[just dave]

Hello all.I picked up a '93 white and tan NA for my son.

This is how at looked when we first saw it.

This is it 14 days later after he had a meet and great with a trailer hitch.

This is it that night after I drove it home and removed the damaged parts.

We have acquired another bumper and bumper cover,hood, fender,headlight assy,and a new radiator upper tie bar and it is on its way to the shop tomorrow to have the tie bar replace as well as any other straightening it needs.

While it is in the shop we will be replacing the upholstery on his seats with some new units as well as replacing the seat bottom foam in the drivers seat. I picked up two seats for $50.00 and installed the drivers seat as replacement for the original so it would have something while it was at the shop. We'll take the foam from the passenger seat to use as a replacement for the original drivers seat. I picked up some other odds and ends to address some other minor issues. I also have some OEM Daisy wheels and will use this time to refinish them or decide on something else. We like the classic Minilight look but may opt for a wheel that has cleaner lines compared to the OEM wheels but still has the look of the Minilights.

Until that time we will be reading and learning.

 

[Tylerq219]

Was he driving like an asshat?

 

[just dave]

He was just too close to the Explorer and when the Explorer stopped quickly he hit it. The impact was pretty low speed and the Explorer sustained no damage. The damage done to the Miata was from the trailer hitch receiver.

To answer you question. I wasn't there but I'm 49 with a lot of years racing in SCCA and WERA and from my perspective many people I see driving deserve that moniker so yes he probably was to some extent.

 

[spitefulcheerio]

Wow. Hope he wasnt hurt. At least it happened early in life and no (serious) harm was done......kids always learn after it happens the first time, or at least you hope.

 

[just dave]

Wow. Hope he wasnt hurt. At least it happened early in life and no (serious) harm was done......kids always learn after it happens the first time, or at least you hope.

He is fine just upset and understandably so. He just had his Civic totaled when someone ran a red light and t-boned him ( he suffered some cuts and abrasions as well as a mild concussion) and now to have this happen is deflating. I hope he does learn and as a way to help him along that path I'm making him do most of the work, under my supervision, as a way to invest some sweat equity in the car. Will it have the desired effect? Who knows?

 

[ultimateforce]

Looks like it's time to turn that stuff into a Locost.

 

[Doppelganger]

I went from new to me to totaled in 4 hours.....on my second Miata. It really sucked.

 

[just dave]

I went from new to me to totaled in 4 hours.....on my second Miata. It really sucked.

If this were an insurance claim they would total it based on cost versus age. Fortunately I made a lot of contacts during the decade plus I was an auto tech (Honda) and the price of the repairs will be considerably less because of it.

 

[Doppelganger]

It really doesn't look all that bad. Good luck with the repairs. It really is a good opportunity to give the exterior a freshening up...considering so many of the early NAs suffer from bad paint.

Did the airbag go off?

If you like the minilite wheels style, check out R*Speed's Chaparral wheels...you can't go wrong with them.

 

[winlowe]

Welcome to CR

 

[ZefSide]

did the same in my friends del slow, ran into the back of an explorer!

 

[just dave]

It really doesn't look all that bad. Good luck with the repairs. It really is a good opportunity to give the exterior a freshening up...considering so many of the early NAs suffer from bad paint.

Did the airbag go off?

If you like the minilite wheels style, check out R*Speed's Chaparral wheels...you can't go wrong with them.

It looked worse before I hammered / pried it out to get the radiator off the engine. The body shop will sort out the pulling,cutting ,and welding.

Fortunately the airbag did not deploy.

I am thinking about getting the whole car shot but I am hesitant to do so until I see that it will be taken care of.

He needs some decent tires and I don't want to put them on the American Racing wheels it came with with. I think we will refinish the daisies and see how he does with those. If for no other reason to keep the higher profile of the 14" tires and lessen the chance he damages the wheels.

He has expressed a desire in a '91 CRX HF I have the needs some work. After I finish it he may take it and I'll keep the Miata. If that happens, plans will change dramatically.:twisted:

Welcome to CR

Thanks.

 

[Ls1Mx5]

Welcome here. Your son sounds like he has similar taste to me in cars. I've had 5 Crx's one k20a2 powered, and 3 Miatas one ls1 powered. One of the things I did when I was younger to improve my driving skills was practice drifting and purposefully making my car go out of control in wet and dry parking lots. Doing that saved my life at least once when my miata hydro plained and fishtailed when I was going 60-70. A less experienced driver would have over corrected and crashed. One of the most important aspects of good driving is having experience controlling out of control cars. I'm sure you know this (especially after years of racing), just my 2 cents for you and your son. Best of luck to you both

 

[Caboose]

Welcome to CR! Sucks about the car! Seems like your son and I have almost identical tastes haha. I owned a 93 Prelude before I bought my Miata. I rearended someone about a year into owning the Lude. Needless to say, that changed my driving habits for the better. I drove like an asshat, and, it caused me to hit someone.
If I were him, I'd jump on that CRX too They are hard to come by in good condition anymore, plus, the HF is perfect for tuning, since it's already got weight reduction done to it from the factory.

Ls1Mx5, that's some good advice. I never applied that reasoning to "gettin' sidewaise" haha.

Best of luck with the build! Eager to see how it comes out.

 

[33oh]

Welcome! I bought my Miata a little more banged up than that (was hit by an Escalade in a parking lot) and wasn't too bad to fix. Hope you're finding the same.

 

[[email protected]]

Wow, a little project - both the Miata and the son. I hope he learns the errors of his ways, and straightens up and "flies right." I had issues when I was a young driver, luckily I never hurt anyone but myself. Sounds like you're guiding him in the correct way. Best of luck to you with both projects, and welcome to CR!

Chris

 

[richieiscool]

takes a wreck to learn from it, after that he will probably respect the road more. congrats.

 

[just dave]

Wow, a little project - both the Miata and the son. I hope he learns the errors of his ways, and straightens up and "flies right." I had issues when I was a young driver, luckily I never hurt anyone but myself. Sounds like you're guiding him in the correct way. Best of luck to you with both projects, and welcome to CR!

Chris

takes a wreck to learn from it, after that he will probably respect the road more. congrats.

He's six points away from being without a DL. He'd better be picture perfect or I'll have an extra car.

I have a salvage yard in town where the owner races and builds/sells spec Miatas and as a consequence he has a lot of them in the yard. We went down and picked up some seats and wheels from a '99. The '99 seats seemed to be more comfortable. Whether that's a result of design change,less use or a combination I don't know, we'll see.

The car should be back Friday with the new radiator support and we'll start hanging sheet metal and see where we are. Once we get it all squared away we'll send it back for paint.

 

[meahtah]

takes a wreck to learn from it, after that he will probably respect the road more. congrats.

Yup. so true. on the other hand, you can buy him my miata.

 

[just dave]

Now it can start going back together.