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The Miata was a great car, it really was, but it’s not a four season car. I had some extra cash and liked the idea of having a second car. I started looking at Hondas and Acuras. I had always wanted another CRX and after a couple of weeks of searching I found one in Alpha, New Jersey. My mechanic friend and I drove out to check it out. I think they were asking $3000. It was a 1989 CRX Si with 120,000 miles. It had a CD player, but was otherwise stock. The car checked out and I got it for $2800.
I began commuting to work in the CRX. My commute was a little over 400 miles a week. The CRX took all of those miles in stride. Around this time I was in my mid-20’s and still paid for things like oil changes, mostly because of convenience, and also because my mechanic skills were very limited. I wanted to learn how to work on cars, but I was fearful of screwing something up.
One weekend I took the CRX into Jiffy Lube for an oil change before my friend and I headed to the mountains for an evening of snowboarding. I got the oil changed and headed to my friends house. I parked in his driveway hung out inside for a couple of minutes and when we made our way to the CRX we immediately noticed a puddle of antifreeze under the car. What the F!! My mechanic friend laughed. I told him I just had the oil changed as we popped the hood to check the engine bay.
After a quick once over, my friend said when I got my oil changed, the technician probably leaned on my plastic radiator and cracked it. After a closer inspection he was absolutely correct.
I was pissed and vowed to never let anyone work on any of my cars ever again. My friend ordered a metal radiator from work and we swapped it out the following weekend.
The CRX was awesome. As time went on, I began to do little upgrades like a B&M short shifter, eBay cold air intake and I even tinted the windows myself! I did regular maintenance like spark plugs, wires, rotor, distributor cap and I was now changing my own oil.
The Miata became a weekend car and it was very happy in that role. I was able to keep it in excellent condition and piece by piece I continued to upgrade it. I eventually installed a Racing Beat header, Flyin Miata highflow cat. The interior got a Momo Tuner steering wheel, the shift boot and ebrake boot were replaced with Moss Motors black leather boots. I installed white gauge faces and a black textured Voodoo shift knob.
Time went on, and after a few years I moved to Jersey City, NJ to be closer to work and have a different living experience. I was now walking to work. The need for two cars was no longer necessary and I had my eyes set on a big purchase. It was time to make a move.
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