Welcome, Emma

As most of you know or can guess, I bought a car---another Miata---during our trip to Atlanta for Dragon*Con. (I'll post the oft-requested photos from the con shortly.) Actually, for logistical reasons, I sent the money to my father and had him make the exchange for me a few hours before our near-midnight arrival in the ATL. (Thanks, Dad.) Interestingly, I never actually laid eyes on the car until after the purchase. I asked a lot of questions of the seller, who seemed very honest about the vehicle's merits and demerits, but it was my former roomate/overlord, Masta, who made the long-distance purchase possible. He gave the car a thorough going-over and test-drive. Since he's a mechanical engineer, a car guy, and a former Miata owner, he was just about the perfect person to inspect the car for me. (Thanks, Masta.) I'd also like to acknowledge JD, from my local Miata club, who also attended Dragon*Con and offered to haul back all the bulky extra bits in his truck. (Thanks, JD.) (Come to think of it, all three of the guys who helped me with the purchase are Georgia Tech graduates. Interesting.)

The "new" car is a 1995 MX-5. Thus, it's a first-gen (NA) Miata with a 1.8-l engine. I've chosen to name her Emma, because the Miata's alphanumeric designation is pronounced "Em Eks Five." The color is called Laguna Blue Metallic, and, as you can see, it's quite attractive. Laguna Blue was only offered in '94 and '95, so it's considered fairly desirable. I didn't buy this car for the color, however.

You see, my plan is to make Emma a dedicated motorsports and fun car, leaving Mia to be my daily driver. By design, no great transformation is required to turn this vehicle into a track rat and toy car; the previous owner---whom I found via Miata.net---was using her for exactly those purposes, and he outfitted her with a number of performance modifications. That is why I bought this particular Miata. The car came with all of the following:

• Stock seats plus Cobra Suzuka S race seats.
• Stock seatbelts plus 5-point harnesses.
• Stock 14x6" wheels with Falken Azeni tires (205/50-14, I think) plus 15x7.5 6UL wheels with Nitto NT01 tires (225/45-15).
• Stock steering wheel plus a tiny, 280-mm Momo race wheel.
• Bilstien PSS9 adjustable dampers and springs.
• Racing beat front anti-roll bar.
• Hard Dog Hard Core Double Diagonal roll bar.
• R Speed intake, Jackson exhaust manifold, and Flyin' Miata exhaust.
• Deleted soft top.
• OEM hard top, in Laguna Blue.
• R-Package-style front chin spoiler and rear lip spoiler.
• Tow hooks.
• Other assorted goodies.

All-in-all, I think I got quite a lot for my money.

I do have a few things I want to do to the car to get her even more track-ready and to make me more comfortable, but once I get her registered and titled in Maryland, there's nothing stopping me from hitting the track.