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Driving Instructor's Car Evolution: From $500 Skoda to Multiple Miatas
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia!
Three days before his 16th birthday—days before he could finally get his license—Nigel Tunnacliffe's brother totaled his first car. The Skoda 135 GLi he'd saved $500 to buy. Gone.
Most people would give up. Nigel bought a Mark 1 Toyota MR2 and proceeded to blow through FIVE engines. Yes, five. The first one ran out of oil. The engines from Japan had ticking valves. The Suzuki Forsa track car with the Subaru turbo? Blew two turbos—the compressor wheels snapped off and ended up in the muffler (he called it "twin turbine exhaust").
But somewhere between the MR2 disasters and owning all 4 generations of Miata, Nigel discovered something: he loved teaching people to drive.
Today, he runs Coastline Academy—a coast-to-coast driving school on a mission to eradicate car crashes by modernizing how teens learn to drive.
In this episode, Nigel reveals:
- The exact moment he realized his Skoda was gone (and his brother's role in it)
- Why he swapped a Chevy 2.4L Ecotec engine into his NB Miata—twice
- Building a 500 ft-lb turbo monster that he drove at Laguna Seca
- Working on cars in a San Francisco storage container (his workshop when living in the city)
- High school shop class memories: welding without guardrails
- Why modern teens are more nervous about driving than previous generations
- The hardware startup pivot that became a national driving school
- What it's like owning all 4 Miata generations (NA, NB, NC, ND)
There's one detail about that Suzuki Forsa that Nigel says he'd never let his driving students replicate. For good reason.
🚗 **Learn more:** coastlineacademy.com | YouTube: @CoastlineAcademy
🔗 **Related episodes:** https://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/17881474-the-father-son-mustang-ii-rebuild-at-age-14-from-ase-mechanic-to-tech-entrepreneur
https://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/16805989-mazda-rx-7-stories-jon-leverett-rotary-engine-love-auto-industry-secrets
Connect with us: https://carsloved.com
⭐ Teaching a teen to drive? Share this episode with them!
*** Your Favorite Automotive Podcast - Now Arriving Weekly!!! ***
Listen on your favorite platform and visit https://carsloved.com for full episodes, our automotive blog, Guest Road Trip Playlist and our new CAR-ousel of Memories photo archive.
Don't Forget to Rate & Review to keep the engines of automotive storytelling—and personal restoration—running strong.
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By Doug & Christian - Your Guides to Classic Cars & First Car StoriesClick here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia!
Three days before his 16th birthday—days before he could finally get his license—Nigel Tunnacliffe's brother totaled his first car. The Skoda 135 GLi he'd saved $500 to buy. Gone.
Most people would give up. Nigel bought a Mark 1 Toyota MR2 and proceeded to blow through FIVE engines. Yes, five. The first one ran out of oil. The engines from Japan had ticking valves. The Suzuki Forsa track car with the Subaru turbo? Blew two turbos—the compressor wheels snapped off and ended up in the muffler (he called it "twin turbine exhaust").
But somewhere between the MR2 disasters and owning all 4 generations of Miata, Nigel discovered something: he loved teaching people to drive.
Today, he runs Coastline Academy—a coast-to-coast driving school on a mission to eradicate car crashes by modernizing how teens learn to drive.
In this episode, Nigel reveals:
- The exact moment he realized his Skoda was gone (and his brother's role in it)
- Why he swapped a Chevy 2.4L Ecotec engine into his NB Miata—twice
- Building a 500 ft-lb turbo monster that he drove at Laguna Seca
- Working on cars in a San Francisco storage container (his workshop when living in the city)
- High school shop class memories: welding without guardrails
- Why modern teens are more nervous about driving than previous generations
- The hardware startup pivot that became a national driving school
- What it's like owning all 4 Miata generations (NA, NB, NC, ND)
There's one detail about that Suzuki Forsa that Nigel says he'd never let his driving students replicate. For good reason.
🚗 **Learn more:** coastlineacademy.com | YouTube: @CoastlineAcademy
🔗 **Related episodes:** https://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/17881474-the-father-son-mustang-ii-rebuild-at-age-14-from-ase-mechanic-to-tech-entrepreneur
https://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/16805989-mazda-rx-7-stories-jon-leverett-rotary-engine-love-auto-industry-secrets
Connect with us: https://carsloved.com
⭐ Teaching a teen to drive? Share this episode with them!
*** Your Favorite Automotive Podcast - Now Arriving Weekly!!! ***
Listen on your favorite platform and visit https://carsloved.com for full episodes, our automotive blog, Guest Road Trip Playlist and our new CAR-ousel of Memories photo archive.
Don't Forget to Rate & Review to keep the engines of automotive storytelling—and personal restoration—running strong.