It was the worst of times, it was the best of times (aka auto-x fail with a silver lining)

I've been working on our 1999 Miata for a year now (I move slowly), getting it set up for auto-x and track work, as a car that can be co-driven with my 16-year old daughter. Yesterday was our maiden outing, although she ended up not joining me, due to a conflict with an old friend coming to town to visit. Once we realized she wouldn't be joining me, I invited my dad to go.

I was registered for a PCA auto-x over in Jacksonville, about an 80 mile haul. In addition to being my first auto-x in probably 15 years, it would be my first outing towing a car (on the open trailer that came with the Miata purchase). Knowing that, I loaded the car Friday afternoon/evening, along with my helmet, tools, drinks, snacks, etc.

We left EARLY yesterday morning. I had no idea how fast I would be comfortable going, towing the car for the first time, so I built in a LOT of contingency time. We made it over there easy as could be. The 2006 Toyota 4Runner V8 had no problem with the tow. Granted it is damn thirsty, but it was perfectly comfortable towing the car and trailer.

The event started at 9. We arrived at 7:45. With so much extra time, we made a Starbucks run and grabbed some breakfast.

Once back at the site (the parking lot of a semi-abandoned mall - Regency Square for the locals), I started unloading. Unstrapped the car, broke out the ramps, took off the fender and more. It's at that point that I realized my blunder. Can you guess? Yep - I forgot the key to the Miata. Needless to say, I was crestfallen. A ton of preparation and a lot of resources - all for naught. I was so mad at myself. A buddy from Gainesville was over for the event as well, and offered to let me co-drive his 1984 928, but I wouldn't feel right about that, especially since it is his DD. So we watched for a while, all the while kicking myself for such a boneheaded maneuver.

Things started to look up though. Earlier in the week, I stumbled across an ad on the Florida Miata FB page where a guy was just starting to part out a 2000 Turbo Miata track car. He had a bunch of really nice parts for sale, including 2 HD roll bars, a hard top, Elise seats, Sparco seats and more. I reached out to him, knowing that I was going to be in town for the event and asked him if he'd sell the entire car with the powertrain intact. He said he would, and that he would take less money for the package, if I bought it running/driving, since he wouldn't have to screw around with parting it out.

We planned on meeting at lunch time. Once I realized I wouldn't be driving, I asked him to meet me sooner, which he was able to do. He rolled up in a pretty ratty, multi-color NB that sounded really mean (in a good way). We chatted for a few minutes and he handed me the key. He wasn't able to go with me, since he had pulled the race seats and only re-installed a driver seat. He warned me that the tires on it (from his wife's NA) were pretty bald and that it would break traction all the way through 3rd gear.

I took the car out and immediately fell in love. Holy hell it is quick! Sounds mean as hell and he was absolutely right. Mash it in 3rd and it got sideways in a hurry.

I rolled back to the mall and struck a deal with him. I went to the nearby bank for a large withdrawal and he went home to print off a bill of sale. We met back at the mall and did the paperwork. Details on the car are listed below. He built it right, using top shelf parts - Flyin' Miata parts for the really important items. I brought my spare 14" wheels, just in case and swapped them on (we agreed in advanced that, should we make a deal, I would bring wheels and tires).

Now came the tricky part. My plan (assuming I bought it) was to have my dad drive my 1999 street legal car home and trailer my new acquisition. With my 1999 stuck on the trailer, our options were limited. The seller, anxious to have me take the car home, kindly agreed to let me drive it home with his tag in place. I called my insurance company, got it insured in my name and got ready to leave.

Then came the next tricky part. The 2000 turbo car has no top (I knew that). So my dad graciously volunteered to drive it home. The problem? A huge mass of rain west of Gainesville, moving east at a good clip. With an eye on the radar, we headed southwest. Quite literally, we beat the rain for all but the last 1/2 mile. We could not have timed it much better!

So what's the plan? I am going to pull all of the go-fast parts from the 2000 and install them on my 1999, which is a slightly cleaner example. Not to mention the silver car already has my Sparcos and roll bar installed. Lastly, I like the silver '99 over the red '00 (with green front fenders and nose). Once I have the FI pulled from the '00, I will sell it as a running/driving normally aspirated '00. I am looking forward to having a nicely sorted boosted Miata to use out on track, for auto-x and nice weather street driving!

All in all, it was a fun day. Time well spent with my dad (now 78) and the acquisition of a fun, fast Miata!

Megasquirt PNP 2 with ECU extension harness and IAT
Genuine Garage Vary front lip
RX8 Yellow Injectors purchased new from Five O Motorsports
Catch can and upgraded PCV
Autometer water and mechanical oil pressure gauge
AEM Wideband 02 gauge. One of the LED are out on the display. Functions properly
Oil sandwich plate (used for oil feed for turbo setup and oil pressure gauge)
2.375" resonated midpipe
Muffler delete 2.5"
Gauge plate

Parts I am in the process of pulling: FMII Turbo Kit with roughly 5k miles
Includes: • GT2554r
• Intercooler and silicon piping
• FM cast Manifold and Incolonel studs with stage 8 locking hardware
• Downpipe
• Intake and turbo heat shields
• All hose clamps and hardware
• Greddy rep BOV
• Autometer boost gauge
• Stainless steel coolant and oil lines
• Silicon lower radiator hose

CSF Aluminum Radiator from 949 racing - http://949racing.com/CSF-radiator-miata.aspx
Stance coilovers 30k miles and one of the dampener adjusters feels stuck (rides great)
FM clutch with 2500 miles on it
Lightweight flywheel Singular motorsport hood vents with template
Carbotech Xp10 (fronts) Xp8 (rear) with rotors. 3k miles and 3 track days
Stainless steel brake lines
4.3 LSD

Lol-Apparently the doofus vibe is strong in the Gainesville contingent even if Gene and I step away for awhile. Thanks for keeping things like they used to be. Congrats on the purchase.

Congrats on the purchase! Also, we need pics.

dyintorace wrote: I started unloading. Unstrapped the car, broke out the ramps, took off the fender and more. It's at that point that I realized my blunder. Can you guess? Yep - I forgot the key to the Miata.

I did this arriving on site for a DC Pro Solo a couple years ago. Fortunately, I was super early and it was maybe 30 minutes or so away from home, so I could banzai back home and be back without missing out on anything. But I always wondered what would happen if I showed up to an out-of-towner and did the same thing. So I keep a spare key in the truck at all times.

Claff wrote:

dyintorace wrote: I started unloading. Unstrapped the car, broke out the ramps, took off the fender and more. It's at that point that I realized my blunder. Can you guess? Yep - I forgot the key to the Miata.

I did this arriving on site for a DC Pro Solo a couple years ago. Fortunately, I was super early and it was maybe 30 minutes or so away from home, so I could banzai back home and be back without missing out on anything. But I always wondered what would happen if I showed up to an out-of-towner and did the same thing. So I keep a spare key in the truck at all times.

My solution is this: As soon as the car goes on the trailer, the car keys get attached to the truck keys' key ring, where they stay until,the car gets unloaded at home.

As long as its not a torrential downpour, the miata works surprisingly well at keeping you mostly dry, top down in the rain. Isnt aerodynamics fun?

I will definitely figure out a routine for the key to the car. I will either keep it on the ring of the tow rig, or something else, but I'll learn from this mistake!

Only 1 pic so far, stolen from the guy's FS ad. We parked the car at my mechanic's shop, so I don't have access to it at the moment.

These seats were not included:

I got up at the ass crack of dawn and threw my gear into the car and drove an hour to mid-Ohio (the race track) only to realize I left my helmet in the house. I went to the drivers meeting then got back in the car and made the two hour round trip to get the helmet. Then sat in the cold drizzling rain for most of the day and they cancelled qualifying. So at the end of the day I hadn't needed my helmet for anything anyway.

We all do it. Glad you had fun though!

Just never pull the key out when on the trailer.

A spare key in the tow vehicle is a good idea too.

Robbie wrote: Just never pull the key out when on the trailer. A spare key in the tow vehicle is a good idea too.

Definitely the simplest approach. Drive it onto the trailer and leave it there.

Forgot the key?

I have not done that, YET. But, I sometimes wake up from nightmares that I forgot my helmet, or my tires, or my tools for changing tires, or my drivers license and wallet.

Tonight I will will have a nightmare about forgetting my key. Thanks!

Nice acquisition by the way!

That's why I always throw the key to my M3 into the center console of my Cayenne (tow vehicle) after I've loaded it up on the trailer the night before.

I don't trust myself to remember to grab the key to the M3 early the next morning...

I have hidden keys on all of my vehicles that don't have the proximity sensor keys.

And doesn't aaa have a service that they can make/bring you a spare on site??

Darn. I was first in line for the bumper and hood if it didnt seel as a "whole".

Either way, glad it went to a GRM'er.

One advantage to driving the car to the event: If you get there and somehow forgot the keys to the car, you've got something interesting going on.

Nice buy! I've been drooling over his Elise seats, but I can't convince myself to come up with the cash.

Robbie wrote: Just never pull the key out when on the trailer. A spare key in the tow vehicle is a good idea too.

Do NOT do this. My tow rig with car in trailer was stolen from a supermarket parking lot during daylight with the keys in the ignition of the car in trailer. While I was lucky to eventually get the partially stripped remains of the rig and car back the bad guys kept the car keys and the lack of keys became another hassle.

I did the "forgot key" thing once.

Luckily I was only 25 miles from home and I had plenty of time. Left the trailer and car at the site.

NOT A TA wrote:

Robbie wrote: Just never pull the key out when on the trailer. A spare key in the tow vehicle is a good idea too.

Do NOT do this. My tow rig with car in trailer was stolen from a supermarket parking lot during daylight with the keys in the ignition of the car in trailer. While I was lucky to eventually get the partially stripped remains of the rig and car back the bad guys kept the car keys and the lack of keys became another hassle.

That's a great point. Hopefully I've learned my lesson about forgetting the key and will develop a habit of putting it somewhere logically as soon as I finish driving the car onto the trailer.

@NordicSaab and cmcgregor - The seller is super nice. He spent a lot of money to build the car right and things seem well cared for. I would recommend him as a seller. I'd love to have taken the Elise seats too, but I already have a lot money tied up in this project now!

Continuing to look at the bright side: when I first read your post, given the timing of things with leaving and coming back to the site, I thought your boneheaded moment would be trying to unload the trailer with it unhooked from the tow vehicle. That results in some exciting times. Compared to that, sitting out an autox is no big deal.

I always put a key in my race gear bag. I have another copy in my tow vehicle. I've always had the fear of getting there, and not being able to run due to lack of keys.

I've managed to avoid this problem by keeping the Miata's key on the same key ring as my house keys and other misc keys. That's the key ring I take with me everywhere (totally habitual at this point), so there's very little chance of forgetting it.

This isn't really something I did specifically for this reason, it just kind of worked out that way. The Miata is the car I've owned the longest (bought it new in 1998) and at that point it was my only car, so of course the key went on my only key ring at the time. It helps that it's just a single metal key, no fob, no chip, etc.

We need pics.

codrus wrote: I've managed to avoid this problem by keeping the Miata's key on the same key ring as my house keys and other misc keys. That's the key ring I take with me everywhere (totally habitual at this point), so there's very little chance of forgetting it. This isn't really something I did specifically for this reason, it just kind of worked out that way. The Miata is the car I've owned the longest (bought it new in 1998) and at that point it was my only car, so of course the key went on my only key ring at the time. It helps that it's just a single metal key, no fob, no chip, etc.

Ironically, the Miata key is on my key ring...it's just that my wife drives the 4Runner, so I had her key ring and left her mine so she would have my keys in order to drive my wagon for the day!

jstein77 wrote: We need pics.

Pics will be up ASAP! I'll also add to my 1999 Miata build thread so I can chronicle the de-turboing of the 2000 and the turboing of the 1999!