RE: Shed of the Week: Mazda MX-5

[anonymous-user]

As others have said - an NB with rust showing - no thanks, it'll be totally screwed underneath and along the chassis legs. I looked at what appeared to be a mint one before I got my 3rd NA, but it just wasn't worth the risk, at least an NA can be easily fixed.

But....I didn't know they could have heated seats - can you retro-fit those into an NA and get them working somehow??

EDIT : you can buy elements to fit into a mk1:
https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/seat-heater-mk1-25-1989...

I'm getting one of those for my NA, winter driving will be much nicer.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 19th January 11:36

[daemon]

JimSuperSix said:

But....I didn't know they could have heated seats - can you retro-fit those into an NA and get them working somehow??

As the seats fit, yes i'd have thought so. Cant be difficult to rig the wiring - although there are aftermarket kits about

[anonymous-user]

Useful link to snotrag's rustproofing instructions. Somehow managed to miss that when I was considering buying a 2.5 last summer, despite using the search function/google.

Crying shame Hiroshima didn't sort them out right in the first place. If cars rusted throughout America the way they do in this country, perhaps there would've been a class action lawsuit against them by now.

I've read scare stories from buyers of brand new NDs, who've taken delivery of them, looked underneath, and apparently not liked the level of treatment they've seen.

[Tin Hat]

JimSuperSix said:

As others have said - an NB with rust showing - no thanks, it'll be totally screwed underneath and along the chassis legs. I looked at what appeared to be a mint one before I got my 3rd NA, but it just wasn't worth the risk, at least an NA can be easily fixed.

But....I didn't know they could have heated seats - can you retro-fit those into an NA and get them working somehow??

As these cars are generally driven by hairdressers, you could probably warm yourself up with the hairdryer that the last owner may have left in the boot.

Joking aside, this looks like a hoot for the money, they do seem to shrug off high mileage

[8IKERDAVE]

That seems very cheap! I had a 02 1.6 a couple of years ago and sold it for £1600. Loved that car, it had a wheezy engine but it was so 'thrashy'. I had Toyo Proxes on it which suited it nicely and a custom backbox so with the roof down it gave the full sports car experience. Every petrolhead should own one of these at some point.

[alorotom]

!.8 litre engine ... impressive lol

Driven a few mx5s and always liked them but not enough to purchase one, and not quite sure why - I’ve had a few cliched cars so that element doesn’t bother me in the slightest

Looks reasonable but I don’t know about picking up one that’s rusty as hell for peanuts and then spending the money on the refurb ?!?

[griffdude]

Current owner of both a MK1 & Mk2.5, both not succumbed to the tin-worm but have been well looked after. Rust is fixable.
The MK1 definitely feels it’s light weight but the MK2.5 has a lot more chassis rigidity. But both great cars & as other posters have said, have a drive of one.
Here’s the MK1
https://youtu.be/Q5QIBh2zZu0
Here’s the MK2.5
https://youtu.be/LLoP9NRiOyo

[dotgillingham]

I gave up looking for 2.5 MX-5s. They are cheap, but usually with good reason - rusty as hell and/or no service history to speak of.

Anything half decent with reasonable mileage and only minor bubbling is now £3k plus.

Cars at this level (£1.5 to 2k) are a massive punt. Which I didn't take.

P.S. I'm not averse to risk - I bought an Alfa instead

[sgtBerbatov]

TimHorn said:

Great car, but I'm 6'2" and don't fit. And if Mrs Shed is 6'2" wide, I can't imagine how she fits either!!!!!

I'm 6ft 3" and wanted an MX-5. Thank you for ruining the dream.

[Hammerhead]

TristPerrin said:

The inside of the boot lid had a little bit of bubbling on the support structure welds and around the number plate lights. This is probably the worst bit of NC rust generally and it's very easy to fix; since you can see it from the outside I rubbed it all down and gave it a bit of primer and paint and it's fine now.

Just seconding this. It's not an issue on NC's as the bootlid is aluminium. It's oxidation rather than rust proper - no holes will appear We've had our '10 NC.5 since new (now at 83k miles) and bar the same bubbling around the number plate lights, it's spotless above and below. I do make sure it's cleaned/washed properly which I'm sure has helped preserve it.

[classicyanktanks]

I paid £650 for this one for my GF I love it ! reminds me very much of a MK1 Elan and a Mk1 Frogeye (except everything works). As you can see "birds" love it.

[Collaudatore]

sgtBerbatov said:

I'm 6ft 3" and wanted an MX-5. Thank you for ruining the dream.

I'm 6ft 3 and managed to spend a good couple of years in a MK1

[anonymous-user]

Tin Hat said:

JimSuperSix said:

As others have said - an NB with rust showing - no thanks, it'll be totally screwed underneath and along the chassis legs. I looked at what appeared to be a mint one before I got my 3rd NA, but it just wasn't worth the risk, at least an NA can be easily fixed.

But....I didn't know they could have heated seats - can you retro-fit those into an NA and get them working somehow??

As these cars are generally driven by hairdressers, you could probably warm yourself up with the hairdryer that the last owner may have left in the boot.

Yeah I tried that, but there's nowhere to plug it in

I wouldn't be the slightest bit worried about no service history or anything else, all parts are dirt cheap and readily available and they're tough little cars and very simple to work on and fix, but I wouldn't risk an NB just because of those chassis leg rust issues.

[treeroy]

sgtBerbatov said:

I'm 6ft 3" and wanted an MX-5. Thank you for ruining the dream.

Don't believe them. I'm 6" and had miles (well...) of headroom in my MX-5. My 6'2 dad could drive it confortably too. Different body shapes suit different cars. Some people may not be fine but most will be. You could try sitting in one to find out for yourself.

[DailyHack]

I do like the idea of these, but achingly boring...Mk1 would be little more interesting...at least to look at

[kuro]

TristPerrin said:

Huge Mx-5 fan but I wouldn't touch an NB of any variety.

They're more prone to rust than a NA (and that's saying somthing!) and the rust issues these suffer on the front chassis legs is very well documented; It's a matter of when, rather than if.
Wait a few years and get an NC, that's what I did

+1, I wouldn't touch one of these without a thorough inspection. Not keen on the mk2s styling either.

[classicyanktanks]

treeroy said:

sgtBerbatov said:

I'm 6ft 3" and wanted an MX-5. Thank you for ruining the dream.

Don't believe them. I'm 6" and had miles (well...) of headroom in my MX-5. My 6'2 dad could drive it confortably too. Different body shapes suit different cars. Some people may not be fine but most will be. You could try sitting in one to find out for yourself.

6'3 and I fit in it easily. Getting outs hilariousbut same with all low cars

[treeroy]

DailyHack said:

I do like the idea of these, but achingly boring...Mk1 would be little more interesting...at least to look at

they are really good fun. Because they're not very powerful you end up thrashing it to get the performance out, which is good fun. They corner well but there is a fair bit of body roll. Steering and especially the gear change is fantastic. You feel like part of the car. Mk1 and Mk2 are very similar cars, the only real advantages of mk1 are the looks - pop up headlights and retro interior are pretty cool I agree. Could also make a case for the mk1's smaller wheels being a big difference and make it more engaging. Otherwise, to drive, they're very similar. some mk1's dont have ABS which will make a difference. Mk2 has a little more grunt.

[daemon]

treeroy said:

sgtBerbatov said:

I'm 6ft 3" and wanted an MX-5. Thank you for ruining the dream.

Don't believe them. I'm 6" and had miles (well...) of headroom in my MX-5. My 6'2 dad could drive it confortably too. Different body shapes suit different cars. Some people may not be fine but most will be. You could try sitting in one to find out for yourself.

+1

I'm 6ft tall and have had various NAs and NBs with no issues at all.

[daemon]

DailyHack said:

I do like the idea of these, but achingly boring...Mk1 would be little more interesting...at least to look at

+1

Plus if you had to spend a bit on a mk1 you would feel it was worthwhile.

The mk2 is a bit of a non car in that particular colour / spec combo.