1991 Eunos Roadster V-Spec

[AmiableChimp]

I thought it was about time I documented everything I have done to my wee Eunos since I bought her in March 2015.

She was bought from Goodwood Sportscars in Berwick as a fresh import from Japan and I am the first UK owner.

She's a 1991 Eunos Roadster, V-Special in Brilliant Black.

Before I bought her, she had:

Replacement long nose crank engine
New mohair hood with glass screen
Retrimmed seats
Replacement doorcards
Respray
New exhaust backbox
New battery
Full service

The front bumper had no holes drilled into it so I asked Steve if he would fit an offset plate rather than drill holes in the bumper, and to be honest, I am not a fan of the black plastic plinths a lot of 5's have.

Here she is after getting her home and giving her a good wash:











First things first, replace the MX-5 badge for a proper Eunos one and the obligatory PH smiley!



Then the spending started

I bought some Koni shocks and Eibach springs from a guy on MX5 Nutz and had them fitted.





I couldn't really get on with how the car sat on these. She was a bit too high at the rear, and too low at the front (we have loads of high speedbumps around where I live) so a search for new suspension was on.

I bought a windbreak from a mk2 as I find them pretty useful and make a big difference to buffeting in the cabin.



I also fitted a new headunit - the old one was a real mess of wiring and the new one is USB input only so is only half the depth.



I bought a gearshift boot kit from MX5 parts and fitted that as the old one was pretty torn up.

I then saw a group buy over on MX5 Nutz for Meister-R Zeta S coilovers.

These get great feedback so I decided to go for some - they really are beautiful things, almost too nice to hide under a car



I also bought some mirrors to replace the OEM chrome ones as the spring on my drivers mirror has broken and the mirror won't stay in place. To be perfectly honest, they weren't the best but would do for the timebeing.



Sitting on Meisters and new mirrors:







I saw a guy on one of the MX5 Facebook groups making reinforced door stops so decided to go for some as they apparently help a little with stiffening things up.

Next up was a replacement exhaust - Moss had a deal on and it was too good to pass on - the car had a new OEM exhaust fitted when I bought it but I wanted something with a bit more burble...





I spent an afternoon in the local scrappies, looking for some wee bits of trim my car was missing and struck lucky with the only mk1 that was in there! It's the small things..

Bonnet trim


Headlight trim


Then came another big spend - I had been looking for some aftermarket alloys. I knew I didn't want to go too big, and in the end decided to stick with 14" although went up from 5.5 to 7" width. I absolutely love these alloys!! Note: Still not fitted, need to get them coated i G-Techniq C5 and some tyres on them ready for this year.







How light?!


Around the end of September the weather was turning and my thoughts were towards making sure my wee Eunos didn't rot away to nothing (not that she sees many inclement weather days to be honest). So I took her through to Preserve & Protect in Johnstone for a full Dinitrol underseal - what a great job!







Next up were some retro toggle switches for the hazards and headlights from Revlimiter. Adam makes some really cool stuff and these had been on my list for a while!





I then decided to de-tango the sidelights, and sand off all the raised letters on the outside of the lights/indicators/reflectors - stops wax getting stuck in amongst them and freshens everything up a bit too.

I also fitted some LED sidelight bulbs and silvatec indicator bulbs.











I then saw some lovely Zoom bits for sale on Nutz - I missed out on the Zoom filler cap but I did get my hands on some lovely carbon mirros to replace the dodgy ones I had fitted previously.







I bought an induction kit (cone filter and heatshield) from a guy on MX5 Scotland - I am in the process of fitting this currently.

Next up were some matching window toggle switches and built in cup holder from Jass Performance. I also bought some brushed metal vent rings.









Whilst she has been in the garage over the winter, I have been attacking her with my dual action polisher and loads of wax:



Which brings me up to this month.

I have had the car in the garage, up on my new CJ Autos adjustable car ramps as I wanted to remove the aircon (I also have an annoying oil leak to source/sort). This never worked, and with it being old, illegal gas required, I decided to junk everything - the pump, radiator, condenser, pump bracket - all that lot weighed in at around 18kg of weight savings! I have sourced a non-aircon crossover pipe to connect the heater to the blowers behind the dash.

I decided to keep the aircon fan for some additional cooling to the engine should I need it.

Quite a lot to remove:


Those car ramps..


With the aircon rad removed, my main rad was in the firing line for any stray stones, so I have fitted an IL Motorsports grille.



I removed the washer reservoir and header tank to clean them (dishwasher tab & boiling water works wonders!) but when I filled my header tank I noticed water coming out a hairline crack in the corner so a replacement was sourced from Autolink.

I saw someone selling a silver strut brace, the same as the yellow one fitted to the S-Special, I had never seen one in silver and was lucky enough to nab it.

I have also got some silicon coolant hoses from Stoney racing.







[

So, what's next?

Well the car will be taken off SORN in April and MOTed.

I need to get the new tyres fitted to the Enkeis and get them on the car.

Hopefully fix the oil leak and cure the gear lash that she suffers from on overrun as well.

I still have further plans and will update this thread as and when they happen.

Thanks for viewing, apologies for being a bit of a photo we

Edited by AmiableChimp on Wednesday 28th June 00:20

[rotarymazda]

Good write up, I like everything except the toggle switches.

Give it a few months and then start looking for forced induction

[Actus Reus]

Great post - thanks for that.

How difficult are the toggle switches to install? I like the window ones in particular. About to get Meister Rs on mine as well as a TR Lane or similar (just seen a cool alternative on Nutz in fact).

[5harp3y]

Those wheels are pornographic

[AndrewEH1]

Great little car!

How did you find Goodwood Sportscars? I've often looked at their stock but it seems their prices are always at the top end of the market.

Edited by AndrewEH1 on Monday 29th February 20:54

[AmiableChimp]

Thanks guys.

AR - the toggle switches are a doddle to fit - I did have to drill 4 small holes in my console to screw down the cup holder but you can buy the switches on their own if you don't want to go for the same as my one.

Andrew, I really rate Steve and Goodwood - I won't say my car has been perfect (what 24 year old could be!), but he did fix some of the teething problems I had when I bought it, a man of his word in my experience.

Yes you will pay top dollar, but I knew I wanted to keep this car long term so was happy to pay for something that was fresh into the country and as rust-free as I could get it.

[AndrewEH1]

AmiableChimp said:

Andrew, I really rate Steve and Goodwood - I won't say my car has been perfect (what 24 year old could be!), but he did fix some of the teething problems I had when I bought it, a man of his word in my experience.

Yes you will pay top dollar, but I knew I wanted to keep this car long term so was happy to pay for something that was fresh into the country and as rust-free as I could get it.

Good to hear, if I manage to scrape the pennies together for one fresh off the boat I'll definitely see what they have on offer.

[AmiableChimp]

I fitted my new Zoom filler cap yesterday - been after one for ages to go with the Zoom mirrors!

Love the look of these, although I did strip the threads on the remote opener when putting it back on so a wee call to Autolink tomorrow methinks.

Edited by AmiableChimp on Wednesday 28th June 00:21

[Patch888]

Very nice read mate, enjoyed that so far. Makes me miss my old one so much.

[Xtriple129]

I've just a MK2 version of this, but in auto flavour. Mine apparently is missing the correct two tone door cards but is otherwise fine even the leather is good!

I love it already, taken the hardtop off and love the green mohair hood (the car is green as well which helps!) and it is great to drive. I have loads of plans for the little bugger but unfortunately, I have another car that is like a bottomless pit when it comes to needing money spending on it so the little Mazda is probably going to have to wait a long, LONG time for any real expenditure!



Yes, I hate the back lights!

[AmiableChimp]

I fitted my replacement filler cap release tonight (bought from Autolink) and everything closes nicely now.

I finally got my induction kit fitted - I know about heatsoak and all that, but I love the induction roar you get with these so i'll run it for a wee while to see how it sounds.

I just need to refill the coolant system and get everything nice and hot to check for leaks.

Then it's to be booked in for a fresh MOT and get the ting off SORN and on the road for the better weather.

Edited by AmiableChimp on Wednesday 28th June 00:22

[AmiableChimp]

So, after passing her MOT last week with no advisories, I thought it was a bout time I got my new alloys on.

I went through to Skidz in Falkirk to get the tyres fitted yesterday, decided on 195/60/14 Vredestein Sportrac 5 and really glad I went for the slightly wider tyre and bigger sidewall - I love the retro balloon tyre look.

The wheels look ace, I gave them a coating of G-Techniq C5 before fitting. The only slight issue is the balancing weights are just skimming the brake callipers (running 1.8 brakes) so I need to take a wee bit off them to stop this.

Makes a massive change to the car and I am completely chuffed with how she looks now.

• Warning - loads of photies ahead **

Edited by AmiableChimp on Wednesday 28th June 00:23

[Actus Reus]

Got this looking great - new rims are a bit improvement over the daisies. Mine went off last night for the Meisters, a roll bar and a new exhaust to be fitted.

I'm gonna de-tango the front indicators, the side repeaters and the front reflectors next, and maybe fit some new headrest speakers too.

[cg360]

Lovely car - the new wheels and tyres are a refreshing change to the usual oversized, rubber-banded 'upgrades'. Very nice.

[AmiableChimp]

So I finally got round to filing down the front callipers slightly to prevent the wheels weights from rubbing against them.

There is now a slight gap,I believe the official measurement is a bawhair :lol:

Gave the filed areas a coat of the g-techniq c5 polymer coating I put on the alloys to kep rust at bay.

I also checked my drain channels using my new trombone cleaner but nothing came out as they are clear which is peace of mind!

Edited by AmiableChimp on Wednesday 28th June 00:24

[LeoZwalf]

This is very good and is not helping my recent obsession with MX5s! Love the wheels and higher profile tyres, much better suited to this kind of car than 17+ inchers with low profile rubber. Love the tan interior too.

Did you consider any MK2's?

[AmiableChimp]

LeoZwalf said:

This is very good and is not helping my recent obsession with MX5s! Love the wheels and higher profile tyres, much better suited to this kind of car than 17+ inchers with low profile rubber. Love the tan interior too.

Did you consider any MK2's?

I used to have a mk2.5 Montana in green with heated cream leather, colour coded hard top, etc.

It was my only car at the time and not practical with kids, whereas this one is a high days and dry days car (and much more "raw" driving experience).

[AmiableChimp]

I finally got fed up of my glacial electric windows so decided to have a go at cleaning/regreasing everything to see if it improved things.

I also used the opportunity to fit the sound deadening and new speakers.

Before I started, the line up of required products:

White lithium grease for the metal runners, silicon spray for the rubber channel attached to the quarterlight



Door card before I attacked it:



Attachments removed:
[

Doorcard off:


Inner waterproof barrier removed (really messy glue used):


Rear channel view from above, note missing guide wheel!!:


Lower window until these three screws are visible (removed in pic) this holds the glass on to the window mechanism:


Remove the 2 white plastic stoppers as well and the window should be able to lift out of the door:


Store it out of the way!:


Front runner/channel:


Runners are held on by these 3 14mm nuts:


And these 3 on the bottom edge of the door:


I decided not to remove cables from front runner, rather just lay it on the top of the door and clean in situ:


Whereas I completely removed the rear runner for cleaning:


Lots of lovely old, hardened grease (white spirit and q-tips make light work):


Replacement rear guide wheels sourced from a Mk2 at the scrappies Sunday morning (thankfully found one with manual windows so I could manipulate the glass to remove):


Found the old one sitting in the door!:


Started fitting the sound deadening before reassembly:




Fitted some around the speaker hole to help absorb vibrations:




Passenger side done as well:


Refitting is the reversal of removal, just be careful when putting the glass back into the door and sliding it down to meet with the holding bracket.

Don't fully tighten the 14mm nuts on the guides until you have checked operation of the windows, then when you are happy, nip them up.

Car rides so much quieter now, no doubt helped by replacing the missing rear guide wheels and the sound when closing the doors has improved dramatically

Edited by AmiableChimp on Wednesday 28th June 00:25

[Drums]

Seriously good looking Eunos. Looks great on those Enkei's too.

[Usget]

Enkeis look great. You've done all the stuff I really should do to mine, but can't be arsed... especially the window runners.