No, it's not a M I C R A. But it's close... 3 out of 5 letters match!

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M I A T A. 1990.

It's a sad and neglected turd. I picked it up for $750. On the road for a few dollars under $1k.

It had rusted brakes and flat-spotted tires from being parked in a back yard for a couple of years, but the worst problem was the floor. It was never winter driven, but the ratty convertible top leaked, and chronically wet carpet = rusty floors.

Here's what it looked like by the time I cut back to good metal on the driver's (worst) side:

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It would have been nice to have a lift to make welding in the new metal easier...

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Fortunately the unibody hard points were OK, so I eventually got it patched up. And after working on the brakes, replacing a sway bar end link, the radiator (from my Metro/Swift junk pile), and a few light bulbs, it passed inspection. It finally went on the road a couple of weeks ago.

And even though it's a beater of a car, it's still very fun to drive: it's super lightweight (around 2k lbs), with fast-ratio steering, RWD (of course), and a hilariously direct factory short shifter.

I was hooked when I drove a relative's brand new Miata backin 1990, just like this one. It only took 27 years for the price to come down enough to fit my budget!

If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend trying one.