Mazda Eunos MX5 MK1
Discussion
phil_cardiff said:
I'm in awe of your skills Buzzer. Where did you learn them?
I served a formal apprenticeship as a mechanic in a British Leyland Garage in the early 70's (that ages me!)I was apprentice to the head mechanic who also did RR, Bentley, and quite a few Bristol cars that came in. He was a great tutor, in his 80's now, but I still see him every month for a chat.I went to technical college and got many many engineering and engineering management qualifications... I worked my way up to Fleet Engineer in a big distribution company, circa 20,000 vehicles.
20 years ago I made a career change into project management,(no money in Mechanics!) mainly in IT, but also many diverse sectors. For the last 5 years while I was working (retired 4 years ago at 55) I was a Programme Manager in the defence industry. I still do a bit of consultancy.
Still a mechanic at heart...
there is a bit more about my cars and motorbikes on my web site....
http://jtccc.wordpress.com/
phil_cardiff said:
I'm in awe of your skills Buzzer. Where did you learn them?
I served a formal apprenticeship as a mechanic in a British Leyland Garage in the early 70's (that ages me!)I was apprentice to the head mechanic who also did RR, Bentley, and quite a few Bristol cars that came in. He was a great tutor, in his 80's now, but I still see him every month for a chat.I went to technical college and got many many engineering and engineering management qualifications... I worked my way up to Fleet Engineer in a big distribution company, circa 20,000 vehicles.
20 years ago I made a career change into project management,(no money in Mechanics!) mainly in IT, but also many diverse sectors. For the last 5 years while I was working (retired 4 years ago at 55) I was a Programme Manager in the defence industry. I still do a bit of consultancy.
Still a mechanic at heart...
there is a bit more about my cars and motorbikes on my web site....
http://jtccc.wordpress.com/
Thought I would update this for 2015....
We planned another trip to France this year, this time with Friends in their MX5 MK1. A couple of months ago a guy ran into the back of me again! minimal damage this time, but again the insurance company wrote it off and paid me out again! so the car is now a double CAT D. I managed to get 2 rear lights and a back panel for £30 so it was a cheap repair.
A couple of days before we were about to go, I did the final check on the car and found that the water pump had a squeal... It was not that old, and when I removed it, it showed signs of leaking. I replaced the belt and idlers as well. This time I used a different supplier as I was not happy with the quality of the last one:
It was a short trip this time as our friends only had a week, so we went to Laval to visit friends, then on to Honfleur which is a lovely town. From getting off the ferry at Calais, to getting back home we had the roof continually off the car!
some more details on my blog
https://jtccc.wordpress.com/
We planned another trip to France this year, this time with Friends in their MX5 MK1. A couple of months ago a guy ran into the back of me again! minimal damage this time, but again the insurance company wrote it off and paid me out again! so the car is now a double CAT D. I managed to get 2 rear lights and a back panel for £30 so it was a cheap repair.
A couple of days before we were about to go, I did the final check on the car and found that the water pump had a squeal... It was not that old, and when I removed it, it showed signs of leaking. I replaced the belt and idlers as well. This time I used a different supplier as I was not happy with the quality of the last one:
It was a short trip this time as our friends only had a week, so we went to Laval to visit friends, then on to Honfleur which is a lovely town. From getting off the ferry at Calais, to getting back home we had the roof continually off the car!
some more details on my blog
https://jtccc.wordpress.com/
buzzer said:
phil_cardiff said:
I'm in awe of your skills Buzzer. Where did you learn them?
I served a formal apprenticeship as a mechanic in a British Leyland Garage in the early 70's (that ages me!)I was apprentice to the head mechanic who also did RR, Bentley, and quite a few Bristol cars that came in. He was a great tutor, in his 80's now, but I still see him every month for a chat.I went to technical college and got many many engineering and engineering management qualifications... I worked my way up to Fleet Engineer in a big distribution company, circa 20,000 vehicles.
20 years ago I made a career change into project management,(no money in Mechanics!) mainly in IT, but also many diverse sectors. For the last 5 years while I was working (retired 4 years ago at 55) I was a Programme Manager in the defence industry. I still do a bit of consultancy.
Still a mechanic at heart...
there is a bit more about my cars and motorbikes on my web site....
http://jtccc.wordpress.com/
Its been a while so I thought I would update this thread... Apart from doing a service, the only thing that has gone wrong was a small oil leak and a faulty central locking unit.
The oil leak was a front oil seal, which meant a full strip down of the front of the engine, so I replaced the cam belt while I was in there. The seal was easy enough to get out, but I had difficulty getting it in straight, so I made a tool to push it into place, with this it was an easy job. I also did the cam seals while I was on.
The central locking fault was a little more difficult to find as it was intermittent. It would work fine for weeks, the stop working. a few days later it would start again. Looking at the light on the ECU, it came on when I pressed the button on the fob, but there was no output to the lock solenoids... Its an after market unit so I took it apart, and used the old trick of looking at each soldered joint on the curcuit board with a magnifying glass. sure enough there was a dry joint! a quick dab of solder and its been OK for months.
Here she is on Clee Hill at sunset in January. We have been finding that we are using the MX5 more and more, even though we have other much newer cars. it definitely seems to be the preferred car to use by my wife! I keep scanning Ebay for a low miles one to keep, prices seem to be on the increase for mint ones!
The oil leak was a front oil seal, which meant a full strip down of the front of the engine, so I replaced the cam belt while I was in there. The seal was easy enough to get out, but I had difficulty getting it in straight, so I made a tool to push it into place, with this it was an easy job. I also did the cam seals while I was on.
The central locking fault was a little more difficult to find as it was intermittent. It would work fine for weeks, the stop working. a few days later it would start again. Looking at the light on the ECU, it came on when I pressed the button on the fob, but there was no output to the lock solenoids... Its an after market unit so I took it apart, and used the old trick of looking at each soldered joint on the curcuit board with a magnifying glass. sure enough there was a dry joint! a quick dab of solder and its been OK for months.
Here she is on Clee Hill at sunset in January. We have been finding that we are using the MX5 more and more, even though we have other much newer cars. it definitely seems to be the preferred car to use by my wife! I keep scanning Ebay for a low miles one to keep, prices seem to be on the increase for mint ones!
Prices are definitely on the rise for these and justifiably so - they offer a certain something that so many modern cars don't, yet they offer just about enough modern comforts. Meanwhile rust is claiming a good few, and then those that don't rust are being snapped up by young lads and modified.
If you're prepared to pay for good cars check out Goodwood Sportscars' stock - they import them and often turn up low miles JDM cars. They do know how to charge, however. If I'd had the space I'd have kept my NA Eunos S-Special.
Lovely car, OP, by the way - I'm always awestruck by the level of skill so many PH'ers have!
If you're prepared to pay for good cars check out Goodwood Sportscars' stock - they import them and often turn up low miles JDM cars. They do know how to charge, however. If I'd had the space I'd have kept my NA Eunos S-Special.
Lovely car, OP, by the way - I'm always awestruck by the level of skill so many PH'ers have!
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