Show us your MX-5
Discussion
dxg said:
It's amazing how much of me is still in that car... I absolutely loved it, and it wanted for nothing in my time with it.
It's a VR Ltd Spec A (Spec B was the UK ones and they were green), if you haven't figured that out already. So 133 hp, lightened flywheel and the all important LSD.
Didn't realise that, cheers.
The roll cage and coilovers were on it when it arrived from Japan. It also had dot 5 brake fluid in it, so everything pointed to it having been tracked hard. But it had also been maintained exceptionally well. It never missed a beat in all my time with it. All the maintenance I had done to it was preventative. And it was still completely rust-free when I sold it. It suffers a bit from lifter tick, but they all do that and an Italian tune up would clear them out. That was the only mechanical thing I never quite got to.
What's an Italian tune up?
I bought it off the cameraman you can see in that video literally three weeks after it went up. Then I had it for five or six years. Only sold it because the GF at the time wanted something "safer." GF is now gone and a MK4 takes its place. The MK4 is absolutely brilliant, but it doesn't feel the same.
Things I did to it that your photos remind me were:
Interior:
New carpets (they should be cream but they would not scrub clean they were that far gone.)
I made those doorcards
New speakers, including headrest ones.
Covered the stainless steel speaker surrounds in plastidip because they were really quite scratched underneath.
I made those cill covers. They're the Japanese stainless steel "Roadster" ones with lots of fibreglass filler making them flush. Don't remove the vinyl - they're not presentable underneath.
It came to me with new shiny bits to fit. Wonder it they would fit over your vinyl. Or best leave well alone
I did the gearknob and handbrake (but I couldn't get the release button off!. I even tracked down the little black screws for the gear surround as some of the originals were missing.
I put the wheel on. A Momo Prototipo. I loved it, even if it makes it a bit hard to read the speedo!!
I put a new head unit in, but it looks like it's been replaced.
Last guy seems to have chucked some money at the sound system and alarm.
I even replaced the rearview mirror because it was desilvering.
Fixed the airvents.
The only thing that's not me in those photos is are the buckets and the floormats.
Whoever put those buckets in must also have really loved it, as they are the exact same colour as the original seats. They must have been a nightmare to find.
Exterior:
Replaced the bonnet and the bootlid as they were both damaged
Removed the illegal stick-on front number plate with the rectangular one (which is also technically not legal - can you see why?) ???
Added the splitter.
Replaced (and tinted) the foglight with what is supposed to be a high-level brake light for racing Caterhams.
That's not working now. Looks like the wire has broken.
Mechanically:
Anything that could fail, was replaced. All the coolant pipes, fuel lines in the engine bay. I stuck that ally radiator in, not because it was overheating, but because I knew that the plastic end caps on the original one were becoming ever-more brittle and would ultimately fail.
When the clutch release bearing started making interesting noises, I just got the clutch replaced. That was my attitude towards this car. It wanted for nothing.
This was all done at 5-Speed in Nottingham which I don't think is around any more.
The only thing left to do was to add some chassis leg braces for the scuttle shake. But I ran out of time with it...
Links to any bracing and polly bushing you'd recommend would be much appreciated
Yup. Absolutely loved that car. It wasn't fast, but it made a brilliant sound (the exhaust and induction were also done in Japan) and nothing has made me smile as much since. Really interesting that it's been turboed. It was the perfect car for that. Rock solid foundation.
That turbo conversation and exhaust cost £4750
You will enjoy it, I am sure...
Super interesting! Many thanks for taking the time It's a VR Ltd Spec A (Spec B was the UK ones and they were green), if you haven't figured that out already. So 133 hp, lightened flywheel and the all important LSD.
Didn't realise that, cheers.
The roll cage and coilovers were on it when it arrived from Japan. It also had dot 5 brake fluid in it, so everything pointed to it having been tracked hard. But it had also been maintained exceptionally well. It never missed a beat in all my time with it. All the maintenance I had done to it was preventative. And it was still completely rust-free when I sold it. It suffers a bit from lifter tick, but they all do that and an Italian tune up would clear them out. That was the only mechanical thing I never quite got to.
What's an Italian tune up?
I bought it off the cameraman you can see in that video literally three weeks after it went up. Then I had it for five or six years. Only sold it because the GF at the time wanted something "safer." GF is now gone and a MK4 takes its place. The MK4 is absolutely brilliant, but it doesn't feel the same.
Things I did to it that your photos remind me were:
Interior:
New carpets (they should be cream but they would not scrub clean they were that far gone.)
I made those doorcards
New speakers, including headrest ones.
Covered the stainless steel speaker surrounds in plastidip because they were really quite scratched underneath.
I made those cill covers. They're the Japanese stainless steel "Roadster" ones with lots of fibreglass filler making them flush. Don't remove the vinyl - they're not presentable underneath.
It came to me with new shiny bits to fit. Wonder it they would fit over your vinyl. Or best leave well alone
I did the gearknob and handbrake (but I couldn't get the release button off!. I even tracked down the little black screws for the gear surround as some of the originals were missing.
I put the wheel on. A Momo Prototipo. I loved it, even if it makes it a bit hard to read the speedo!!
I put a new head unit in, but it looks like it's been replaced.
Last guy seems to have chucked some money at the sound system and alarm.
I even replaced the rearview mirror because it was desilvering.
Fixed the airvents.
The only thing that's not me in those photos is are the buckets and the floormats.
Whoever put those buckets in must also have really loved it, as they are the exact same colour as the original seats. They must have been a nightmare to find.
Exterior:
Replaced the bonnet and the bootlid as they were both damaged
Removed the illegal stick-on front number plate with the rectangular one (which is also technically not legal - can you see why?) ???
Added the splitter.
Replaced (and tinted) the foglight with what is supposed to be a high-level brake light for racing Caterhams.
That's not working now. Looks like the wire has broken.
Mechanically:
Anything that could fail, was replaced. All the coolant pipes, fuel lines in the engine bay. I stuck that ally radiator in, not because it was overheating, but because I knew that the plastic end caps on the original one were becoming ever-more brittle and would ultimately fail.
When the clutch release bearing started making interesting noises, I just got the clutch replaced. That was my attitude towards this car. It wanted for nothing.
This was all done at 5-Speed in Nottingham which I don't think is around any more.
The only thing left to do was to add some chassis leg braces for the scuttle shake. But I ran out of time with it...
Links to any bracing and polly bushing you'd recommend would be much appreciated
Yup. Absolutely loved that car. It wasn't fast, but it made a brilliant sound (the exhaust and induction were also done in Japan) and nothing has made me smile as much since. Really interesting that it's been turboed. It was the perfect car for that. Rock solid foundation.
That turbo conversation and exhaust cost £4750
You will enjoy it, I am sure...
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/LBpf6rM7.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/41zpR26d" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/41zpR26d.jpg)
Anyone got an aftermarket induction kit for their ND? I've just treat(ed?) myself to the ProRam/Davefab one, not fitted yet. Under no illusion that it'll noticeably improve performance, but hopefully makes some nice noises.
Side note, never understood why people remove the sound tube. Induction noise is good and if you wanted less cabin noise why buy an MX5?
Note that the rubber trim does not fit anywhere near as neatly as it looks in website/instructions photos. It's very stiff, might replace it with something a bit more flexible. I also added some extra adhesive heat shielding to the back.
Side note, never understood why people remove the sound tube. Induction noise is good and if you wanted less cabin noise why buy an MX5?
Note that the rubber trim does not fit anywhere near as neatly as it looks in website/instructions photos. It's very stiff, might replace it with something a bit more flexible. I also added some extra adhesive heat shielding to the back.
Edited by horsemeatscandal on Saturday 17th December 12:29
Red Devil said:
ThisInJapanese said:
reggie747 said:
Our weekend cruiser and track toy. Coming up 3yrs with us now and hasn't missed a single beat. Luv
|https://thumbsnap.com/cNLFLo3w[/url]
Are they Sparco wheels?|https://thumbsnap.com/cNLFLo3w[/url]reggie747 said:
Actually....neither. They're Ultralite F1's. A more pocket friendly alternative to Enkei's. The protruding centre caps, I had to source myself as I picked up the wheels pre-owned without caps and after a refurb, they were gagging for completion.
Are they the wheels that you use on track? They do look very wallet friendly and light as well. How do you get on with them being a 7.5 inch wheel, did you need to roll your arches or do anything else to get them to fit?
Advert pics, and I'm not picking it up until the end of next week (thanks Mr Lynch). My first NC after a string of NA and an NB. 20th Anniversary in Aurora Blue. Decent MOT history, 2 owners and FSH. I'll miss the power of the 330i I'm running at the moment, but have found myself looking at MX5's ever since I sold my NB last year. First job will be removing the naff number plates that have a Mazda logo, sourcing a missing centre cap and dependent on how the handling feels, looking at lowering it a little.
Marc p said:
Still on the lookout for the right MK1 1.8 after stupidly selling mine, it went through a few owners that didn’t look after it and destroyed it, could of cried when someone sent me a pic of it in a very sorry state.
Pics of it when I had it in its glory days:
Fantastic! Sorry to hear it’s now a mess! Sad how some people don’t look after their cars. Pics of it when I had it in its glory days:
LesMcQueen said:
Marc p said:
Fantastic! Sorry to hear it’s now a mess! Sad how some people don’t look after their cars. Jonmx said:
Advert pics, and I'm not picking it up until the end of next week (thanks Mr Lynch). My first NC after a string of NA and an NB. 20th Anniversary in Aurora Blue. Decent MOT history, 2 owners and FSH. I'll miss the power of the 330i I'm running at the moment, but have found myself looking at MX5's ever since I sold my NB last year. First job will be removing the naff number plates that have a Mazda logo, sourcing a missing centre cap and dependent on how the handling feels, looking at lowering it a little.
That looks a lovely car and great colour. I’ve still not owned an NC although on to MX5 number 5 (NA and 4 NB). 
ThisInJapanese said:
Are they the wheels that you use on track? They do look very wallet friendly and light as well.
How do you get on with them being a 7.5 inch wheel, did you need to roll your arches or do anything else to get them to fit?
No, I stick with OEM wheels on track. They're lighter than most all (unless I drop 1500 quid on a set of something else). Unsprung mass etc haha. How do you get on with them being a 7.5 inch wheel, did you need to roll your arches or do anything else to get them to fit?
Track time is play time for me so fun/learning/experience over lap times is my goal.
If pushing on somewhat, on the road, they do occasionally nip the rear arches because IIRC the offset is 42 vs 55 OEM. I also run 215 tyres over 205 OEM all round, all the time over 4 sets of wheels. (which may be responsible for the minimal arch snagging).
I do have the car set quit low ......I think it's 330mm hub centre to arch all round. Should maybe increase the rake a little and lift the rear to 340......we'll get there eventually
+8bhp.
If anyone's interested, it weighs about 60g more than the standard one. It's a massive pain in the arse to get on as you've got to fully tap the thread on the inside of the plastic insert yourself, for whatever reason it's not threaded all the way. Which for me meant £20 and a trip to Screwfix. Then you've got to give it a fair bit of force and persistence to get it wound all the way down to the gaiter. Will put a rubber seal on just to tidy it up.
Feels nice in the hand, yet to go for a drive with it on properly though.
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