Recently my mother died, and there was a portion of a small insurance policy sent to me, among other (bigger) things. It wasn’t very much, but I guess it was more than what I had.

Shortly after I became an orphan, I started thinking about the things I had shared with my parents.  Some things were obvious, but one thing came to mind. The British sports cars that I owned in my late teens and early twenties were one of them.

Every so often, I’d give my dad the high sign and we’d go out for a little father/son time. I’d throw my car keys at him, he’d scowl and take them and gripe about having to drive that little pisspot of an MGB.

He’d drive it like it was a Ford Falcon or something until he’d get to the second curve of our usual route, and then slowly a metamorphosis would take place. He’d downshift and take it through the curve gracefully, with a certain style and élan.

My father was probably the only dad on the block that truly knew how to drive a British sports car. It was a joy to watch.

On the other hand, long after the MG was gone and I owned a Triumph TR-3, my mother would occasionally ask me to take her for a quiet top down ride to the beach and back. She had gone back to work then, after the youngest was out of the house. My mother was a woman that truly loved the ocean and the wind in her hair.

I enjoyed driving a Brit sports car, too.

While I never raced on ‘Thunder Alley’, I did a little bit of ‘closed course’ racing on out-of-the way empty roads. I’m sure the local Gendarmes were aware, but chose to turn a blind eye in exchange for me being responsible the rest of the time. More than once, a muscle car guy would try the course and get soundly whipped.

In fact, one of them, driving a ‘Daddy bought me’ Shelby Mustang (NOT a Cobra!) tried to beat me and lost it on a curve and practically destroyed the entire car when he drove it over the hill. Daddy took it away from him right after that exploit. I guess today the Mustang would be worth what? One hundred and fifty K?

I remember that well. The idiot had entered because he didn’t like me and bet me the then whopping sum of $10 that he could beat me. When they pulled the guy out of the Mustang, he was pretty beat up, but really unhurt. I can remember collecting my ten bucks from him, adding gross insult to injury.

Being in the late sixties and early seventies, law enforcement was a little more lax and understanding than they are today. A sports car club managed to get a CLEO to actually permit a little ‘closed course’ racing in an out-of-the-way nook of his town. I entered a few of these races and generally finished somewhere in the middle third of the pack.

The closed course wasn’t like NASCAR or Indy racing whereby everyone runs at once, but it was a timed event. One single car would run the course for time. Shortest time through the course was the winner. It was a wonderfully snaky chunk of the road, ideal for sports cars. The really neat part was that pair of LEOs were usually the starter/referees. I think some of this was off duty time, and some might have been paid. I don’t really remember.  

I attribute my middle of the road scores to the plain and simple fact that I was entering my daily driver and only pushed things as far as I comfortably could, coupled with the fact that the MGB was 100% stock. I entered with no real desire to win. I just wanted a place where I could see what I could do with the little car, and considered myself successful.

Of course, all good things come to an end. At that time the State Police were doing a little muscle flexing, and they were still smarting from a recent humiliation.

The muscle car guys, the SS 396 and GTO types had a pretty good thing going for themselves, too. One of the local military installations would often permit use of a chunk of runway to be used as a drag strip under the guise of public relations, which was true to a point. Recruiting was really the motivation.

The State Police were going through a phase of some sort and decided that what was going on there was illegal, so they decided to put an end to it. I wasn’t there, but I do know the State Police were humiliated. The stories I got were probably greatly exaggerated. I heard one guy say that the Troopers were disarmed by the MPs, cuffed and thrown off base, but the truth is probably closer that they were refused admittance by the military authorities.

Anyway, they went after the sports car guys next. I missed the big raid because I was doing something else that day, but the State Police showed up and wrote a bunch of tickets for racing. The CLEO went to court and explained to the judge what had happened and the judge threw the tickets out. The Trooper there ran his mouth and damned near went to jail for contempt of court, but the judge decided to embarrass him instead, and gave him quite a lecture.

They were interesting times, and there’s something else I’ll add.

At the time, the so-called police packages were mainly a huge engine and a certified speedometer and that’s probably about it. They could go like the hammers of hell chasing down drag racers, but anyone with any talent in a sports car could really give them a run for their money if they could get onto a winding road before they got run down.

I was once stopped, supposedly for a broken brake light along Rte 3A. The cop simply came up alongside me and forced me off the road. No lights, no nothing. He simply ran me off the road.

When I demanded to know why, he simply told me that if I had made it another quarter mile, I’d have hit the curves and lost him. I told him that the next time he wanted to stop me, all he had to do was hit the lights and I’d pull over.

Then I went looking for a certain LEO I knew and told him what had happened. He said nothing, but it never happened to me again. Incidentally, a year or so later, this officer went to bat for me when I got rounded up in a raid. I don’t know what he did, but the incident never even showed up when the Army issued me a clearance a little later.

Interesting.

I’m sure that today’s ‘police package’ cars would have no problem keeping up with a sports car unless it was something like a Monster Miata of a Ferrari or something.

When my mother died and the insurance check arrived, I decided to add a few buck to it and get an MGB to put in the garage and take out on good days, especially sultry summer evenings. The search for an MGB was on.

I knew that whatever I found would need an engine rebuild, period. I was ready for that and would have even bought one with a blown engine if the body was even halfway restorable.

Instead, when I went searching, I was faced with either totally rebuilt cars with a huge price tag or total rust buckets. I spent three days in Ohio living in the back of my pickup and looking at cars. It was an exercise in futility and frustration.

Everyone out there assured me that they had a clean car that needed little work.

Yeah, right.

I drove 2.5 hours to look at a car next to a barn that had no hood, no engine, and a 4” TREE growing out of the engine compartment.  The guy that tried to sell me that one met me at his house and had me drive him to his uncle’s farm out in the epicenter of Bumfuck, Egypt. I roared off and left him there.

Another clown tried to palm off something that had sheet metal tacked to the bottom and covered with spray undercoating. When I pointed this out to him, he gave me a guilty, sheepish look. I ‘accidentally’ ran over his mailbox on the way out.

Most of the people I met were halfway decent, but nothing jumped out at me. I covered Ohio and parts of West Virginia and found little to hold my interest. I was beginning to expand my search, but I had to get back to work. I posted the fruitless results of my search on an internet forum.

One person suggested that I simply get myself a Miata. I didn’t have clue one as to what a Miata was. I shrugged it off as simply another person trying to steer me into buying something I didn’t want. I figured that it was something Italian and expensive.

What did I want?

I wanted a simple roadster. Simple as in two seats, a manual transmission, a rag top, rack and pinion steering, a snappy engine and little else.  Saturn makes one, but I felt it was too big, besides they haven’t been out long enough to be reasonably priced in the used market. BMW makes one, but I knew I couldn’t afford one of those.

Then another thing crossed my mind. Most of the MGBs I had looked at were unregistered. How would I get it home?  

I wondered about that and decided to wander into the local Notary/messenger service.

As I was going to the door, a man in a small sports car pulled in. I took one look and knew I liked what I saw. I approached him and asked him what the car was and he told me. I told him that it was what I was looking for. He offered me a spin around the block.

When I asked him what it was worth, he told me that an older one would be about the same price as the MGB I was looking for.

I went inside the Notary office and found out what hoops I had to jump through to get a vehicle registered. Ouch.

When I got home, I started reassessing things and thinking.

I remembered Lucas electrical systems, S.U. carburetors, adjusting tappets, and generally having to constantly maintain things. I also knew that Japanese engines were bulletproof.

In short, I liked what I saw. The next day, I went to the local Mazda dealer and told him what I was looking for, an older Miata for occasional use. Of course, they didn’t have anything used that was that old. I also explained that I couldn’t afford the one that was parked outside.

He gave me a grin, and whispered something to me about wanting to get out of the office.

Two minutes later, I was sitting in a newer model Miata, we fired it up and the minute we were out of sight of the dealership, the top came down, even though it was nippy outside.

I took a right off of Rte 19, and headed for the back roads. We spent a glorious time booming and zooming through the back roads, gearing down and winding up through the curves. One thing became clear to me; this was twice the car an old MGB was. The Japanese sure had gotten this right!

When I told the salesman that I wanted to try and drift the car, he grinned and told me to try it. Instead of the four-wheel drift of my MG or TR-3, this little car stuck to the road like a cocklebur!

I went looking for one.

Seek and ye shall find. I found one when I was at work. Asking price was two grand. Fair enough.

When I met the seller, she explained that she had taken the car to the dealers to be inspected so that things were on the up and up. The car needed rubber, and the brake rotors should really be replaced. The mechanic had told her it was worth about $800, so she’d let it go for $1200.

I couldn’t say no.

Everything is made for a purpose. A .458 isn’t for rabbits, nor is a .22 for elephants.

The Miata is made for me to put in the garage and take out when the weather is right and for me to take through country roads and simply enjoy life.

That’s why I bought it. I bought it to enjoy myself, and enjoy remembering a part of my life that I shared with both parents.

Zoom, zoom, zoom.

For those of you that wouldn’t be caught dead in it, that’s just too damned bad.

I wouldn't be caught dead in it

Sucks to be you.

... I guess me too then.

I didn't say it. You did.

Miata FTW

I have a 95 R package Miata I use for Auto-x and spirited drives . Picked it up after I totaled my S2000 on a track day ..

Enjoy ... Throw some boost to it and it will be a great drift car ..


BTW , I restored a 91 for my mom to enjoy in the summer with her little dog

We cannot have another thread about this.

My toolbox is overflowing from the last thread.

I'd love to have one...I'd drive the piss out of that thing. Especially with some boost...mmmmmm

Pink high heels might be comfortable but............

WTF, anyone got cliff notes?

i dont see any pics

I had an MG Midget in the late 70's when I was in Phoenix and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Used to love taking the south mountain road and cruise out to the White Tanks in it.  I could do a sharp turn in it in 3rd gear without slowing down.  It handled really well.

Always wanted an MGB or TR-6 also.

Mom died, got money.



Bought miata



Wears helmet while driving miata.



Country roads blah blah it's not gay.








Blah blah, let me validate driving a chick car.



etc..





I'm just fucking with you ya know. If I drove one i'd expect the same.

pics are in the next page

Wasn't the Miata the car that had something like a 2 year wait time on them in the U.S. when they first hit the market?  There is obviously a market for them.

ETA:  My buddy's dad gave him had a late 70's MGB.  My friend couldn't drive stick, so he employed me to drive it around for a while, we had some fun cruising in that little thing!  Not a car that I would necessarily own, but it was fun to drive.

MG's, you mean the kind made by BL in the UK?

MGA twin cam was my dream in HS.  Couldn't afford it then, of course.  Certainly can't afford one now!

Excellent choice you made.

My wife and I restored her a 1967 MGB roadster.

It was in terrible shape to begin with, but most parts are available, and we just poured money into it until it was done.....well you never quite get done with something like that!

Stock except the roll bar, seats, and carburator(replaced the twin SU carbs with a single Weber), also added a fuel collision cutoff, and changed the charging system to 12V negative ground.

The wheels are faux stock, meaning this car had 4 bolt wheels and not knock off's. We bought some cool, true wire spoke aftermarket wheels that bolted right up, and beat trying to convert to wire spoke factory style knockoffs.

Its a cool little car. We did all the work ourselves except the paint. My wife not trusting me to paint her car.

Regardless of the "Chick Car" stigma that some uninformed dick-headed-bastard sports-car-hating non-driving piece of shit hung on the Miata, I have driven a few and totally agree that they are fantastic...no...FABULOUS little cars.  I have driven MGB's, Triumphs, and Fiats a bunch and am a big fan of the MIata.

No, I don't own one, not much use for it in Florida, but if I still lived in the mountains I would buy one and not give a shit what anyone else thought!

Good on you for being man enough to enjoy yourself in a nice little sports car and the haters be-damned!

ETA:   Sorry to hear about your Mom...enjoy your car!

Bryan

I can understand.  I've never owned or even driven a Miata, but I can understand the feelings you describe.  

Great story on the how and why of your purchase, I enjoyed reading it.

Who cares if anyone else gets it or not, The car is yours - it only has to make you happy.

Enjoy your new car partner.
The Miata will be one of the next generations nostalgic car for sure.

A guy I used to work with had a Miata.
He drove the shit out of that car.
I rode in it once but had a fuck of a time getting in and out of it...I'm 6'3" 295 pound and had to wedge myself in the passenger side, hell he had to open the convertible roof so I could sit upright

Sorry Piccolo......I had the use of a Miata for a day...not all that impressed.

You know how I know you're teh Ghey?

I've owned one for 8 years.  It is a '99 which IMHO is the best looking of them all.  Though I have more than 180,000 miles on it, it remains the most enjoyable vehicle I have ever own.

Miatas are not sports cars.  They are roadsters.  In fact they are the most successful roadsters in terms of sales of all times.

I enjoy driving my Miata on short trips and long trips.  I enjoy filling it up at the gas station because it gets 30 mpg.  I enjoy paying the insurance on it because it isn't a 40k land barge with racks, grills, lift kits, and all that other juvenile shit.  I enjoy parking it because I can park in about any spot and even make u-turns in parking lots.  I enjoy rowing through the gears.  I enjoy putting the top down in good weather.  I have always enjoyed the ever living snot out of it.

My masculinity is not up for vote on ARFCOM.  Only a homo keeps commenting on other men's sexuality based on the car they drive.

You guys can have your insecurity-driven, highway-doomed pig boats.  I'll take inexpensive, fun, practical, and durable for the win.

This.  I've never met an actual car guy who thought the Miata was a "girl car."

Solution: Elise (or Exige)

IMO just about all convertibles are fun to drive when the weather is nice. Some more than others.

I like the old brit roadsters.

I've always had Corvettes. You need to drive a new Corvette awfully fast to get a thrill out of it. Lose your license over one ticket fast.

I'm actually thinking of gettng a Miata. Have a little thrill at 40mph.

I owned one for over three years.  The Miata is a fantastic sports car.  If you're over 5'10", it might be too small.  The trouble was that the fun starts way over the speed limit.  I could double the marked speed in any highway corner and not be at the Miata's limit.  Cloverleafs were easy at 60mph.

I needed something bigger or I would have kept it.

I had a mental picture of an M2 machine gun mounted in a Miata until I opened this thread.

ITT the resident homophobes who have such a tenuous grasp on whatever's left of their masculinity that anything that's different from what they've got, seen or experienced makes them feel like they're going to run out and start working at a truck-stop gloryhole miss the entire point of the thread.

Awesome post man. Really.

Pic, I am glad you are having fun with it, and I enjoyed reading your posts about your Miata.

I am a muscle car guy, but I never understand how people can be so shallow as to belittle somebody else for their idea of a fun car.  I know Rat Rod guys, numbers nuts, cruisers, racers, and bikers.  They all have fun.  They give us variety, which is why I love car shows and cruise nights.  

Don't be a dick.  If you don't like it, just keep your mouth shut.  If it was originally a joke and you came off as a total dick, just apologize.  

Happy Trails.

I like the Miata and S2000. Fun little cars.

I drove one - no, let me rephrase that... I thrashed one on the winding roads of Pennsylvania for a little bit.  I love al things sporty, to degree, but the Miata left me underwhelmed.  Still, if it fits the bill then I guess you're golden.

I knew a guy up in central PA who keeps a nice MG in a garage.  He'd drive it around whenever he felt like it, but based on what you've said, I've got to wonder how much it is actually worth.  The damned thing has no rust and no screwed up repairs.  

Seriously, how much does a running MG or MGB go for these days?

+1
It is a woman's car

My ex-girlfriend had one, I used to steal that thing from her every chance I could.  The metroparks in my area have some really cool tight winding roads that are a total blast to rip up in the miata. The balance and controlability of that car is outstanding for what it costs.   Thanks for the story.

Anyone that hinges their sexuality on transportation could use a little counselling.The Miata is the best selling sports car in the world and the most popular race car in America.Either the majority of club racers are gay or people who actually know how to drive a car on anything other than the interstate know what a great platform the Miata is.

 Spent a little less time worrying about other dudes' junk and a little more time having fun.Idiots that say with any conviction that driving a Miata = gay are on the same level if sexual insecurity that claim anyone that owns a gun is lacking in manhood.Seriously,try to grow up a little.

Miatas are fun as shit to drive...shame I can barely fit in one.

I've had 3 Miatas,totalled one(dumbass me),great little cars,I loved it,my ex gf loved it too.


BTW,when I wasn't driving the Miata,my other ride was.........a C-120. As in Freightliner.

anyone that dosen't like driving Miatas is all ate up with the gay

Who cares what anyone else thinks? If you enjoy the Miata, that's all that matters.

I bought my MazdaSpeed version with 3000 miles on it. The Miata clubs although mostly membered by retired couples are a great group. Find a club and go on a run they know where the good roads are and the best places to eat in the boonies.

I have a Boxster, and have driven a Miata and an S2000.  All fun little cars with their own merits.  

Buddy picked up a '91 Miata that looks a little rough, but runs well with 120k on the clock... for $900.  


I figured sometime in the next couple years, I may sell off the Boxster and get a more practical car... then I'll look for a used Miata for fun.

I dont know man, I saw one at the drag strip with a 5.0L Ford in it.   Fucking wicked.

Anyone ignorant enough to think they are less manly because they are in a Miata... Has never seen a Miata Autocross.



HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY ALL!

great story!