I'm new to the v8 Miata world and trying to decide if I should build or buy. I have located a Miata in nice shape (supposed to pick it up this Friday) with no motor/trans and have talked to Martin at Monster Miata and was ready to to jump in when I started reading the "for sales". Can buy one a lot cheaper than building one. Now I'm not sure what to do. I can do a lot of the work myself and ------ out the cost of the build plus I'll know what I have when I'm done. Or do I buy an unfinished project or a done car and just fix whats wrong with it. There seems to be some nice cars out there for less than 15k. Help!!!

 

Welcome to v8miata.net

 

That is a question many people face and it is a big difficult question for sure. It would be handy to know what you want out of the car and what you are going to do with it. There are not very many built track cars out there so is you are looking for a track rat you would probably be better off to build it. But as a general rule of thumb:

Advantages to buying one:
Usually it is anywhere from some to a ton cheaper.
No cuts, bruises or smashed body parts.
Fewer to no frustrating problems that make you wonder what in the hell you were thinking when you started this.
No asking us a million questions to solve the above.
Fewer cost over runs to solve the above.

Disadvantages to buying one:
Even the best build will have surprises and you never know what corners the builder cut or what condition the car really is in.

Advantages to building one yourself.
You get to buy cool tools you always wanted anyway.
You know every inch and detail of the car, how it works and how it went together.
You can build it to your exact need and choose what level of performance to build it to.
You can say yep I built that and answer any question people have about the car.

Disadvantages to buying one:
Your flower and date budget will need to double so your wife does not become a Miata widow.
The opposite of all the advantages to buying one ARE going to happen.

So there is an added cost to building it yourself and it comes down to what you enjoy and what value you put on doing the build. Do you enjoy working on cars and spending tons of time in the man cave? Do you enjoy problem solving and can you deal positively with the setbacks and cost over runs that WILL happen? What value to you personally put on the feeling of accomplishment from building something like this?

If you have not seen my blog I would encourage you to take an hour and read through it. I did not candy coat any of the difficulties or frustrations I had along the way and it is a pretty good insight to what it is like to go through the process how much work it really is to build one. It’s fun to look back now and see how wildly optimistic I was in the first few posts and how it got to be a grind after a few months. However I would do it again in a second. There are a few things I would do different but still I would do it again with no hesitation.

One final thought. For what I spent on my build I could have easily bought any number of very cool cars but any fool that can get a loan can have a cool car. It takes a hell of a lot of grit and just enough brain power to dangerous to build what I'm driving!

 

First thanks for the reply. Read your blog, very informative and a little scary! But your first comment about not knowing what corners were cut during the build of a "bought" car is my real problem with buying one. Then again the hours involved in building is more than I thought. As to the planned use of the car, I track my current car about 8 days a year plus some autocross. If the Miata is as good a track car as I hope it will be it will see much more track time.

 

No question this is not for the faint of heart! Pretty much anyone that wants to go cheap and easy buys a vette or something and there is nothing at all wrong with that.

I probably took longer than most because I fabbed a bit more than most and I had to strip and sell a Camaro. For me the build is as much fun as driving it so I took my time and enjoyed the process. But the build doesn’t have to take as long as I did for sure. Shannon did his build in about 6 weeks. My Mean Miata

There is /was a really good track car for sale in the NE that might still be there. https://www.v8miata.net/v8-miatas-sa...s-1-miata-817/

For a track car to really get what you want you probably are going to have to build it. Seam welding the chassis and adding braces like I did makes a HUGE difference in the stability of the car and that needs to be done when it is all torn down. It's also ideal to be able to pick your suspension, brakes etc as you go.

 

I'll sell you mine; it's a 1992 Ford, 5.0 Liter, EFI with many goodies. It is in need of body work (the way I bought it) but runs and drives very nice; $7,500.00

Jacko

 

This one looks pretty good and for a modist fee I bet you could get Jason to go check it out for you. Mazda : MX-5 Miata monster motorsports in Mazda | eBay Motors

 

Jim how do I get hold of Jason and how well does he know Miatas? Would he be able to do a compression test.etc? How far away is he from this Miata?

 

No body knows Ford builds better than Jason. He has built 4 of them and tracks is current build. I think he is in Allentown so not sure how far that is from this car. This is his website and his phone # is on it: McCully Racing Motors- There's no Replacement for Displacement.

 

Jim thanks I'll call Jason in the morning. I'm supposed to pick up a Miata with no drivetrain tomorrow.

 

Well I called Jason haven't heard back. But a bought an NA with no motor /trans. Real clean with a hardtop. The wiring harness is intact. Next step? ford or chevy power? Going to talk to Flyin Miata and Monster Miata this week. A guy that works for me said he can get me an LS complete for $700-900. That would make my decision for me, we will see.

 

Sounds like you have a GREAT start! Photos of the car?

 

Thanks for the mention but Nadine was never intended to be a track car. I did get to run a lap at Watkins Glen but not at speed (had to pull back at 115 due to no passing rule). She is an every day driver and a ball to toss down a back road. The rally I was in was to bring awareness to missing children and I am proud to say that I will run in it again in 2015 in an LS Exocet.
As for the intent of the thread... if you have the time, space, and money to build one yourself, do it. I caution you this... a lot of parts and pieces get purchased that never see the road. Even if the car you buy is solid you need to keep motivated and have a plan.
Having built mine I would say that there are things I would do differently. My car was the mule to develop the Cobra diff mount for Boss Frog. It gave me fits to run the exhaust but I am happy with the stronger diff. I made my own PS/Alt/idler pulley mounts. I like them but I have a new design in my head for the next one. My radiator is huge! I had to move it forward 3" and down 1". It cost me the stock hood latch, but I am glad that the car stays cool with the stock fans.
I didn't think I would ever sell this car and to have come to advertise her within a year of building it surprised even me. The thing is that I cant afford to have two of these things in the garage so if I want to do the next project I have to move or stagnate. That said, keeping her wont hurt either ;-)