2001 Mazda Miata Race Car 1.8L VVT Sport (IL)

2001 Mazda Miata Race Car 1.8L VVT Sport Package

This is a 12k mile Miata race car, never been in the snow. I bought it from the original owner (Brent Clark) last spring. It was only optioned with the sport package that included the Torsen limited slip diff and larger brakes. He bought it brand new, drove it for 2000 miles on the street and then threw a cage in and started road racing in Midwestern Council. He drove it to and from the track. It was registered and still has the catalytic converter and emissions equipment. The original gauge cluster with only 12k miles is still there.

He stopped Racing in 2012 and it sat in his garage until I bought it. In 2011 or 2012 he nosed it into a tire wall so the front end was pretty crunchy (it even had zip tie stitching like a drift car). Last spring Brent listed it for sale but even with a new battery it wouldn’t start. I took a risk and installed a new fuel pump and it fired right up.

After standard track prep and tune up items I took it out to Gingerman. It ran pretty good but the rotors had 5 years of Hawk deposits. After replacing them it ran really well for about 20 minutes. After 20 mins it felt like it was starving for fuel. I filled the tank again and the same thing happened. I then started methodically replacing all the fuel system components. It would never do it on the street. Only on the track and after 20 minutes. Eventually after multiple fuel pumps, new pump assemblies, lines, injectors, and filters I figured out it was the fuel tank itself and replaced it. All is good! It was also easier to replace the body work than repair it. ‘99 & ‘00 bumpers and hoods are easier to find, so I used those. The ‘01 has a better looking bumper, but I couldn’t find one.

I raced it in SCCA majors and the Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in STL in 2017, but it’s probably a better regional ITS or NASA ST6 car. It can be easily converted to SpecMiata too. It can be made fully street legal and emissions legal super easy if you want to street drive it. The emissions equipment remains intact. It has a clean title too. It has a current SCCA logbook.

Right now it has Gen II 949 Racing Xida adjustable coil overs with 800lbs & 500lbs rates, Eibach sway bars, big Mishimoto radiator, stronger 6 speed transmission, 4.3 ratio Torsen limited slip, bigger sport brakes with Hawk Pads, 5X Racing timing wheel for adjustable timing, Blackbird Fabworx 1/2” drop Motor mounts, Racing Beat intake, Hard Dog full cage with nascar bars & Petty bar, new belts, narrow Ultrasheild seat (only works if you are my size or skinnier and it’s crazy tight on me), new window net, fuel test port, new battery, Treasure Coast super lightweight top & Lexan rear window, Momo steering wheel with quick release, 15x8 Avanti wheels with Maxxis 225/45/15 RC1’s & 15x7 Falken Hanabi wheels with Maxxis 205/50/15 RC1’s (both weigh only 11lbs and tires only have 5-6 heat cycles each. They last 20-30 cycles), SCCA Annual Tech good until the end of August 2018, and a scan gauge II to monitor the engine.

I can configure with or without a top and different wheels to help with the price. I have about $13k in it. The Xida’s, body work, and little odds and ends added up fast! If someone gave me $13k I’d be pretty pleased, but race cars are fun, not investments. So, I’d take $9900 for it as it sits now. I will do the brakes and expect to race a couple more times this summer, unless someone buys it soon. I can include a test day and coaching for a new driver.

I can also reconfigure it to make it more budget friendly.

If I remove the $2300 Xida Coilovers and install SpecMiata Bilstein Coilovers, I’ll sell it for $8500.

I can remove the Treasure Coast lite top and subtract $600. No the top is not for sale separately!

I can add a factory Mazda, matching orange top for $1100.

If I keep the wheels I can subtract $300 per set. I’ll throw in 15x7 TRM’s in that configuration.

The 6 speed is worth $600-700, so swapping in a good 5 speed is possible, but will cost $200 in labor.

I can rent it for a track day or autox for a serious buyer with a deposit. If I still have it after my vacation, I am planning to do a couple more races with it.

Also open to trades.

Walk around video with cold start: https://youtu.be/zQkhFQafYNs

The answer is always Miata!

Located near Chicago. I can do a test day at BFR, Autobahn, Milwaukee Mile, or Gingerman. Loudes13 yahoo email or 224-760-2565.

Pics hosted on Facebook:

O/T because this is as good a place as any to ask it:

Next season I want to move up to a real race car from my track car, with the goal of time trial (and beyond, eventually).

I'm tall, with a really, really tall torso (like, the torso of someone who is 6'5''). At every HPDE I sit in every car I can wearing my helmet and I don't have enough helmet clearance, save for in an e36, c6 vette or 911.

Since a Miata is the cheapest/ near-cheapest way to get a real racecar, the question is, do you think I'll fit in a NB with the seat mounted on the floor? Or even with the floor dropped slightly?

EDIT: No, I don't fit in the NA Miata racecars I've sat in. Never tried a NB.

Thanks!

NBs are basically the same size. You can drop the floor. 

There are HUGE drivers that race spec Miata with and without a floor drop. 

Bolting an aluminum seat to the floor, especially after removing the front hump frees up a lot of space. It’s not as much as an e30 or e36, but a fair bit. 

Sold