Mk1 MX5 - Cheap & Cheerful!

[MiniMadMike]

Hi all,

So just thought I'd put up a quick thread about my latest impulse purchase! Having finished the Mini now (pictured below), I was wanting a new project.



A friend of mine was needing to free up some garage space, and told me he was selling a 1990 MK1 MX-5 1.6, tax and MOT til feb and it was as cheap as chips!! I went round to have a look and it was pretty rough bodywork wise, but mechanically seemed pretty sound (having done 130k miles!) apart from a leaky water pump, so a deal was done and i drove it home. When I got it back this is how it looked:





It also came with a set of lowering springs so I threw them on pretty much straight away, so it looked like this:



And here it is next to the daily driver:



Next job was so sort the leaky water pump, so I bought one from ebay (40 quid) along with a cambelt kit, and replaced both of those. No more leaks and peace of mind cambelt wise! I also got down to the local scrappy, 4 quid later I came away with a front splitter from a Renault Laguna, and it fitted straight on:



However at this point I wasn't happy with the bodywork. Every panel was a different shade of red, there was bubbling rust on one of the rear arches and it generally looked pretty terrible. So I got down to it and started rubbing it down, sorted the rust on the rear arch and prepped it for paint:





(Note the big nasty hole in the left rear wheel arch! All sorted now.)

And then it was onto the scary bit! I bought some NATO green military grade paint for 42 quid off ebay and with no previous bodywork/painting experience I broke out the rollers!!





Two coats of paint later I put it all back together and was surprisingly pleased with the outcome! (Excuse the lack of door mirrors in these pics, theyre being sprayed black at the moment!)





Obligatory 'Spank It' sticker:





Its only a door shut job, so under the bonnet, inside the doors etc its all still red, and to be totally honest the finish isn't particularly good, but i didnt really expect it to be amazing. From 10 feet away though it does look really cool (well i think so anyway!). Its nice just to have it all one colour! I may sand down a couple of the panels to try and get a smoother finish but thats something to do on a rainy day.

I realise it may be a bit marmite but the whole car now probably owes me £400 so I'm pretty pleased!

Plans for the future (MOT dependant!) include a nicer set of wheels, maybe a decent roll bar and some decent track day tyres!

Hoping I dont get flamed too much!!

Mike.

[P I Staker]

Cool.

[GC8]

If it fails on anything substantial then itll probably be due to rust at the rear of the sills. I can see that its been spammed-up. but 'MOT' type repairs seldom last.

[jr123]

Love it

Looks like you did quite litteraly paint it with a roller

Any close up of the new paint work, looks pretty good from the images.

Edited by jr123 on Wednesday 14th December 18:54

[St. Anger]

Good work, sir!

[lesstatt]

jr123 said:

Love it

Looks like you did quite litteraly paint it with a roller

Any close of the new paint work, looks pretty good from the images.

Thata nothing i had a friend with an old boxy lada that wallpapered and gaffa taped the bonnet to hold it together, then covered it in white gloss with a brush

[jr123]

lesstatt said:

jr123 said:

Love it

Looks like you did quite litteraly paint it with a roller

Any close of the new paint work, looks pretty good from the images.

Thata nothing i had a friend with an old boxy lada that wallpapered and gaffa taped the bonnet to hold it together, then covered it in white gloss with a brush

That's nothing some Dubbers make their cars rusty on purpose

[lesstatt]

jr123 said:

That's nothing some Dubbers make their cars rusty on purpose

Yeah i know was talking to one at Ashby Folville near me in the summer, rub it down to bare metal then pour coke or piss on it, works a treat, rusty in days

[Codswallop]

I like it! The 'spank it' sticker really does set the car off nicely

[Mr Dave]

Looks really good.

[CypherP]

Codswallop said:

I like it! The 'spank it' sticker really does set the car off nicely

Not meaning to pick holes too much, but what does this actually mean? I read it so often on here, and honestly, it just sounds silly.

Congrats to the OP for a nice looking paintjob. Something I plan to do when I sell my current commuter and buy a cheap shed early next year.

[Munter]

CypherP said:

Not meaning to pick holes too much, but what does this actually mean?

Replace the word spank with thrash. It's like rhyming slang, without the rhyme, or the mincing.

[CypherP]

Munter said:

CypherP said:

Not meaning to pick holes too much, but what does this actually mean?

Replace the word spank with thrash. It's like rhyming slang, without the rhyme, or the mincing.

Cheers, but it was more the part I quoted in bold that I was concerned with, as I simply don't understand how the phrase has any meaning. Anyway, not to go off on a tangent. Great choice of colour by the OP too!

[Meoricin]

CypherP said:

Cheers, but it was more the part I quoted in bold that I was concerned with, as I simply don't understand how the phrase has any meaning. Anyway, not to go off on a tangent. Great choice of colour by the OP too!

2. To indicate as being different; distinguish: features setting him off from the crowd.
3. To direct attention to by contrast; accentuate: set off a passage with italics.

from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/set+off

It's usually used to refer to how a colour/other object can make something appear differently. For example, gold wheels really 'set off' the Impreza blue, by adding some contrast to it.

Loving what you've done with the paint, OP! You've turned what was one of a million tired looking MX5s into something a bit different. I also like the yellowed lights, they really fit with the whole 'military' look.