1996 MAZDA MX-5

Factory build Rocketeer MXV6 (June 2023):

-Blueprint AJ30 V6 engine, producing 275bhp. Hand-built by Basset Down Balancing.

-Refurbished & galvanised OEM subframes & wishbones.

-New OEM bushes (rubber).

-New OEM ball-joints, track-rod-ends, and drop links.

-Extensive chassis/body restoration.

-Underseal & cavity wax.

-NVH and Bulkhead insulation.

-Full interior retrim, mixture of leather & alcantara. (Rocketeer use the same trim-shop as MSO)

-Rocketeer clock and HVAC faces.

-Rocketeer Oil-Cooler.

-3.6 final-drive LSD.

(A huge amount more work done to the car to bring it up to an immaculate mechanical and structural standard. I have a very thick folder of invoices which tot-up to just over £42,000 – this doesn’t include the purchase price of the standard MX-5)

In addition to the usual Rocketeer goodies:

-Enkei RPF1 wheels in 14x7, ET28 fitment.

-SuperMiata Techna coilovers (street spring rates)

-Cobra Monaco 40th Edition bucket seats with custom houndstooth stitching.

-Jass Perfomance low profile headlights.

-Jass Performance chassis rails.

-Jass Performance classic mirrors.

-EBC discs all-round.

-Roddisons pads all-round.

-GC Fabrications roll-bar.

-Stack water temp, oil temp, and oil pressure gauges.

Full service history at Rocketeer.

Next one due in June. It’s just a simple oil and filter change so doesn’t need to go back to the factory, but I’ve always done so for peace-of-mind and a good excuse to have a poke about at other projects.

The MX-V6 (or Jazda as I like to call it, Bruce at Rocketeer doesn’t!) has done just under 5,000 miles since the Rocketeer conversion and restoration.

When the standard car arrived at Rocketeer, it had done just over 91,000 miles (so just over 96,000 on the clock now).

I bought it as a standard 1.8 NA MX-5 back in August 2020. The lure of a full restoration and a powerful Jaguar V6 soon got the better of me, so off it went.

What we have now, is a very nimble and exciting classic hot-rod.

All the great NA MX5 handling traits still stand, but without the usual chassis flex/wobble which has been cured by the chassis rails and roll-bar.

I’ve fitted rather modest Toyo tyres so you don’t have to be going at warp speeds to enjoy the car’s limits. Something that plagues modern cars.

This car is a huge amount of fun on a twisty country road with enough poke and agility to see off most performance vehicles. It really is an event to drive!

It's quite a good tourer too. Plenty of torque and a reasonably long 5th gear make mile munching at speed, quite effortless.

So after all that, why am I selling it?

Pure and simple, I’ve got too many toys and not enough time to make use of them all. I’m aware of how conceited that may sound, but it’s the truth.