"Gary" > wrote in message news:<RRQYc.10303$u94.4732@trndny06>...
> I have about 78K on a '90 and have never done the timing belt. Shame on me,
> but the car runs great. Can I get another 10K and delay doing it or am I
> flirting with disaster? If I gamble by waiting a while longer am I going to
> ruin the engine if it finally goes on me? Also, has anyone ever gotten over
> 80K on a timing belt on a early Miata, like my '90?

No risk of ruining anything but your day if you break the belt.

Bit of advice tho.. if you do have the belt replaced, make sure they
do the water pump too. I made the mistake of replacing the belt only
& not too much later the water pump died. You basically have to take
just as much apart to do one as the other.. and it's that
dis/re-assembly that makes the belt replacement cost so much. The
really annoying thing about that whole deal is that my belt probably
would've outlasted my water pump if I hadn't done the cautious thing
and had it replaced shortly after the 60k mile mark. (I think I was
somewhere in the 90k mile range when the water pump failed).

-Scott