Meet Junc, my mariner blue Eunos
Discussion
Just before Christmas, a friend of mine was made redundant. As a result he was looking to sell his beloved DC2 Integra which he had splurged much man love over, and get something cheap until he got back into work.
'Teg duly sold, he was on the lookout for cheap, enjoyable and hassle free motoring for a few months.
Along came a '5, (with much prodding on my behalf)....
An imported '91 1.6 Eunos Roadster, a few miles down the road. We went to have a look, and found a rust free, well looked after example, at a decent price. I'd already agreed that as long as it was decent when bought, if he wanted to sell it, I'd buy it for what he paid.
Done deal.
He then went and fitted some nice-ish wheels and tyres, got back into work, and hankered for another DC2.
So JUNC became mine! mwahahahahah. (and I only paid the money he originally paid, hence getting a free set of new wheels and tyres! Result)
Shown above at Goodwood's Soft Top Sunday Breakfast Club, the morning after picking the car up.
Since then, I've determined the following:
It's got:
(I believe) a MX5 Parts dual exit exhaust;
lowering springs (on knackered dampers);
mazdaspeed strut brace;
Garage Vary front lip;
Rota Grid V wheels (believed to be the only ones in the country in this size, for what that counts for, I don't know);
and now a Alpine headunit.
It needs:
New coilovers and full geo (probably Gaz Gold Pros and WIM alignment)
Half cage (either Hard Dog or custom from a local Britcar spaceframe firm)
1.8 discs and caliper carriers with decent discs and pads
A little bit of cosmetic sorting (ding on the front passenger wing, few places where lacquer is peeling slightly)
Also tempted by going for a standalone ECU as an initial tuning step, to see what can be done with the engine as is, before doing anything else, but one that is able to cope with any other upgrades like fans made by Eaton!
...I'm sure other jobs/things will rear their heads as well!
Maintenance wise, I've clay barred, cleaned, polished and waxed it (not going to call it 'detailed' cause it's not), fitted new gearshift boots/bushings, and just had the brake system fully flushed and bled.
Some more pics:
(With my soon to be sold other toy)
Not too bad underneath, especially for a 20 year old car known for rotting!
Thanks for looking, any comments, suggestions or tips gratefully received..
Sam
'Teg duly sold, he was on the lookout for cheap, enjoyable and hassle free motoring for a few months.
Along came a '5, (with much prodding on my behalf)....
An imported '91 1.6 Eunos Roadster, a few miles down the road. We went to have a look, and found a rust free, well looked after example, at a decent price. I'd already agreed that as long as it was decent when bought, if he wanted to sell it, I'd buy it for what he paid.
Done deal.
He then went and fitted some nice-ish wheels and tyres, got back into work, and hankered for another DC2.
So JUNC became mine! mwahahahahah. (and I only paid the money he originally paid, hence getting a free set of new wheels and tyres! Result)
Shown above at Goodwood's Soft Top Sunday Breakfast Club, the morning after picking the car up.
Since then, I've determined the following:
It's got:
(I believe) a MX5 Parts dual exit exhaust;
lowering springs (on knackered dampers);
mazdaspeed strut brace;
Garage Vary front lip;
Rota Grid V wheels (believed to be the only ones in the country in this size, for what that counts for, I don't know);
and now a Alpine headunit.
It needs:
New coilovers and full geo (probably Gaz Gold Pros and WIM alignment)
Half cage (either Hard Dog or custom from a local Britcar spaceframe firm)
1.8 discs and caliper carriers with decent discs and pads
A little bit of cosmetic sorting (ding on the front passenger wing, few places where lacquer is peeling slightly)
Also tempted by going for a standalone ECU as an initial tuning step, to see what can be done with the engine as is, before doing anything else, but one that is able to cope with any other upgrades like fans made by Eaton!
...I'm sure other jobs/things will rear their heads as well!
Maintenance wise, I've clay barred, cleaned, polished and waxed it (not going to call it 'detailed' cause it's not), fitted new gearshift boots/bushings, and just had the brake system fully flushed and bled.
Some more pics:
(With my soon to be sold other toy)
Not too bad underneath, especially for a 20 year old car known for rotting!
Thanks for looking, any comments, suggestions or tips gratefully received..
Sam
Neutral_Nas said:
Very nice mate, good lick with your upgrades, what sort of ECU are you going for, Megasquirt/E-manage??
Cheers, no idea on ECU at the mo, or even if it's worth going down prior to other engine work....Just thinking that with modern management/mapping, I should be able to get driveability improvements and potentially a little more power, especially if running super unleaded.
Megasquirt is the way to go. Diyautotune do a diy plug+play kit with the correct Nippon connectors.
I've been contemplating it for ages, got the guide book etc, just not took the jump (I also would gave to buy a laptop to tune).
By all accounts there are some not huge, but noticeable gainsto be had, ditch the MAF get a nice intake and a good tune and you can release a few mire ponies, a smoother power curve and better mpg.
I've been contemplating it for ages, got the guide book etc, just not took the jump (I also would gave to buy a laptop to tune).
By all accounts there are some not huge, but noticeable gainsto be had, ditch the MAF get a nice intake and a good tune and you can release a few mire ponies, a smoother power curve and better mpg.
Mini update:
Yesterday did a foamectomy to the drivers seat, read up, and a common theme was people doing it a second time to remove more from the base.
Couldn't be bothered with that, so took my brave pills and hacked off a manly chunk from the base. Stitched it all back up with zip ties, and its perfect. Much better driving position, and massively increased lateral support.
Do need a dished wheel now though to really take advantage of the change..
Also, yanked off the style bar, and had a chat with a mate about making a rollbar.
He runs a firm making spaceframe chassis/rollcages for allsorts, Britcar, Drag, loads of proper racecars, all FIA approved specs.
Looking to make a cage with the best bits of the various TR Lane/Harddog rollbars, but in simply massive od steel tubing (very thin wall due to the inherent strength of the massive diameter) - think he said its 54mm od!
Plan at the mo is the front loop to be as wide as possible, running down to the floor behind the seats (got small legs even though I'm 6'), wide backstays running as far back from the front hoop as possible without removing the possibility later of a glass rear window roof, some form of diagonals, and seat bars running to as close to the front wheel arches as possible.
He's got the experience to make sure it's properly strong, but fit nicely. Should look pretty industrial as well, while actually being pretty light. We shall see, got a bathroom to fit first!
Only issue is measurements of a glass window roof to make sure it'll fit...
Anyone local to me who'll let me clamber over their car to make measurements (South Coast, but working in Central Manchester during the week)
Time for some roof down fun, Happy Easter!
Sam
Yesterday did a foamectomy to the drivers seat, read up, and a common theme was people doing it a second time to remove more from the base.
Couldn't be bothered with that, so took my brave pills and hacked off a manly chunk from the base. Stitched it all back up with zip ties, and its perfect. Much better driving position, and massively increased lateral support.
Do need a dished wheel now though to really take advantage of the change..
Also, yanked off the style bar, and had a chat with a mate about making a rollbar.
He runs a firm making spaceframe chassis/rollcages for allsorts, Britcar, Drag, loads of proper racecars, all FIA approved specs.
Looking to make a cage with the best bits of the various TR Lane/Harddog rollbars, but in simply massive od steel tubing (very thin wall due to the inherent strength of the massive diameter) - think he said its 54mm od!
Plan at the mo is the front loop to be as wide as possible, running down to the floor behind the seats (got small legs even though I'm 6'), wide backstays running as far back from the front hoop as possible without removing the possibility later of a glass rear window roof, some form of diagonals, and seat bars running to as close to the front wheel arches as possible.
He's got the experience to make sure it's properly strong, but fit nicely. Should look pretty industrial as well, while actually being pretty light. We shall see, got a bathroom to fit first!
Only issue is measurements of a glass window roof to make sure it'll fit...
Anyone local to me who'll let me clamber over their car to make measurements (South Coast, but working in Central Manchester during the week)
Time for some roof down fun, Happy Easter!
Sam
Been nearly six months, time for an update.
Been absolutely loving this car, even though it's running on knackered 20 year old dampers. So much so, that despite working away from home all week, I've had to increase my limited mileage on my insurance policy twice!
The missus loves it too, which makes spending money on it much easier!
So, done a few more little jobs prior to spending some more than the car originally cost me!
1) Removed the headunit, and replaced it with a cheap amp to run music/nav/radio from my phone. Still a work in progress, my electronics skills aren't very developed. I've found an issue with the earthing (phone is powered from the cig lighter, amp direct to battery and earthed to the seat mounting bolt) which causes a lot of interference noise when the phone is plugged into power. Need to create/connect a cig lighter socket to the same points as the amp. Also need to create a method of adjusting the volume mechanically, as the software volume control on the phone leads to either whisper quiet, or earbleedingly loud. At the moment I just use some decent headphones, worked absolutely fine for a couple of hundred mile jaunt to Southend and back.
2) Completed a service, both accessory belts, oil, filters. Need to book in a cambelt and waterpump change.
3)Removed the outside front bumper stays - which markedly reduces the incurve at the lower edge of the bumper - makes it look more manly and covers the front tyres a bit better.
4) Just removed the rear spoiler. It was bodged on, and has left a nice hole and scraped paint so I think for the time being I'm going to rattlecan it satin black, whilst I source a new bootlid and front wings (they have lots of little dings), and get a full respray (still Mariner Blue) from Painter Dave off of Nutz.
Planned to do:
Sort the audio out properly. Still not sure of the best route, but the actions I put above should cost the square root of bugger all, and will allow me to figure out exactly what I do want.
CAS o-ring replacement. Think I'll do this at the weekend, but the t'other half is having an op on Thursday so it'll depend on how she's feeling. I'll get the timing shifted to 14* BTDC at the same time.
Full underseal as per Snotrag's excellent How-To in readiness for winter.
New suspension - thinking Meister R coilovers. I like the separate adjustment for ride height without effecting preload or shock travel. Also like the fact they come with new tophats in the Mk2 style which gives more travel at the rear.
Frame rails and possibly butterfly brace, depends on how it feels once the cage materialises (a friend is working on it in his spare time, which he hasn't had much of as his work has gone through the roof).
MINI supercharger. Already bought a few bits for it on the cheap, but there's no rush to get this done. It will happen at some point though.
Need to take some more pics (must clean it first!) - I'll get them up soon.
Gotta say, a big part of the enjoyment I've had with this car has been reading up the experiences of the multitude of differing owners (and tastes!) of people in the MX5 section here, and MX5Nutz. ClubRoadster is worth a look too, but it is very 'scene' orientated and can be full of LOLWUTNOOOB muppets.
Thanks for looking.
Sam
(oh, nearly forgot, replaced the gearknob for a No. 2 poolball. The colour matches, it feels good in the hand, and there's a sentimental reason behind the number. Just need to add a little weight in the form of a melted down fishing weight to make it perfect)
Been absolutely loving this car, even though it's running on knackered 20 year old dampers. So much so, that despite working away from home all week, I've had to increase my limited mileage on my insurance policy twice!
The missus loves it too, which makes spending money on it much easier!
So, done a few more little jobs prior to spending some more than the car originally cost me!
1) Removed the headunit, and replaced it with a cheap amp to run music/nav/radio from my phone. Still a work in progress, my electronics skills aren't very developed. I've found an issue with the earthing (phone is powered from the cig lighter, amp direct to battery and earthed to the seat mounting bolt) which causes a lot of interference noise when the phone is plugged into power. Need to create/connect a cig lighter socket to the same points as the amp. Also need to create a method of adjusting the volume mechanically, as the software volume control on the phone leads to either whisper quiet, or earbleedingly loud. At the moment I just use some decent headphones, worked absolutely fine for a couple of hundred mile jaunt to Southend and back.
2) Completed a service, both accessory belts, oil, filters. Need to book in a cambelt and waterpump change.
3)Removed the outside front bumper stays - which markedly reduces the incurve at the lower edge of the bumper - makes it look more manly and covers the front tyres a bit better.
4) Just removed the rear spoiler. It was bodged on, and has left a nice hole and scraped paint so I think for the time being I'm going to rattlecan it satin black, whilst I source a new bootlid and front wings (they have lots of little dings), and get a full respray (still Mariner Blue) from Painter Dave off of Nutz.
Planned to do:
Sort the audio out properly. Still not sure of the best route, but the actions I put above should cost the square root of bugger all, and will allow me to figure out exactly what I do want.
CAS o-ring replacement. Think I'll do this at the weekend, but the t'other half is having an op on Thursday so it'll depend on how she's feeling. I'll get the timing shifted to 14* BTDC at the same time.
Full underseal as per Snotrag's excellent How-To in readiness for winter.
New suspension - thinking Meister R coilovers. I like the separate adjustment for ride height without effecting preload or shock travel. Also like the fact they come with new tophats in the Mk2 style which gives more travel at the rear.
Frame rails and possibly butterfly brace, depends on how it feels once the cage materialises (a friend is working on it in his spare time, which he hasn't had much of as his work has gone through the roof).
MINI supercharger. Already bought a few bits for it on the cheap, but there's no rush to get this done. It will happen at some point though.
Need to take some more pics (must clean it first!) - I'll get them up soon.
Gotta say, a big part of the enjoyment I've had with this car has been reading up the experiences of the multitude of differing owners (and tastes!) of people in the MX5 section here, and MX5Nutz. ClubRoadster is worth a look too, but it is very 'scene' orientated and can be full of LOLWUTNOOOB muppets.
Thanks for looking.
Sam
(oh, nearly forgot, replaced the gearknob for a No. 2 poolball. The colour matches, it feels good in the hand, and there's a sentimental reason behind the number. Just need to add a little weight in the form of a melted down fishing weight to make it perfect)
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