The Red Rocket!

Well, not much of a rocket. In fact, it is a 1990 1.6 Miata that has been passed around more than….anyway. This car no doubt has a checkered past truly unknown, and surprised us with clear hints like a drag race strip sticker and signs of “put-back-togetherness,” that you only realize after pulling back the carpets. But that’s ok. Aside from having to trailer it from a neighborhood where 24″ dubs and tinted windows on Landrovers are the norm, the owner had duct taped the torn top together–poorly. As a result it released a torrent of rusty water when we loaded it up on the trailer. Not to worry, we have welders…

rr-0 — Day one, still on the trailer and ready to head to the shop.

rr-1-3 — Top has seen better days. As we pull back the carpet the drama unfolds.

rr-1-4 — Removing about 150 lbs of exhaust, wet moldy carpet, panels, top etc…

rr-2 — After pulling back most of the carpets, the body is surprisingly very straight and intact. Until….

rr-3 — …we get to the drivers side footwell. This one did not have the drain grommet open, so it collected water as the top leaked over the years. The result is some serious rust and hole in the floorpan. Nothing our welder can’t fix.

Current plan is to restore this car to a track worthy condition, and get it out to some local auto-x events. We’ll be gutting it as much as possible for maximum lightness, and adding in a custom roll bar setup. After that the fun starts!

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