Miatatude

Well not mine really, but the three sons of Bob Hall. Mazda has got a special edition of the next generation Miata traveling the country. At selected cities they bolt it to the top of a fire truck and drive it around that city. A stop is made at a fire station where money is donated and they unload the new Miata where people can get a close up and personal look and feel for the new car. At a stop in DC some of the enterprising Miataphiles parked one each of the first two generations of Miatas next to the new one so we could get a feel for how they all looked compared to each other. The red new one was in the middle with a silver 2nd gen to the left and a black 1st gen on the right. Well yesterday in Tampa they went that one better. They lined up all three gens in red and in order and snapped a few pictures. I asked the photographer for a higher resolution image and he sent me a copy at 1600 x 1200. I promptly turned it into my new desktop…

The folks at the neighborhood tire store were nice enough when I stopped in after work with my problem. I had to wait about an hour to get them to fix the cross threaded lug nut. When they tried to remove the seized one, the lug busted off, so we had to wait for them to get a new lug delivered. No charge.

Of course when I got home and finished the rotation job I had to use a breaker bar on two of the four lugs on the wheel they just worked on. Next time I go in there I will ask them if they know what the torque specs are for the lug nuts on a Miata. The answer is 66-86 foot/pounds.

I’ve had a white Johnny Lightning 2000 Miata with brown interior sitting near a speaker on my computer desk for about 6 months now. Today I drilled out the rivets on the bottom that hold it together. I’m going to paint it Garnet Red. Going to try and mask off the lights and grill and such. Don’t know how well I’ll do, those are tiny little decals and I would like to save them. If I’m going to all that trouble to do the outside, I probably should paint the interior too, make it more light tan in color. If it comes out OK I’ll post pictures. If I screw it up you’ll never see mention of it here again. 🙂

The rain held off until right after we got to work and stopped sometime mid-afternoon. For the morning commute the top was down, up when we parked it and then back down for evening commute.

We made a quick trip to Augusta to run the Master’s Miata Club newsletter through the postage meter at Rader. I parked next to a 2005 Black Cherry colored Miata they have for sale. Very interesting color. Imagine my Garnet Red car covered in very dark gray window tinting. Wonder what it looks like in the bright sun?

Well, I’ve gone and done it again. Last year after taking this photo I told myself I would get a nicer picture this year. Trouble is that after the blooms disappear I can’t tell a Bradford pear tree from any other tree, so figuring out a photo spot way in advance can’t be done. This year when the trees started blooming I kept my eye out as I drove for a row of them with a nice enough background. Never saw one I really liked, so I never did take a new picture. The Bradfords are all starting to go green now and wouldn’t you know it, I think I stumbled on a place that fits the bill. Note to self: for blooming Bradford pear trees picture, try entrance road to Aiken Regional Medical Center.

Messing with the look and feel of this blog isn’t the only thing I can’t leave alone. The Emperor gets it’s fair share of tweaking as well, as evidenced by the 38 changes I’ve made since I took ownership in November ’03. Numbers 39 & 40 are on their way in the form of a spray can full of Garnet Red Mica paint. That can will be used to paint the currently black interior rear view mirror the exterior car color, ala the new Mazdaspeeds. The other mod I have planned to come from that spray can is body colored brake calipers. I did this mod on the old Laguna Blue Miata, but those calipers I painted extrovert yellow, to go with the shiny aftermarket wheels on the bright blue car. This car is a little more subdued, so it will get a more appropriate quieter color on it’s toenails.

I bought the paint from a place called PaintScratch.com (thanks Rick) and it is coming via UPS truck all the way from California. They are charging me $5 for shipping and with the current cost of gas I think I’m getting a bargain.