My first car - 1996 VR Ltd 1.8 Combination A
Discussion
Cheers Toby! And top lurking - 31 months on the site and only your 2nd post! 
I've only owned this wonderful little machine for 15 months, but from the start I was thinking that this is one of those cars that you have to care for your whole life - she's my baby..
Since I had the new tyres fitted, I've only had the chance of one good drive out in the (nearly) dry, but f
k me sideways, the difference in performance is incredible, so much more grip, so much more braking performance..
I'm so looking forward to summer....
I've only owned this wonderful little machine for 15 months, but from the start I was thinking that this is one of those cars that you have to care for your whole life - she's my baby..
Since I had the new tyres fitted, I've only had the chance of one good drive out in the (nearly) dry, but f
k me sideways, the difference in performance is incredible, so much more grip, so much more braking performance..I'm so looking forward to summer....
I've been quiet on here for a while, but that's only because it's been pretty much business as usual, my lovely little Eunos running me up to work and back, and taking me for regular top-down spins out to the country.
My last 'mod' was to get rid of the dodgy ditchfinders, and fit Pirellis. They are brilliant tyres, maybe too brilliant, as with the standard power I've got there seems to be no way short of suicidal manoeuvres to get any movement out of them... So I'm starting to think of ways to get more power. There's also the overtaking thing - I'm used to overtakes on a 1 Litre motorbike, where if there's pretty much any gap available you can get past. With my Eunos overtakes need to be planned calender months in advance, and only feel safe if there's a loooong straight available..
Anyhows, more power is in the future, what's happening now is that she's booked in for a complete respray! She's what I call a 3-meter car. From anything more than 3 meters away she looks fine, but get up close and there's all sorts of nasties going on. Little sections of pitting, lots of glazing and cracks on the bumpers, paint flaking off the rear mudflaps showing the original red paint that was on them, and the biggest one, a hand-sized area on the bonnet where a whole bunch of lacquer has come away.
I've also ordered new side glass for the windows, as tired weatherstrips haven't done their job and grit has got in and scratched buggery out of the windows as they've gone down. The passenger window has also just stopped working, and the good news is that the paintshop folk can sort all that out, they have some tame electricians available.
You might be asking yourself what colour am I going for? As a special edition of only 700 my main aim is to keep her looking pretty much stock. But. But.... The original Vin Rouge looks so flat in dull light, almost brown. A final colour hasn't been decided yet, but if there's something that will give it a little lift while keeping the same basic colour then I'll probably go with it. Duncan the paint guy mentioned adding a little opal; we'll see when I get to see some examples...
Anyhows, I've blethered on for a bit, will leave you with a recent pic that I screwed around with in the Flikr picture-mashing app, which somehow came out looking halfway decent!
My last 'mod' was to get rid of the dodgy ditchfinders, and fit Pirellis. They are brilliant tyres, maybe too brilliant, as with the standard power I've got there seems to be no way short of suicidal manoeuvres to get any movement out of them... So I'm starting to think of ways to get more power. There's also the overtaking thing - I'm used to overtakes on a 1 Litre motorbike, where if there's pretty much any gap available you can get past. With my Eunos overtakes need to be planned calender months in advance, and only feel safe if there's a loooong straight available..
Anyhows, more power is in the future, what's happening now is that she's booked in for a complete respray! She's what I call a 3-meter car. From anything more than 3 meters away she looks fine, but get up close and there's all sorts of nasties going on. Little sections of pitting, lots of glazing and cracks on the bumpers, paint flaking off the rear mudflaps showing the original red paint that was on them, and the biggest one, a hand-sized area on the bonnet where a whole bunch of lacquer has come away.
I've also ordered new side glass for the windows, as tired weatherstrips haven't done their job and grit has got in and scratched buggery out of the windows as they've gone down. The passenger window has also just stopped working, and the good news is that the paintshop folk can sort all that out, they have some tame electricians available.
You might be asking yourself what colour am I going for? As a special edition of only 700 my main aim is to keep her looking pretty much stock. But. But.... The original Vin Rouge looks so flat in dull light, almost brown. A final colour hasn't been decided yet, but if there's something that will give it a little lift while keeping the same basic colour then I'll probably go with it. Duncan the paint guy mentioned adding a little opal; we'll see when I get to see some examples...
Anyhows, I've blethered on for a bit, will leave you with a recent pic that I screwed around with in the Flikr picture-mashing app, which somehow came out looking halfway decent!
Just had the last good drive I'll have for a bit - She's going to the paint shop tomorrow! 
I've taken some pics of the bad bits..
Rear bumper - odd cracks in the paint..
Front N/S wing and bumper - horrendous paints drips on the bottom of the wing, and nastiness on the bumper itself..
Rear mudguards - paint chipping away to show the original colour of the flaps..
And the big nasty, a large area on the bonnet where the top layer of paint has peeled away..
There are a few other areas where the paint is dodgy as well, namely the nose section, and the top of the O/S wing - but the camera on my phone doesn't really show anything..
And as for colour, I mentioned previously I might go for something that was the original tone, but had a bit of extra 'something' to it. But... My ethos in this whole process has been to stay original but to upgrade and improve where possible - but the upgrade and improve should only apply to things mechanical. Uprated suspension and a new cat-back exhaust have been good upgrades - but messing with the colour would be a bad thing. So she's going to get a coat of the proper Vin Rouge.
P.S. Can't bloody wait to see how she looks!
I've taken some pics of the bad bits..
Rear bumper - odd cracks in the paint..
Front N/S wing and bumper - horrendous paints drips on the bottom of the wing, and nastiness on the bumper itself..
Rear mudguards - paint chipping away to show the original colour of the flaps..
And the big nasty, a large area on the bonnet where the top layer of paint has peeled away..
There are a few other areas where the paint is dodgy as well, namely the nose section, and the top of the O/S wing - but the camera on my phone doesn't really show anything..
And as for colour, I mentioned previously I might go for something that was the original tone, but had a bit of extra 'something' to it. But... My ethos in this whole process has been to stay original but to upgrade and improve where possible - but the upgrade and improve should only apply to things mechanical. Uprated suspension and a new cat-back exhaust have been good upgrades - but messing with the colour would be a bad thing. So she's going to get a coat of the proper Vin Rouge.
P.S. Can't bloody wait to see how she looks!
Just called in at the garage, as they phoned this morning saying one of the weatherstrips was bent/broken, and wouldn't go on the car. 
No probs, I thought, I'll phone MX5Parts and ask them to send out a replacement - but they're closed over the weekend!
This means calling them on Monday, part should arrive at the garage Tuesday, so hopefully should have the car back before the end of the week!
Good news is, the paint is finished and looking great! All the nasties are gone, but it's hard to judge the final result because the car is still in the workshop, and therefore covered in dust!
No probs, I thought, I'll phone MX5Parts and ask them to send out a replacement - but they're closed over the weekend!
This means calling them on Monday, part should arrive at the garage Tuesday, so hopefully should have the car back before the end of the week!
Good news is, the paint is finished and looking great! All the nasties are gone, but it's hard to judge the final result because the car is still in the workshop, and therefore covered in dust!
My baby is back!
Collected her on Thursday, but she had a good covering of dust from the workshop. I have the weekend off, so I gave her a good wash and polish today, and she's looking great!
Cant believe how quickly the front discs have oxidised, was driving her this morning!
The paint job took 2 1/2 weeks, and I was missing her the whole time, but the wait was worth it, she's looking damn fine now!
Collected her on Thursday, but she had a good covering of dust from the workshop. I have the weekend off, so I gave her a good wash and polish today, and she's looking great!
Cant believe how quickly the front discs have oxidised, was driving her this morning!
The paint job took 2 1/2 weeks, and I was missing her the whole time, but the wait was worth it, she's looking damn fine now!
Cheers man! And the roof's only up when the car's parked up!
Today I attended my first car show, the Silloth Classic Car Rally. I was a tad worried my Eunos was a little young to be attending, but there were plenty of cars there that were newer than mine..
What a great day I've had - surrounded by beautiful classics and knowledgeable petrolheads, the Purple Helmets motorcycle display team was there, the weather was perfect, there was ice cream and hot dogs, and lots of people were interested in my car.. Who'd have thought that heaven was a field in Silloth....
Today I attended my first car show, the Silloth Classic Car Rally. I was a tad worried my Eunos was a little young to be attending, but there were plenty of cars there that were newer than mine..
What a great day I've had - surrounded by beautiful classics and knowledgeable petrolheads, the Purple Helmets motorcycle display team was there, the weather was perfect, there was ice cream and hot dogs, and lots of people were interested in my car.. Who'd have thought that heaven was a field in Silloth....
Edited by Schmeeky on Sunday 22 June 18:33
Cheers dxg!
A display card is something I'll definitely do for my next show - with the cars today that had them, it was a real help - it gives them a 'position' in the grand scheme of things, and you learn something too! My knowledge of cars is pretty much from the 80's on - Humbers, Snipes and Austins of all sorts are generally a grey area to me!
A display card is something I'll definitely do for my next show - with the cars today that had them, it was a real help - it gives them a 'position' in the grand scheme of things, and you learn something too! My knowledge of cars is pretty much from the 80's on - Humbers, Snipes and Austins of all sorts are generally a grey area to me!
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