We Take A Ride In The Old Miata

We were bored.

So I had the brilliant idea to take the Miata out for a little ride.
We only put about 200 miles on it last year and it was just sitting around doing nothing, and the afternoon was cool with little sun.
Perfect day to have the top down.

Off we went to the gas station for some petrol where we ran into one of my neighbors.
Of course we started talking about the white trash that lives between us and were having a merry little discussion when I noticed lightening off in the distance.

With a hurried good by we took off for home before the rain hit.
I bet you know where this is going.

As we headed down the winding little two lane rode toward our house I noticed the underside of the leaves on the trees were beginning to show.
Then the wind picked up.
Leaves started abandoning the trees and flying through the air, crossing the road in front of us.
The car began to be gently pushed from side to side.

I sped up.
Now, small branches and twigs were hitting the road.
I swerved around them as they fell and pushed the gas pedal down a little more.
My wife started telling me to slow down.....then it started to rain, gently.

There was nowhere to stop and put the top up, no bridge to hide under, no large trees, no berm.
On we sped..could we make it?

The rain increased and I turned on the parking lights and wipers.
We were going fast enough so the we had entered the "rain bubble" as the wind traveling over the car kept the rain off of us.

But the rain increased, up came the headlights and I turned the wipers on max...we were starting to get wet.
Faster, faster. My wife said slow down we're gonna slide! But I kept up the pace.

The rain got worse. A car or two came at us from the other direction and it was beginning to get hard to see, then we hit the downpour.
The road became littered with sticks and branches, my hair was getting wet and the wipers couldn't keep up with the rain.

Then..I saw the turn off! If we could get on the road that paralleled the stream we'd enter the little narrow gorge of rocks and might get some protection.
But it was now very hard to see, water was dripping from my eyes and the windshield was almost opaque. The road was just a faint shadow directly in front of the car.

Up ahead a Jeep had pulled off the road due to a large branch blocking the way....but he had a roof and could afford to stop.
I swerved to the left and crept around the end of the limb almost scraping the rocks as I went by......and we were through.
The road narrowed to the part that's impassable for school buses and I could barely see, it was like driving a submarine.
I switched over to sonar.

We reached the last hill before home when I noticed a strange sound. Like little tinkling bells...on the roll bar...
"It's hail", yelled my wife!
Down it came bouncing off the hood, the dash, my head.."Can you see?", yelled my wife.
"Not really!", I shouted back, I was using both lanes, watching the berm on the driver's side and using dead reckening to find the center of the road.
Onward we flew!

There's the house!
I sped around back as my wife hit the door opener and we were safe inside!

Then the rain and hail stopped.

I got out, peeled off my soaked T-shirt and wiped the water off my face as I pushed my hair back out of my eyes.
We got towels and sponges and dried the inside of the car off as we removed pieces of hail from the floor, boot, seats, and our clothes.

And it was fun.

After the carpets dry maybe we'll take another ride.

 

It's a '92.
We went out to buy a bag of cement one day about 20 years ago and came back with a Miata.
We've replaced the top, seat covers, wheels, gauges, suspension, etc. and added to the engine so it goes faster.
It has a little over 100,000 on the clock.
Original clutch and paint.

Due for antique plates this year.

 

Unfortunately we live in the country, no trolleys or buses.

But that would be fun!

 

I used to drive the Miata all winter. Once on the turnpike, coming over the mountains in a blizzard I stopped to knock the ice off the wipers and as I opened the door a sheet of ice fell off the side. The entire car was encased in ice so the top couldn't leak.

Although it did look like the space shuttle reentering the atmosphere as the roof would flex and shed deadly shards of ice as I drove down the road.

I have a new glass window top so it's pretty tight.

 

Well, you have to remove the boot, fold it up, put it the trunk, pull the top up. Reach over the roll bar and find the window zipper, hold the window up with your head, yank on the zipper, then clamp the darn thing down.

The top goes up very rarely, usually only when I wash the car.

Okay....I'm lazy.

 

We're hoping.
It was a base model, cloth seats, steel wheels, crank up windows.
The seats covers were getting bad when we bought it, so we put in leather ones, shocks needed replaced so I did the springs and sway bars also. Springs tend to break around 100k.
The top had cracks and the plastic window was going bad.
Then we fixed and added some cosmetic stuff.

The engine was for fun, it now puts out about 150 HP at the wheels verses 113 HP at the crank for a stock engine.

 

We have a five speed and the stereo sucks.
I put new speakers in the head rests, but it's hard to hear them with the top down.

And an automatic in a Miata may be illegal, I believe.