It’s not like I ever set out to build a bunch of racecars, but as it happens, there are a few ghosts and machines out there now.
It all began innocently enough. I developed my first road-going Miata into a racecar as I developed as a driver in NASA HPDE. By the time I had the temerity to “drive flat out,” I came to realize I needed the security of a roll cage, racing seat and harnesses, fire system and all the incidentals that go along with that equipment.
I am willing to admit I am, uh, particular about how a car is built, so I put a lot of effort into that first car, and when it met its demise, I took what I learned from that one and put it into its replacement. I was pretty happy with how the first car turned out, but the second one was an improvement.
I ended up selling that one to a guy in the Utah Region, and when NASA held its 2024 Championships at what was then Utah Motorsports Campus, I started asking around about it. I never did find it during the event, but the owner heard about me looking for it and he sent me a photo of it as it sits today. The before and after photos are all below.
It was a bit like seeing an old flame, but not in the sense of the “one that got away.” It was more like someone from whom I drifted apart, whom I always wished well, but from whom I had moved on. It was great to see it again, but I harbored no pangs of regret, and I was glad it was still serving its purpose and that someone else was enjoying it.
I do regret selling the last Spec Miata I built for myself, for reasons I won’t go into here. It was also a new build, with lots of parts pulled from a wrecked car that died far too soon. Seller’s remorse aside, I was glad to hear it’s now in more capable hands and showing others its taillights on the laps that matter most.
When I sold that car, the motor was getting a bit tired, so we struck a deal to build a new engine for the car and install it after the sale. I don’t remember how all the financials worked out, but a buddy of mine built the engine and I supplied all the good parts from those I had collected over the years. The “good” cylinder head casting number, the “good” ECU plus all the tricks we had learned over the years thrown into the mix. I’m told the car is pretty fast, which is reward enough, I suppose.
My last car came to crumpled end when I rolled it on the inside of Turn 2 at Willow Springs. When I got out of the hospital, I sold the car, and another buddy of mine agreed to tow it out to the buyer, who takes NC MX-5 chassis, and mounts old-school 240Z bodies on them. Pretty cool.
As it turned out — and no surprise at all — the body was too rumpled to use, so the buyer pulled the drivetrain and suspension out from under the destroyed body, and dropped another tub onto it, then sold it to my friend who had towed it out there for me in the first place. It is now a father-son project destined for track use in the not-so-distant future. I suppose the racing world is small and self-sustaining in that respect.
Not long ago, I went up to his house for a visit, and there it was, another old flame. This time I did harbor feelings of what might have been, if I would have had the chance to fully develop the car as I had planned. After building so many spec-class cars over the years, I was kind of enjoying the freedom of Super Touring rules and the creativity they allow.
That car and me, we didn’t drift apart. We were, well, forcibly separated in a way neither of us would have agreed to at the outset of our relationship. Because there is no use wallowing in the muck of regret, I can only look forward to seeing what comes of that car in the future, the only ghost that is still a machine.
