13B Miata: window of opportunity or run away?

[pjr]

Hey folks!  I have been looking for a car, primarily for autocross and general messing debauchery. Been looking for Miatas, which are cheap and fun racers.

I happened to come across this car: it was a build in Grassroots Motorsports,  featured over several issues of the magazine, and eventually auctioned off for charity on the Bring A Trailer web site. It is equipped with a 13B Turbo from a FC, along with the T2 transmission. Link below:

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The vehicle was purchased by a collector in Texas, a racer with about 60 cars in his collection (i.e., GT40, Ford GT, Porsche 959, Ferrari F40). It hasn't been used or even registered in the year that it's been down in Texas.  Hence, no tears lost if it is shipped to a new home.

To be frank, the car hasn't been sorted since the build, and probably has issues.   Look at the location of the radiator and the ducting on the left.... very close to touching each other.  There may be issues with the fan turning on; trans shifts, but who knows, a rebuild could be down the road.  Racing interior, with fuel pump fussiness and will flood if not off when attempting first crank.  Idle does go up and down a bit after it warms up (bad seals, meaning future engine rebuild?).  Does not smoke.

The price is $11k, and I can get a clean NB MazSpeed Miata (2004-2005 Turbo) at that price.... or even a newer 2013 NC that clean but a rebuilt title.

I got plenty of pics to. Heart says yes, brain says no.

[murz]

I bet all finished up that would be an awesome autocross car, even track car. I feel like it has a lot of work still to go though. Do you know what ECU is installed? The idle issue with it surging up and down is quite common and usually means a TPS sensor issue, or the throttle body is misadjusted. Sounds like some leaking injectors for the flooding issue perhaps something else though, like low compression.

I feel like the price is a bit steep though, if it was a finished project, then sure. For the price, I feel like you could just get a T2 swapped FB or yeah, a clean mazdaspeed turbocharged miata.

[toplessFC3Sman]

Seriously, $11k for an unfinished T2-swapped miata? Just get a T2 'vert or coupe for that! The 5-lug brakes are more capable than the miatas, which is a big plus for track days. Also... What about an early C5 Corvette with the LS-1 or an LT5 C4 'vette? Both of those are easily within your budget, with comparable power, weight, and considerably fewer question marks.

[ITSWILL]

if it has always been your dream to have a 13bt Miata then it may be worth it if you could talk him down to under 10k.  Otherwise there are a lot of much better options from a practicality standpoint as mentioned. Practicality is not everything...

[pjr]

Thx guys.... I just think this one, as much as I would love a 13B turbo in a non-rotary design, has too much cobbling and rushed work. Those diff braces make me nervous too. 

They brought over the ECU and the trans over with the T2, but there is no evidence of a rebuild. So who knows its potential for issues. It was pulled from a Jensen-Healey race car, so the miles have been many and hard.