NA Mazda MX5 (Eunos Roadster)

[Conor D]

I've wanted an MX5 for about a year, I had the money but couldn't get insurance that I was happy with.. I stuck at it, searched the classifieds on a daily basis and continued to shop around for insurance; well it paid off.

Once I had the insurance sorted, I went in search for a Eunos and picked up this little beauty..


Untitled by conaghy, on Flickr

It's a 1992 1.6 Eunos.. it has air conditioning, speakers in the headrests (I'm not sure if this is standard..), Glass window, It has a rollbar fitted, an aftermarket exhaust and also has an immobiliser.

I'm over the moon with it.. That's it sitting parked up in Liverpool just after I bought it. I took it through wales and then got the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin before driving it up to Northern Ireland at 3am on a wet Tuesday morning..

Fast forward about 1200km and it hasn't missed a beat.. I've been flying back and forth to England so I've only had a few good drives in it; It's awesome.. It took me a while to get used to the engine. After driving big diesels for 3 years it was odd being able to rev it so high, but once I got it into my head that it wasn't going to explode it's addictive..

Here's a few pics from the past few days with the car..


e by conaghy, on Flickr


Untitled-1 by conaghy, on Flickr


DSC_1642 by conaghy, on Flickr


DSC_1656 by conaghy, on Flickr


DSC_1673 by conaghy, on Flickr


I've made a few changes since I bought it, mainly moving the number plate, removing the badge and putting in a new CD player.

Once I get back home for the summer I'm thinking:
-Upgraded Suspension; Springs and Shocks or Coilovers.
-Alloys; Looking for Mazda NB Sport Alloys
-New Steering Wheel
-Maybe brakes
-Front Splitter (ETA)

A quick Photoshop..


mx5 by conaghy, on Flickr

I can see this being an expensive summer..

Edited by Conor D on Thursday 14th April 18:05

[JonnyFive]

It looks excellent! Paint is in very good condition.

We're doing a big hoon through Wales in a few months..

[Conor D]

A big MX5 hoon through North Wales? Sounds delightful..

If I get some time off i'd pop over for that..

[JonnyFive]

Conor D said:

A big MX5 hoon through North Wales? Sounds delightful..

If I get some time off i'd pop over for that..

Keep an eye on the MX5 section of the forum, dates will be suggested next week.

We're doing South Wales on the Saturday and overnight in middle Wales then North Wales on the Sunday

[soad]

Can't beat pop up lights imho. How much it set ya back? Under a thousand i assume, or little over it?

[Altrezia]

Looks fantastic. I love the wheels - I wish mine had those.

[djmotorsport]

Very nice!

[mrtwisty]

You lucky bugger! Remind me again why I'm looking at FTO's/20V Turbo's/GTV's????

Is it just me or does the Mk1 look so much nicer than the later variant in those photo's?

[Rocketman105]

Nice one, looks great in those pics! When you moved the plate did you just leave the holes in the bumper or sort them out somehow?

[patmahe]

As a matter of interest and slightly off topic, where in Northern Ireland are those roads, I'm in the South but wouldn't mind a trip up North soon.

Lovely car by the way, hope to pick one up when funds allow.

[Conor D]

mrtwisty said:

You lucky bugger! Remind me again why I'm looking at FTO's/20V Turbo's/GTV's????

Is it just me or does the Mk1 look so much nicer than the later variant in those photo's?

The Mk3.5 has definately been beefed up alot since the Mk1, sometimes it looks a bit odd sitting beside its bigger brother with its skinny tires and smaller size. I'm a big fan of the Mk1 styling, I would love a set of Mk 3.5 seats though..

Rocketman105 said:

Nice one, looks great in those pics! When you moved the plate did you just leave the holes in the bumper or sort them out somehow?

The holes are still there; from the plate and from the badge. I'm not too sure what to do at the minute, they can only really be seen from upclose.. I wonder is it a big job to get the holes covered.

patmahe said:

As a matter of interest and slightly off topic, where in Northern Ireland are those roads, I'm in the South but wouldn't mind a trip up North soon.

Lovely car by the way, hope to pick one up when funds allow.

I think alot of it was just across the border through Letterkenny and around the N56, the mountain is Mount Errigal and to be honest there aren't alot of bad roads around that part of the country.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&amp...

Some fantastic roads.

[Conor D]

A little update:

I haven't done much to the car yet, I've been ordering parts but very little have went on. The car will be going to a mechanic this weekend to get the coilovers fitted, brakes sorted, rattle sorted and to get a service.

I got a wheel in the post today, but I'm waiting for the boss to come. My Garage Vary Splitter is taking it's time from Japan, it could be weeks before I get it.

I've also done the mod on the drivers seat to remove some foam from the seat base. It makes a big difference! Sitting much lower in the car now, and instead of seeing a roll bar in my rear view I now just see under it - Great stuff!

Everything ready to go:


New Wheel:


And of course:


I'll be back with more after the weekend.

[Another Fluffer]

That is a cool looking steering wheel!

And a fantastic little car, Congrats

[patmahe]

That wheel looks really good, was it pricey? Where did you get it?

Thanks for answering my questions about the roads above by the way, will try to plan a journey up that way sometime soon.

[Riknos]

Good looking red one, looks like the paint work has been looked after. Get rid of those chrome effect stickers though! Ruins the car!

Oh, and wire the rear fog light into one of the brake lights, looks much better

[itch]

patmahe said:

That wheel looks really good, was it pricey? Where did you get it?

Thanks for answering my questions about the roads above by the way, will try to plan a journey up that way sometime soon.

Another request for which OMP wheel is that? And size? Looks fantastic and just the job to replace my Italianti thing.

[Conor D]

itch said:

Another request for which OMP wheel is that? And size? Looks fantastic and just the job to replace my Italianti thing.

patmahe said:

That wheel looks really good, was it pricey? Where did you get it?

Thanks for answering my questions about the roads above by the way, will try to plan a journey up that way sometime soon.

It's called the OMP Targa, and it's 350mm. I got it on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

Riknos said:

Good looking red one, looks like the paint work has been looked after. Get rid of those chrome effect stickers though! Ruins the car!

Oh, and wire the rear fog light into one of the brake lights, looks much better

I actually didn't even notice the chrome pieces until I looked at that picture..

The fog light thing is something I had planned to do, is there any good write ups on how to do it?

[itch]

Cheers for the steering wheel info, bought and awaiting delivery

[Conor D]

Just an update, I bought a set of OZ Superturismo wheels. I'll be fitting Toyo T1R's, changing the top mounts to drop the car a tiny bit and fitting front and rear splitters and a boot spoiler.

Here's a photo:


It looks quite compressed to me, and I can't figure out why it's doing that.

[Dave_ITR]

Little changes make a big difference, looks really nice.