Here is a long but interesting read from another patient customer of Corkys business, this is just one part of a 10 page story with a sad ending that would bring tears to your eyes. Might want to check out this link and get the whole story.

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread...ng+head+gasket

Hoochy's Mishaps
There were many hitches in the development of the manifold and intercooler that caused delays but by July 1 it was installed and only lacked tuning.

We were going with the new chip re-flash and mine was to be the very first 2001 to get this. Colorado has gotten tough with emissions of late and the reflash would insure the car would pass. Initially the thought was it would take two weeks but it required so many updates that it stretched out to two months

Finally the week before Labor day it was ready and I eagerly flew to San An to retrieve it and take the long drive to Colorado were everyone was waiting to see the results. We took it out for several test runs and it ran great. I paid the balance and took off. I didn't get but two miles before it began coughing and generating a terrible vibration at 4000 rpm. I brought it back and Corky and I took it out and finally duplicated the malfunction. It all went to hell under gentle acceleration. When you pushed it hard it ran like a top. Of course to test it everyone pushed it hard..............

I decided to leave it there (It was miserable to call home and suffer the berating my loyal minions supported me with). Tim felt he could get in humming in three weeks at the outside. Three week later Tim is closing in on a finish when Corky takes it to the bank and burns up the wiring harness. How did he burn it up? I am not gonna rat him out, he will have to tell you. But it turns out my miata has ABS and it so rare that if it was a steak and you hit it with a fork it would go "Moo".

Six weeks later a harness still cant be located so they decide to fabricate one from the old harness. It was determined in September that the bogging occurred because the reflash did not contain enough resolution to handle the larger injectors which necessitated the install of an outboard xcede. The good news is that the owner of xcede is coming in from Australia the first week of November and will personally oversee the tune!

It is the week of November 11th and it is tuned perfectly out of boost. All that remains is to tune it under boost, button up the dash and get the AF gauge working. This should be done by the end of the next week and I plan to fly in on the 19th to drive it home.

I call into to Bell the following Tuesday to get a forlorn Corky on the phone. One of his key employees has resigned that morning without notice. Tim is off doing something and Stephanie is in Australia, he has a boatload of projects to get out the door and no one there to do the work............

Now since May my wife has been something less than understanding of all these delays, but at the beginning of October my grandson is to move in to go to school and it was agreed he will use my current car. No biggie since I the Miata would be back long before then......Soooooo You cant begin to imagine the heat I am taking from the both of them since October. Plus winter is closing in on Colorado and going over the Raton Pass in December in a Miata without snow tires is something akin to suicide. Plus the Plates expired in late September Plus there is uncertainty as to whether or not the xcede will throw codes making it impossible to pass emissions plus there is no one there to tune it and no way to even hazard a guess when it will be ready......

At this point I am slowly becoming aware of the obvious - to wit; The best laid schemes o mice an Hoochy gang aft aglay and that the sun has set on my plans for a forced induction Miata. I have but to yield to the inevitable.

Brings a tear to ones eye. Where is Oprah when you need her dammit!!!!