Back in an MX5 - J-Ltd II
Discussion
Well its been a few years, but after owning a Harvard and a 1.8iS, now I'm back in an MX5!
I always wanted a yellow one, and was delighted to find this J-Ltd II for sale.
Its been quite an eventful day (a story for another time), but in a nutshell is in fantastic condition and home with me safe and sound.
I hope this one is a long term keeper, so expect plenty of questions from me.
A few pics from the advert I'm afraid, but we all like pics!
I love how clean and original it is. I think I'm going to try and keep it original, maybe even source a Nardi wheel as that's gone missing at some point, although I will be upgrading parts as and when I get round to it.
Any comments or feedback welcome of course.
Cheers, Tom.
I always wanted a yellow one, and was delighted to find this J-Ltd II for sale.
Its been quite an eventful day (a story for another time), but in a nutshell is in fantastic condition and home with me safe and sound.
I hope this one is a long term keeper, so expect plenty of questions from me.
A few pics from the advert I'm afraid, but we all like pics!
I love how clean and original it is. I think I'm going to try and keep it original, maybe even source a Nardi wheel as that's gone missing at some point, although I will be upgrading parts as and when I get round to it.
Any comments or feedback welcome of course.
Cheers, Tom.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Seems cracking condition.... miles?
No tatty wear on the bolsters in the usual places, arches look good, the only thing that caught my eye is the front bumper paint
seems different
All the plastic bits are a slightly paler yellow, but it's quite subtle and quite normal. It looks more uniform in the flesh. No tatty wear on the bolsters in the usual places, arches look good, the only thing that caught my eye is the front bumper paint
seems different
It's almost rust free, by far the best one I looked at and certainly better than most. A patch next to the windscreen and a tiny bit on the bottom of both arches at the end of the sills, like a thumbnail size both sides. It's just cosmetic I hope but I'll be getting the borescope in the rear quarters at the weekend for a good poke about. It's very clean underneath and doesn't look like any welding has ever been done
It says 138k miles but I think the first 90k were Kms, so about 100k in total. I'm going to contact it's only former keeper in the U.K. To see if they have any paperwork as it came with nothing, but has obviously been cherished. It came here in 2005 and was imported from NZ of all places.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Seems cracking condition.... miles?
No tatty wear on the bolsters in the usual places, arches look good, the only thing that caught my eye is the front bumper paint
seems different
The drivers bolster is pretty terrible, but I like the style of seats and fabric fitted and they are very cheap to come by second hand. No tatty wear on the bolsters in the usual places, arches look good, the only thing that caught my eye is the front bumper paint
seems different
Can a passenger side seat cover be fitted to a drivers seat?
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
For the seats, I recall buying a a seat and b
dising the various parts of a pair to make a good one, and then selling them back on the bay at a reasonable price.
That's encouraging, thanks. dising the various parts of a pair to make a good one, and then selling them back on the bay at a reasonable price.I found out tonight that it has an LSD, yet I'm sure this model isn't supposed to have one. Either way, I'm delighted as it was well up the list of things to do.
WhiteBaron said:
Good choice! (i have one too 
)
yes it definitely does have an LSD, i use mine for solos/autotests. I confirmed it did on the wb prior to purchase.
Are you sure it is supposed to have a nardi wheel?, mine has the same wheel and a plain handbrake cover.
oh and the yellow does age differently.
fantastic, enjoy
Steve
Hmmm. Now I'm not so sure about the Nardi wheel. I found this link to the original brochure and it definitely doesn't have a Nardi wheel in the pics.)yes it definitely does have an LSD, i use mine for solos/autotests. I confirmed it did on the wb prior to purchase.
Are you sure it is supposed to have a nardi wheel?, mine has the same wheel and a plain handbrake cover.
oh and the yellow does age differently.
fantastic, enjoy
Steve
http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/353776/car/...
I'm glad the LSD is standard, a real Brucy-bonus that! Nice to see I'm not the only J-Ltd 2 owner on the forum too!
Edited by BigTom85 on Wednesday 13th July 18:34
WhiteBaron said:
I'd love to see this but unfortunately it's set to private. Please could you change the settings? Thanks!WhiteBaron said:
I'd love to see this but unfortunately it's set to private. Please could you change the settings? Thanks!Well after a few days of getting to know 'Buttercup' I've decided she is going to be restored and loved in standard form, my thinking being that it drives exceptionally well and is huge fun as it stands, and its so standard it'd be a shame to change that. Surely a limited-run car (they made 800) in a good standard spec in original condition has to be a reasonably sensible investment too? We'll see.
First job - something had to be done about the battery terminals. They were a complete bodge, and dangerous, frankly.
Unfortunately I couldn't find any terminals similar to the originals, so these will have to do for now. If anyone can point me in the direction of OEM spec terminals I'd be very grateful.
I took the opportunity to purchase a cut-off switch too to prevent drain over the winter etc.
Parts:
First I removed the old terminal.
Being careful to orientate the cut-off switch so it doesn't foul the bodywork at all. I managed to get the negative terminal cover to fit nicely too.
Onto the positive. A bit of tickling with a Dremel had the old terminal cut to a nice shape and nice and clean.
I 'modified' the positive cover to fit, but I'll source a more suitable replacement that actually covers the bare terminal.
Annoyingly the new j-bolt I ordered isn't tall enough, despite being a genuine Mazda part and the top battery clamp fitting nicely in the top hole and holding the battery perfectly, so I'm going to need to source a replacement pronto. Any ideas where I can buy one are appreciated.
Cable ties to the rescue for now. When I've found a new j-bolt I'll clean all the bodywork in the boot and give it a good waxing, and fit some vent pipes of course.
Then in the afternoon I had a ride out with the Northampton branch of the MX5 Owners Club. 50 miles of great roads and a good bunch of people to boot. I'll definitely be a regular.
Thanks for reading.
First job - something had to be done about the battery terminals. They were a complete bodge, and dangerous, frankly.
Unfortunately I couldn't find any terminals similar to the originals, so these will have to do for now. If anyone can point me in the direction of OEM spec terminals I'd be very grateful.
I took the opportunity to purchase a cut-off switch too to prevent drain over the winter etc.
Parts:
First I removed the old terminal.
Being careful to orientate the cut-off switch so it doesn't foul the bodywork at all. I managed to get the negative terminal cover to fit nicely too.
Onto the positive. A bit of tickling with a Dremel had the old terminal cut to a nice shape and nice and clean.
I 'modified' the positive cover to fit, but I'll source a more suitable replacement that actually covers the bare terminal.
Annoyingly the new j-bolt I ordered isn't tall enough, despite being a genuine Mazda part and the top battery clamp fitting nicely in the top hole and holding the battery perfectly, so I'm going to need to source a replacement pronto. Any ideas where I can buy one are appreciated.
Cable ties to the rescue for now. When I've found a new j-bolt I'll clean all the bodywork in the boot and give it a good waxing, and fit some vent pipes of course.
Then in the afternoon I had a ride out with the Northampton branch of the MX5 Owners Club. 50 miles of great roads and a good bunch of people to boot. I'll definitely be a regular.
Thanks for reading.
Edited by BigTom85 on Sunday 17th July 12:08
Edited by BigTom85 on Monday 18th July 17:33
WhiteBaron said:
Looking really good
My video is called autosolo. if you fancy a go.. join a local motor club (£20) and a days autosolo, typically 12 runs through a course is about £30.
No need to get a race lisence, no requirement for helemet overalls and sticky tyres are banned.
courses are in flat carparks or airfields normally. try loughborough car club or Oxford motor club.
Steve
Thanks for that - I see Peterborough have a club so I may well give it a go!My video is called autosolo. if you fancy a go.. join a local motor club (£20) and a days autosolo, typically 12 runs through a course is about £30.
No need to get a race lisence, no requirement for helemet overalls and sticky tyres are banned.
courses are in flat carparks or airfields normally. try loughborough car club or Oxford motor club.
Steve
Thanks again.
PJLarge said:
Nice car, makes me think about getting another one... if only I could find one clean enough.
On the battery front, an easy fix is some threaded bar from a DIY store - just buy a length and a butterfly nut to suit the thread, bend one end in a vice to hook into the body and cut off the top side that fits through the battery clamp to suit. Job done.
Do it! On the battery front, an easy fix is some threaded bar from a DIY store - just buy a length and a butterfly nut to suit the thread, bend one end in a vice to hook into the body and cut off the top side that fits through the battery clamp to suit. Job done.
I've bought a genuine Mazda bolt from their 'big battery kit'. Pennies over a fiver delivered from MX5 parts - fingers crossed it fits! If it doesn't I will do exactly as you suggest, thanks.
Well I'm delighted to say that the longer J-Bolt has done the job just perfectly. I can also confirm that an 053 battery, as listed as correct by many motor factors and suppliers DOES fit in the standard battery tray under the standard hold down clamp as long as you have the longer J-bolt. Its part number W001-38-518A and was £3.26 + postage (£5.54 all in) from MX5 Parts, quote ref SI7225 and they should be able to sell you one, although it is not listed on the website so you will need to call them.
The 053 battery fitted is generally around £50, 360CCA and 45AH, so a reasonable upgrade over the standard Panasonic (336CCA and 32AH). The 'Banner' brand I have is nice and square and the hold down clamp grips it perfectly. Despite it being a sealed unit it still has the vent holes fitted for peace of mind should the alternator over-charge it for any reason.
Do note that the battery vent pipes I have fitted have quite a long elbow, I'd recommend a shorter elbow if you can find them as it is pretty much touching the inside wing - I will try some shorter elbows like THESE and report back.
I'm very pleased this has worked out.
The 053 battery fitted is generally around £50, 360CCA and 45AH, so a reasonable upgrade over the standard Panasonic (336CCA and 32AH). The 'Banner' brand I have is nice and square and the hold down clamp grips it perfectly. Despite it being a sealed unit it still has the vent holes fitted for peace of mind should the alternator over-charge it for any reason.
Do note that the battery vent pipes I have fitted have quite a long elbow, I'd recommend a shorter elbow if you can find them as it is pretty much touching the inside wing - I will try some shorter elbows like THESE and report back.
I'm very pleased this has worked out.
Edited by BigTom85 on Wednesday 20th July 22:16
Edited by BigTom85 on Wednesday 20th July 22:36
Thanks Jobbo.
The elbows I have were from my local battery supplier, unfortunately they stick out too far for my liking, and can't be trimmed as they have a stepped connector with 2 different sizes.
I agree the eBay ones are expensive, but I think I'll pull the trigger anyway.
I'm glad the 053 is working for you too, I'll be replacing mine with the same again should I ever need to.
The elbows I have were from my local battery supplier, unfortunately they stick out too far for my liking, and can't be trimmed as they have a stepped connector with 2 different sizes.
I agree the eBay ones are expensive, but I think I'll pull the trigger anyway.
I'm glad the 053 is working for you too, I'll be replacing mine with the same again should I ever need to.
Gassing Station | Mazda MX5/Roadster/Miata | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff