Miata

Club Badge

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Back in October 2024 when I was adding a bunch of mods to the new blue Miata I was visiting the the local dealer’s parts department quite often, the same guy was always behind the counter. We got to talking as car guys do (he has a tastefully modded Mazda 3 hatch) and on my 3rd or 4th visit HE came back with the part I ordered and another item he thought I might find a use for, an official Mazda Miata Club badge. His manager had asked him to throw it out because it had been sitting around so long and there is really no demand for it anymore because it was on only certain Miatas in a 3 year span a decade ago.

The third generation Miata ran from 2006 to 2015 and in 2013 they replaced the Touring trim with a Club trim that was more sportier than the Sport trim (really the base car) and harder core than the Grand Touring trim level. The Club got a limited slip differential, some different shocks and a nifty badge that went on the driver’s side front fender. This badge was my gift from Mr. Parts Guy.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do it at the time. When the fourth generation car came out in 2016 the trim levels were again called Sport, Club and Grand Touring. The Club trim was the still the “sportiest” version of the Miata, but they weren’t putting the Club Badge on them anymore. This meant that I didn’t want to put the badge on the new car because it was the Grand Touring trim and that seemed a little like sacrilege to do so.

Fast forward to January and I was now the proud owner of second generation car and that version of Miata didn’t ever have any trim called Club, I felt that is the car I could put the badge on. After all I’ve added new shocks, springs and a freer flowing exhaust to make it more Club like. I put the badge on the left front fender like it would have been on those 2013-2015 cars. In Mazda parts bag along with the badge there was a template on where to put it on the car. Of course the different generations made the template not exactly right, but I fudged it and I think it looks good where I stuck it.

Those early cars only had the one badge, but I thought if I could find another one I’d have badges on both sides. eBay to the rescue, I found one for sale and bought it, it came today. Bucky is now ambidextrously badged.

Bucky Earns His Name

A lot of folks name their cars, a lot of folks name their Miatas, I don’t always, but this time I will. For most of this purchase process on buying the 2001 LS off of Bring-A-Trailer I just referred to it as Miata #6 as in it was the sixth Miata I have owned.

But after 2 separate, very entertaining, visits to the phenomenal outsized “gas station thing” called Buc-ees on Sally and my road trip she came to calling the car Bucky. I was just using it in conversations with her, until Sunday when I took a trip to take post offices pictures.

I noticed that for the first 20 or so minutes it was hard to smoothly engage the clutch in first gear and occasionally second as well. No matter how I tried to start from a standstill the car would buck like a scared foal. Then, a memory floated up in my consciousness, I’ve been here before, the Emperor suffered from the same malady. I wrote about it back in 2004 if you are interested.

Technical Service Bulletin 05-001/03 covers what needs to be done which is basically put a new clutch disc in. I’ll be adding another couple hundred grand the Bucky’s budget spreadsheet. Mazda replaced the disc in the 2003 for nothing and according to that service bulletin they would do it on this car too, I’m still under the 12,000 mile warranty cap, but I missed the time limit by 21 years.

New Tires On Old Wheels On New Miata

Well, I gone an done it. I mounted new tires on some 25-year-old Miata wheels to put on the new 2024 Miata. And I for one think it looks fantastic. Before I could take the above picture, the car needed to be washed, so I pulled out the Griot’s Garage Foaming Sprayer and gave it a bath. After drying off the car I took a drive for lunch and headed out to a local spot to take some photos.

Just When I Thought That I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In… Once Again

This is the third time I have used this title, or a variation of it, the first time was in January 2006 and the second time was in January 2016. Both of those posts pertained to Gillian Anderson, this does not. Come back next January for the next Gillian Anderson installment, I’m sure she’ll be starring in something or other then.

This is about Miata Clubs. Back in October of last year I looked up the local Miata Club and either they had nothing going on or I just got a weird feeling, so I forgot about them. Well, last night I thought I’d see if they an event or something coming up in the near future. They did, the near future was a mere 12 hours away, there was a drive and eat thing for tomorrow morning, AKA today.

My people. This club is probably about 7 or 8 times the size of the Masters Miata Club, this day’s group was small for them but would be a big turn out back there in the CSRA. There were a total of ten cars and about 15 people. There were 5 NDs, 3 NCs, 1 Fiata and one non Miata. I even spotted a lot of similarities between the two clubs, there is one guy who pops the hood as soon as he parks (Jim Creer), there was another who drove to the event on the chilly misty morning with the top down (Rudy Wilmoth) and another who showed up in their Corvette (Tom Varallo.)

It was a fun day, but I don’t know how many events I’ll do with them…

In reference to my remark yesterday about having to join Facebook to get any club information, I was wrong, there have a website with their own URL…

Bucky Update

Drove down to Eugene this afternoon to bring the folks at FTW Tuning the shock bushings. And as you can see from the above photo they were waiting on me. Right now it looks like they’ll be finished next week sometime. I’ll probably drive down on Friday in the Mini and pick up the OEM wheels with their 25-year old tires. Still not sure what I want to do with them, but I’m leaning towards mounting them on the New Miata.

I took this opportunity to snag three post office photos on the drive down. I might shoot for a couple three more on the way home.

The first post office was in Albany and the second was in the home town of Oregon State University, Corvallis, and the last was in Monroe. Tonight I’m staying Eugene which is the home of the University of Oregon. The town just over the Willamette River from Eugene is the home of the Simpsons, Springfield.

Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone

Because I have bought new lightweight 15″ wheels and some summer rubber for #6, AKA Bucky, I wasn’t sure what I’d use the the 2001’s stock wheels for after I get rid the 1/4 century old rubber that is mounted on them. My first thought was to put some snow tires on them and have them handy for winter time use. But then I ran into a picture someone had added to a thread on the Miata Forum, this fellow has a dark colored 3rd gen Miata that he had put the 16″ OEM Miata wheels on. I did a rough draft by adding a bright blue to that image:

Hmmm, I think I like that better than the stock 17″ wheels of the New Miata. I think that they looked better when the car was that Aero Gray color, but now that it is blue…

Jaunty Angle

I’ve tried a couple of times to get that front license place to be parallel to the road surface, but something keeps shifting it. Not sure if it is the post into the tow hook threads or the screw that holds the plate support to the post. I’ve tightened both separately and together, but invariably it ends up non-parallel.

My need of order is screaming at me, “Get that thing right!” while the newly created laidback vibe is saying, “Chill dude, it’s fine.” Or perhaps it’ll be some enterprising young rookie on the traffic beat telling me, “According to Motor Vehicle Code 237.4, sub section ii, the license plate must be set at exactly 0° or 90° to the angle of front wheel camber.”