Miatatude

Early to Blog, Late to Watch

Dumped most of a whole quart of oil into the crankcase and got the ol’ dipstick lubed up to the F-word.

The UPS man pulled up just as I was going out to make a Staples run. He beeped and then disappeared into the back of his truck. I have two things coming, coco mats for the car and the Cowboy Up T-shirt. When I checked the mat order this afternoon it still just said, “Order submitted. Check back later.” So I figured it had to be the shirt and wouldn’t it be great for me get that thing and then the Red Sox lose the game. I have already risked the wrath of the baseball gods by buying the thing in the first place, but then to wear it before they have actually won the series – oh, boy. I’d never let me live that down.

Purchased Today: $1.91 qt of oil
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2487.30
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 255

Happy 27th

Rainy day today, so we dodged showers on and off while out and about. Dined at Outback for dinner tonight to celebrate our 27th anniversary (2 weeks late.) Went hog wild and even split a dessert. Woohoo.

Must be time to change the oil, the valve clatter sticks around for 5 secs or so before quieting. I just did it at 120,200 and I’m at 122,427 right now, so that is only 2,227 miles. Plus I’m down a little more than half a quart, you shouldn’t lose any during a timing belt change…

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2485.39
Started down, went up, went down, back up, back down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 255

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

My thoughts on my 4 days with a 2003 Miata…

The Good:
1) That new car smell. There is just something about the aroma given off by the outgassing of still solidifying plastics.
2) That new car feel. Everything is still tight and rattle free.
3) Black leather from the factory. Finally Mazda has eliminated the need for having an ugly exterior/interior combination just to get leather seats.
4) Round Knobs for the HVAC controls. The sliding levers of the 1st generation Miata are so 1950’s.
5) Remote electronic trunk release. – This may have been inevitable, see the bad #1. Coupled with a gas strut this would be awesome.
6) No zip back window. Eliminates a step in putting the top down.

The Bad:
1) The keyhole for opening the trunk is too low. It is hard to get the key in and turn without squeezing your fingers.
2) No zip back window. Reduces the headroom, so tall drivers will now hit the fabric panel used to automatically raise/lower window.
3) The speedometer is calibrated in 20 MPH increments with little ticks every 2 MPH, this makes it hard to tell your speed at a glance. I don’t know about your town, but where I live, we have speed limits of 25 & 45, not 22 or 48.
4) 6-speed transmission. Always seems like I needed to shift. I know with more use I would have adjusted to it, but why didn’t they leave the 5 speed ratios as is and make 6 a real overdrive? (At least here in North America.)

& The Ugly:
1) Splash Green Mica. Who you kidding, it’s teal. Looked odd but interesting in the mid 80’s on other cars, but why now on a Miata? The color grew on me, by the end of the 4 days I no longer gagged when I looked it.
2) You call that carpet? This stuff can only be charitably called floor covering. Makes the cheap loop carpet of the 1st generation Miata seem like a $50/yd plush Saxony.
3) Where the heck is the exhaust note? When the Miata first appeared they had an ad that ran in magazines about how they tried 100s of mufflers to get just the right sound (and they did,) but it is all but gone now from the factory.
5) Plastic brushed aluminum trim. Looked exactly like what is was, an afterthought and tacked on. The interior door handles would have looked a lot better in that finish had they did the cups behind them that way too.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2485.39
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 251

Newly Lubed Up

Went over to John’s house this afternoon so he could help me swap the old dirty oils for new fresh ones in the transmission and differential. When I say help me, I mean he did most of the work. Rudy was there too, so I hardly did a thing. You’ve heard of Click & Clack of Cartalk fame, well these two guys billed themselves as Clunk & Thunk. What we did is not hard, but requires a couple of things that my chintzy tool box doesn’t contain. Actually the hardest part is putting the new fluids back in. They are fairly viscous and the fill holes are up inside the car. John rigged up a squeeze bottle and some tubing so one person could hold the tube in the hole and another could squeeze. Really would have been nice to have a pump.

Purchased Today: $13.50 in gas
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2485.39
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 251

A Clean Top Is A Happy Top

Made a bagel run this morning, because of the rain we did it with the top up. I spent the rest of the morning futzing around with the car in the garage. I cleaned the convertible top with vinyl cleaner and then sprayed it with some 303 protectant. I dismantled the center console to fix the AWD A/C Panel that had taken to sliding down on one end. Two small screws that will be out of sight once the console is reassembled should take care of that. After having driven the new car for a half a week, I decided to unclutter my car by removing some of the stickers I had plastered all over it. I puled a couple of the vent window, relocated one to the windshield. I even took the Warning! sticker off the dash. I think I might go for some coco mats as my next mod. Hard to go wrong at that price.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2451.97
Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 250

Home Again, Home Again

The old car is back in the garage this evening after sleeping around for the last 8 nights. God, it is good to be back in a real Miata again. I always just clucked when confronted with the Father of the Miata, Bob Hall’s, quote, “The NB is a better car, but the NA is a better Miata.” but now I know how right he is having spent 4 days in a second generation Miata. A good part of the “better car” is admittedly that it had 120,000 fewer miles on the clock, but it is structurally stiffer, the interior & dash construction are better thought out and the trunk, while just marginally bigger, is a lot more usable due to the relocation of the spare. Driving a new car is seductive and had this one been a laguna-like blue, I might have been tempted.

The first two or three shifts back in the old Miata I almost hurt my wrist. The new Miata had a pistol style shift lever and the normal short Miata throw, but my car has a smaller round knob and a short shift kit, so I was trying to push too far.

I also missed the audible feedback, the new Miata has a much quieter muffler. The 1st generation has a sweeter sports car rumble, not rice-boy annoying, but just enough to let you know what you are driving.

Purchased Today: $0 on new timing belt
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2451.97
Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 249

Too Late

Kelly called at 5:00 PM to tell me the Miata is ready. Unfortunately it was too late for me to get it and get back for when I wanted, so I told her I’ll get it tomorrow. I went out to run a lunchtime errand and stopped at an old warehouse building and took a couple pictures for posterity.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2451.97
Started up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 248