Name: Frank & Deborah DeFelice
Year/color/options of your Miata?
1990 Purple Haze Miata
Tell us a little about yourself:
Debbie and I moved to South Carolina from Connecticut back in August of 1998. We were just married two years when I received a job offer to move here. I used to travel to SC quite often during my former job and said I would like to move here someday, so here we are. At first it was an adjustment for both of us especially for Debbie because she became very homesick as she was very close to her family. She traveled back and forth to Connecticut for a while until the passing of her grandparents. She became more and more fond of South Carolina and today she does not want to leave. We currently live in Goose Creek at Crowfield but we will be moving to Summerville in November where we are building a new home. Debbie just finished her BSM and I will have completed my BSM by next October.
Debbie works as a Logistics Analyst for UPS in Ladson and I work as a Program Manager for Commissioners of Public Works at the operations center on the old Navy base. I am an avid ice hockey fan and coach children how to play the game. I have been playing the sport since I was 7 years old. I currently have a travel team that I coach which takes up 2 days of my time during the week and most weekends during the fall and winter months. This is very rewarding to me since Debbie and I do not have children, as we can give back something to these children.
We are avid car and motorcycle fans. Besides the restored 1990 Miata we own two Harley-Davidsons and belong to the Harley’s owners group known as HOG. As far as the Miata, this is the first foreign made vehicle that I have restored. The transformation started back in July 2003 when the original intention was just to have a reliable second vehicle. To make a long story short my nature wouldn’t allow this and during a visit Debbie made to visit her sister in Tampa, FL, I totally stripped the car in a weekend. Nevertheless, Debbie was shocked when she returned. I have restored several vehicles during my life and they included 1963 Mercury, 1969 Mach I, 1968 Camaro SS, 1970 Blazer, and a 1978 Blazer. Debbie and I were not together during these other restorations, but she was for the Miata. When we met she owned a 1966 Pontiac Lemans convertible that I had every intention to restore. We decided that it would be better to sell this car so we did. I promised her that some day I would restore a car for her; possibly another convertible so here’s the Miata.
Year/color/options/ of your Miata?
Phase I of Purple Haze is a 1990 model that was in need of some TLC. In my opinion sometimes interest is lost in a vehicle after some time and this was the case with this car. Unfortunately, I disassembled the Miata so fast that I do not have a before picture. The Miata came stock with power steering, AC, and power windows. While some parts were salvageable, many parts where replaced. The suspension was rebuilt and set-up with Koni adjustable shocks and Jackson racing coil springs that lower the Miata approximately 1” all around. The engine is rebuilt and basically stock with new pistons, rings, bearings, cams, lifters, and valve job. The engine has a Jackson racing stainless steel header, bolted to a free flow catalytic converter and a racing beat dual tip exhaust system. The Miata sits on 17” G-games by Rays rims mounted to Yokohama Parada Spec 2’s. The interior is stock with a few new items, like carpet and door panels. Some future work for the car will include roll bar, and a supercharger.
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