Other Cars (British & British-Inspired)

just bought my wife a first edition (NA) Miata, that is in amazing condition for a 92 model. I have to admit that I really enjoy driving it, very responsive steering, light clutch action, precise gear changes etc and you can throw it around corners like nobody's business. Finally the hard top doesn't leak and keeps things nice and quiet.
Been thinking that maybe the newer 2 liter version with a 6 speed tranny and auto retractable hard top might be a really interesting buy for me.
After spending so much time and money on my 69 MGB with 3.4L conversion my wife hit the roof when I mentioned it but I'm finding old age is beginning to creep up on me and climbing over and under the B isn't as easy as it used to be.
If I go this route will I regret it, I know my B inside out having replaced or rebuilt every darn component, it's like a new car now and i will never get back half of what I've spent on it but originally that was never my intent, I was looking at it as a nice toy in my retirement........until the darn Miata came along .

I can sympathize with you and your situation. Drove my V8 B from 2005 thru 2015. everything was great, but age got me. Hard to enter and exit the B. Sold it to a great and deserving guy in Maryland and chose another British Car. The ease of entry and sporty image caught my eye. Bought a 2003 XK8 Jaguar. (Green) and never been happier with a car. It is a Coupe rather than convertible, but I've done the "Verts". Love the dry and A/C and other options. There was a steep learning curve to doing the maintenance,etc, but they (Jaguar Forums) have a great web-site and knowledgeable members to assist. Parts prices for Ford filters, and some other hard parts are very reasonable. Some of Ford's parts will interchange to the Jaguar. One must do the Homework to make a GOOD buy.
The XK8's seem to be great cars and are very dependable. The prices drop rapidly and you can get a lot of car for not too much money.
Not trying to change our mind, but Miata's are not too easy to enter and exit either. Whatever you choose, just have fun!

Simply put...the Miata is a marvelous car....I have owned five NA's over the last 20+ years and never had a bad experience and a bunch of great experiences....true story...in 2010 I had a '91 Miata SE brg with a sbf in it...I wanted a matching green hardtop for it and found one in New Mexico..the guy would not ship and I had no vehicle large enough to go get it and bring it home...what to do? I looked on craigs list, found a '90 NA in Florence Kentucky...purchased it for $3k....put tires on it ...and drove it to NM in January 2010...made the purchase...put the hardtop on it and drove it back to Ohio...a 4k mile trip in a 20 year old sports car that I knew nothing about. Amazing...The trip was totally trouble free and relatively comfortable...and I sold the '90 for a tidy profit when I got home...yep..hate to say it but the Miata is everything that that Brit sports car should have been and could have been...

Never thought it would happen, but I too am becoming familiar with the nuisance of getting older, although the alternative so far is probably worse.
Main bug to date is eyesight, I simply don't see so well at short distance, which makes some jobs on the car - or woodwork or painting - a real pain. Glasses, different glasses, lights, more lights. And my neck doesn't like being screwed up.

I sold my TR6, not that it had a V8 but it had £££ and thousands of hours in it, and bought something more comfortable. In and out was no issue, nor getting under, but I want my wife to share my car interests as far as possible, and it seemed we had done the open car bit, well it is pretty cold and wet over here a lot of the time.

I do understand the in/out issue though - sat in an Elise in a friend's garage. Getting in and out once was quite enough, thankyou.

So I bought a 1970 Rolls, with a V8. It was a pig to work on and rusty, I sold it and bought another big V8 with a Rambler attached. Simpler and not rusty. Yes, simple to work on, as cars go. I haven't yet lost that urge.

Years ago, many years, I used to change engines in the street. Now I have a double garage and a big tool kit, but I do find my inclination to do anything major has greatly diminished. Rewired the Rambler's headlamps last week, and changed to a four-lamp dip with relays. OK not an Einstein job, but I can still find satisfaction in such things. Otoh, the auto gearbox needs to come out and that I have no interest in tackling any more, I shall take it 120 miles to someone who'll do it.

Used to have a 34 Lanchester, main car for eight years. Wood, leather. Too slow nowadays for any serious use, and spares would be a constant issue.

I suppose what I'm saying in a rambling fashion, we move on. We do what we do because we enjoy it, if we no longer enjoy it we should move on. Do you follow Barn Finds? That's full of cars whose owners didn't move on. They didn't pass their cars to someone who could enjoy them.

Chap down the road has a Miata. He too is in his 60s. I hear nothing bad about them, other than blandness and rust.

Me, I see no way I will ever buy a newer car, too complicated, too bland and insulated. None of our cars has pas, not even electric windows. But that's me, today. If you think you'll enjoy the car, try it. Perhaps if you can, try it a while before you sell the B. Thing with the B, you can never replace it, but you could always buy or sell a Miata.

Ivor

I too broke down and bought an NA (96) Miata and loved it so much bought another ~2 years ago. Then came the Boxster and a C5 Covette, all to keep the MGB from becoming lonely. We are a big happy family with large car insurance premiums.

Can't do it. I bought my first NA (91) from a co-worker as a cheap project to put one of my 215 v8s in. I run them in Chevy Vegas. I've had so much fun with the all stock '91, that I just couldn't do the swap. 32 mpg, fun to drive, convertible, CHEAP parts!!! What's not to love?
Fast forward a year..... I bought another '93 (LE- black with red leather) just for the hardtop..... because I wanted to Rallycross the '91 (factory hardtop required). Man, does that thing STICK (factory Bilsteins and R suspension with abs)
Just bought my 3rd Miata a couple weeks ago..... '94.
It's got the larger Torsen rear end that could live behind my 215 V8 and T-56 six-speed (Miata 4.1 rear ratio).

This is not my car.... but I'm drawing inspiration from it. There's videos of it on youtube doing burnouts (Rover V8)



Did I mention, I'm the current ETRSCCA 2017 Stock Rear Wheel Drive Rallycross champion with the '91? It's AWESOME.... regularly beats AWD Turbo Subarus

Nope, I can't talk you out of a Miata NA (first gen)

Exhaust routing is tough.... this guy had custom made headers. Notice the fuel injection? SWEET!

I would never second guess someone's choice, it's theirs for whatever reason. I had a Corvette, but I just washed, waxed and drove it. Involvement - my new favorite word, describes my attachment to the TR6. I have taken it completely apart, touching every nut and bolt (some several times). Every change has been designed and performed by me, for my satisfaction. Rather than going to the garage in the winter, and lifting the cover to attach the charger, I wrench away. I try to correct design errors, or add changes I deem necessary. It's mine, I built it, and until I cannot get into or out of it, it will stay that way. I envy the very high-end hotrods I see, but I don't have that level of skill, and would be too anal to take the thing on the road anyway. So, I enjoy "my" car and its oddities, and crank it up once in a while just for the thrill. Hmmm, I would like to do a 20 mph rolling run against a 60's muscle car - just to compare! Of course, that could lead down a slippery slope.
Dennis
'73 TR6 Ford V8

You'd smoke most of them.

Jim

Dennis,
Great description! Sounds exactly like my "involvement" with my car. I can't imagine ever replacing it either. I too will keep mine until I can no longer drive/work on it.

Scott

I started working on old cars in the 70s since the new vehicles with 5 mph bumpers and early catalytic converter technology were so dismal. However, I must admit that now many new cars are far better in performance and comfort than an upgraded MGB can ever be, but I still like working on cars.

In terms of reliability, even though I can rebuild virtually any part of my MGB, that does not mean I am always guaranteed of making it home, because it is not possible to carry all of the tools and spare parts that may ever be needed. Also, breakdowns can be dangerous depending on where they happen. In my first trip to Townsend I ran into a traffic jam in the Baltimore-Washington tunnel at midnight. It was so hot in the tunnel that the car almost overheated and there was (obviously) no shoulder in the tunnel; I hate to think what would have happened if the car had stopped running. So the reliability factor of a new(er) car is appreciated. The comfort zone for an old car is to never drive farther than you can walk.