If you’ve been reading a while, or you know me personally, you’ve seen this Miata. You may know it as Josh’s Miata, the Atlanta Breakfast Rally Miata, or the host of the Monday Miata meet up’s Miata. For me, it is the Miata that enables so much of what we do, the Miata that helped bring us both back to driving and the Atlanta car scene. It’s the Miata that sparked a whole new season of exploration and adventure, new friendships and endless memories.
The 1999 10th Anniversary Sapphire Blue Mica Miata that currently takes up half the garage used to belong to a friend and former team mate during our days of working for the drift team. During that time Josh spent many hours discussing the plans and modifications and the pure love that owner had for this car. And back in 2012, late at night in our humble apartment, Josh would occasionally say “I want that car if the opportunity ever opens up.” Then in November of 2022 the opportunity was given, we shifted some funds and she came home.
Initially, not much changed other than how many miles were being put on it. Still riding around with the stock wheels, stock seats, running the chassis mods and the engine rebuild done by the owner in the 2010s, the only modifications done between that time and our ownership was a radio and sound system upgrade done by the owner between us.
The modifications started slowly. Better tires. New wheels – a set of Konig Hexaforms in white. Then, more miles. More mountain curves. More plans and a growing wish list. As we spent more time in the car it was clear this was going to be a car that would be molded for mountain runs and curvy back roads, which meant the suspension was next. Josh wanted a more adjustable suspension set up, but the budget wasn’t infinite, so a set of Flyin’ Miata coilovers were ordered and installed and the fine tuning of the suspension began, and honestly hasn’t stopped yet.
Once the suspension was dialed in enough to be satisfactory, the next item on the list was a hard top. The local options lead to a decently maintained early NA red hardtop being installed, which has lead to me calling that time frame of this Miata’s life the “Homelander Era.” The Homelander Era lasted longer than I would have liked as the hardtop virtually never left the car after its install, with Josh having fallen in love with the added chassis rigidity it added, but that era eventually ended when the hard top was painted to match. Once the outside was sitting pretty, focus shifted to the interior of the car, and with the experience of at least 10000 miles spent piloting the car through every type of road out there, driver comfort was going to be a priority.
Instead of opting for something simple or quiet, Josh wanted something with some personality, but also with the most benefit in driver comfort. The door panels were swapped with LRB speed flat panels and new uppers wrapped in black. After ensuring the panels were the right choice fabric was ordered and the inside of the car began to take on some character. Soon after a shift boot to match the doors was installed and the hunt for the perfect seat was ended with the purchase of a Marad seat, and if you’re ever sitting in the car, a look up at the roof will show stickers of where the car has traveled and brand our friends own, making it a newly begun road map of the life that this little Miata has provided to us.
There are always more plans being built, a wishlist that’s never ending and a goal of what this car will one day be, but even though that list is ever-growing and constatantly fluctuating, it’s always going to be exactly what it should be- fun.
