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miathemsm

@miathemsm

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04’ mazdaspeed nb
orlando, fl
(Always posting up rare roadster parts for sale!)

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Another Japanese license plate has made its way into my collection and onto the Miata! 🇯🇵 Probably one of my favorite designs I’ve managed to get my hands on so far and think it matches the rear tow hook pretty nicely!

For decades, Japanese license plates featured dark green lettering against a plain white background. As Japan began introducing decorative regional designs, Tokyo chose to celebrate its history and culture through the iconic Somei-Yoshino cherry blossoms, Tokyo Tower, and traditional Japanese craftsmanship.

The Somei Yoshino is one of Japan’s most common cherry blossom varieties and Tokyo’s official metropolitan flower. Looking closely at the design, you’ll notice a geometric pattern known as shippo, featuring overlapping circles that symbolize the seven treasures of Buddhism. This pattern also pays tribute to Edo kiriko, a traditional style of Japanese cut glass that flourished in Tokyo during the samurai era.

The final design was selected through a public poll that received 11,742 responses, with this particular design winning 57.1% of the votes!

A beautiful representation of Tokyo’s natural beauty, history, and culture, all captured on a single license plate! 🌸

#nbroadster #mazdaspeed #miata by @miathemsm

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8 days ago

Been taking the Miata out more, and a new steering wheel setup was needed since the old wheel was too big! Decided to get a Nardi this time around instead of a MOMO and also got my hands on a very cool horn button!

The wheel is an older, pre 2010s Japanese-market Nardi Competition. Like all genuine Nardis, it was manufactured in Italy, but this one was distributed in Japan through Far East Trading Company (FET), Nardi’s longtime official Japanese importer and distributor.

Two details help identify these older Japanese market examples: the older style Nardi signature engraved into the front spoke and the FET stamp on the backside of the leather. Later Japanese market Nardis received an updated signature and moved the FET marking onto the metal spoke. That FET stamp is the key indicator that the wheel was originally distributed through Japan!

But the wheel is only half the story. At its center is something much more obscure, a BARON “ND TOKYO” horn button. Sold as an aftermarket option back in the day, it looks almost identical to an OEM Nardi “ND TORINO” button, except this one reads “ND TOKYO.”

BARON was associated with Nihon Kogyo Co., Ltd. and offered everything from horn buttons to wood steering wheels, steering pads, and vehicle specific boss kits during Japan’s late 80s/ early 90s Bubble Era. A time when the Bosozoku and Kaido Racers flourished with their super flashy modifications and BARON was a frontrunner for many of their parts!

After a ton of digging, I finally found a photo of an original ND TOKYO still sealed in its packaging. It confirms these were made in Japan, offered in red and blue, and sold for roughly ¥2,200. Today, if you’re lucky enough to find one, expect to pay over 1,500% more!

Despite once having a full lineup of professionally packaged accessories, BARON has almost completely disappeared from the digital record. Its history now has to be pieced together through surviving parts, packaging, instructions, and old word of mouth.

That’s what makes this pairing so special, an older FET distributed Japanese market Nardi paired with a nearly forgotten piece of Japan’s aftermarket history.

#nbroadster #mazdaspeed #miata by @miathemsm

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2 months ago

This may be one of the rarest pieces of Eunos Roadster history you have never seen before!

At first glance, it looks like nothing more than a small plastic card. In reality, it survives from one of Mazda’s most unusual promotions for the 1989 launch of the Eunos Roadster. Mazda joined forces with Namco and Mitsubishi Precision to develop a full scale driving simulator exclusively for Eunos dealerships.

But this was not just an arcade cabinet dressed up to look like a Miata. Mazda and Namco went all out!

The simulator used genuine Eunos Roadster components, including the dashboard, center console, instrument cluster, manual shifter, factory NA steering wheel, and the iconic tombstone seats with integrated headrest speakers. It even retained the factory stereo, although it did not actually play music!

Even cooler, you entered by pulling a real exterior door handle, just like stepping into an actual Roadster. Inside, even the door panels were genuine Roadster parts. One of my favorite details? Mazda repurposed the retractable headlight switch as the game mode selector!

And to actually play it, you needed this little card! It was created to commemorate the opening of Eunos dealerships and used in place of the usual 100 yen coin.

The instructions reveal even more. It was never sold to the public and users were warned not to bend it, dirty it, or expose it to magnets. Most importantly, an unused card would have no punch hole, meaning the hole in this example proves it was actually used!

That tiny detail transforms it from a souvenir into a physical record of someone experiencing Mazda’s new Roadster through a dealership simulator in 1989. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only “Challenge Card” of its kind currently known to exist.

A small piece of plastic, but an incredible artifact from the beginning of the Eunos Roadster story!

And this is only one chapter. Over the coming weeks, I will share another almost forgotten story involving Mazda, the Miata, and a more ambitious simulator experience. For now, the details stay under wraps… 👀

#eunos #roadster #miata by @miathemsm

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3 months ago

Can never get enough OEM goodies!

First and foremost, I can honestly say that up until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea Mazda sold an OEM front license plate bracket specifically for the NA/NB. I always knew about the plastic bracket used on the 1999-2000 NB, but the shape of the NB1 and NB2 front bumpers is different, with the NB2 being a bit more aggressive and less rounded than the NB1.

I was surprised to find out Mazda also made this metal bracket that was installed on cars delivered through dealerships, especially in states that required a front license plate. Chances are, if your car was originally sold in one of those states, it came with one from new. My guess is that most owners tossed them in the trash over the years and replaced them with aftermarket mounts, which is a shame because these things are incredibly solid. Naturally, I had to order one for myself as you can see.

It arrived from my local Mazda dealership pretty quickly, but there was one small issue and that was the mounting holes are spaced for a US license plate, not a Japanese one. For anyone who doesn’t know, US and Japanese plates use different mounting hole spacing, so I also picked up a USDM to JDM adapter bracket. I’m really glad I did because the setup turned out exactly how I wanted. Best of all, it uses the two factory holes in the OEM crash bar behind the bumper, so there’s no need to drill into the bumper itself.

I’ve also got a possible new set of mirrors arriving from Japan in the coming weeks. I’m still on the fence about whether I’ll actually run them, so only time will tell.

I’m going to make an effort to post more consistently each month but as of recently I’ve been glued to the TV watching every World Cup match, but once the weather clears up and the storms finally move out, posts should start coming more regularly after mid July. ⚽️
psa: If Colombia wins I may die of a heart attack lol 🇨🇴🏆

#nbroadster #mazdaspeed #miata by @miathemsm

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4 months ago

Finally took the dust off them and brought the kids out to play! These in fact are the rare Toshima Eunos Roadster Pedal Cars! Not only are they very very rare but maybe the rarest things I own lol! No they do not grow on trees either! In fact that I know of there are only 3 others in the United States and these 4.

They were only sold in Japan in the mid 90’s and cost roughly ¥19,900 (about $212) back in the day, but now go for well above that! They became a hit from the day they launched to the public! It was such a crazy movement these little cars made, that RCOJ aka “Roadster Club Of Japan” was a frontrunner in taking in orders for the pedal cars. They were intended for kids ages 1.5-5 but famously were purchased for newborn babies and toddlers! As the years passed more people would bring theirs out to meets in Japan and many would suggest that they should host pedal car races for the kids!

Then finally at the Karuizawa Meeting ‘99 and the Tsukuba Roadster Festa, pedal car races were finally held and there was also a pedal car dress up customization contest that was very popular and drew a lot of excitement because the pedal car was only ever released in red, so this made many go above and beyond with cool liveries/ paint jobs!

More info on the car itself is that the popups have a small lever and allow the little passenger to hit you with the famous NA wink if he sees another roadster and encourage the little ones to pedal their way to the destination! Who would have thought that 27 years later the races are still held at the yearly Karuizawa Roadster Meeting in Japan too! 🇯🇵

Hope everyone enjoyed the type up because there is no information on these and thankful to have a huge library of roadster literature to research every nook and cranny!

#pedalcar #roadster #miata by @miathemsm

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4 months ago

Orlando Roadsters April 2026 was nothing short of dope! The environment of the whole place was lively with lots of new owners showing up to the monthly meets with their Miatas! Had to take a short break with filming some clips for Roadster Night since only the summer meets look good on this old camcorder because the sun drops an hour and a half after the meet time and that’s the only form of light the parking lot has so hope to get the upcoming months because then the cam goes back into hibernation!

Super hyped for what’s to come later this year with the club’s new approach to rebranding and having some super sick things that will be able to help not only the club expand but also possibly some merch that many have been asking for years! 👀🤫

#miatameet #roadster #miata by @miathemsm

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6 months ago

Time to start a new endeavor! Swapped out the old front plate for something different, an original National Design Japanese license plate. Just like in America where each state has specialty plates, Japan has regional gotochi plates tied to where you live. Instead of college teams or charities, Japan’s feature landmarks, mascots, flowers, castles, mountains, and local culture. This National Design version is available anywhere in Japan rather than in one region, and its artwork includes the official flowers of all 47 prefectures, symbolizing Japan’s nature, culture, and unity.

If you pay an additional 1,000 yen on top of the issuance fee, you can choose the full color version, with that donation going toward projects like traffic safety, accessibility, tourism, and environmental improvements.

Now for the crazy part is I’ve set a new goal: collect every gotochi plate ever made. With 73 regional designs + 2 nationwide designs, each offered in color and monochrome, that makes 150 total plates, basically the license plate version of catching every Pokémon. To make it harder, I want them all in the 5XX series.

This one is the color version, and I’m hoping to get another monochrome version too, but those are expected to be discontinued soon. So with that said… the hunt officially starts now.

#nbroadster #mazdaspeed #miata by @miathemsm

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6 months ago

The Bride Mazdaspeed bucket seats were finally put in. Let’s just say these things transformed not only the looks but also the feel of this interior. Not freaking sliding around on any turns and I feel like it was long overdue to get them put in especially for how long the hunt took to get them was ridiculous! I did end up completely swapping the idea of running the Bride seat mount sliders and converted over to some Pro Car Innovations for both the Driver and Passenger side. Definitely a whole lot of hammering and drilling to get these things to fit just right but they are in and that’s all that mattered to me lol. I think this is the first complete set of MS Bride Vios 3 in an NB Miata so I hope I have paved a way for anyone that didn’t know or wanted to know what it looked like at 0 expense to see with their eyes how awesome this crap looks! 🔥

You guys may think that I’m lying to y’all if I said this is the most I ever thought to do to my interior but simplicity has always been my go to and I’m very happy how the vision of this car very slowly looks like how I drew it up in my mind. Only really got 3 more big pieces that will be changed but that will just have to wait because I want to enjoy the car for the meantime and continue to get more seat time especially with the summer just around the corner (even though here in FL it feels like summer every day ☀️)!

p.s. go build your cars how you want to and not how others perceive you should because that takes the whole point away of what car culture was built on! 👍🏽

#nbroadster #mazdaspeed #miata by @miathemsm

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6 months ago

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8 months ago

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10 months ago

Never gets old driving this thing! With the colder weather we’ve been getting in Florida these last couple of weeks, it’s been a blast to daily. Nothing has basically been changed on the car besides getting all the exhaust leaks taken care of, and now she is pretty darn quiet. Still waiting for the Aero to arrive from Japan, but at this point, it’s just a waiting game to see when it’ll show up.

I also haven’t told anyone but I picked up a newer Kei truck too. It won’t be here for another month or two depending on port delays, but I’m excited for it to become the little workhorse for hauling everything and making life 10x easier because this Miata unfortunately cannot transport anything. 🤣

As for what’s next, a lot of people have been asking since I used to bring a lot of Miata aero stateside, but with the tariffs constantly changing I’ve shifted gears into a new project. I won’t reveal it until the end of the year since I’m still in the testing phase, but just know it’s been in the talks ever since I started the idea of getting aero to the US. I definitely want to stay in the Miata space one way or another so just keep your eyes peeled to see what we’ve got in store for next year. 🫡

#nbroadster #mazdaspeed #miata by @miathemsm

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a year ago

Well, this is a sight you don’t see or ever see! But the cat’s out of the bag and I got my hands on both Vented and Non-Vented Mazdaspeed Hardtops. Kinda kept it lowkey with owning the blue Non-Vented because I was planning just to paint match it later before the year ended and toss it on the car but something made me just keep looking for a vented because of how unique it is! Many may not know but Mazdaspeed actually made hardtops and was a catalog option! Very rare to see any let alone 1 of each and all in the same pic. Give or take 30 of the Vented are documented for but a very very niche item that was the final piece of all this Mazdaspeed hunting craze. Unfortunately due to the price these bad boys go for, I did have to part ways with the Non-Vented but super glad it went to a good home. I don’t want to tag him and ruin the reveal for him but you know who you are if you are seeing this. The only hint I will give is that the owner is in Florida!

I will 100% make a very informational post as always with all the scans and any info I find between now and then of getting it on the car but for now I will have my work cut out because I have to find a sheet of polycarbonate since that is what came on these from the factory and have to get it cut and installed. Of course that is not including that I need to get it paint matched because I believe the color of it currently is the rare “Sparkle Green Metallic” that was on the SR Limited NA Roadster. Out of the 700 produced only 316 were made in that color so whoever had this top in Japan at some point, definitely had a good taste. I hope it is all set and done before the year ends but everything good takes time so just happy to actually own one finally.

Really happy to have snagged a picture of all three hardtops together because my luck is I’ll probably never come across the Non-Vent again to have the trifecta…

#nbroadster #mazdaspeed #miata by @miathemsm

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a year ago