My Roadster! 94 1.8 S-special
Discussion
Well, I thought I'd start a new thread, and maybe I'll keep it updated every so often! Took the day off today to get to know my car, it was late, miserable and dark when I got back last night.
I gave the car a quick rinse off, vacced the inside, (proper cleaning is coming soon) and headed North from Leeds to the twisties, with a couple of photos along the way.
The interior is lovely. Its got the Nardi wheel and gear knob, S-special mats, and a Very retro Alpine Double Din headunit with cassette deck
. Thats getting changed soon for all my kit thats in the garage. Theres also a Cusco polished Cabin brace, complete with dubious Harness mounts, and a most amusing 'engrish' sticker. Polished bits and bobs elsewhere too, gear surround, steroe surround, and the teardrop shape speaker mounts in the doors. Must treat myself to a new tube of autosol I guess.
The business end. Its absolutely spotless in here, must have been recently cleaned. We have some form of lurid yellow Strut brace (Is this a Mazda item?),& a K+N 'High Power Air Cleaner' (Filter then!). Theres also a 4 into 1 Stainless exhuast manifold, must look for some form of badge/name on this. And at the other end...
HKS Super Drager, all the way from the Cat. Apparently these are hard to get hold of, and cost about 1/3 of what I've just shelled out on the whole car! I have been pleasantly surprised with the sound too, its far, far smoother and mroe refined than its 'ricer' looks suggest. Much nicer than the Magnex on my previous car. The single silencer under the boot is ENORMOUS aswell. Again, should polish up perfectly. I love polishing, so all these one-time shiny add ons are fantastic.
The cars currently got slightly grubby 14" wheels on, apparently these are Mazda items, but it shouild have the (much prettier) 14in BBS rims. Ah well, cant have it all. The bodywork is spot on bar a tiny crease above the front arch, can just about see it here. Anybody care to comment on the ride height? The car is fitted with some form of adjustable suspension, theres a 'key' for the damping adjustments, on the top of each shock absorber. Need to play around with those at some point. I think its lower too, no?
Low profile spoiler on the back, again not sure if this is factory Mazda, one from the options book maybe? Note wobbly, crappy foglight. Horrid. Need to know what my options are here, either a nicer 'bolt on' job, or move to the right hand reversing light?
Another thing that interests me, Miata badge, rather than Eunos?
The Vin number too, all matches of course, but strikes me as being a rather distinctive set of digits! I think my car must have been one of the very, very first of the '94 spec, which is when the 1.8 came in? As in, one of the first 25! Curious, at the very least. I'm sure I've seen a Vin Decoder somewhere on the net, perhaps someone can point me toward it again.
MazdaSpeed Type A front bumper, according to the guys on clubroadster.net. I like it, anyhow. Got a small crack at the bottom left corner, which the previous owner did right before putting the car up for sale on the corner of their driveway! Not to worry, will get it fixed up. I re-aligned the headlight lids before I set off aswell, someone had been leaning on them I expect.
Ugly stock number plate plinth remains, but is towards top of the list when it comes to changes. This bumper seems to offer a couple more mounting options than the stock one, theres more flat surface for a sticky plate, or perhaps a regular plate on the bottom bar. Or an offset plate...
I like the chrome side repeaters too, black and chrome is a definite winner with these cars. Needs a big shiny fuel filler to finish this side off too.
Autumn colours, open top roadster, country pub. Who could ask for more!
I am over the moon with the car. It seems the who-ever owned it in Japan was really into thier cars, as all the mods have been carried out over there. The single previous UK owner has taken great care of the car since then too. Mechanically it seems really good. There also NO rust that I can find anywhere, the inside of the arches is like a new car, cleaner than any of my cars before.
The major problem is the paintwork. Its been treated to regular washing and rinsing, but thats it I guess. Its covered in tar spots, lots of swirl marks, and what looks like the fall out from the PO's nearby powerstation - lots of baked on white spots over the bonner/boot/top surfaces.
Thats a challenge for me though, I'm positive that using my own experience plus a few pointer I can get it looking like a piano top again. Managed to rescue my previous car and that was/is in beautiful condition now. What else is there to do on sundays, other than clean you car and drive to the pub? Its proven (maybe) that people who care more for thier cars, are the ones who get the most enjoyment out of them. This one will be getting lots of attention, so I hope it rewards me justly!
Hope you like. Its a buyers market. From my short experience so far, I cannot reccomend these cars enough, I think I've caught a good'un here.
I gave the car a quick rinse off, vacced the inside, (proper cleaning is coming soon) and headed North from Leeds to the twisties, with a couple of photos along the way.
The interior is lovely. Its got the Nardi wheel and gear knob, S-special mats, and a Very retro Alpine Double Din headunit with cassette deck
. Thats getting changed soon for all my kit thats in the garage. Theres also a Cusco polished Cabin brace, complete with dubious Harness mounts, and a most amusing 'engrish' sticker. Polished bits and bobs elsewhere too, gear surround, steroe surround, and the teardrop shape speaker mounts in the doors. Must treat myself to a new tube of autosol I guess. The business end. Its absolutely spotless in here, must have been recently cleaned. We have some form of lurid yellow Strut brace (Is this a Mazda item?),& a K+N 'High Power Air Cleaner' (Filter then!). Theres also a 4 into 1 Stainless exhuast manifold, must look for some form of badge/name on this. And at the other end...
HKS Super Drager, all the way from the Cat. Apparently these are hard to get hold of, and cost about 1/3 of what I've just shelled out on the whole car! I have been pleasantly surprised with the sound too, its far, far smoother and mroe refined than its 'ricer' looks suggest. Much nicer than the Magnex on my previous car. The single silencer under the boot is ENORMOUS aswell. Again, should polish up perfectly. I love polishing, so all these one-time shiny add ons are fantastic.
The cars currently got slightly grubby 14" wheels on, apparently these are Mazda items, but it shouild have the (much prettier) 14in BBS rims. Ah well, cant have it all. The bodywork is spot on bar a tiny crease above the front arch, can just about see it here. Anybody care to comment on the ride height? The car is fitted with some form of adjustable suspension, theres a 'key' for the damping adjustments, on the top of each shock absorber. Need to play around with those at some point. I think its lower too, no?
Low profile spoiler on the back, again not sure if this is factory Mazda, one from the options book maybe? Note wobbly, crappy foglight. Horrid. Need to know what my options are here, either a nicer 'bolt on' job, or move to the right hand reversing light?
Another thing that interests me, Miata badge, rather than Eunos?
The Vin number too, all matches of course, but strikes me as being a rather distinctive set of digits! I think my car must have been one of the very, very first of the '94 spec, which is when the 1.8 came in? As in, one of the first 25! Curious, at the very least. I'm sure I've seen a Vin Decoder somewhere on the net, perhaps someone can point me toward it again.
MazdaSpeed Type A front bumper, according to the guys on clubroadster.net. I like it, anyhow. Got a small crack at the bottom left corner, which the previous owner did right before putting the car up for sale on the corner of their driveway! Not to worry, will get it fixed up. I re-aligned the headlight lids before I set off aswell, someone had been leaning on them I expect.
Ugly stock number plate plinth remains, but is towards top of the list when it comes to changes. This bumper seems to offer a couple more mounting options than the stock one, theres more flat surface for a sticky plate, or perhaps a regular plate on the bottom bar. Or an offset plate...
I like the chrome side repeaters too, black and chrome is a definite winner with these cars. Needs a big shiny fuel filler to finish this side off too.
Autumn colours, open top roadster, country pub. Who could ask for more!
I am over the moon with the car. It seems the who-ever owned it in Japan was really into thier cars, as all the mods have been carried out over there. The single previous UK owner has taken great care of the car since then too. Mechanically it seems really good. There also NO rust that I can find anywhere, the inside of the arches is like a new car, cleaner than any of my cars before.
The major problem is the paintwork. Its been treated to regular washing and rinsing, but thats it I guess. Its covered in tar spots, lots of swirl marks, and what looks like the fall out from the PO's nearby powerstation - lots of baked on white spots over the bonner/boot/top surfaces.
Thats a challenge for me though, I'm positive that using my own experience plus a few pointer I can get it looking like a piano top again. Managed to rescue my previous car and that was/is in beautiful condition now. What else is there to do on sundays, other than clean you car and drive to the pub? Its proven (maybe) that people who care more for thier cars, are the ones who get the most enjoyment out of them. This one will be getting lots of attention, so I hope it rewards me justly!
Hope you like. Its a buyers market. From my short experience so far, I cannot reccomend these cars enough, I think I've caught a good'un here.
Edited by snotrag on Thursday 23 October 17:37
Edited by snotrag on Thursday 23 October 17:49
Had the wheels off today, and did a bit of digging around/tinkering cleaning. cleaned the hood with some turtle wax kit thing, seemed to work quite well but I'm going to try find a product that might being it back to its original black colour, its a bit faded.
I found out what my shocks are aswell - I knew they were upgraded from the ride height and stiffness (very! too much perhaps on first impressions of a couple of hundred miles), turns out their Ohlins Monotube type, with single damping adjust. These must have cost a fecking fortune when new, like the exhaust. Whoever owned this in Japan spent some serious wonga on it I think.
As such, I dont really now need to look into what dampers to buy, as I'll keep these. I'm gonna try find out where I can get them filled with fresh oil and the nitrogen charge re-done as I bet its original. Hopefully with a service and some adjustment I could have a very nice suspension setup.
Does anybody have experience of Ohlins on there Roadster?
ETA just found this
Mazda Miata MX5 Roadster Front MAS 7B00 £466.15 Rear MAS 8B00 £466.07
I found out what my shocks are aswell - I knew they were upgraded from the ride height and stiffness (very! too much perhaps on first impressions of a couple of hundred miles), turns out their Ohlins Monotube type, with single damping adjust. These must have cost a fecking fortune when new, like the exhaust. Whoever owned this in Japan spent some serious wonga on it I think.
As such, I dont really now need to look into what dampers to buy, as I'll keep these. I'm gonna try find out where I can get them filled with fresh oil and the nitrogen charge re-done as I bet its original. Hopefully with a service and some adjustment I could have a very nice suspension setup.
Does anybody have experience of Ohlins on there Roadster?
ETA just found this
Mazda Miata MX5 Roadster Front MAS 7B00 £466.15 Rear MAS 8B00 £466.07
Edited by snotrag on Sunday 26th October 20:36
Righto, I just sold my GTi-6 at last, which means I have the inclination/money/time/need to get this one sorted out! Its been locked in the garage mostly since the first week after I bought it.
I've started refitting the seats and interior after giving it a thorough clean, and I'm gonna get my stereo fitted into the car, after removing eighteen miles of wiring from the retro 90s HU plus Autochanger plus car kit plus rear mounted subwoofer...
So, the first problem.
I charged the battery and started it - its tapping like a good un, even given a while to warm up. From the noise and frequency its obviously just one of the HLAs thats stuck a bit - and it shouldn't be too bad as it wasnt tapping at all before I put it away for a few weeks.
I'm gonna drop the oil anyway this week, but should I flush it through with anything, or add anything to the oil either before or after I change it, to try clean it up a bit better?
I'm not taking the cam cover off yet...!
I've started refitting the seats and interior after giving it a thorough clean, and I'm gonna get my stereo fitted into the car, after removing eighteen miles of wiring from the retro 90s HU plus Autochanger plus car kit plus rear mounted subwoofer...
So, the first problem.
I charged the battery and started it - its tapping like a good un, even given a while to warm up. From the noise and frequency its obviously just one of the HLAs thats stuck a bit - and it shouldn't be too bad as it wasnt tapping at all before I put it away for a few weeks.
I'm gonna drop the oil anyway this week, but should I flush it through with anything, or add anything to the oil either before or after I change it, to try clean it up a bit better?
I'm not taking the cam cover off yet...!
I'm gonna do all the fluids, engine, gearbox and diff, and coolant, as a matter of course. I think i'll just try the oil first with regards to the tapping - as I don't quite know the history of the car ill be doing it as an intermediary type thing - change for reasonable semi synth, run for 1000m, change again.
I'm also very keen to fit an oil temp gauge - sourcing the gauge and mounting it is easy, I'm just wondering where to fit the probe... Either a Sandwich plate, or somewhere on the block.
Is there any usefully blanked off holes on the block suitable?
I'm also ordering the gearbox shifter seals as they are ripped to bits, and I'm gonna stuff the gap under the plastic trim as a lot of noise is coming through direct from the road!
Thirdly - Plugs and Leads - any recommendations?
Finally - I'm very unsure about wheels.... Im fully aware of tyre availability on 15's as my 306 ran 195/50/15 - but, from the few miles I've done thus far, the ride is already pretty tough on this car, no doubt the balloon tyres are helping a bit... I need to do a few more miles before I make that decision, and find out whether the choice is good 14" tyres is either limited, or non-existent.
I'm also very keen to fit an oil temp gauge - sourcing the gauge and mounting it is easy, I'm just wondering where to fit the probe... Either a Sandwich plate, or somewhere on the block.
Is there any usefully blanked off holes on the block suitable?
I'm also ordering the gearbox shifter seals as they are ripped to bits, and I'm gonna stuff the gap under the plastic trim as a lot of noise is coming through direct from the road!
Thirdly - Plugs and Leads - any recommendations?
Finally - I'm very unsure about wheels.... Im fully aware of tyre availability on 15's as my 306 ran 195/50/15 - but, from the few miles I've done thus far, the ride is already pretty tough on this car, no doubt the balloon tyres are helping a bit... I need to do a few more miles before I make that decision, and find out whether the choice is good 14" tyres is either limited, or non-existent.
Im just gonna change the oil as normal to begin with and hope that clears it up. Its obvious from the frequency that its only 1 of the 16 tapping, and it wasnt doing it when I bought it, so should be ok.
As for Ride quality - the car has Ohlins shock, and I'm not sure ho lowered it is (A lot, I suspect). First impressions are that it was pretty stiff, but I need to do more miles before I make any decisions about that, and changing for 15" wheels.
As for Ride quality - the car has Ohlins shock, and I'm not sure ho lowered it is (A lot, I suspect). First impressions are that it was pretty stiff, but I need to do more miles before I make any decisions about that, and changing for 15" wheels.
MX-5 Lazza said:
Based on my numbers? Do I have numbers? 
Maybe it wasnt you then... someone in another thread was commenting on ride height, and that they reckond about 12" was the lower limit before grounding starts to become a real problem!Maybe I'm dreaming!
smiller said:
That. Is a looker.
Thanks! Its been in the garage for a month pretty much untouched and forgotten about, but all of a sudden somebodies driven off in the other car and I have a wodge of cash to spend. At least I've a few days off now t odo some bits, hopefully it will be on the road by New year. Just putting in a mega-order at MX5Parts, stereo bits, gearbox boots, some other little bits. Brimming over with excitement at the proposition of actually driving the thing!
Gassing Station | Mazda MX5/Roadster/Miata | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff