Grunge to Glory: The Rapid Roadster
On paper, the Mazda Miata is admittedly a bit wimpy compared to the other sports cars of it's time. However, due to it's low cost and exceptional out of the box handling, it's a model that has survived to today, and has successfully sold over one million vehicles. As a result, anyone can buy a Miata for stupid cheap prices, but that comes with a catch: Your Miata has to be unique, it has to stand out from it's million brothers and sisters. And, as you can see in the title photo, VFlush has done it magnificently.
One could say my own RX-7 is humble, starting as a ruined non-turbo base model. But, I think VFlush's Miata is closer to true humbleness than my RX-7. After all, it was bought as a repo car from a towing company auction, and was officially broken. Broken as in sheared rear axle, a previous collision, discolored body panels, and an engine swap, another NA8C, but this time from the Miata's younger brother, the NB Miata, or second generation, depending who you ask.
If you happened to read East Bloc Budget, you would know that I'm a major fan of budget, creativity, and uniqueness, while followers of my FC project know that, well, I'm a Mazda fan. So, when VFlush replied to my offer of a feature (Who wouldn't?!), I was ecstatic.
As I always do, let's start from the outside, the front end this time. First, the Miata's OE bumper sports a Garage Vary like lip, followed by custom over fenders extending the car's width by nearly 5 inches on each side. Also, it doesn't take a detective, or even a private investigator to spot the authentic RS Watanabes the car's sitting on, their custom matte white color a shock to purists, and a key color in making the car's hues flow together. Behind the Watanabes are junkyard brakes, which I will not recommend, and a Scale Innovations Coilover and Suspension kit, which seems like a good choice for what VFlush is trying to accomplish with this.
From the rear, we see more of the custom fenders, the riveted theme sending all the right signals, at least in my opinion. They're just as wide as the front fenders, but are nearly twice as long, with the flare starting from the sideskirt and working it's way up and over the arches. Also spotted is a psuedo-ducktail spoiler that came as a dealership option way back when, and the OE like hard top, which is still aftermarket at the end of the day due to it's non-Mazda origins. Finally, we see a large, almost comically oversized, exhaust. But, the question rises, what is powering this Miata?
Well, the answer is simple on a broad outlook: An SR. But, what sets this SR from the others is the fact that this one's non-turbo, and it's use in a fast-car project is pretty unique and unusual at the same time. However, VFlush tells me there's plans for a turbo kit, giving this Miata even more power than it's stock number, which is not bad at all.
All things considered, I'm a huge fan of this car, and it's not just because I have a Mazda of my own. As I stated earlier, this car ticks all of my boxes, and does it in a way that I couldn't even predict, let alone think about ever seeing in person. I'd like to give VFlush thanks for giving me the huge opprotunity to immortalize his Miata, and I'm on the edge of my seat thinking about where it will go in the future. As I close off, I'd like to leave a final photo, which coincidentally is also the last photo I took of the Miata that day, when we were both splitting paths, and he decided to do it in style.
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