What crosses my mind when I look at Elias Ramirez’ Pitcrew faced roadster is the movie “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp. There is just something so old school gangster with his car. The Karmann Ghia inspired front end made by Pitcrew Racing, Japan, takes you back to a different time. A time when suit-and-tie gangsters ruled the streets of LA and Hollywood. Picture black and white films, tommy guns, bank robberies, bars, clubs, and piano music. The Pitcrew front end is nicely executed with Lucas P700 7″ round headlamps, OEM VW chrome eyelids, Pitcrew Racing chrome bumper bars and a TRAP front lip. Outside you will see rare KG Works Bellete G mirrors, a Runabout Type 2 fuel lid, and finished off with a Garage Vary rear tail light panel and OEM ’73 Corvette tail lamps. Isn’t this the most sexiest black roadster you’ve ever seen?
The interior exudes nothing but class. If I can use the word sexy again, I would say his interior is “sexy af”. From a distance the red leather interior pops out in your face. Upon closer inspection, you will first see the Car Make Corn’s red leather bucket seats, enveloped by limited edition red leather door panels, red carpet, and non-airbag red leather and black dash, Nardi Classic 60th Anniversary 360mm steering wheel, a ton of custom Retromodern polished and stainless interior bits, rare AWD cluster with AWD thick rings, needle caps and red gauge faces, and the pièce de résistance: Nielex stainless steel tombstone. Completing the Nielex setup with custom gold plated hazard and popup switches. The interior is so classy and sexy, it will make you wet with envy.
The engine bay is super clean with a polished Mishimoto aluminum radiator and polished Moroso coolant overflow tank. The rare and hard to find, Mazdaspeed strut bar, bridges the shock towers, Retromodern spark plug cover, Garage5 knurled oil cap, and finished off with a custom cherry red powdercoated valve cover. His future plans include upgrading to a set of Maruha individual throttle bodies for that classic car feel and 4 throttle sound.
Elias’ Miata is the perfect street cruiser. Rolling nicely on Flyin’ Miata V-Maxx XXtreme coilovers with NB top hats. The rollers are high polished SSR MK2’s in 14×7, +12 offset in the front and 14×7.5, +6 offset in the rear. All wrapped with proper Dunlop Direzza ZIII tires in 185/60 sizes. I had to personally help Elias shave the brake calipers to fit these gangster wheels.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of Elias’ journey building his Miata. I have watched this build continue to get better and better all while retaining that old school gangster look. Wherever he goes, he turns heads. Wherever he parks, his car attracts the paparazzi. And his car may even look straight out of olden day Japan with a Yakuza gangster behind the wheel. And this is why I nicknamed his roadster the “public enemy”.
Now scroll down and check out the awesome photos taken by Nico and read about his journey!
Photographer: Nico N. @nico.mx5
Writer: Kevin T. @_spirit_road_
Owner: Elias Ramirez
Location: Corona, CA. USA
Instagram: Limited_Edition_93
1993 Mazda Miata Limited Edition
Engine mods:
Naturally aspirated
Mishimoto aluminum radiator
Moroso coolant overflow tank
OEM JDM Mazdaspeed Miata strut bar
Retromodern spark plug cover
Garage5 aluminum knurled oil cap
Illusion cherry powder coated valve cover
Transmission and Differential mods:
5 speed NA Transmission
OEM JDM Mazdaspeed A-spec short shifter
Interior:
KG Works smooth rearview mirror
ArtworksDewa cluster with AWD thick rings, AWD aluminum needle caps, AWD premium G series 1013 red gauge faces with AWD brushed 304 stainless steel overlays and Revlimiter lenses
Retromodern simplicity knurled trip reset stalk
Aftermarket S-limited ignition cover
Nardi classic 60th anniversary 360mm steering wheel
Retromodern knurled dimmer assembly with indicator light
Retromodern stainless steel map light and foot well light kit
Retromodern cigarette lighter bezel with ring
Retromodern custom cigarette lighter copper accent dummy plug
ArtworksDewa aluminum vent rings
Retromodern knurled vent nipples
Hayashi vents with ArtworksDewa vent rings
Nielex stainless steel tombstone with Nielex custom gold plated hazard and popup switch
ArtworksDewa stainless steel HVAC panel with ring and Garage Star knurled HVAC knobs
Retromodern custom radio delete backing plate
Joyfast extended shift knob
RS Factory Stage jimmy handbrake handle with e-brake button
Car Make Corns read leather bad design seats with polished Car Make Corns brackets and polished hardware
New OEM 93LE carpet with new car smell
Coco sisal floor mats
Exterior:
Pitcrew front-end conversion
Pitcrew chrome bumpers
OEM VW chrome eyelids
P700 headlamps
TRAP front lip
KG Works bellete G door mirrors
Runabout type 2 fuel lid
Garage Vary rear tail light panel + OEM 1973 Corvette tail lamps
Suspension:
Flying Miata V-maxx XXtreme coilovers with NB top hats
Wheels and Brakes:
SSR MK2 [Front: 14×7.0 ET+12] [Rear: 14×7.5 ET+6] wrapped on 185/60R14 Dunlop Direzza ZIII
OEM 1.8 NA brake calipers
Flying Miata braided stainless steel brake line kit
StopTech street performance brakes
Shoutouts/Credits/Sponsors:
_Spirit_Road_ and Nico.MX5
Oldgrayleather for helping find this gem
Phatmiata at Mazdaroadster.net
Retromodern
Car Make Corns USA
FenderDefender and Waschenco at Deity Motorsports
West Jones auto body
Bulletproof coatings
All Metal Customs
How did you get in to Miatas?
I traded my blown engine 2000 AP1 S2000 to the homie, Chincheezy, for a running/track set up 2003 Mazda Miata NB2. I was in school, broke, and needed a car by that Monday so I traded my dream s2k for a Miata; little did I know, it was the beginning of an enthusiast love for these mighty little roadsters.
How long have you owned the car?
I have owned my 1993 Mazda Miata LE for 1 year and some change. Purchased the car on Father’s day 6/17/19 in Denver, Colorado.
How long did it take you to build?
I started my build almost one year before I purchased my 93LE. That is when I met my good friend Randy, also known as Phatmiata, and he started to sell me pieces from his vault of rare parts. The easy way to answer this question is to say the build is not done. This will be a generational type build that will evolve over time and what you are seeing is phase 1.
What is your intent with the car?
My intent is to let my imagination run wild by building something unique, aesthetic, neck breaking, and inspiring to others that grew up reading car magazines/forums.
Is this your daily driver or weekend car?
My daily driver is a 2014 Blizzard Pearl White Toyota Prius with the Plus performance package which includes Eibach lowering springs, TRD rear sway bar, Plus lip kit, Plus 17” wheels, and Clazzio quilted seats. Ain’t nothing like that 50 MPG all day err day!
What are your future plans/goals with the car?
Maruha ITBs, Pitcrew rear-end conversion, Garage Vary Type-2 hood, Hard Dog deuce polished roll bar, Retromodern custom shorty console.
Any special memories you’d like to share?
Over the year of collecting parts and searching for a 93LE, I made a handful of offers on different cars all over the country, but luck and time was not on my side. I decided to be patient and on a random Thursday, Peter sent me a message of a 93LE located in Colorado that was within my budget and desired mileage. I called the seller the same day and booked the flight. I flew out to Colorado early father’s day, purchased the car, and drove it back to Southern California. Unfortunately I had to drive through one of the worst rainstorms in the Colorado Rockies and the scorching 110-degree heat through Utah/Nevada. Lucky for me, the car handled the drive like a champ without overheating.