How the Miata has changed my mechanical confidence

Before I owned the Miata, I knew a fair amount about cars, or at least I thought I did.  I understood the basics of how they worked, could change out a few parts, but was not confident in making changes outside of things like simple bolt on modifications.

When I bought the car, I told myself that I was going to use it as a way to learn, as well as a portal for racing.  When contemplating modifications, I often times found myself being timid because I was not sure if I would handle the job.  On several occasions, I had to force myself to bite the bullet and just go for it.  The results have been very much a learning experience for me, and I wanted to highlight some of the mods where I took something away:

-Installing the muffler:  Learned that I should not do exhaust work without PB Blaster and a breaker bar.

-Painting valve cover:  Dove in without good info about VVT removal, figured it out.  Learned about how oil feed VVT works, how to sand and paint metal, and how to replace gaskets with sealant.

-Installing sway bars and end-links:  Learned what these parts do to begin with, how they mount, and how important they are.  Most noticable upgrade so far.

-Installing a volt meter:  Learned how wiring in a car works, or at least how to splice and crimp.  Also required customization of the dash to make the gauge cluster fit.

-Installing the mid-pipe:  Learned that even with PB Blaster and a breaker bar, exhaust work still sucks.  Because of this, learned how to wire up an O2 sensor.  I have replaced them before, but had all been plug and play.  $70 instead of $200 to splice my own wires was well worth it. 

While none of this was terribly difficult(engine internals on my radar) I did learn a lot.  My confidence has improved and I am ready to tackle bigger things!