Show us your MX-5
Discussion
snotrag said:
Since the Black Mk1 I've had a mk2 MX5, then an MR2, then a Mk1 MX-5 that was turbo'd, and now a Boxster! (alongside sensible cars). I still hanker after another 5 and have been tempted a few times to get a Mk3 that I can modify, make it noisy, fast and pointy. Your's looks a lot of fun
Just read your buying guide on the Boxster. Sounds like an excellent option in that price bracket.How far did you go - power wise - on the Mk1? My old Mk1 was allegedly around the 240-260 BHP mark, which, personally, I felt was too much. Apart from short bursts of acceleration and overtaking being a breeze, I felt that the car didn't actually get driven any quicker than a lower powered version would... well, down a twisting road, that is.
On any kind of straight, it was a different story, of course. I got a speeding ticket in that car, which could so easily have resulted in a ban. So lower powered thrills were the order of the day for a while; that is until I got tempted by a 330BHP Forester. Same story again; acceleration thrills, but not much else.
Replaced that with a Panda100hp, which is simply the most entertaining car at the lower end of the speed spectrum. Any speed makes me grin.
My supercharged Mk2 was around 180BHP, the same as the new Mk3. The perfect compromise, I feel. The only criticism is that it's quite boring to drive slowly. I don't remember the Mk1 and 2 being like that. Maybe it's because it's generally more capable, or maybe the Panda has skewed my perceptions.
|https://thumbsnap.com/I4QfHZYu[/url]
My little beast putting the worlds finest to shame!! 
(then hiding under a tree in shame with the other cheap stuff)
https://imgur.com/3dZ9VdO
(then hiding under a tree in shame with the other cheap stuff)https://imgur.com/3dZ9VdO
Either we bought an ND upon retirement ( excellent wee cars) or refurbed the Sport we have owned for 14 years in addition to my '94 Mk1 also owned side by side for the same period of time.
I think I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.
Ok, you got the drift. It was rotten.
Now....
No shortcuts or patches. Whole new chassis rails.
And finally, all new Crystal Blue paint, VAG lacquer, litres of Dinitrol, a new SS exhaust, set of Rota Gt3s & Kuhmos, plus a professional interior strip & detailing, new Sport springs / shocks / bushes / drop links, calipers, discs, bla bla.
Good for another 100,000 miles. The mill has had it's lubes done every 4/5k for 14 years, still very near Hiroshima compressions and uses nil. Spins like a sewing machine. Gearbox & diff got a treat with yon Castrol sexy stuff.
Worth doing? Opinions differ. All came out of SWMBOs considerable retirement lump sums so fair play to my wallet.
Certainly been offered silly money for it, which is academic as it's simply not for sale. Or so I'm informed.
I think I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.
Ok, you got the drift. It was rotten.
Now....
No shortcuts or patches. Whole new chassis rails.
And finally, all new Crystal Blue paint, VAG lacquer, litres of Dinitrol, a new SS exhaust, set of Rota Gt3s & Kuhmos, plus a professional interior strip & detailing, new Sport springs / shocks / bushes / drop links, calipers, discs, bla bla.
Good for another 100,000 miles. The mill has had it's lubes done every 4/5k for 14 years, still very near Hiroshima compressions and uses nil. Spins like a sewing machine. Gearbox & diff got a treat with yon Castrol sexy stuff.
Worth doing? Opinions differ. All came out of SWMBOs considerable retirement lump sums so fair play to my wallet.
Certainly been offered silly money for it, which is academic as it's simply not for sale. Or so I'm informed.
Edited by GreyImport on Monday 9th July 12:48
My 1993 S-limited. I bought it a couple of years ago with a view to clean it up and sell it on but can't bring myself to part with it. Not 100% perfect or original, has its fair share of rattles and not fast by any means but I can't think of anything better for chucking around the narrow lanes down here in Devon.
I've never posted on here about my Mazda, but as I've just started threads on my 968 in the Porsche section and GTV Cup with the Alfa Romeo crowd, I thought I'd drop by here and say hi too.
This is my 1990 1.6 Jackson Racing Supercharged Eunos Roadster, Project Ronin.
He's been a slow burn build (with occasional periods of mania), over 13 years. Probably best known in Mx5 circles for the custom dash I built.
420cc injectors, 150mm crank overlay, Innovate EC-1 wideband, MS2 ECU and intercooled (DIY again).
This is my 1990 1.6 Jackson Racing Supercharged Eunos Roadster, Project Ronin.
He's been a slow burn build (with occasional periods of mania), over 13 years. Probably best known in Mx5 circles for the custom dash I built.
420cc injectors, 150mm crank overlay, Innovate EC-1 wideband, MS2 ECU and intercooled (DIY again).
Edited by OnePaintedMan on Tuesday 25th September 20:08
My ratty rusty roadster, a Caribbean island runabout.
A 1997 Eunos Roadster SR Limited. In the marmite 'sparkle green' colour. Came with the limited slip diff, lightened flywheel, shorter gearing, and the Bilstein suspension, Nardi gearshift and leather interiour.
Some info on this spec: http://www.roadster.blog/2015/12/eunos-roadster-sr...
The polished/chrome 14 inch wheels have at some point been replaced by 15 inch Borbet ones which look decent, but are way too heavy. The Bilstein suspension has at some point in time been replaced by some unknown shocks and springs with NB topmounts. Rear shocks, springs and topmounts have since been replaced by something quite racy I took off a junked NA used as track/trial car on island as the back end felt like a 70's Cadillac.
Nardi gear knob was gone and in it's place was some horribly wobbly Halfords type knob, which I replaced by a fitting delrin ball type knob (aluminium/metal gear knobs are not a good idea in the tropics!) as shift feel is of course one of the fun parts of a MX-5.
Car has at some point has been not so great repainted, and that repaint is flaking off now.
Also replaced roof (a torn roof and no rail rain is not great when in a tropical downpour), and just put in new seats stuffed in two bags from The Netherlands to here.
It's a very ratty 'island car'. Being a cheaper car, it has been passed/sold from the one passing dive instructor, bar staff, etc to the next. So a lot of short term owner and it has gotten very little TLC over the years. Spending any money on the car is financially stupid, but as we all know these little cars have a way of grabbing hold of your heart if you are even a little bit of a pistonhead.
The car has only left me stranded 3 times - a radiator leak (fixed), a radiator leak (fix broke), and dead battery (in the heat here car batteries are consumables, they last about 2 years)
And never really worked on cars myself before, this car is a great learning school. It is simple, tutorials are all over the internet and YouTube, and being a relative cheap car there is not much you can screw up. Getting parts here (Cayman) is hard though, due to shipping, a lot of paperwork and high import taxes.
But despite being a ratty car, dropping the top in the morning or end of day (too hot mid day, top up and sort of working A/C on!), and driving on a Caribbean island, enjoying the nimbleness, it brings a smile to your face every time!
The 'glamour' shot, it looks a million times better here than in reality... Especially as some stupid driver backed into my side door since and getting that sorted with insurance and police is proving to be a nightmare. Damage is limited luckily.
Sun working on burning off more paint, cracking plastics, and hardening the old leather...
Better find some palm trees for some shaded parking!
A 1997 Eunos Roadster SR Limited. In the marmite 'sparkle green' colour. Came with the limited slip diff, lightened flywheel, shorter gearing, and the Bilstein suspension, Nardi gearshift and leather interiour.
Some info on this spec: http://www.roadster.blog/2015/12/eunos-roadster-sr...
The polished/chrome 14 inch wheels have at some point been replaced by 15 inch Borbet ones which look decent, but are way too heavy. The Bilstein suspension has at some point in time been replaced by some unknown shocks and springs with NB topmounts. Rear shocks, springs and topmounts have since been replaced by something quite racy I took off a junked NA used as track/trial car on island as the back end felt like a 70's Cadillac.
Nardi gear knob was gone and in it's place was some horribly wobbly Halfords type knob, which I replaced by a fitting delrin ball type knob (aluminium/metal gear knobs are not a good idea in the tropics!) as shift feel is of course one of the fun parts of a MX-5.
Car has at some point has been not so great repainted, and that repaint is flaking off now.
Also replaced roof (a torn roof and no rail rain is not great when in a tropical downpour), and just put in new seats stuffed in two bags from The Netherlands to here.
It's a very ratty 'island car'. Being a cheaper car, it has been passed/sold from the one passing dive instructor, bar staff, etc to the next. So a lot of short term owner and it has gotten very little TLC over the years. Spending any money on the car is financially stupid, but as we all know these little cars have a way of grabbing hold of your heart if you are even a little bit of a pistonhead.
The car has only left me stranded 3 times - a radiator leak (fixed), a radiator leak (fix broke), and dead battery (in the heat here car batteries are consumables, they last about 2 years)
And never really worked on cars myself before, this car is a great learning school. It is simple, tutorials are all over the internet and YouTube, and being a relative cheap car there is not much you can screw up. Getting parts here (Cayman) is hard though, due to shipping, a lot of paperwork and high import taxes.
But despite being a ratty car, dropping the top in the morning or end of day (too hot mid day, top up and sort of working A/C on!), and driving on a Caribbean island, enjoying the nimbleness, it brings a smile to your face every time!
The 'glamour' shot, it looks a million times better here than in reality... Especially as some stupid driver backed into my side door since and getting that sorted with insurance and police is proving to be a nightmare. Damage is limited luckily.
Sun working on burning off more paint, cracking plastics, and hardening the old leather...
Better find some palm trees for some shaded parking!
Edited by FindingMenno on Tuesday 2nd October 04:26
DennisTheMenace said:
a few of the snot rocket i took today
After quite a break I decided to replace snot, but I think I’ve gone and done it a bit wrong.....
I’ve kind of swapped pop ups for a few extra cylinders..
Yes I could have got a Z4 which is apparently better, but there was just something that clicked with the Zed, and sideways is so fecking easy
Was going through my photos and thought I’d share. 2001 Mk2 Jasper Conran - it's a 1.8iS-based special edition with unique silver interior trim, black external trim (exhaust tip, badges), leather toneau cover, Connoly leather seats and door cards and Nardi leather and silver wheel. 42k on it, very little bodywork rust - needs a new hood though. Wheels are not the originals but are OEM, looks like there were replaced as a good will, most likely due to corrosion.
Edited by mackie1 on Thursday 28th February 13:12
Collecting this weekend - very excited to be getting my first MX-5.
It's a 1990 V-Special Roadster (Japanese import). 56k miles in beautiful original condition. It's going to be a fun summer!
Jon
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|https://thumbsnap.com/yDs5QAME[/url
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|https://thumbsnap.com/HDUhe3tD[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/qXJUwQfI[/url]
It's a 1990 V-Special Roadster (Japanese import). 56k miles in beautiful original condition. It's going to be a fun summer!
Jon
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/yDs5QAME[/url[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/HDUhe3tD[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/qXJUwQfI[/url]Thanks 
I don't want to jinx it at as I actually don't collect it for another couple of days, but I have a good feeling about this one. It was engineer owned and garaged for years (as it will continue to be under my ownership).
Really looking forward to getting behind of the wheel of something so light and simple after years of blunt bargery.
I don't want to jinx it at as I actually don't collect it for another couple of days, but I have a good feeling about this one. It was engineer owned and garaged for years (as it will continue to be under my ownership).
Really looking forward to getting behind of the wheel of something so light and simple after years of blunt bargery.
I've totally fallen for ours (see above). I've had fast big stuff for ages now (Monaro, C63, current S5 for example) and the MX5 is so much more interactive and fun and you don't constantly have to watch the speedo.
A long time ago my then housemate had a Mk1 1.6 MX5 and I had a Puma 1.7 and it was always fun pitting them against eachother at sensible speeds. I felt the MX5 did deserve a better engine, I'm guessing the 1.8vvt in the Mk2.5 is probably that engine - the Puma always felt more eager and punchy. (Probably sacrilege in here?
)
A long time ago my then housemate had a Mk1 1.6 MX5 and I had a Puma 1.7 and it was always fun pitting them against eachother at sensible speeds. I felt the MX5 did deserve a better engine, I'm guessing the 1.8vvt in the Mk2.5 is probably that engine - the Puma always felt more eager and punchy. (Probably sacrilege in here?
)Mackie1, that's exactly what I needed to hear. I was deliberating for ages about getting a Boxster, Cayman, old 996, Elise or Evora, none of which I could really justify price wise (and also I really didn't want to be part of the 'Porsche' owners club).
I'm not into all out speed at all - I'm more likely to enjoy pottering through villages at 30mph in the summer enjoying the delicate handling and hopefully making others smile and not wave using a single finger as would likely occur in said Porsche...
I'm not into all out speed at all - I'm more likely to enjoy pottering through villages at 30mph in the summer enjoying the delicate handling and hopefully making others smile and not wave using a single finger as would likely occur in said Porsche...
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