1991 mx5 limited edition- Rare i think pls help?
Discussion
Just noticed my previous post regarding the full brake / suspension refurb. on 131 has had it's images deleted by Photobucket as part of their 'Dick Turpin' extortion campaign ! To recap - All wishbones were removed / blasted / repainted with POR 15 and Dinitrolled inside , then new OE rubber bushes fitted and all bolts replaced with OE items. Hubs / brakes etc all refurbished / renewed inc. new rotors and HEL braided hoses. Once all rebuilt , taken for a full alignment on a Hunter system - result was vastly improved handling and now an absolute pleasure to drive. Have now reposted some of the pics. using alternative TP Hosting (Imgur).
Thought i would say hello here as finally scratched an itch to buy an MX5 a few weeks ago and bought an LE 
Car is pretty clean, though not been around much so taking it down to Freelance Mazda on the 31st to give it a full service and cambelt change, and get them to give it a thorough going over to give me a list of things that need fixing.
Read through all the previous pages here.... and just found out the car has central locking, though mine appears not to be working, so thats going on the list of things to do.
Car is pretty clean, though not been around much so taking it down to Freelance Mazda on the 31st to give it a full service and cambelt change, and get them to give it a thorough going over to give me a list of things that need fixing.
Read through all the previous pages here.... and just found out the car has central locking, though mine appears not to be working, so thats going on the list of things to do.
Rolfey17 – noted your question on wheel refurbishment. I'm having mine done this week but in short it's not going well – discovered the two I knew were damaged are actually much worse than I through and are basically unrepairable. The other two are also proving troublesome for the restorer, in particular the centre caps. I will let you know how I get on.
In obviously related news I am now in the market to buy two replacement alloys for my Limited Edition (or even a full set if out there). Difficult given the scarcity I know, but if anyone knows of a couple lying in a garage anywhere / on a car that's to be broken etc. etc. then please do drop me a message!
In obviously related news I am now in the market to buy two replacement alloys for my Limited Edition (or even a full set if out there). Difficult given the scarcity I know, but if anyone knows of a couple lying in a garage anywhere / on a car that's to be broken etc. etc. then please do drop me a message!
Ursicles said:
I might know of an LE that's poss past saving and i think will be broken soon.
Any idea what the alloys are worth on this?
I paid about £200 for a set of 4 lightweight V-Special 2 alloys a couple of years ago. They need a refurb as not in good condition.Any idea what the alloys are worth on this?
[edit]Found a Guntree advert, now expired, for a set of 4 at £295.
link
Edited by VladD on Wednesday 26th July 08:26
Ursicles said:
I might know of an LE that's poss past saving and i think will be broken soon.
Any idea what the alloys are worth on this?
Hard to say – they are rare, but then also expensive to refurbish properly (as I am finding out!) – so would largely depend on quality. Seen a couple of sets in poor nick going for £200-300 in the past. I'm in the market though, so open to negotiation if there are any going from the car that's being broken.Any idea what the alloys are worth on this?
Ursicles said:
I might know of an LE that's poss past saving and i think will be broken soon.
Any idea what the alloys are worth on this?
Depends on condition Ursicles .... Mint c. £600 + / Useable c. £350 + - these figs. possibly a bit Light as the OZ alloys in question are becoming super rare. Moving on to the LE that's possibly past saving and in fact a question to all out there ...... has anyone got any spare original OZ centre cap securing bolts (the one's with the little offset hole that need the special T Bar tool ) for sale ? I'm willing to pay over the odds (shouldn't admit that really!) for one or more . Let me know if yes on jimhendry55@hotmail.com Any idea what the alloys are worth on this?
Update on my wheel refurbishment adventure for anyone interested. I used one of the larger refurbishers. I'm reasonably pleased with the results. A couple of photos before (the first one being a 'before' shot!).
On the plus side they did manage, after a lot of (no extra charge) work, completely rescue one of the two bent-from-centre wheels. They also managed to straighten the other enough for me to be happy to drive on it – but sadly not enough for it to be refurbished on the lathe.
Also on the plus side I'm very happy with the result on the main body of the three wheels that could be refurbished. The colour match paint is really visible now. They put the rest of the car to shame (project in progress!).
The centre caps were far more of an adventure. On investigation, they were very concerned about the lack of thickness of the material on these. Credit where it's due, on my request they did press on and spent a full day just on the caps (again – no extra charge to me which was appreciated!). The result I am 50/50 on. They have come up beautifully considering their starting condition. However, due to the lack of thickness in the material in some areas (their reasoning), they weren't able to exactly match the cut that they originally had. Eagle-eyed viewers will note that the vertices of the central 'nut' and the thin central ring on the originals haven't been retained on the refurbished ones – they are, to put it simply, now green not silver.
I can't help wondering if an alternative refurbisher may have been able to work differently on the centre caps. Overall, though, I am still very pleased with the result when compared to the original and appreciate the effort that was put in to achieve this.
I think it is fair to say that these wheels are a challenge to refurbish. If only the previous owners of my car had put more effort into maintaining the originals (and avoiding potholes!). I paid about £140 per wheel for this work, although I very much doubt if the firm would undertake the same work again (especially on the centre caps).
Anyway, I am now definitely in the market for at least one of these wheels – centre cap optional as I have 4 refurbished ones – or even a full set. Feel free to email me through PH or leave a message here.
On the plus side they did manage, after a lot of (no extra charge) work, completely rescue one of the two bent-from-centre wheels. They also managed to straighten the other enough for me to be happy to drive on it – but sadly not enough for it to be refurbished on the lathe.
Also on the plus side I'm very happy with the result on the main body of the three wheels that could be refurbished. The colour match paint is really visible now. They put the rest of the car to shame (project in progress!).
The centre caps were far more of an adventure. On investigation, they were very concerned about the lack of thickness of the material on these. Credit where it's due, on my request they did press on and spent a full day just on the caps (again – no extra charge to me which was appreciated!). The result I am 50/50 on. They have come up beautifully considering their starting condition. However, due to the lack of thickness in the material in some areas (their reasoning), they weren't able to exactly match the cut that they originally had. Eagle-eyed viewers will note that the vertices of the central 'nut' and the thin central ring on the originals haven't been retained on the refurbished ones – they are, to put it simply, now green not silver.
I can't help wondering if an alternative refurbisher may have been able to work differently on the centre caps. Overall, though, I am still very pleased with the result when compared to the original and appreciate the effort that was put in to achieve this.
I think it is fair to say that these wheels are a challenge to refurbish. If only the previous owners of my car had put more effort into maintaining the originals (and avoiding potholes!). I paid about £140 per wheel for this work, although I very much doubt if the firm would undertake the same work again (especially on the centre caps).
Anyway, I am now definitely in the market for at least one of these wheels – centre cap optional as I have 4 refurbished ones – or even a full set. Feel free to email me through PH or leave a message here.
where abouts is everyone from? I'm sure I saw an LE near to me a few weeks ago (portsmouth). Wheels came up nicely shame about the hefty price tag! I'm doing a slow time refurb at home, just need to get shot of the surface corrosion. Number 116 currently on sale - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-MX-5-Mk1-Limited-E...
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