Another MX5! Mk2 Icon limited edition
Discussion
As I now have a company car I need something fun for weekends, and so I still have my own insurance policy with 'drive other cars' cover (that's some man maths right there).
After looking at a few different ones I decided I wanted a high spec one, ideally with the 6 speed box and LSD, and leather. Every one I looked at needed work doing (I'm not paying top dollar), from rotten arches, holed sills, tired soft tops to blatently non-functioning rear brakes.
In the end I bought this Icon, 93k miles, FSH, no tax or MoT but great interior, mechanically it seems good and the hood is in good condition too.
Unfortunately one of the sills looks like this, so it's heading straight to the bodyshop to be sorted, the other side has been repaired to a fairly low standard but I can live with that for now.
The wheels need s refurb too but the plan is to use it and tidy it up as I go, and hope that our lovely English weather gives us a good summer to enjoy it in. I'll do my best to update this thread but I'm not sure how interesting it'll be. I AM going to do my first track day at some point too, I said I'd do it with my last MX5 but never got round to it so I'm determined to do it this time, I have a job which doesn't involve motorsport now so at least my summer weekends are my own again!
After looking at a few different ones I decided I wanted a high spec one, ideally with the 6 speed box and LSD, and leather. Every one I looked at needed work doing (I'm not paying top dollar), from rotten arches, holed sills, tired soft tops to blatently non-functioning rear brakes.
In the end I bought this Icon, 93k miles, FSH, no tax or MoT but great interior, mechanically it seems good and the hood is in good condition too.
Unfortunately one of the sills looks like this, so it's heading straight to the bodyshop to be sorted, the other side has been repaired to a fairly low standard but I can live with that for now.
The wheels need s refurb too but the plan is to use it and tidy it up as I go, and hope that our lovely English weather gives us a good summer to enjoy it in. I'll do my best to update this thread but I'm not sure how interesting it'll be. I AM going to do my first track day at some point too, I said I'd do it with my last MX5 but never got round to it so I'm determined to do it this time, I have a job which doesn't involve motorsport now so at least my summer weekends are my own again!
Having had the welding done, and one bulb replaced, I'm now the proud owner of a fully MoT'd MX5 and it still owes me a lot less than I'd have paid for the same car with test on it.
I need to spray the repaired sill at the weekend and give it a good clean up, then use it a bit and see if it breaks! The wheels are badly corroded, and shod with Debica tyres so I'm borrowing a spare set from a friend and will refurb the standard ones, put some more suitable rubber on them and re-install them. The hood might need some attention too, I'm debating a tan one to replace the standard black but I'm not sure about messing too much with a limited edition model which might be a classic one day if I'm lucky.
I need to spray the repaired sill at the weekend and give it a good clean up, then use it a bit and see if it breaks! The wheels are badly corroded, and shod with Debica tyres so I'm borrowing a spare set from a friend and will refurb the standard ones, put some more suitable rubber on them and re-install them. The hood might need some attention too, I'm debating a tan one to replace the standard black but I'm not sure about messing too much with a limited edition model which might be a classic one day if I'm lucky.
Got it home today, unblocked the drain pipes to stop the parcel shelf filling with water, fixed the hood catches so they latch and lock properly and sprayed the welded areas. The seats need a better clean and I really need to sort the wheels as they look terrible at the moment, however it appears I'm missing the lock nut key so I need to get some replacements before I break them off.
Got the car cleaned up properly today, it has very few car park dings but loads of chips and the back bumper is a bit of a state. Not that anyone really cares but here are some more pics of it looking extra shiny!
Sill looking a lot better, but I need to spray it again as I did a pretty poor job of it.
I love the interior, and real wood Nardi bits
The view ahead, the best place to be when the sun is shining!
Sill looking a lot better, but I need to spray it again as I did a pretty poor job of it.
I love the interior, and real wood Nardi bits
The view ahead, the best place to be when the sun is shining!
wilbo83 said:
Looks a tidy example. I am guessing it is registered to someone else as i thought driving other cars only applies to cars not owned or registered to you.
This one is owned by, and registered to me and therefore gives me drive other cars cover to use on friend's and parents cars if needed
Will try the Brillo pad on the exhaust and see what difference it makes, good tip. Any ideas how to sort the cloudy headlights?
I've borrowed some temporary wheels from a friend which I fitted today. The standard wheels have had the tyres removed and the rims are currently covered in Nitromors in an attempt to remove what's left of the standard paint and lacquer...
So this is how the car looks at the moment, not sure if the wheels suit it or not, but I think I prefer the OEM ones.
So this is how the car looks at the moment, not sure if the wheels suit it or not, but I think I prefer the OEM ones.
jamiebae said:
This one is owned by, and registered to me and therefore gives me drive other cars cover to use on friend's and parents cars if needed
Will try the Brillo pad on the exhaust and see what difference it makes, good tip. Any ideas how to sort the cloudy headlights?
You might find that it only covers you in an emergency and not for general use. Will try the Brillo pad on the exhaust and see what difference it makes, good tip. Any ideas how to sort the cloudy headlights?
Car looks good. Hope it was mega cheap as cars with no MOT should always be a few quid less.
Looks good. Nice colour. Go back to the original wheels and lower it a bit. Job Jobbed
bakerstreet said:
You might find that it only covers you in an emergency and not for general use.
Car looks good. Hope it was mega cheap as cars with no MOT should always be a few quid less.
Looks good. Nice colour. Go back to the original wheels and lower it a bit. Job Jobbed
I live the way everyone on PH latches on to insurance type comments Car looks good. Hope it was mega cheap as cars with no MOT should always be a few quid less.
Looks good. Nice colour. Go back to the original wheels and lower it a bit. Job Jobbed
I do know what I'm doing, and yes, my policy does cover me properly as sadly I'm no in my early 20s anymore 
It turns out the hood has actually seen much better days, and has now developed a split in the material so I've picked up a good 2nd hand mohair hood off a Mk2.5 which I'll get fitted when it finally stops raining in the Thames Water drought zone I call home...
Hopefully I'll get the wheels stripped this weekend, then I can spray them up and decide what to do with the Debica 195/50 15s which it came with - they have 5mm+ of tread on all four but I think I might just flog them and get some Toyos/Falkens/Yokos instead.
Lowering is tempting, but as it has factory sport suspension I don't want to cock about with it too much. My last MX5 had Raceland coilovers on it (which I fitted) and they were actually pretty good considering they cost £150 but I don't want to do that with this one.
As for the cost, I paid less than book trade for it and when fully sorted (wheels, tyres, hood, welding and a few other bits) it should stand me at £2k ish which I'm happy with.
About time for an update I think. The new hood is on, took about 40 minutes to swap over as I got a 2nd hand one still on the frame so it's now watertight, and looks a lot smarter too. I still haven't finished sorting the wheels, one is in primer, one is ready for paint and the other two the last bits of paint removing so it's still rolling on the Speedline wheels borrowed from a friend.
I've only managed about 200 miles since I bought the car, unfortunately the weather has been rubbish, and having a new Civic on the drive which does 55mpg, and the crazy fuel prices at the moment I tend to use the Honda pretty much all the time.
Had the alignment done at Wheels In Motion in Chesham a couple of weeks ago, and it's transformed the handling from understeery and a bit twitchy to neutral with much better turn in and balance. It's amazing how easy it is to adjust the setup on these, with camber, castor and toe all really easy to do where some cars many times the price are a nightmare to do.
I've only managed about 200 miles since I bought the car, unfortunately the weather has been rubbish, and having a new Civic on the drive which does 55mpg, and the crazy fuel prices at the moment I tend to use the Honda pretty much all the time.
Had the alignment done at Wheels In Motion in Chesham a couple of weeks ago, and it's transformed the handling from understeery and a bit twitchy to neutral with much better turn in and balance. It's amazing how easy it is to adjust the setup on these, with camber, castor and toe all really easy to do where some cars many times the price are a nightmare to do.
Haven't updated this for a while so thought it's about time. I've hardly used the car since the summer, and I've done less than 1k miles in it since I bought it last March sadly so part of me is thinking about selling it but I don't know what I'd replace it with for the same kind of money.
I charged the battery and took it out for a drive earlier, started straight away and drove fantastically well (although the ABS light has now come on) and I do really enjoy using it when I do get the chance.
It's now been joined on the drive by this though, and the BMW is quieter, faster more comfortable etc so does get used an awful lot more, but the Mazda is MUCH more fun on a good road when the sun is shining, even if it is -1 degrees!
I charged the battery and took it out for a drive earlier, started straight away and drove fantastically well (although the ABS light has now come on) and I do really enjoy using it when I do get the chance.
It's now been joined on the drive by this though, and the BMW is quieter, faster more comfortable etc so does get used an awful lot more, but the Mazda is MUCH more fun on a good road when the sun is shining, even if it is -1 degrees!
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