|
|
Hi, I am Paul Becke. I purchased my 92 Miata
brand new from Tom Wood Mazda in Indianapolis. The Miata was my primary car for
about 10 years when I used it to commute between my home in Crawfordsville,
Indiana and Champaign, Illinois. The car has survived nearly 15 years, 200,000
miles, a couple of fender benders, a divorce decree and has seen me through
good and bad times, so naturally I am a bit too attached to it to sell it, or
part it out. Six and a half years
ago, I moved to the greater Chicago area with my wife Gail. Between the 2 of us
we are on our 4th and 5th cars in that time frame, but still, the Miata
endures. Our primary cars are now a Prius and a Volvo. They both serve us well,
but what to do with the Miata?
About a year ago, I started preparing it to have a new coat of paint applied.
Well, I got a little carried away. I decided that I would take everything off the car that
should not get painted, with the naive belief that this would somehow make it
easier for the paint shop. Well, I towed it to Performance Restorations, and
they took a look at it and said it would cost over $10K to give it the kind of
paint job that I wanted. After recovering from my shock, I decided I would
rather pay local artisans than concede defeat, tow the car back home and end up
sending my money to the likes of GM for a new roadster. Six months later,
Performance Restorations was done with the paint. What you see is a car that
has been stripped to bare metal, primed, sanded and painted with several coats
of paint and clear coat. This is a far better finish than the original provided
by Mazda back in 92.
My task is to now start putting the car back together. I spent some time
cleaning the engine, which by the way is in great condition. I did compression
tests before I disassembled the car and the engine was in great shape
especially considering the mileage. It really does pay to change the oil often.
Nonetheless, looking at the grime of the engine, and thinking about the effort
it would take to clean it to a level that I would be proud of re-ignited my thoughts
of turning the Miata into an electric. Gail, my wife, was understandably
hesitant about this, but after seeing the movie, "Who Killed the Electric
Car", I think she was convinced that it maybe was not such a bad idea
after all. I should mention that I am an electrical engineer and a tinkerer.
So, I have both the knowledge, experience and motivation to take on such a
project. Well here I am now. I have a beautifully painted Miata (the photos
don't do it justice). And I have begun doing the research and procuring the
parts to convert it to an electric car. I'll keep every one posted as I make
progress.
Photos of my 92 Miata.
Send me photos of your project and I will include them here.
Links to other Electric Vehicle conversion Projects.
Send me your links and I will include them here.
email paul@electricmiata.org
| Home | Fox Valley Electric Auto Association | My Wife | Day Job | Alma Mater |