Andrew's 02 SE Miata

So I knew I needed to get a Roll bar ASAP. I wanted something that would really protect me and didnt look girly at all. So I went on over to the Harddog website and ordered the beefiest bar they had. Harddog Hardcore M2 Double Diagonals. It wasnt cheap at all, but for something that could safe my life in the event of a flip it was well worth it (plus it looks so damn sexy

It had been awhile since I did anything to the car (I wasn’t sure if work was going to keep me so I had to save every dollar that I could) but when I got the news I was staying I was very thrilled

Cars window’s got tinted the morning before the Rolex 24 (I go every year) 
I went with 18% all around, the guy did a damn good job and I couldnt be more happy. Car is for sure a good 10-15 degrees cooler now.

On the 28th My car got strapped onto the dyno at the Rolex 24. I wanted to see what kind of power my little go kart was pushing so for $20 that went to charity, I said why the hell not. 
I was hoping for around 107whp. I got 112whp. So I was more than happy with those numbers.  

After having my car just shy of 2 month, I heard from my buddies that there was going to be an Autocross in Daytona. I was super excited/nervous, but I was ready to get out there and drive. 

Woke up at 6:30AM excited as all hell. I was first in line to pay/register for the event. Had 2 other buddies that were driving up from Port Saint Lucie (about 2hrs away) one of witch had just gotten his Miata as well (about a week before me) We where both ready to tear it up! 

All in all we all did pretty good for a first time. We didnt get last and nobody crashed so it was a pretty successful day. 

Alright let’s get this started! My original plan when I started my tumblr account (Awelch1204.tumblr.com) was to use it to track my cars progress, but I got kind of addicted to tumblr so I knew at some point in time I would have to do this.

Anyway for those of you who don’t know me or didn’t bother to read the description. I am Andrew. I am 19 years old and I love Mazda’s. I currently drive a 2002 Miata special edition (#187/1491) guess I’ll tell you the story of how I got the car.

Well I was 18 and driving my moms car (2006 Mazda 6i Hatch) great daily driver, but a complete slug and not all that fun to drive (very fat) my original plan was to get a white 2009 Mazdaspeed 3. There was a ton of parts/information on the MZR platform and I wanted in on it, but after seeing gas mileage numbers and how much other kids insurance was I said hell no. So I then fell in love with the regular 3 hatchbacks.

At this time, all my friends were ditching their Mazda Protégé’s for Miatas. I looked into them and found out that I really did like them. I found a red 1994 with a hardtop in the Orlando area.  My mom and I drove other there and the salesman was a complete douche. Drove the car and I really did like it, but he wouldn’t budge on the price at all. The car needed a bit of work (brakes where totally shot, plastics needed to be repainted, speedo cable replaced, etc. So we walked.

2 Days later I get a text from my dad while at a friend’s house asking if I had ever seen a grey Miata with BBS style wheels and brown interior. I said yeah, but they’re super rare. Told me there was one at a dealership really close to us. Next day we went and on July 19,2011 it was mine :)