How I Learned To Stop Worrying About My Mitsubishi And Buy A Miata

You Bought....That?

(This Is Going To Take Awhile.  Pack A Lunch)

I am now a Miata owner.

Words, I never thought I would ever have to utter out loud.

Specifically, I have owned a 99 5 Speed Emerald Mica Green NB1 Miata, since Dec 2015.  I admit, I never thought I would ever get around to owning one of these cars.  I've entertained the thought more than once, based on the obvious love and admiration that the car seems to inspire in its owners, but I just couldn't pull the trigger and try one for many years.

Too slow, too small and then there's the stigma attached to the car and it's owners. The last part didn't really bother me too much, as for about a year and a half I drove a Talon converted 97 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GS-T, and trust me I got a lot of weird looks from people driving that "Stripper Mobile" around.

So give me your best shot, thinly disguised contempt and weird looks about the car I drive.

I can take them.

So, Why No Miata? 

A lot of it had to do with my love affair with Turbocharged Mitsubishi vehicles , the Eclipse and especially it's "Bastard Dodge" Cousin, the Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser.

I Wish They Really Did

  You see from about 1997 to 2015, I had always owned a turbocharged Mitsubishi or DSM car of some type or another, in that time period.  That's over 18 years of Talons, Eclipses, Lasers, Mirage Turbo GT's, a Mighty Max,  Galant VR-4's, a 3000GT SL and even a Starion/Conquest thrown in for kicks.   
(The Mighty Max and the 3000GT don't really count because they weren't turbocharged. Shh.)

I Have No Idea What Version Of The Engine Bay This Was In The Talon

2006 Import Face Off, Ennis, TX

DSM House Shenanigans

RWD, FWD, Turbocharged and especially AWD...Hell Yeah!  It was great!  I learned how to really wrench on cars, and built some nice, clean and quick street cars in those years. I also bought a lot of cars on the cheap from "Know Nothing Owners" and either fixed them, parted them out , or returned them to stock condition to flip them for cash to buy my next car.

I broke a lot of shit, and I learned how to fix a lot of it as well.  While I did wind up stripping a few cars out, I stand by my record, as I "saved" a lot more cars from Bad Owners than I let die in a junkyard.  I truly loved the brand and the platform.

  Most of my friends were DSM or Mitsusbishi owners as well.  I met a lot of very nice people over the years, that I still count as friends.  Hell, I even lived with a few of them as housemates.  I also got to serve as Administrator on a number of local Import and DSM/Mitsubishi specific message boards, and was generally though of as a well respected member of the online and local DSM community in the Dallas area.

2008 DFW Mitsubishi/DSM Owners Group Photo

 As you can see, I had AWD and Turbocharged 4G63's on the brain, and I just couldn't see myself driving anything else.  Especially something like a Naturally Aspirated "Chick Car".  No matter how much loyalty it engendered, or how well it handled and how it was supposedly the answer for all things automotive. Besides, my friends said I would look really goofy in a Miata.   Especially with my knuckles dragging on the ground, because I left my arm hanging out the window while driving.  The whole "Big Guy In A Little Car" thing.  Silly reasons, but reasons nonetheless.

  I had my boost, AWD, a good reputation and a hoard of parts acquired over years of trading, buying and scrounging around. Plus the knowledge and ability to fix pretty much anything that went wrong with the car, so why give that up?

This Is Why

Nothing stays the same and life is always in a dynamic state.  So it was with my car hobby.  I still enjoyed the cars and working on them, but there was one thing that kind of soured me a bit on the whole thing.

  As I got older, and grumpier, I started to tire of some of the new owners who bought Mitsubishi/DSM cars.  They were younger for the most part, and for a large majority, they wanted everything spoon fed to them as far as information about diagnosing problems, mods and repairs. They also really seemed bent on cheaping out on parts and expecting things for free or next to nothing. No interest in doing it the right way, or learning how to do it.   Information that had been available for many years and was readily available online, was disregarded for because they "knew what they were doing" or their buddy told them how to do it with E-Bay knock off parts.

Sometimes it was fun to sit back and watch the carnage, and at other times it was downright pathetic.

I'm all for helping folks out, but when you repeat the same information, over and over to someone and they disregard said information because they think they know better, you start to get a little jaded.

So, I kind of withdrew and did my own thing with my cars.  I offered advise and help to old friends and people who asked for it, but kind of let the newbies fend for themselves.  I'd been working on these things since 1997, and it was starting to get a bit old.  But, while I remained curious about something different and new, like the Miata, I pushed it aside and continued working on my latest Mitsubishi Project, a 92 Galant VR-4.

The Grey Heartbreaker

Oh, So Painfully Stock

  This was probably the nicest Mitsusbishi I had ever owned and I've owned a LOT of them. Turbocharged 4G63, AWD, 4 Wheel Steering, Black Leather Interior and a Limited Edition with World Rally Championship Heritage to boot.  One of 1000 imported to the US for the 1992 model year, in my favorite GVR-4 color, Kensington Grey. The car was a clean rust free example that I picked up from the second owner in Colorado.  Stock, and unmolested for the most part.  I brought it back to Texas and daily drove it for awhile, and then parted out my 90 Talon TSi/AWD and made the Galant my new project.  I wanted to build a nice clean, sleeper AWD street car that had decent power, handled well and looked good while doing it. Most of the performance and "go faster" parts from the Talon made their way onto the Galant.

How I Got The Car In Colorado

Daily Driver Days, Before The Dark Times

Frankenstein JDM Clad Monster

  While I worked on making it faster, I also managed to score a few rare JDM body parts to include a RS Spec Front Bumper, JDM Rear Bunper and a RS Hood with OEM Hood vents.  These parts are highly desired by Galant VR-4 owners in the States, and through some friends, a bit of luck,  I had them on my car.

Upgraded suspension including, Coil Overs, Polyurethane Bushings, Heim Joints in the rear trailing arms along with numerous other additions made the car handle almost like an EVO.

  I then had the car painted, and it was gorgeous.  Very clean with subtle mods here and there for the discerning eye to pick out.  I loved the car and how it looked. It was quick, nimble and made all the proper noises at WOT.  I was stoked. 

Of course,  it all went downhill from there.

 

 

 

 

Off To The Paint Shop!

Paint Shop Carnage!

 

 

 

 

2011 Dallas Mitsubishi Owners Day

 

 Surely, You Jest!

Unfortunately, No.

After the paint and JDM parts, the car wasn't any fun to drive anymore.  I couldn't get it insured for a declared value, because it was "just an Old Mitsubishi" according to  Hagerty.  After hanging up on his ass,  I decided to stick with State Farm, and just hope for no accidents.

Solid plan, eh?

Engine Bay Version: Something Something Dark Side...

  Because of this, I drove around with my head on a swivel, whenever I took it out.  I knew if someone hit me, the car would probably get totaled out and I would more than likely get screwed by the insurance company on the payout.  Which I didn't want, I just wanted to be able to fix my car if it happened.

  Whenever I drove it, I obsessed about every noise, creak and vibration the car made.  I was constantly trying to decipher what the car was trying to tell me, and it just made me crazy.

The final straw was when I hit a "City Titty" and bent one of the SSR Competition wheels on the car and couldn't get it fixed right away.  Most of the local wheel repair shops wouldn't touch the repair because the bend had also caused a crack in the rim, and they didn't want to be liable for the repair if it damaged the wheel or if it failed later on.  I also couldn't easily source a replacement wheel, since that particular version of the Competition had been out of production for a long time.

  I eventually did get the wheel fixed, but after that I pretty much stopped driving the car at all.  It sat for over a year in my garage and I would make half hearted attempts to work on it, install some parts I had lying around and continue the build.  I just wasn't feeling it any more.

I had gone too far, and created the "Mother Of All Garage Queens" and was afraid to drive it.

  It took awhile to figure it out, but it was time to let it go.

It Got Dirty While Taking This Picture.  I Was Irritated For Weeks

Bye Bye Baby, Baby Bye Bye....

Soon afterwards, I listed it for sale on the Galant VR-4 forum and some Facebook pages with a asking price guaranteed to keep the "tire kickers" away.  I got a few bites here and there,some scoffing at my asking price, some genuinely interested as well.  I didn't think it was going to sell, but I eventually got a serious offer after a friend blew up my FS ad on Facebook.  The buyer agreed to my asking price, sight unseen with no attempts at haggling, which surprised me.  Over the next two weeks he paid for the car, and I got it ready to go to its new home.

  I dropped the car off at a local performance shop, to have the car checked out at the buyer's request and the car eventually made its way to New York State and its new owner.  I also boxed up  most every spare part I had for the car, along with my years of hoarded DSM/Mitsubishi parts and put everything on two pallets and shipped them up as well.

The new owner reports that he is more than pleased, and he and his Dad are enjoying the car.  I'm glad to hear they like it.

I did a good thing with that car.  But....I am finally free now.  

Do You Miss It?

Of course I do.

There's literal blood sweat and tears in that car, along with all the time and money I spent on it.  I do miss the feel of the turbocharged engine pushing me back in the seat, along with the feel of a properly sorted AWD setup. Nothing else like it.  Regardless, I think I did the right thing.  Selling it and buying a Miata as a project car seems to fit where I am in life right now.  I'm not afraid to drive it, aftermarket support is plentiful and plus there's the joy of learning the ins and outs of a whole new platform.

So, that's where I'll be for the time being, learning about my new toy.  Hopefully I don't screw this one up by going too far with it as well.

But knowing me,  I probably will.

Until Then,


Alpha, Mike, Foxtrot......
.