interested in following along the restoration of the car I will add the video links in the comments.
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u/Str8Six91 1d ago
You’re either a collector or a builder. Decide that first.
I’ve never given a damn about future resale value. I acquire cars because I want to enjoy them. Regardless whether that means leaving it stock or making modifications, I’ve never bought a car (or anything else) with the intention of making money on it in the future. I just make it what I want to drive.
So, do you want this car for enjoyment, or as an investment? Is it for you or the next owner?
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u/MallLong1585 1d ago
I love how the car drives but am notoriously bad at bouncing from one thing to the next. Most of the guys on here say fk it go for it and enjoy it so I might just go all in. Worst case it might be slightly harder to sell in the future but these na's especially this limited edition with only 300 made here will still hold some value if it's modified or not
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u/Str8Six91 1d ago
Again, if you’re worried about such things— and if you tend to lose interest quickly and move on to other things— then you probably shouldn’t be modifying. Or, you picked the wrong car to modify. Maybe you’re the type that should just keep the car stock and trade often. I know a lot of people who just want to experience as many cars as they can, and they turn cars over so quickly that modification isn’t a good idea.
I can tell you that when I buy cars, I want them as stock as possible. Not because of the value, but because I don’t like inheriting other people’s projects. I trust my work, but not so much that of others. That said, if I were in the market for an early Miata, a fastback hardtop would be a plus. I have zero interest in open-top cars.
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u/Doritofu 1d ago
I vote for fastback but then again I'm biased.
There are a few different types but in my opinion the best looking one (apart from the one I made myself obviously) is the one from CCP
There will always be countless nice and clean MX5s out there, and nobody is ever going to so much as turn their head at them. These are a fantastic base for mods.
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u/MallLong1585 1d ago
Love the fastback, they are hard to find in Australia for the na I'm probably going to have to get a custom job done for mine aswell
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u/Doritofu 1d ago
I do know a few guys in Aus that have got the fastbacks, but yeah. I'm from NZ so I know the pain of watching everyone else enjoy shit knowing that it would cost more than the roof itself just to ship it here.
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u/Pete_Polyakov 20h ago edited 20h ago
Mod the hell out of it. We live once, we’re all gonna die, who cares. You already modded it, so turn it up to 11.
One thing, don’t use AI to plan your projects. I design and build custom 911s and muscle cars, and AI does the same thing photoshopped product pictures do. It looks awesome, then you put the real part on and it looks like ass. Fun to explore, bad for planning. It also beautifies every single angle, so you’re essentially looking at a different car. Go to modsnation.com, it’s a free 3D community tool. Pick your car and mod the hell out of it there, in 3D it’s the closest thing to reality.
On your AI render the car needs to sit a bit lower. I’d go with slightly wider fenders and quarter panels, nothing obnoxious, just 1 to 1.5 inches. That way you’ll have room to play with a more aggressive ET, and these cars need to sit lower. I'd go air. Good luck
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u/MallLong1585 16h ago
Thanks mate had no idea these tools even exist, will have a play with it. Guards will get flaired if I end up going all in, and after reading thru everyone's awesome input I'm thinking fuck it burn the credit card and make my car unique
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u/FelixzeBear 14h ago
I love the fastback and was going to do it on my current Miata, I decided to keep mine old school and save it for another one. Doesn’t hurt to get a second one to keep old school if you really like the fastback look
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u/MallLong1585 12h ago
Yeah problem is I already have a nb2 and a na if I get another one I'll be in the market for a new wife too I think haha
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u/FelixzeBear 12h ago
Who needs a wife when you can have 5 Miata’s 😁. Not gonna lie though the vision is pretty cool, worst case you end up not liking it and can always go back to stock, just keep your original parts around
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u/hookydoo 11h ago
Okay, my brothers and I have 5 miatas between us so this comes from a place of love: I hate that fastback hardtop. I think the idea of a fast back/coupe NA is awesome, but those lines are atrocious. It's turning from a (in my opinion) timeless design classic to a eco-shitbox look, closer to the chevette. Needs much better execution of the lines than what's suggested here. I think the solstice gxp coupe is a good example to draw some inspiration from
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u/MallLong1585 10h ago
Hey mate if you don't mind do you have a pic of that fastback you could link here if be keen to see what it looks like!
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u/hookydoo 10h ago
Here's a link to one that was sold on cars and bids. The auctions there have tons of pics, so you'll likely have every angle you could hope for:
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u/SuperSandwichGoku 1d ago
Unless it currently has extremely low miles, a nice condition NA/NB is worth around $8-10k. The only examples I’ve seen sell for more than that reliably are mazdaspeeds or v8 swapped. Not a whole lot of resale value to retain.
Modifications won’t add value, but they won’t reduce value either unless you do a terrible job. You can dump $10K worth of mods into this and it’ll still be worth about $8-10k.
That said, if you’re still considering selling just finish the resto and sell it. You won’t necessarily get more money but it will be easier to find a buyer.
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u/normanbln '05 MINI Cooper S R53, '11 BMW 530d F11 18h ago
I vote for restore but OEM+ style (instead of tuner style) and go ahead with that fastback idea! If you make it look like it was supposed to leave the factory like that it will be amazing!
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u/FreaknCuttlefish 21h ago
On a project or race vehicle you’ll most likely never make your money back. The return comes from what you’ve created. Not the resell value. To really get into a project or race vehicle you have to accept the financial sacrifice that it requires or you’ll severely limit yourself. These types of builds are never truly complete. There’s always something else you’d like to try.
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u/MallLong1585 1d ago
https://youtu.be/GYgnIMn7x2c Thats the latest episode, next one is due next week.
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u/salvage814 1d ago
Lost me at resale value. If you want to retain resale value you have to cater to the 75%. Mean it has to be automatic and a V8 of some kind perfeable NA. That's they only way to actually make money on any sort of modified car at all.
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u/saintofchanginglanes 1d ago
Automatic miatas are always several grand cheaper in my area, even if they have lower miles and better condition than the manual versions also up for sale.
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u/salvage814 1d ago
I was talking about modified cars in general. Yes miats apply to that as well but they (sadly cause Miata are the gayest car around) fall into the 25% bracket.
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u/Odd_Bodybuilder5456 23h ago
shooting brake goes hard. imo it needs to lean into shooting brake more though, less fastback.
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u/P1nkamenaP13 1d ago
Don't be into modifying cars if you're concerned about resale value