Project track hound - Budget Mx5 build
Discussion
Having spent the last few years debating the costs of track days, I have finally decided that 2010 is the year of the track day (as opposed to the tiger, which the Chinese would claim).
I decided I wanted something similar to my Z4C in layout (front engine, rear drive) but without the high running costs and painful financial implication of bending it.
Additionally it needed to be small enough to be worked on in my garage as well as good enough and reliable enough not to require too many hours in spannering time. With that in mind and ebay in hand I went shopping.
The result was a 1991, non-abs, 1.6 Mx5 (this is pistonheads) with power steering, full MOT and tax for just under a bag of sand.
The plan is to build a budget track day car. Given that these cars handle pretty well out of the box, I am going to try and keep it as simple as possible, with probably a brake overhaul and a smattering of safety equipment.
The drive home (as ever with a newly purchased car) was nervy, with my ears pricked for sounds of impending failure and my eyes glued to the temperature and oil pressure gauges. However the mazda sang all the way home with the only concern being a slightly sticky hand brake cable giving me trouble at the traffic lights just before my house.
Having had the car a few weeks now, I’ve had time to give the car the once over
Considering the age of the car, it looks in pretty good condition for the money, especially compared to a lot of the rubbish I looked at before hand.
All the arches & wings look in good condition.
I cleared the drain holes and very little water was released suggesting there hasn’t been any long standing problems.
Looking at the back of the car a new backbox has been added at some point…
…and new rear springs although the subframe it’s self looks pretty rusty (but not terminal)
The brakes look like they’re in reasonable condition to with a decent amount of pad and disc life left but as I plan to change the pads I might as well change the discs at the same time.
I have scrapped my original plan to replace the brake hoses with braided items as the general consensus seems to be that there aren’t noticeably better than good condition items which the ones on the car seem to be
When I brought the car, the V5 stated the car was first registered in 2001, despite being a 91 car. Given that there are loads of Japanese imports out there and the general lack of body rust on the wings and arches I assumed it was just another Jap import. However the car was badged as a UK spec Mx5 leading me to dig a little further.
Reading through the paper work, the car is an import, just not a Japanese one. The car spent the first 10 years of it’s life in Jersey and the last 5 in a garage covering about a 1000 miles a year, which probably explains it’s relatively good condition.
Will update more when I’ve got some time to type it out and have got a bit more progress.
Any suggestions on how to do this would be appreciated…….
I decided I wanted something similar to my Z4C in layout (front engine, rear drive) but without the high running costs and painful financial implication of bending it.
Additionally it needed to be small enough to be worked on in my garage as well as good enough and reliable enough not to require too many hours in spannering time. With that in mind and ebay in hand I went shopping.
The result was a 1991, non-abs, 1.6 Mx5 (this is pistonheads) with power steering, full MOT and tax for just under a bag of sand.
The plan is to build a budget track day car. Given that these cars handle pretty well out of the box, I am going to try and keep it as simple as possible, with probably a brake overhaul and a smattering of safety equipment.
The drive home (as ever with a newly purchased car) was nervy, with my ears pricked for sounds of impending failure and my eyes glued to the temperature and oil pressure gauges. However the mazda sang all the way home with the only concern being a slightly sticky hand brake cable giving me trouble at the traffic lights just before my house.
Having had the car a few weeks now, I’ve had time to give the car the once over
Considering the age of the car, it looks in pretty good condition for the money, especially compared to a lot of the rubbish I looked at before hand.
All the arches & wings look in good condition.
I cleared the drain holes and very little water was released suggesting there hasn’t been any long standing problems.
Looking at the back of the car a new backbox has been added at some point…
…and new rear springs although the subframe it’s self looks pretty rusty (but not terminal)
The brakes look like they’re in reasonable condition to with a decent amount of pad and disc life left but as I plan to change the pads I might as well change the discs at the same time.
I have scrapped my original plan to replace the brake hoses with braided items as the general consensus seems to be that there aren’t noticeably better than good condition items which the ones on the car seem to be
When I brought the car, the V5 stated the car was first registered in 2001, despite being a 91 car. Given that there are loads of Japanese imports out there and the general lack of body rust on the wings and arches I assumed it was just another Jap import. However the car was badged as a UK spec Mx5 leading me to dig a little further.
Reading through the paper work, the car is an import, just not a Japanese one. The car spent the first 10 years of it’s life in Jersey and the last 5 in a garage covering about a 1000 miles a year, which probably explains it’s relatively good condition.
Will update more when I’ve got some time to type it out and have got a bit more progress.
Any suggestions on how to do this would be appreciated…….
Sounds like you got a great buy there!
I bought an MX5 a few weeks ago (a '97 1.8) for £1,450 as a fun car with a plan to do some track days after 3 years of Lotus Elise ownership when I was to scared to track it because of the possibility of big repair bills if I bent it.
You've certainly got one thing right though, my car is a non PAS model and it's bloody heavy, even after the non-assisted Lotus.
I'll be watching this with interest
I bought an MX5 a few weeks ago (a '97 1.8) for £1,450 as a fun car with a plan to do some track days after 3 years of Lotus Elise ownership when I was to scared to track it because of the possibility of big repair bills if I bent it.
You've certainly got one thing right though, my car is a non PAS model and it's bloody heavy, even after the non-assisted Lotus.
I'll be watching this with interest
Thanks for the encouragement guys. (No pressure to finish then :-))
Jamiebae – 1.8 you’ve got sounds good, the extra couple of horsepower gives it that bit more urge on the track. Sounds like you got a bargain as all the 1.8’s I went to look at were either basket cases or were selling for a lot more
Madrob6 – The rust on the roll bar was something I had been trying to ignore, it is fairly crusty and suspension is a bit outside of my skill set. I gave it a poke today and it didn’t crumble into nothing which I guess is a good sign, but I will need to decide if I should swap it out or grind it back before the next track day.
As for the car I dropped an order into mx5parts for a set of front and rear pads and discs. I had also previously picked up a couple of Mx5 manuals off amazon which have come in useful.
I decided to go for EBC red stuff pads on the front and genuine Mazda items on the rear with generic discs.
I was originally going to get Axis brake pads on the front after reading good things on the forums but the only people I could find who sell them in the UK is performance5 who never seem to answer their phone so I went with EBC’s.
Given this is a budget build and a lot of the stuff I’ve read says the stock Mx5 brakes are fine on the track I thought I would try this setup and upgrade later if I have problems rather than shell out straight away.
I was going to put in a order for a bunch of service items, but a quick once over showed that everything had been changed fairly recently (although the air filter was a bit dirty) so I’ve decided to bank the cash for now and service the car after the first couple of track days.
I did however pick up some differential and gearbox oil along with a load of 5.1 brake fluid from the local motor factors as these rarely get changed in routine servicing.
Jamiebae – 1.8 you’ve got sounds good, the extra couple of horsepower gives it that bit more urge on the track. Sounds like you got a bargain as all the 1.8’s I went to look at were either basket cases or were selling for a lot more
Madrob6 – The rust on the roll bar was something I had been trying to ignore, it is fairly crusty and suspension is a bit outside of my skill set. I gave it a poke today and it didn’t crumble into nothing which I guess is a good sign, but I will need to decide if I should swap it out or grind it back before the next track day.
As for the car I dropped an order into mx5parts for a set of front and rear pads and discs. I had also previously picked up a couple of Mx5 manuals off amazon which have come in useful.
I decided to go for EBC red stuff pads on the front and genuine Mazda items on the rear with generic discs.
I was originally going to get Axis brake pads on the front after reading good things on the forums but the only people I could find who sell them in the UK is performance5 who never seem to answer their phone so I went with EBC’s.
Given this is a budget build and a lot of the stuff I’ve read says the stock Mx5 brakes are fine on the track I thought I would try this setup and upgrade later if I have problems rather than shell out straight away.
I was going to put in a order for a bunch of service items, but a quick once over showed that everything had been changed fairly recently (although the air filter was a bit dirty) so I’ve decided to bank the cash for now and service the car after the first couple of track days.
I did however pick up some differential and gearbox oil along with a load of 5.1 brake fluid from the local motor factors as these rarely get changed in routine servicing.
Edited by (steven) on Sunday 3rd January 21:35
steven said:
I did however pick up some differential and gearbox oil along with a load of 5.1 brake fluid from the local motor factors as these rarely get changed in routine servicing.
A good tip I got from here is when changing gearbox or diff oil is to always undo the filler plug first. That way if it's seized or shears off you still have the old oil in the to drive the car with - if you'd already drained the old fluids you'd be buggered.Edited by sniff diesel on Monday 4th January 11:23
I'd change the anti roll bar if I were you, also a good excuse to replace the bushes for it whilst you're there. Doesn't look hard to do, just a couple of clamps and the joints at either end.
I've had one snap on me before on a mighty 1.4 Escort whilst going around a mighty mini roundabout. Car was still drivable but it made an almighty bang when it went but I wouldn't want it to happen on track.
I've had one snap on me before on a mighty 1.4 Escort whilst going around a mighty mini roundabout. Car was still drivable but it made an almighty bang when it went but I wouldn't want it to happen on track.
Sniff– A useful tip and one I will apply when I get round to the diff
Madrob – Had a quick search around and autolink are doing refurbished roll bars for £40 so if the roll bar doesn’t sand down maybe I will go that way. Mx5 parts are doing some adjustable ones but at more than £300 that would take this build firmly out of its “budget” objective
Jimbo – Excellent news. It’s always good to get confirmation that your not making crazy decisions!
Robert – Don’t tempt me, that Nissan 200 swap suggestion had me heading straight for google, although my more sensible side tells me that if I was going to put more power in it I would want a full roll cage and for the moment I am going with this……
My TR lane GP roll bar. I spec’ed a diagonal brace and a harness bar for extra rigidity and hopefully saftey. Making a decision on this took some time as the internet is full of somewhat imperfect information on the subject but it came down to either a Hard Dog or a TR lane device.
I decided against a full on roll cage, partly on price and partly because I’m planning to drive to and from track days and the OMP cage I saw wasn’t compatible with a roof.
Having got a quote for the Harddog which was more than a full FIA roll cage I decided on the TR lane option.
TR lane actually do a range of different roll bars but I went with the GP bar as it sits further back and appears to gives more seat space, but hopefully I will never need to find out if I’ve made the right choice or not.
With an ever-growing pile of cars parts mounting up I decided to make a start on the car. As my garage has a slight slope on it, I am doing the front end of the car first and then I am going to turn it around and do the rear half.
I started by taking off the front wheel arch liners to check to see if there was any hidden rot.
The good news is it actually looks pretty good. There were some pieces of flaky underseal and the odd patch of surface rust, mainly where the arch meet the liner and around the brake hose clamp.
I sanded it down with a wire brush, covered it in rust eater, and patched it back up with underseal.
Not a perfect repair by any means but should keep the rust in check for the next couple of year which should be long enough before something else goes bang.
Next job was to replace the brakes, which was my first attempt at ‘doing brakes’. A job made a lot easier by the use of an electric impact wrench and the fact that I realised (half way through) that turning the steering to the end of it’s lock provided a lot more working room (I was having a slow day).
As already mentioned, the existing pads and discs looked in good nick….
…but I wanted some higher performance pads give the cars future usage
In the end, I rebuilt and stripped the front brakes a couple of times. EBC seem to coat the backing of their pads in really thick paint that made the pads stick in the clips which made me uncertain about their operations. In the end I sanded the paint down around the clips and now the pads sit much better on the carriers.
With the new brakes in place, I bled through the system with 5.1. The fluid was just off the shelf stuff. If I start getting issues I might research the issue more but for now this will hopefully do.
(Guess what I had for tea the night before)
While I’ve decided not to give the car a full service given it all looks fairy fresh under the bonnet I did take the opportunity to switch the air filter as the old one was looking a little dirty and at £4, why not.
Next step is to turn the car around, change the rear brakes and fit the roll bar.
Madrob – Had a quick search around and autolink are doing refurbished roll bars for £40 so if the roll bar doesn’t sand down maybe I will go that way. Mx5 parts are doing some adjustable ones but at more than £300 that would take this build firmly out of its “budget” objective
Jimbo – Excellent news. It’s always good to get confirmation that your not making crazy decisions!
Robert – Don’t tempt me, that Nissan 200 swap suggestion had me heading straight for google, although my more sensible side tells me that if I was going to put more power in it I would want a full roll cage and for the moment I am going with this……
My TR lane GP roll bar. I spec’ed a diagonal brace and a harness bar for extra rigidity and hopefully saftey. Making a decision on this took some time as the internet is full of somewhat imperfect information on the subject but it came down to either a Hard Dog or a TR lane device.
I decided against a full on roll cage, partly on price and partly because I’m planning to drive to and from track days and the OMP cage I saw wasn’t compatible with a roof.
Having got a quote for the Harddog which was more than a full FIA roll cage I decided on the TR lane option.
TR lane actually do a range of different roll bars but I went with the GP bar as it sits further back and appears to gives more seat space, but hopefully I will never need to find out if I’ve made the right choice or not.
With an ever-growing pile of cars parts mounting up I decided to make a start on the car. As my garage has a slight slope on it, I am doing the front end of the car first and then I am going to turn it around and do the rear half.
I started by taking off the front wheel arch liners to check to see if there was any hidden rot.
The good news is it actually looks pretty good. There were some pieces of flaky underseal and the odd patch of surface rust, mainly where the arch meet the liner and around the brake hose clamp.
I sanded it down with a wire brush, covered it in rust eater, and patched it back up with underseal.
Not a perfect repair by any means but should keep the rust in check for the next couple of year which should be long enough before something else goes bang.
Next job was to replace the brakes, which was my first attempt at ‘doing brakes’. A job made a lot easier by the use of an electric impact wrench and the fact that I realised (half way through) that turning the steering to the end of it’s lock provided a lot more working room (I was having a slow day).
As already mentioned, the existing pads and discs looked in good nick….
…but I wanted some higher performance pads give the cars future usage
In the end, I rebuilt and stripped the front brakes a couple of times. EBC seem to coat the backing of their pads in really thick paint that made the pads stick in the clips which made me uncertain about their operations. In the end I sanded the paint down around the clips and now the pads sit much better on the carriers.
With the new brakes in place, I bled through the system with 5.1. The fluid was just off the shelf stuff. If I start getting issues I might research the issue more but for now this will hopefully do.
(Guess what I had for tea the night before)
While I’ve decided not to give the car a full service given it all looks fairy fresh under the bonnet I did take the opportunity to switch the air filter as the old one was looking a little dirty and at £4, why not.
Next step is to turn the car around, change the rear brakes and fit the roll bar.
i have done almost the same thing a couple of years ago
http://sites.google.com/site/phoenixraceworx/home
you don't need to go any further in order to get a particularly good track car.
you will be amazed what you can keep honest with a well set up 5 (having gone to 'Lotus on track' days, it was only the racing elises and exiges that were any faster)
Have a read!
Greg
http://sites.google.com/site/phoenixraceworx/home
you don't need to go any further in order to get a particularly good track car.
you will be amazed what you can keep honest with a well set up 5 (having gone to 'Lotus on track' days, it was only the racing elises and exiges that were any faster)
Have a read!
Greg
Greg_D said:
i have done almost the same thing a couple of years ago
http://sites.google.com/site/phoenixraceworx/home
Greg
Interesting read, thanks for posting the link. Quick question. What seats did you go for in your car, given I'm quite tall my head is going to be above the roll bar when I have a helmet on so I am thinking about swapping mine out. http://sites.google.com/site/phoenixraceworx/home
Greg
I love the wheels by the way. My car is on 14's and to keep tyre costs down I should probably look at getting some budget 15's once I've worn out the tyres the car is currently wearing.
we went for some cheapo ebay cobra bucket seats that we had to fab some mounting brackets for. I hear that elise seats bolt right in and are a lot lower and lighter than standard.
if you are really tall it may be worthwhile bolting some seats permanently onto the floor in your driving position, you can't get any lower than that!!!!!
Greg
if you are really tall it may be worthwhile bolting some seats permanently onto the floor in your driving position, you can't get any lower than that!!!!!
Greg
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