What car? 2k...Summer fun!

[ironictwist]

Mk1 MX5
300ZX
MR2
GTO TT

Anything I'm missing? Discuss

[ironictwist]

Must be:

RWD
Convertible/Targa
Comfy...Has to handle 65 miles each day to & from work. 10 Miles = M/way style A-Roads, 20~ = Country Lanes
Great fun to drive!
It NEEDS a bit of grunt, I do alot of overtaking along the commute & the minimal time spent on the other side of the road, the better.
Reliability would be a nice change

Can stretch up to 3k if I REALLY want to.
Insurance = No issue.

[ironictwist]

OllieWinchester said:

Its got be a Mk1 MX5, no car I have ever owned (And there have been lots!) has got its claws in to me quite as succesfully as my little Eunos. I used to change my cars more often than my underwear, and I've had the thing nearly two years now and genuinely can't think of anything anywhere near to it in price that would push the same buttons. My advice is to get a ratty Jap Mk1 (Slippy diff, less rust, only downside is more expensive insurance) for £1000-£1500 and spend the change on some FI fun. They really are bulletproof little things, mine gets beaten around every day and gives me no problems at all....

Have a browse in the MX5 section, lots of good info in there. FYI, mine was significantly under £1k and all I've done is cambelt and oil changes and it just feels solid. Looks very ratty though, will get round to smartening it up one day. Parts are ridiculously cheap for the, I think front discs are c.£25 for example, and I weighed mine when I got it and it was under a ton.

Sounds like you nabbed one hell of a bargain Ollie, that's what I'm half hoping I'll manage but I keep getting the nigly feeling that a 1.6/1.8 just won't cut it...Tell me I'm wrong

[ironictwist]

LukeBird said:

Don't be gay.
Sell something and buy the Tiv!

I'm not that hardcore...Well I am but everyone at my work will want me dead if I do. Especially my boss! I went looking at a few cars yesterday after work with my mechanic & she stated categorically "Make sure he comes back with something economical & sensible" & it was just talk of typical junior repmobile's ...Golf TDi's an the like. I tried not to say anything, I really did. I didn't even know what to say, all I could hear them say was "economy blah blah economy reliable blah blah reliable & econimal" & so on :boxeidn:

[ironictwist]

Al Wyn said:

Nothing wrong with a MK4 Golf GTTDI get it chipped up dropped a bit and some BBS CHs on and youve got a cracking little motor...personally id be look for a Seat Leon Cupra 180hp straight from the factory get it chipped to 210/225hp really understated and stealthly and a really nice one can be had for the top end your budget

Nothing quite as tasty as that...More "poverty spec" to give you an idea of the suggestions banded about.

OllieWinchester said:

You are wrong! Remember they weigh under a ton, so whilst performance is never going to set your pants on fire you can really hustle them along because you need to really drive them to get the best out of them, eg keeping the revs between 4k and 7k. Bear in mind power to weight is probably similar to Mk1 Golf GTi as standard. They are extremely involving, and feel faster than they are because you are low down, wind in your hair, all that malarkey. Rifle bolt gearchange, and so easy to get (And hold) sideways in the wet. I find myself going out of my way when conditions are damp to encounter more roundabouts. Cabins are well laid out and durable, and more power is easy to get if you do go FI, think 100% more than standard without taking the engine apart. I love mine to pieces, but you can probably already tell that!

That reminds me of my Astra...Not quite the same experience but because you had to really "work" the car it felt as if you were going much faster than you were & I LOVED driving that along my commute more than the 328, far more enjoyable

That little story sounds great & exactly the sort of thing I'd do...I've only gone as far as having the sunroof wide open with all the windows down in torrential rain, so it sounds perfect for me!

Currently it's between MR2 or MX5 at the mo

minimatt1967 said:

diablo_pete said:

MX5 that would be my choice. very nice to drive, roof off radio on wind in the hair the girls will love you Mind if you dumped all the cars and got that bloody TIV you wouldn't be quite so gay.....................

EFA

Al Wyn said:

TVR now thought budget was £3k max...id love to see that little gem am i reading between the lines correctly that the phase `reality check` might be relevant? or have i got it wrong?

Edited by Al Wyn on Thursday 12th March 21:12

Slight misunderstanding on your part I believe

minimatt1967 said:

Forgive me Ironio, I have exceeded the budget, you shouldn't be too surprised this is PH after all, check this

Wedge Goodness!

A step on to the ladder of the Tiv Ownership, I'm sure Poley will give you some pointers

Gorgeous & eccentric...Exactly my thing I'll see, I'd need to pull a few strings for that though.

I need to buy in the next week or so as spending £100 a week to get to work in the pikey wagon isn't ideal. Plus the radio doesn't work all that well & I keep throwing it into ditches on the way to deliberately cover it in mud

• heads off to Autotrader/Ebay/PH Classifieds to look at MX5/MR2/Wedges.

[ironictwist]

We're set on an MX5 at the mo guys...Got eyes on several at the mo, 1 happens to be PH'ers too

[ironictwist]

minimatt1967 said:

ironictwist said:

We're set on an MX5 at the mo guys...Got eyes on several at the mo, 1 happens to be PH'ers too

Gheyer

Hmmmm what do you guys think of:

Overkill or just right?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

Mmm...Quite the tourer!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

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

There are loads more but these are the one's ending soon I'm looking at...At the top end of my budget I have a PH'ers & another 2 cars at a dealer up in Northumbria which look nigh on perfect

[ironictwist]

Taking the above into account:

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

Looks almost spot on then I reckon

[ironictwist]

Thejimreaper said:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAZDA-MX5-MK1_W0QQitemZ26037...

Very local as well. You will passing it on Sunday so could colect and bring it with you!!

That was also on my list!

[ironictwist]

OllieWinchester said:

This one is a PH'ers and looks luvverly. Little bit over budget but a superb example, got a torsen diff too so lots of fun...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/900113.htm

Now THAT's perfect, but yep, over budget

By the way Ollie, is yours a 1.6?

[ironictwist]

OllieWinchester said:

ironictwist said:

By the way Ollie, is yours a 1.6?

Yeah, mine is a 1.6 with 173k Km's on her, (Just over 106K miles) but zero S/H. I don't think there is a great deal in it in terms of straight line performance between the 1.6 and the 1.8, 116bhp versus 130bhp and the 1.8 has marginally more mid-range shove apparently. From what I understand, the 1.6 likes being revved more and is a little more frenetic in its delivery, and I might be wrong but I think it likes boost more if you do go FI. So to summarise, 1.6 thrives on revs, 1.8 is a slightly more relaxed drive.


ETA- I like that white one you found on ebay, looks like a good buy.

Edited by OllieWinchester on Friday 13th March 19:17

Thanks for the summary! What dya mean when it comes to FI? I'm tempted by the 1.6 if there is something I can do about it's ability to "shift" in future

Edited by ironictwist on Friday 13th March 19:28

[ironictwist]

minimatt1967 said:

FORCED INDUCTION

Sounds like a porno.

[ironictwist]

minimatt1967 said:

FORCED IINDUCTION

Turbo charging and super charging old boy!

Edited by minimatt1967 on Friday 13th March 19:33

Mmm I like the sound of that...I remember being next to a Supercharged '5 once, christ that moved.

Edited by ironictwist on Friday 13th March 19:46

[ironictwist]

OllieWinchester said:

I think that the 1.6 is based on the turbocharged 1.6 engine that was used in the Mazda 323 4x4 thingie, so they are remarkably well suited to a bit of boost without taking the engine apart for low comp pistons, forged conrods etc. There are lots of people running Mk1's with over double their standard output (230bhp+!) with either turbo or supercharger assistance and they have covered many 10's of thousands of miles without ever having to open up the engine. I think that is testament to how over-engineered the little things are, the only weak point is the viscous LSD's on the jap 1.6's, but that is only really when running over 200bhp and doing hard starts on the 1/4 mile and stuff. A lot of people say the viscous diffs lose their 'slippyness' over time, but mine seems to be locking up ok, and will do donuts and hang the rear out with seemingly no power lost through the inside wheel. Torsen diffs are good for 300bhp all day long apparently, and all the gearboxes seem strong. Eaton M45 superchargers off the Mini Cooper S' are good for these engines, and apparently you can buy off the shelf turbo kits (GReddy?) for c.£1k. Lots of people making 'homebrew' turbo installations though. 250bhp and one ton in weight make them pretty competitive on track....

Awesome bit of info there Ollie, cheers! Have you made any alterations under the bonnet as per some of the above?

[ironictwist]

minimatt1967 said:

OllieWinchester said:

You bought something yet then?

Unlikely this is Ironic we're talking about...

Edited by minimatt1967 on Wednesday 18th March 14:13

I should have the figure come through on the Astra tomorrow...I've got one 1-2 cars in mind around the £1,500 mark which I'm hoping I can look at over the coming days. One of them is a PH'ers which looks totally standard but in great nick. The other is an ebay one but looks like, it's had a few subtle "additions" done which really makes it look/sound/drive great. I'm sold on it & would love to snap it up as it looks like It's been owned by someone who wouldnt at all be out of place on PH.

Nearly there!

[ironictwist]

We have a shortlist!

Up until last night, this was the favourite:

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

Followed by:

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

But then yesterday, this got put up. I've been looking at 5's for the past week & finding a red one that's a 1.8 with sub 100k mileage & less than 2 miles away from my house couldn't be any more perfect! Granted, it's a stock car & not "tinkered" with like the first choice, but even so, it's not bad!


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

Going to be seeing the above car & lovely lady that owns it this evening.

[ironictwist]

ironictwist said:

But then yesterday, this got put up. I've been looking at 5's for the past week & finding a red one that's a 1.8 with sub 100k mileage & less than 2 miles away from my house couldn't be any more perfect! Granted, it's a stock car & not "tinkered" with like the first choice, but even so, it's not bad!


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

Going to be seeing the above car & lovely lady that owns it this evening.

Someone's gone & effin bought it!!! I'm in shock, the owner is in shock! The bloke hasn't called/email/made any contact, he's just bought it out of nowhere

[ironictwist]

The Milfman said:

ironictwist said:

We have a shortlist!

Up until last night, this was the favourite:

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

Is that black or green? If the latter, don't do it. Horrid wheels IMO (fixable of course). Each to their own.

I have a sinking feeling this MX5 is a PH'er. Either way, going to view this one this evening instead...Up near Winchester! Gonna be a long drive home tonight after work.

[ironictwist]

It took 2 hours to get there...

I saw it, drove it & ABSOLUTLEY love it!! Smitten with it's looks, love the way it feels & drives. Reminds me alot of how the Chimaera felt to drive just nowhere near as awesome sounding but still felt great to drive!

I now realise why there is such a hype over MX5's...You just have to buy one.

Going along with the top down & a clear starry sky above while you're tearing around the lanes = Great first drive!

[ironictwist]

minimatt1967 said:

and...... did you?

Auction ends tomorrow...I'm bidding to the last penny of my budget for it