NA8C Eunos S-Special (1994)
Discussion
This thread is well overdue an update so I’ll post progress in stages.
As winter started setting in last year it was time to give the car a proper underseal. I’ve witnessed ‘professional’ underseals on cars before (e.g. just spray it on top of existing rust and road grime) so I was keen to make sure this was a proper job.
Reputable firms we’re charging between £500/£600, which is not unreasonable for the amount of labour involved, but I’m a skint musician so naturally I tackled the work myself.
After a bit of research the Dinitrol kit had great reviews plus a discount for MX-5 forum members so with my wallet £70 lighter and a stock of wire grinding wheels I set to work.
I removed the undertray and arch liners; pressure washed the underside and followed with a steam clean.
I let the car dry overnight and then inspected it for any corrosion. These were the worst effected areas in the arches (which is nothing for an MX-5). I knew this car had been looked after when I bought it, and thankfully removing any surface rust wasn’t going to take long.
Any rust that was found was ground back to bare metal, treated with rust converter for good measure, left to cure, and followed by a coat of hammerite.
Again, I left the car to dry overnight and then started on the underseal.
Dinitrol recommend a light coating of cavity wax as a pre-application to draw out any moisture and prepare for the underseal.
Cavity wax done, underseal next.
First coat is put on lightly.
Second coating. I won't bother posting a picture of every arch but they all look like this now.
Box sections sprayed with cavity wax left to dry.
Underside finished.
After using the car every day for a few weeks disaster struck on the way back from work. I was sat in traffic when I noticed the temperature gage shooting up rapidly. I didn’t want to risk warping the head by driving any further so pulled to the side of the carriageway and let it cool down.
After Green Flag took 4 hours to get out to me the problem was diagnosed as an air lock in the coolant system. We filled the car with water and I drove it home.
No sooner had I got in the garage I heard a familiar dripping noise. It looked as though the hilariously named ‘upper bottom radiator hose’ had failed. I ordered a new one and replaced it. The leaking continued…
After some head scratching it was apparent that either the waterpump inlet pipe or gasket had failed and would need replacing. I didn’t want to take a risk on a second-hand part so I ordered new units from Mazda. Whilst I was at it I decided to replace all the hoses with silicone motorsport items, change the belts and fit a stainless 4-1 manifold as I had half the right side of the engine bay out the way.
This turned up!
RS*R manifold. Found it listed for sale as 'Jap 1.8 mani' with poor quality pictures, don't think the seller knew what it was and I got it for peanuts.
It needed some elbow grease to get it looking good again, but otherwise it was in great condition.
This came a day later - MX5 Parts back box.
I had the same exhaust on my old UK MX-5. Unfortunately I couldn't use my old exhaust as the UK cars have a 475mm cat and the imports have a 370mm cat so the centre pipe would have been too short.
As I removed the waterpump inlet pipe I heard a crunch. This was not good news. I’d sheared a bolt in the flange itself which is connected to the block and therefore not removable. It is also an absolute pain in the arse to get to and drill out.
That meant having to take the power steering pump bracket out the way. It was a pig to remove and the slider required an hour of solid hammering with a mallet and the end of a breaker bar to get it to retract.
At this stage I decided to let a professional take over, I put the car on a trailer and sent it to my mate Mick. He put the kettle on and by the time it had boiled one of his guys shouted over to say he’d removed the sheared bolt and re-tapped the threads.
Bought the car back home and cracked on with building it back up.
Old belts were definitely past it!
Silicone hoses and IL motorsport belts on.
New manifold cleaned, installed + a new D1 spec oil cap.
At this point the car was ready to roll under its own steam again. It had been off the road for 2 months. I threw a bucket of water over it and took it out for a good old Italian tune-up.
More updates to follow!
As winter started setting in last year it was time to give the car a proper underseal. I’ve witnessed ‘professional’ underseals on cars before (e.g. just spray it on top of existing rust and road grime) so I was keen to make sure this was a proper job.
Reputable firms we’re charging between £500/£600, which is not unreasonable for the amount of labour involved, but I’m a skint musician so naturally I tackled the work myself.
After a bit of research the Dinitrol kit had great reviews plus a discount for MX-5 forum members so with my wallet £70 lighter and a stock of wire grinding wheels I set to work.
I removed the undertray and arch liners; pressure washed the underside and followed with a steam clean.
I let the car dry overnight and then inspected it for any corrosion. These were the worst effected areas in the arches (which is nothing for an MX-5). I knew this car had been looked after when I bought it, and thankfully removing any surface rust wasn’t going to take long.
Any rust that was found was ground back to bare metal, treated with rust converter for good measure, left to cure, and followed by a coat of hammerite.
Again, I left the car to dry overnight and then started on the underseal.
Dinitrol recommend a light coating of cavity wax as a pre-application to draw out any moisture and prepare for the underseal.
Cavity wax done, underseal next.
First coat is put on lightly.
Second coating. I won't bother posting a picture of every arch but they all look like this now.
Box sections sprayed with cavity wax left to dry.
Underside finished.
After using the car every day for a few weeks disaster struck on the way back from work. I was sat in traffic when I noticed the temperature gage shooting up rapidly. I didn’t want to risk warping the head by driving any further so pulled to the side of the carriageway and let it cool down.
After Green Flag took 4 hours to get out to me the problem was diagnosed as an air lock in the coolant system. We filled the car with water and I drove it home.
No sooner had I got in the garage I heard a familiar dripping noise. It looked as though the hilariously named ‘upper bottom radiator hose’ had failed. I ordered a new one and replaced it. The leaking continued…
After some head scratching it was apparent that either the waterpump inlet pipe or gasket had failed and would need replacing. I didn’t want to take a risk on a second-hand part so I ordered new units from Mazda. Whilst I was at it I decided to replace all the hoses with silicone motorsport items, change the belts and fit a stainless 4-1 manifold as I had half the right side of the engine bay out the way.
This turned up!
RS*R manifold. Found it listed for sale as 'Jap 1.8 mani' with poor quality pictures, don't think the seller knew what it was and I got it for peanuts.
It needed some elbow grease to get it looking good again, but otherwise it was in great condition.
This came a day later - MX5 Parts back box.
I had the same exhaust on my old UK MX-5. Unfortunately I couldn't use my old exhaust as the UK cars have a 475mm cat and the imports have a 370mm cat so the centre pipe would have been too short.
As I removed the waterpump inlet pipe I heard a crunch. This was not good news. I’d sheared a bolt in the flange itself which is connected to the block and therefore not removable. It is also an absolute pain in the arse to get to and drill out.
That meant having to take the power steering pump bracket out the way. It was a pig to remove and the slider required an hour of solid hammering with a mallet and the end of a breaker bar to get it to retract.
At this stage I decided to let a professional take over, I put the car on a trailer and sent it to my mate Mick. He put the kettle on and by the time it had boiled one of his guys shouted over to say he’d removed the sheared bolt and re-tapped the threads.
Bought the car back home and cracked on with building it back up.
Old belts were definitely past it!
Silicone hoses and IL motorsport belts on.
New manifold cleaned, installed + a new D1 spec oil cap.
At this point the car was ready to roll under its own steam again. It had been off the road for 2 months. I threw a bucket of water over it and took it out for a good old Italian tune-up.
More updates to follow!
Second installment of updates.
After fitting the manifold it was time to sort the rest of the exhaust system. I went for a custom built centre section as my old '5 I'd had issues with the MX5 parts centre section hitting the diff when cornering.
Looks and sounds 10 times better now.
That's the whole exhaust system changed. The new system is as follows: RS*R 4-1 manifold > MX5 Parts silenced decat > custom 2.25 bore stainless centre section > MX5 Parts back box.
I have to say I'm really impressed with this set up. It's quiet enough at cruising speed, with very little drone, and a really raspy roar under load. I'll get a video at some point.
All was well until a spring in the door latch mechanism snapped leaving me shut inside my own car at work. I had the hard top on so had to squeeze myself in and out through the passenger door whilst waiting for the replacement to arrive.
The replacement turned up so I ditched the hardtop and wrestled the door card off with the door still jammed shut.
Got the door card off and found the culprit.
Fixed.
It's supposed to be a fiddly little job but I had it all done and back together within half an hour.
As this car will be used for hillclimbing in the near future I thought it time to slap a set of roundels on.
I had some made to order in 17" old English white. I was worried it might look a bit much on a road car but now they're on I love the look.
After fitting the manifold it was time to sort the rest of the exhaust system. I went for a custom built centre section as my old '5 I'd had issues with the MX5 parts centre section hitting the diff when cornering.
Looks and sounds 10 times better now.
That's the whole exhaust system changed. The new system is as follows: RS*R 4-1 manifold > MX5 Parts silenced decat > custom 2.25 bore stainless centre section > MX5 Parts back box.
I have to say I'm really impressed with this set up. It's quiet enough at cruising speed, with very little drone, and a really raspy roar under load. I'll get a video at some point.
All was well until a spring in the door latch mechanism snapped leaving me shut inside my own car at work. I had the hard top on so had to squeeze myself in and out through the passenger door whilst waiting for the replacement to arrive.
The replacement turned up so I ditched the hardtop and wrestled the door card off with the door still jammed shut.
Got the door card off and found the culprit.
Fixed.
It's supposed to be a fiddly little job but I had it all done and back together within half an hour.
As this car will be used for hillclimbing in the near future I thought it time to slap a set of roundels on.
I had some made to order in 17" old English white. I was worried it might look a bit much on a road car but now they're on I love the look.
To my eternal shame since owning the car I had never got round to fixing the broken passenger side window mechanism. My girlfriend had booked us a trip to Bruges so a functioning passenger window was going to be essential.
One very dirty window out the way.
Striped down the rollers, cleaned them and re-greased.
New mechanism.
Greased up the runners and installed the new regulator.
Done! For the first time in 11 months I had a fully functioning passenger window.
Bought a JDM style windblocker. Hopefully it'll stop the girlfriend complaining every time I put the bloody roof down.
It looks very subtle installed and definitely makes a difference on the motorway.
Woke up very early on a Saturday morning and less then 4 hours later we were in Bruges.
Saw some sites.
Drank beer.
Drank more beer.
Ate waffles.
Drove home the next evening.
Used the bonnet as a hot plate to keep our burger king warm whilst we waited for the train to depart.
Car performed faultlessly all trip. The more I drive it, tinker with it and improve it, the more certain I become that I never want to sell this car.
One very dirty window out the way.
Striped down the rollers, cleaned them and re-greased.
New mechanism.
Greased up the runners and installed the new regulator.
Done! For the first time in 11 months I had a fully functioning passenger window.
Bought a JDM style windblocker. Hopefully it'll stop the girlfriend complaining every time I put the bloody roof down.
It looks very subtle installed and definitely makes a difference on the motorway.
Woke up very early on a Saturday morning and less then 4 hours later we were in Bruges.
Saw some sites.
Drank beer.
Drank more beer.
Ate waffles.
Drove home the next evening.
Used the bonnet as a hot plate to keep our burger king warm whilst we waited for the train to depart.
Car performed faultlessly all trip. The more I drive it, tinker with it and improve it, the more certain I become that I never want to sell this car.
Another long overdue update.
Spotted a snapped drop link during a check before its MOT.
I decided to renew the drop links all round and decided, whilst I was at it, that the suspension was looking (and feeling) very tired.
The car was on its original Bilstein suspension with lowering springs and I'd never been happy with the dampening or ride.
I found a set of immaculate HSD's through an MX5 forum. They've got 16-way adjustable dampeners and will enable me to set the ride height low enough without compromising comfort.
Cruddy old Bilsteins.
That's more like it.
Ride Height before
after
I'm really impressed with the handling. It's lower than before, but soaks up bumps with ease. I wish I'd done this earlier.
Since then I've just been enjoying the car. Plan is to fit a butterfly brace at some point before Christmas, and I'm strongly considering ITB's. For now, here's some photos.
Spotted a snapped drop link during a check before its MOT.
I decided to renew the drop links all round and decided, whilst I was at it, that the suspension was looking (and feeling) very tired.
The car was on its original Bilstein suspension with lowering springs and I'd never been happy with the dampening or ride.
I found a set of immaculate HSD's through an MX5 forum. They've got 16-way adjustable dampeners and will enable me to set the ride height low enough without compromising comfort.
Cruddy old Bilsteins.
That's more like it.
Ride Height before
after
I'm really impressed with the handling. It's lower than before, but soaks up bumps with ease. I wish I'd done this earlier.
Since then I've just been enjoying the car. Plan is to fit a butterfly brace at some point before Christmas, and I'm strongly considering ITB's. For now, here's some photos.
sharifr1 said:
Looks lovely pal. How much have you lowered her by? I recently bought one which has been lowered but will need to raise it. I got stuck on a speedbump last night and had to be pushed back off. Your ride height looks perfect.
Thanks mate! I'm not sure exactly, but it was lowered 30mm when I got it and I've shaved quite a bit off the rear. I'd guess 60/65mm all round? I have two quite sharp speedbumps on my road, this is about the only way I can get over them - the neighbors give me some strange looks.
https://youtu.be/Pc31k6fD29k
TheJimi said:
Looks great, but surely that's a bit of a pig to drive on anything other than a billiard table?
Thanks! It's not as bad as a car with 3" clearance might have you believe. It very rarely scrapes during normal driving. Getting in and out of my own road is the biggest challenge! GTIAlex said:
Looks great
May I ask what you used to paint your rocker cover with? Looks like the perfect finish im after on my Mini engine
Thank you! May I ask what you used to paint your rocker cover with? Looks like the perfect finish im after on my Mini engine
Of course, It's VHT Wrinkle paint. I've not seen it in shops but its readily available on eBay.
If you do it make sure the cans have been left in warm water for 10 minutes before spraying, it wrinkles way better.
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