The Tarmac Terrorist - The 250bhp, Aero-Clad, Internationally Infamous, MX5 Of Your Dreams.

As those who are familiar with my build thread will testify, I am truly terrible at writing concisely, but I will try my best to keep this advert as easy on the eye and the clock as possible.

What I will say is this; the decision to sell is not one I have taken lightly. At all. In fact, over the course of my 4-year ownership I have thought seriously about selling three times, this being the third. The first two times I was persuaded otherwise, by friends, loved ones, and primarily myself. I had unfinished business with the car, and chose to evolve instead of starting a fresh. This time however, I am trusting my instincts and following through with my previously empty promises.

The main reason for selling is a simple one. As much as I truly adore this car, I just have so many aspirations for other vehicles I would like to sample, and ultimately create my own through modification, that we plainly must part company. Make no mistake, if I had the garage space and the financial capacity to keep the MX5 alongside another project, I would do so in a heartbeat.

The car is the most potent and complete package that it has ever been, and I have taken it almost as far as I desire, and certainly far beyond what I had originally intended! I am at the stage where I am almost totally content with every aspect of the car, so although there are certain things I would like to add or change if I were to keep going, they are reasonably trivial. Those of a similar mind-set to myself will know, a real project car is never truly finished!

Right, enough romantic drivel for now, let me mop up my virtual tears and get down to the nitty gritty.

The basics:

• 203,000km / 126,000miles - this may rise slightly but honestly I’d take little notice of this – very few parts have actually covered that distance!

• Tax til end of May 2014

• MOT til mid-May 2014 – although I will put a fresh ticket on it for the new buyer if they wish. I have every confidence it will fly through.

• Cobra Cat1 Alarm/Immobiliser

It originally started life in Japan in 1993, as a Brilliant Black Mazda Eunos Roadster 1.6l S-Special. It was imported to the UK in 2002, and went through two owners before arriving on my driveway in 2009, still more or less factory standard. As you can probably tell there isn’t a great deal of that little fella left to tell the tale! Honestly I think it is really only the door skins that have survived all this time, as far as the exterior is concerned anyway.

So let’s start on that exterior. I shall continue utilising the customary bullet point system to describe the spec, but with a few little (ish) annotations when I believe a bit more detail could be helpful!

• Autokonexion N2 Front Arches – Imported from the States in early 2012, sprayed in 2k Satin Black. VERY few examples of these in the country, probably as once import tax and shipping are accounted for they are far from wallet friendly!

• Autokonexion GT Rear Overfenders – as above. The quarter panels have been chopped back and inner and outer skins welded together and re-sealed, not just bonded like a lot of people do!

• IL Motorsports Front Bumper – Re-sprayed last year in PZ Brilliant Black, with black aluminium mesh in corner vents and top vent. The custom top vent feeds the oil cooler via an aluminium shroud and 2x70mm diameter ducting tubes. There is also a black rubber skirt attached between the lower bumper and splitter to ensure the air goes where it is supposed to.

• Custom Vented Rear Bumper – Originally an OEM item but chopped about to fit around the diffuser and exhaust, and vented to reduce the “parachute effect”. You should also note that the front and rear support beams have been removed, both to save weight and free up space. Sprayed 2k Satin Black

• Japspeed Rear Wing – 176cm of carbon awesomeness. Complete with custom strengthening arms that tie into the rear roof mounts and greatly increase stability. These wings are very hard to get hold of as they are almost constantly out of stock!

• Feed Style Skirts – A low entry lack can just about squeeze under these, and they are very strong and flexible.

• Custom Front Canards – Self-made aluminium items covered in satin black vinyl that tie into the bumper, front arches and front splitter so are very sturdy.

• Custom Rear Diffuser – Again, ally constructed and vinyl covered. Disassembles into three sections and ties into the rear chassis crossmember, subframe brace bar and both rear chassis legs, so it is extremely sturdy! It also bends well so very easy to remodel if it takes a knock!

• Custom Front Splitter / Undertray – Self-made two piece marine plywood construction that extends right to the back of the front subframe. It has a total of 11 anchor points excluding the 4 on each canard. Again, very strong! The angle of the front edge can also be easily adjusted.

• Custom Vented Front Wings – designed (by me) to remove turbulent air from the front wheel wells.

• Border Bonnet Vent – originally destined for an MR2 but modified to fit the OEM aluminium bonnet. Most of the strengthening has been removed so it is quite “flappy”, but secured with genuine Aerocatches at the front edge (standard catch removed)

• Skuzzle Motorsport TSI’s – Indicators and sidelights mounted behind black ally mesh – will also come with stock units to please the MOT man!

• OEM Hardtop – no side-latches due to the roll-bar but still nice and secure. Has a HRW but it isn’t currently connected.

• Aftermarket Wing Mirrors – Far smaller and more aerodynamic than stock items but not so ridiculous that you can’t see out of them – still very usable.

• Carbing Front Tow Hoop and TRS Rear Tow Strap

• Aerocatch Bonnet Catches and Camlock Boot Latches – standard boot catch removed, but boot won’t open with wing braces attached anyway!

• Deep Sunstrip – There are no sun-visors inside so this is a god-send in bright sunlight. The genuine Speedhunters vinyl was applied by Mad Mike Whiddett himself!

• Raybridge headlamps with Osram Nightbreaker H4 bulbs, Red tinted rear lamps and smoked side repeaters.

The wheels I think deserve their own paragraph, and lets start with the rears. They are 15x9” ATS Classics with an offset of ET-19. They are still the only set I have ever seen in this country in such a crazy spec and seem to be equally hard to find internationally. Consequently I can trace the ownership of this set back more than a decade! I do have four of these but unfortunately one of them had a pretty brutal argument with a kerb a few months ago. I have been assured by a number of people that a specialist should be able to salvage it, but as yet I haven’t followed any leads. The damaged one and its still-mint counterpart will both be included in the sale to do with what you wish (I currently have the good one as a fetching coffee table ornament!). All of these have been refurbished and powdercoated Gloss Black. Since the aforementioned incident the car has had a pair of 15x9” Rota Grid V’s up front. These are ET0 but with 20mm hubcentric aluminium spacers bringing the final ET to -20 (as near as dammit the same as the ATS’s). They are still in the factory satin bronze finish. As far as I can remember none of the wheels, obviously save for the damaged one, have any kerbing to speak of. They are all wrapped in Toyo Proxies T1R’s in 215/45/15 flavour. These are around £70 a corner online so very affordable, and are a great street tyre as has been testified by many, many MX5 owners. That said, 225/45/15 R888’s will also fit and offer superior grip on track. They are roughly £130 a corner online.

All in all it is probably one of the most recognisable NA-chassis in the world, certainly in the UK, and due to all the custom attributes it is totally, 100% unique. The aero work has been adapted and improved over time and it certainly isn’t all for show. You’ll have to drive it in anger to understand this for yourself but I can testify that it undeniably produces a good amount of downforce at speed. It grips!

The exterior may pack a serious visual punch, but it isn’t just a sheep in wolves clothing, there is a pretty decent spec underneath to back it up:

• HSD HR Coilovers – These are the expensive ones – monotube design with pillowball topmounts and 16 stage damping adjustment. I rate these very, very highly! All the adjusters and spring platforms move freely, and I tend to run them at about 7 clicks on the road and 12-16 clicks on track.

• 1.8 Spec Brakes with Axxis Ultimate Pads. This is an excellent street setup, biting from cold and improving exponentially when warmed up. They are backed up by ATE Superblue brake fluid which has recently had a full flush and bleed.

• Front Top Strut Brace and Front and Rear Subframe Braces

• P5 Stainless Chassis Rail Braces – chassis rails fully undersealed before these went on, a great item which not only increases chassis rigidity and reduces scuttle shake massively, but protects the rails from tarmac rash too.

• Spec Stage 2+ 1.8 Hybrid Clutch with 1.8 Flywheel – Super strong and promised by Gary @ Track Dog Racing to easily withstand 300bhp. I can honestly say this has never ever slipped on me since it was fitted. It is easy to modulate and not all that stiffer than stock. I also recently fitted a new slave cylinder and flushed and bled the fluid. The 5-speed gearbox is still a joy to use (it was swapped for a 2nd hand one a couple of years ago as 2nd gear was getting a little tired) and has recently had new main and turret oil.

• Torsen Type II LSD – complete with 1.8 prop and driveshafts, locks up strongly and emits no nasty noises to speak of.

• Ultra Racing adjustable anti-roll bars – polybushed mounts with recent OEM front droplinks and aftermarket adjustable rear droplinks.

So you now know what it looks like, and what makes it go around the bends. But what provides the propulsion? 250bhp and 201lb/ft to put it simply. This was tuned and measured by Dale @ Bailey Performance in Telford (Highly recommended) and his rolling road is renowned to be very accurate unlike some! It made 270bhp @ 1.0bar but we removed some spark at the top end to bring it down to 250 (this is about as far as you want to push the stock conrods). Because of this it is a very safe overall map that never sees pre-det, the most common killer of highly-stressed FI setups. It is mapped to run on Shell V-Power, and I only ever run this. I suggest the new buyer does too.

The basic engine is a UK-spec 1.6 long-nosed crank unit which was swapped in in 2012 after the previous one developed a wobbly crank nose, proving to be fatal. I have no old paperwork with the engine but it came from a close and trusted friend who advised it was around 80k miles old, so still relatively low. It runs beautifully and uses no oil under normal conditions and a just a dribble on track. This is pretty normal as the stock piston rings let a fair amount of blow-by through at high boost. It also uses zero coolant, had a fresh cambelt and waterpump fitted when it went in and is regularly serviced with Mobil1 0w40 oil. Theres little else to say about it to be honest, these engines are known to be pretty bulletproof and I have no doubt this one should be good for plenty more miles as long as it is well maintained.

So exactly how does it go about producing over double the power Mazda intended? Well…

• Meqasquirt PNP Ecu – the brains of the operation. Plug and play connections so you have the peace of mind it was put together by someone who knows exactly what they are doing! Dale @ Bailey Performance also checked it over and added some resistors to further improve it. I will include an old laptop loaded with TunerStudio that you can use to tweak the map as and when is necessary.

• Greddy TD-04 Turbocharger – No play in the shaft last time I checked (just a couple of months ago). Stainless oil feed line taken from oil pressure sensor hole on side of block (this provides filtered oil, the sensor has been moved to the sandwich plate). Oil drain runs into sump.

• Greddy Manifold – Has relief cuts in the head flange and a small weld repair to the chamber on the turbo side. This is a solid cast bit of kit, far better than cheaper stainless alternatives and easily flows well enough for the current power level.

• Trackspeed Engineering Fixings – M10 Inconel Studs with Stage8 fastners are used between the turbo and manifold. The ONLY reliable option for turbo’d track 5’s. These were not at all cheap but will probably outlast the car! Both turbo and manifold flanges were re-faced when these were fitted and I run it with no gasket. I would accept nothing less than this if I were to build another one!

• Kinugawa 1.0bar actuator – this is currently running a fair bit of pre-load to make the desired boost, but if you were to take the feed from a nipple in front of the throttle body (a small amount of fab work) you could run it normally and see 1.0bar at the inlet.

• Custom Over-the-Radiator Intercooler – huge top-feed RMD intercooler with self-made 2.5” I/D stainless steel pipework and silicone joiners. Shortest route possible for quickest spool times and minimal chance of boost leaks. Custom steel slam panel with the radiator mounted about 2” lower than stock, allowing smoother bends on the pipework.

• Pipercross Air Filter

• 650cc EV-14 Injectors – Purchased from the Fuel Injector Clinic in the States less than a year ago, these are very efficient injectors with headway for much more power. Again, if I were to build another F/I’d MX5 I settle for nothing but EV-14’s.

• Custom Dual Feed Fuel Rail – to avoid starvation on cylinder 4 which has been known to happen with the standard single feed rail.

• Walbro 190lph fuel Pump – more or less a plug and play upgrade for the stock pump. Cheap and easy to replace if ever needed. It’s a noisy little bugger with all the interior removed but at least you know it is working!

• GM AIT Sensor – allowing removal of the restrictive stock AFM

• Auto Throttle Body – This has a variable TPS which makes for far easier mapping than the stock unit.

• Innovate LC-1 Wideband – Complete with XD-16 gauge. Very reliable setup which communicates perfectly with the Megasquirt.

• Custom Stainless 2.5” Turbo-Back Exhaust – Inclusive of downpipe, has one silencer in the tunnel and one at the backbox. No cat but legally doesn’t require one. Designed to be quiet enough to pass the majority of UK noise limits, it measured 97dB at Goodwood but is usually a fair bit less (Goodwood are notoriously strict and take their readings closer than other circuits). Makes a lovely noise, not boomy or overly loud at any point, and will pop nice flames if provoked, because everyone likes flames.

• Uprated Aluminium Radiator - I also have everything bar a couple of gaskets for a coolant re-route, I have never got around to fitting this and have never had any issues with water temperature, but of course I will include it all with the sale if you would like to fit it.

• Genuine Mocal 16row Oil Cooler – with thermostatic sandwich plate (85ish degrees) to avoid overcooling. As described this is force-fed via ducting in the bumper. Holds perfect temperature in all conditions.

All in all a “fairly” simple spec, but one that is very reliable, starts on the button (even when left for weeks at a time) and performs faultlessly. The best thing about this setup is the weak link is the internals, and if the worst did happen and it threw a rod, another 1600 block can be had for £100-200, and easily swapped over in a weekend! The engine bay itself is relatively clean and de-cluttered, with some decent colour-coding alongside the infamous red-camo cam cover, making it pretty easy on the eye too!

But let’s be honest, you’re going to want to spend most of your time driving it, not looking under the bonnet. So what’s going on in the flight deck?

• Fully stripped of all carpets and sound deadening, plastic trim, handles, arm rest, centre console, stereo, air conditioning, heater matrix, blower, ducting, loads of redundant wiring and switchgear… everything that isn’t necessary when maximum attack mode is engaged!

• Corbeau Pro Race Kevlar Bucket Seats – very light, and very supportive… but very thin! The driver’s side one is super snug, and I am reasonably slight of build at 32” waist, so you don’t want to be much larger! The passenger side is a bit wider, probably catering for up to 36” waist or so, and these could swap places reasonably easily if you needed to. They are both side-mounted to the floor with the stock seat “humps” removed to enable them to be low as possible. Therefore they would need new holes drilling should you wish to move them fore or aft. The upholstery on the passenger one is a bit tired but fortunately gaffa tape is very well disguised on a black seat in a black car!

• Sabelt 4point harnesses – 3” shoulder straps and 2” lap straps with 3” under-webbing. Quick release rotary buckles and quick release fixings on all eye bolts.

• Carbing 6point Roll Bar – Main hoop going right down to the floor behind the seats, rear legs running down to rear chassis legs, doorbars into footwells and integrated harness bar. Pretty rare in this setup, and does a great job of stiffening up the chassis and providing added piece of mind should things ever go wrong and you end up sunny-side-down. It is the proper steel job not the pointless aluminium version, and has been fully powder-coated in gloss red.

• Nardi Deep Corn Steering Wheel – 330mm diameter, suede rimmed, red stitched loveliness, with working horn push. I am not 100% sure if this is genuine, but it was sold to me as such and I have no reason to believe otherwise. Either way it is just fantastic. The suede is a little worn and is lifting slightly around the right hand spoke, I will endeavour to glue this back down before it goes!

• GDL Weighted Gear Knob – also worth noting that both gearshift boots and the ball-joint recently replaced.

• Innovate XD-16 AFR Gauge, Stack Boost and Stack Oil Temp Gauges in dial pod on top of dash. All very legible even in bright sunlight, and most importantly – accurate! These are attached via their own separate loom so very easy to remove if needed.

• Fly-off handbrake button – if you like going sideways. I’m rubbish at drifting though so never upgraded to a hydro!

• Custom Doorcards and Switch Panel – Sheet aluminium doorcards covered in satin black vinyl with custom red door pulls. Electric window switches (yes it still has them!) relocated to centre console alongside foglamp switch, immobiliser disarmer and cigarette lighter.

• Cut dash – chopped below the crash pads (which have been colour coded red) so no glovebox but acres of extra leg space instead.

• Fire extinguisher mounted on passenger doorbar

• Perspex quarter windows with pop out vents – great for ventilation on track!

And that, for those of you still awake, is just about it! I may have missed a few little bits and pieces, but hopefully you get the idea! It is a very comprehensive spec, compromising some pretty serious gear in a very well-rounded and well developed package. It’s all done, just hop in and drive!

Now comes a little disclaimer, because it wouldn’t be a proper car advert without one! This is NOT a show car. Although I have attended a fair few static shows with it, and even come away with a couple of trophy’s for some reason, this is far from your average Autoglym-endowed trailer queen. I’d be lying if I told you I hadn’t built it with an on-going desire to shock and turn heads whilst parked up, but above all else I have built it to drive. Therefore please don’t expect it to be mint. It has the odd battle-scar, the odd dodgy panel gap, the odd stonechip and the overall paintwork is far from perfect. It utilises many cable ties, rivets and odd sized bolts in its construction, so you may as well throw that Hayne’s manual out the window! Sure, if you wanted to buy this and put the legwork in to turn it into an out and out show stopper, you could, but you’d have a pretty big job on your hands! That said, when it isn’t covered in brake dust, fly carcasses and bits of scenery, it doesn’t polish up half bad, but I guess it is all relative, you really need to come and see it in the metal and decide for yourself!

In conclusion, this is your chance to own one of the most unique and recognisable modified cars available today. It has been the subject of three full features in UK magazines, appeared on various internet blogs including a full feature on Speedhunters, and appears regularly on Facebook, Instagram and every other internet media sharing site you can imagine. It has the looks to snap onlooker’s spines clean in two wherever it goes, and the performance and handling prowess to snap yours and your mates as well, whilst tearing through a chicane on your favourite race circuit.

It has been my obsession for the last 4 years, and now it is time for someone else to wrench it out of my grasp and continue the legacy in their own way. You could simply leave it as it is and just enjoy it as often as you possibly can as a weekend B-road warrior. Or you could chuck a set of Willwood’s and semi-slick’s on it and go chasing wannabee Senna’s on the race track, or in sprint competition. Hell, you could even fully forge the engine, bang a sequential box on the end of it, and enter into Time Attack!

I really want this to sell, and to someone who is going to use it, and enjoy it, and hopefully further improve it. I really don’t want to have to break it for parts and see so much time and effort go to waste. So please don’t try and offer me money in exchange for individual parts. This advert is for a car, not the sum of its components.

And on that note, all that is left is the price. I was originally going to stick it up for £8000, even though it owes me far in excess of that. But I had to ask myself a serious question… would I really pay that much if the shoe were on the other foot? The answer was inevitably no. So I re-evaluated and decided to stick it up for £7000 with a view for accepting a close offer. Then I realised what I was actually doing. This is not a money making scheme. If it were I would be breaking it already as that would certainly prove to be more lucrative. Skip back a paragraph, I do not want this to happen, I want it to sell, I want you to be able to buy it.

Therefore I have decided to advertise it for exactly what I want. No more, no less. No offers, no haggling, no small print. This is the price.

It is £6500.

I do not want to feel like I have to sit here and justify this figure but come on, just ponder for a second… what else can you buy for that amount of money? I had a look, and I honestly could find nothing that even held a candle to this car! That is just me though, everyone is different, so go and do your own research and ask yourself the same question.

Agree with me?

Well then why not get in touch?

This incredible car can be yours.

You’re going to love it!

Rob

For further pictures and information please take a look at my build thread here: http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=93429