Mk1 MX5 1.6, i've finally done it
Discussion
Yes, yes, another god damn Mx5, but I dont care 
They've always been a bit of bucket list car for me and i've finally been in a situation where I can afford to get one on the side (with the use of much man maths).
So here she is:
Spec: 1990 UK Spec 1.6 114(ish)hp, pulls very well!
147k on the clocks
Good bits:
Respray about 2 years
Mk2 roof with a heated rear screen, reasonably new.
Sills repaired by the looks of it
Good bodywork
6 months MOT, no advisories on last one
Bought from a big mx5 enthusiast who seems to have owned a few!
Bad bits:
Needs an exhaust
Bit rusty underneath (suspension components etc)
Few little oil leaks
Could do with a suspension refresh
Overall i'm going into ownership excited but nervous about what needs doing. If i'm honest i bought with heart over my head, but it looks so good I dont care too much.
I paid old style shed money for it and think its got good value in it if it all goes wrong
Insurance is the cheapest ive ever bought (£350, i'm 26 years old)
It's going to be a bit of a work in progress
Looking forward to picking it up tomorrow!
They've always been a bit of bucket list car for me and i've finally been in a situation where I can afford to get one on the side (with the use of much man maths).So here she is:
Spec: 1990 UK Spec 1.6 114(ish)hp, pulls very well!
147k on the clocks
Good bits:
Respray about 2 years
Mk2 roof with a heated rear screen, reasonably new.
Sills repaired by the looks of it
Good bodywork
6 months MOT, no advisories on last one
Bought from a big mx5 enthusiast who seems to have owned a few!
Bad bits:
Needs an exhaust
Bit rusty underneath (suspension components etc)
Few little oil leaks
Could do with a suspension refresh
Overall i'm going into ownership excited but nervous about what needs doing. If i'm honest i bought with heart over my head, but it looks so good I dont care too much.
I paid old style shed money for it and think its got good value in it if it all goes wrong
Insurance is the cheapest ive ever bought (£350, i'm 26 years old)
It's going to be a bit of a work in progress
Looking forward to picking it up tomorrow!
Hot_Hatch_Fan said:
Congratulations on the purchase, they are cracking little cars and I say that as a serial mk1 mx5 owner!
Getting the suspension refreshed would be money well spent! An MX5 with sorted suspension is like night and day compared to a ‘tired’ one....
Enjoy!
Thank you pal. Yeah it's definitely a bit bouncy. New springs will be the first suspension purchase I think. Getting the suspension refreshed would be money well spent! An MX5 with sorted suspension is like night and day compared to a ‘tired’ one....
Enjoy!
My mum & dad had one back in the day until an unfortunate incident with a motorcyclist.
Lightweight & fun, but I always thought the engine lacked real zing & character. It ideally needed another 50hp.
Treat it with respect on a greasy surface too- the absence of weight & ultimate grip can turn them into a little spinning top when the rear lets go....
Lightweight & fun, but I always thought the engine lacked real zing & character. It ideally needed another 50hp.
Treat it with respect on a greasy surface too- the absence of weight & ultimate grip can turn them into a little spinning top when the rear lets go....
Best little sports car you can buy. Love mine. (Though it does have a supercharger on it for the straight bits.)
Everything is a 10mm or a 13mm socket too!
Suspension is a good bet, but spend money on sorting any rust around the front of the rear arches is top priority- double check those sills even though they've 'been done'. Find a garage that knows about geo for the Mk1 too after the suspension is on.
Enjoy it.
Cheers,
Drew.
(Though it does have a supercharger on it for the straight bits.)Everything is a 10mm or a 13mm socket too!
Suspension is a good bet, but spend money on sorting any rust around the front of the rear arches is top priority- double check those sills even though they've 'been done'. Find a garage that knows about geo for the Mk1 too after the suspension is on.
Enjoy it.
Cheers,
Drew.
Sko77y said:
Looks a clean example, second hand parts for these are plentiful, plenty bargains to be had so shouldn't take much more man maths to get it how you want. They're pretty easy to work on as well. Did you go for classic car insurance?
Its clean on top, that's all that counts right?....I did get classic insurance yes, used peter best, very good!
Just driven the wee beast home. First impressions pretty good! No big issues (yet) brakes well, pulls well and just goes about its stuff very well. The odd knock here and there but I've heard worse. Things that need doing over winter will be exhaust and suspension for sure, it's a bit bouncy
Seanseansean said:
Looks smart.
I binged watched the car throttle MX5 build yesterday and I have a huge want for one now.
I binged watched the car throttle MX5 build yesterday and I have a huge want for one now.
very pleased to have blocked carthrottle videos from ever appearing in my youtube list. Watching my dog take a dump is more pleasurable than watching that tripe. Alas....
So many better build threads (written included) elsewhere online, not sure if they're still hosted but mx5nutz and miataturbo have some awesome threads associated with builds over the years. nutz is dead these days but all the old stuff should still be there. Highly recommend it. Most of the chaps are on FB these days but the old content is still hosted if you can find it.
UPDATE: So 4 weeks after i bought the car, it had a bad misfire. After investigation it turned out to be the dreaded head gasket.
Not good ownership so far...
So it went off to a specialist (C&C Sparkes engineering, very good) and we agreed the best route was to find a new engine. After digging around I found one on ebay with decent miles and apparently well looked after, I really hope this is the case.
The new engine has had some of the "easy jobs when the engine is out" done: Cambelt, waterpump, full service, plugs and a new clutch for good measure.
Once underneath, it was found that the car had suffered a big knock to the underside at some point and needs some welding work as well as a patch of rust that needs sorting. Apart from that though...it looked pretty good under there for a 29 year old car and I cant wait to get it back this week!!
Its gonna be a big bill to foot (1.5x purchase price of the car) but it should be in decent order once finished
Not good ownership so far...
So it went off to a specialist (C&C Sparkes engineering, very good) and we agreed the best route was to find a new engine. After digging around I found one on ebay with decent miles and apparently well looked after, I really hope this is the case.
The new engine has had some of the "easy jobs when the engine is out" done: Cambelt, waterpump, full service, plugs and a new clutch for good measure.
Once underneath, it was found that the car had suffered a big knock to the underside at some point and needs some welding work as well as a patch of rust that needs sorting. Apart from that though...it looked pretty good under there for a 29 year old car and I cant wait to get it back this week!!
Its gonna be a big bill to foot (1.5x purchase price of the car) but it should be in decent order once finished
Oh no. Here's hoping its one big bill then it's sorted. Hows the plans for suspension going?
I've just bought a fun car and was torn between an MX5 and a clio 172. I went for the 172 as it's a bit easier to justify as a town car, as i can fit my children in it.
But an MX5 is on my bucket list too.
I've just bought a fun car and was torn between an MX5 and a clio 172. I went for the 172 as it's a bit easier to justify as a town car, as i can fit my children in it.
But an MX5 is on my bucket list too.
Cambs_Stuart said:
Oh no. Here's hoping its one big bill then it's sorted. Hows the plans for suspension going?
I've just bought a fun car and was torn between an MX5 and a clio 172. I went for the 172 as it's a bit easier to justify as a town car, as i can fit my children in it.
But an MX5 is on my bucket list too.
The suspension will be basic, i set of coilovers and eventually a bushing refresh. coilovers will be done early feb, just before MOT. I've been a bit decadent and have a Fiesta ST as my other car so I get best of both worlds. Only have my mouth to feed mind I've just bought a fun car and was torn between an MX5 and a clio 172. I went for the 172 as it's a bit easier to justify as a town car, as i can fit my children in it.
But an MX5 is on my bucket list too.
Finally got round to fitting a new exhaust this weekend! Its a stainless steel mx5parts sports exhaust that i bought back in september but never got round to fitting. The old exhaust was littered with holes and sounded awful (see pictures).
Looks a lot bet now too.
This new one has straight mid section with no silencer so it's quite a bit louder. Sounds fantastic with a proper 'old school' rasp to it, completely transforms the car in my opinion and feels a wee bit peppier (4-5hp apparently).
Cannot wait for summer now!
Looks a lot bet now too.
This new one has straight mid section with no silencer so it's quite a bit louder. Sounds fantastic with a proper 'old school' rasp to it, completely transforms the car in my opinion and feels a wee bit peppier (4-5hp apparently).
Cannot wait for summer now!
Update:
Morning all,
Well, the mx5 has passed it's MOT. But not without a bit of work. Luckily, in this case it was just a front suspension ball joint and the rear calipers were a bit ceased so the handbrake was inefficient.
I was expecting more to be honest and was dreading the phone call, but luckily it wasn't too bad, for a 30 year old car...
Unfortunately, it went straight from the test centre into hiding where it will stay till this mess is over!
For those interested, all the work on this car has been done by C&C Sparkes Engineering near Woking in Surrey (great Pizza Express there I hear). He mainly specialises in MX5s and has been brilliant so far, very fair and good prices.
Other things i've done? Great question:
I bought new wheels for it. Wasn't a fan of the black original daisy wheels, so i bought some silver 5 spoke eunos alloys that happened to come with a great set of dunlops, all for £70! Result.
I'm also going to be painting a few bits. The wing mirrors matched the old wheels in black, but i don't like them. So they're going to body colour red. The interior is very bland so will be painting a few little bits in there too, nothing garish!
Stay safe all.
Morning all,
Well, the mx5 has passed it's MOT. But not without a bit of work. Luckily, in this case it was just a front suspension ball joint and the rear calipers were a bit ceased so the handbrake was inefficient.
I was expecting more to be honest and was dreading the phone call, but luckily it wasn't too bad, for a 30 year old car...
Unfortunately, it went straight from the test centre into hiding where it will stay till this mess is over!
For those interested, all the work on this car has been done by C&C Sparkes Engineering near Woking in Surrey (great Pizza Express there I hear). He mainly specialises in MX5s and has been brilliant so far, very fair and good prices.
Other things i've done? Great question:
I bought new wheels for it. Wasn't a fan of the black original daisy wheels, so i bought some silver 5 spoke eunos alloys that happened to come with a great set of dunlops, all for £70! Result.
I'm also going to be painting a few bits. The wing mirrors matched the old wheels in black, but i don't like them. So they're going to body colour red. The interior is very bland so will be painting a few little bits in there too, nothing garish!
Stay safe all.
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