Denouement...

So you may recall that I wrote a post asking for advice about the cost
of a complete bodywork makeover for my '90 Miata...

....and a fat lot of good you all were. ;-)

I thought you might like to hear the outcome:

The body shop, Rich City Collision (I now heartily recommend them to all
who are in the Vancouver area of BC, BTW) took ICBC, the government
insurance corp., for $2900 and my deductible on that was waived as the
other party accepted total responsibility for the accident (good on ya,
BTW!).

My part was $4258, IIRC, and...

....to me, it was worth every cent. When I actually got the quote, I
asked Cam what kind of job I would be getting, and he replied, "Well,
you're not going to get a show car. We won't be block sanding or
anything.", and somehow from that, I knew that the job was going to be
done well.

And I'm ecstatic to say that they exceeded my expectations. My 1990
Miata is BEAUTIFUL! The paint isn't completely flawless, but it is -- to
my eye -- as good, if not slightly better than I would expect from a
factory paint job.

Well, I'll let the pictures tell the story now:

<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker#100104>

The only problem is that now I really need to buy new wheels and tires.

Any thoughts?

:-D

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:29:36 -0700, Alan Baker > wrote:

>And I'm ecstatic to say that they exceeded my expectations. My 1990
>Miata is BEAUTIFUL! The paint isn't completely flawless, but it is -- to
>my eye -- as good, if not slightly better than I would expect from a
>factory paint job.

Does it have a clear coat on top?

-- Larry

In article >,
wrote:

> On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:29:36 -0700, Alan Baker > wrote:
>
> >And I'm ecstatic to say that they exceeded my expectations. My 1990
> >Miata is BEAUTIFUL! The paint isn't completely flawless, but it is -- to
> >my eye -- as good, if not slightly better than I would expect from a
> >factory paint job.
>
> Does it have a clear coat on top?
>
> -- Larry

Yup! I'm not entirely certain, but I think the original car was regular
paint and not clear coat, but the new paint is clearcoated.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

that looks great. love how they kept the stock look by including the black
on the bottom of the side panels (not usually done). did you ask for the
mazda logo to be removed from the front bumper? i see lots of cars without
them and it says to me that the bumper was repainted... otherwise i probably
could not tell. congrats, i am jealous.

"Alan Baker" > wrote in message
...
> So you may recall that I wrote a post asking for advice about the cost
> of a complete bodywork makeover for my '90 Miata...
>
> ...and a fat lot of good you all were. ;-)
>
> I thought you might like to hear the outcome:
>
> The body shop, Rich City Collision (I now heartily recommend them to all
> who are in the Vancouver area of BC, BTW) took ICBC, the government
> insurance corp., for $2900 and my deductible on that was waived as the
> other party accepted total responsibility for the accident (good on ya,
> BTW!).
>
> My part was $4258, IIRC, and...
>
> ...to me, it was worth every cent. When I actually got the quote, I
> asked Cam what kind of job I would be getting, and he replied, "Well,
> you're not going to get a show car. We won't be block sanding or
> anything.", and somehow from that, I knew that the job was going to be
> done well.
>
> And I'm ecstatic to say that they exceeded my expectations. My 1990
> Miata is BEAUTIFUL! The paint isn't completely flawless, but it is -- to
> my eye -- as good, if not slightly better than I would expect from a
> factory paint job.
>
> Well, I'll let the pictures tell the story now:
>
> <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker#100104>
>
> The only problem is that now I really need to buy new wheels and tires.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> :-D
>
> --
> Alan Baker
> Vancouver, British Columbia
> <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

In article >,
"Christopher Muto" > wrote:

> that looks great. love how they kept the stock look by including the black
> on the bottom of the side panels (not usually done). did you ask for the
> mazda logo to be removed from the front bumper? i see lots of cars without
> them and it says to me that the bumper was repainted... otherwise i probably
> could not tell. congrats, i am jealous.

Thanks. The sticker just hasn't come yet and I'm undecided about whether
or not to apply it when it does. It would certainly add to the factor
fresh look. I was undecided about the side panels and decided (by
inaction) to let the shop decide, but I think that I'm pleased with
"choice" I made.

But now it is just screaming for new wheels and tires...

I'm still considering running 16" rims, but only if I can afford ones
that are light, light, light. I'd like to keep wheel weight under 14
lbs, I think, and perhaps as little as 12 lbs. SSR Type Cs are 12.0lbs,
forged and I think the anthracite look is a pretty good one for a red
Miata.

Anyone run SSR Type Cs?

How much difference would going from 45mm offset to 32mm be, really?

>
> "Alan Baker" > wrote in message
> ...
> > So you may recall that I wrote a post asking for advice about the cost
> > of a complete bodywork makeover for my '90 Miata...
> >
> > ...and a fat lot of good you all were. ;-)
> >
> > I thought you might like to hear the outcome:
> >
> > The body shop, Rich City Collision (I now heartily recommend them to all
> > who are in the Vancouver area of BC, BTW) took ICBC, the government
> > insurance corp., for $2900 and my deductible on that was waived as the
> > other party accepted total responsibility for the accident (good on ya,
> > BTW!).
> >
> > My part was $4258, IIRC, and...
> >
> > ...to me, it was worth every cent. When I actually got the quote, I
> > asked Cam what kind of job I would be getting, and he replied, "Well,
> > you're not going to get a show car. We won't be block sanding or
> > anything.", and somehow from that, I knew that the job was going to be
> > done well.
> >
> > And I'm ecstatic to say that they exceeded my expectations. My 1990
> > Miata is BEAUTIFUL! The paint isn't completely flawless, but it is -- to
> > my eye -- as good, if not slightly better than I would expect from a
> > factory paint job.
> >
> > Well, I'll let the pictures tell the story now:
> >
> > <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker#100104>
> >
> > The only problem is that now I really need to buy new wheels and tires.
> >
> > Any thoughts?
> >
> > :-D
> >
> > --
> > Alan Baker
> > Vancouver, British Columbia
> > <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

Alan Baker wrote:

> Thanks. The sticker just hasn't come yet and I'm undecided about whether
> or not to apply it when it does. It would certainly add to the factor
> fresh look. I was undecided about the side panels and decided (by
> inaction) to let the shop decide, but I think that I'm pleased with
> "choice" I made.
>
> But now it is just screaming for new wheels and tires...
>
> I'm still considering running 16" rims, but only if I can afford ones
> that are light, light, light. I'd like to keep wheel weight under 14
> lbs, I think, and perhaps as little as 12 lbs. SSR Type Cs are 12.0lbs,
> forged and I think the anthracite look is a pretty good one for a red
> Miata.
>
> Anyone run SSR Type Cs?
>
> How much difference would going from 45mm offset to 32mm be, really?

That looks quite a bit nicer than my beaten and faded red 1991 model.

I am running 16X7 SSR Comps. IIRC, they are 40mm offset. The car loses a
little bit of "tossability", but it handles very well and the extra tire
width does help a little to make it harder to spin the tires with the
turbo and grabby clutch.

Without a turbo or other power upgrade, I would be more inclined to
stick to 195/50/15's, obviously on 15 inch wheels, though it is getting
to where 16 inches is almost the minimum size that you need for a great
tire selection.

It reminds me of the increased availability that was offered for 15"
over 14" about 10 years ago.
There were M-edition Miatas and Miatas with aftermarket wheels driving
on the Toyo T1's for a long time before they offered them in 14 inches
for the rest of the pre-1999 model drivers.

Anyway, the bodywork and paint look great from your pics, and I agree,
it is now screaming for new wheels.

Those steelies are 18 pounds, so almost anything under 17 inches will be
an improvement.
With 12 pounds wheels, a full 6 pounds less per corner will make a very
noticeable difference in the way the car drives.

Pat

On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:29:36 -0700, Alan Baker wrote:

> So you may recall that I wrote a post asking for advice about the cost
> of a complete bodywork makeover for my '90 Miata...
>
> ...and a fat lot of good you all were. ;-)
>
> I thought you might like to hear the outcome:
>
> The body shop, Rich City Collision (I now heartily recommend them to
> all who are in the Vancouver area of BC, BTW) took ICBC, the
> government insurance corp., for $2900 and my deductible on that was
> waived as the other party accepted total responsibility for the
> accident (good on ya, BTW!).
>
> My part was $4258, IIRC, and...
>
> ...to me, it was worth every cent. When I actually got the quote, I
> asked Cam what kind of job I would be getting, and he replied, "Well,
> you're not going to get a show car. We won't be block sanding or
> anything.", and somehow from that, I knew that the job was going to be
> done well.
>
> And I'm ecstatic to say that they exceeded my expectations. My 1990
> Miata is BEAUTIFUL! The paint isn't completely flawless, but it is --
> to my eye -- as good, if not slightly better than I would expect from
> a factory paint job.
>
> Well, I'll let the pictures tell the story now:
>
> <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker#100104>
>
> The only problem is that now I really need to buy new wheels and
> tires.
>
> Any thoughts?

Yes! Your car looks awesome! I'm glad you decided to keep it off the
scrap heap.

As for wheels, I got Rota Slipstreams for my car based on a suggestion
in this newsgroup. Rotas are cheap, light and strong. The 15" Slipstream
is less than 12 lbs. I have that one in 16" (13.5 lbs), though I also
considered the Circuit 8 and Circuit 10. In terms of lightness to cost
ratio, they're pretty tough to beat. There's a pretty good selection in
4x100.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Rota distributor in the lower
mainland somewhere.

http://machiii.net/Rota_wheels.html

Christopher Muto wrote:
> that looks great. love how they kept the stock look by including the
> black on the bottom of the side panels (not usually done). did you
> ask for the mazda logo to be removed from the front bumper? i see
> lots of cars without them and it says to me that the bumper was
> repainted... otherwise i probably could not tell. congrats, i am
> jealous.
> "Alan Baker" > wrote in message
> ...
>> So you may recall that I wrote a post asking for advice about the
>> cost of a complete bodywork makeover for my '90 Miata...
>>
>> ...and a fat lot of good you all were. ;-)
>>
>> I thought you might like to hear the outcome:
>>
>> The body shop, Rich City Collision (I now heartily recommend them to
>> all who are in the Vancouver area of BC, BTW) took ICBC, the
>> government insurance corp., for $2900 and my deductible on that was
>> waived as the other party accepted total responsibility for the
>> accident (good on ya, BTW!).
>>
>> My part was $4258, IIRC, and...
>>
>> ...to me, it was worth every cent. When I actually got the quote, I
>> asked Cam what kind of job I would be getting, and he replied, "Well,
>> you're not going to get a show car. We won't be block sanding or
>> anything.", and somehow from that, I knew that the job was going to
>> be done well.
>>
>> And I'm ecstatic to say that they exceeded my expectations. My 1990
>> Miata is BEAUTIFUL! The paint isn't completely flawless, but it is
>> -- to my eye -- as good, if not slightly better than I would expect
>> from a factory paint job.
>>
>> Well, I'll let the pictures tell the story now:
>>
>> <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker#100104>
>>
>> The only problem is that now I really need to buy new wheels and
>> tires. Any thoughts?
>>
>> :-D
>>
>> --
>> Alan Baker
>> Vancouver, British Columbia
>> <http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

Look for OEM alloys on e-bay or miata.net. I picked up a set of virtually
new alloys used in the '99 model year for my '96 for around $400. They
retailed for around $1600. Going with 15 inch rims will give you more
choice in tires.

Car looks good! I have to put in two votes on the wheels;

for OEM related (Mazda content ;-) I'd vote for picking up a used set of the
BBS wheels. There were a couple years the M Edition got a 15" set and they
look better than the 14's and are still super light . They're relatively
pricey at ~$750 for a nice set (~$500 for the 14").

for aftermarket, I love my 16" OZ Ultraleggra's. They are reasonably light
(13.5 IIRC) for the money (<$200 ea IIRC).

Don't forget to tell and show us what you go with!

Chris
99BBB

Alan Baker > wrote:

> The only problem is that now I really need to buy new wheels and
> tires.

I like these:

http://members.cox.net/xs11e/Miata,%20new%20wheels!.jpg

Of course, I HAVE TO, they're mine...


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