One for sorrow, two for joy...? Probably not.
Discussion
For reasons not unrelated to drink I have found myself the slightly bemused owner of two black Mx5s (okay, one's a Eunos but there are no pedants on Pistonheads).
Given that I've never owned one (never mind two) before,I need to embark on a steep learning-curve prior to being hospitalised when my wife finds out about the second one.
If there is anyone in the Watford area who knows a lot (or indeed anything) about Mx5s,not to mention first-aid when my testicles go in the Magimix, I've got a degree in bacon and egg sandwiches.
Eunos 91 auto,air,tan leather,hardtop,12 months mot,could do with hood replacing,apart from that,it really is lovely.
Mx5 April 96 1800 manual,cloth seats,new hood,98,000miles,no mot (needs 2shocks,front suspension spring mounting and rear outer sill suspension mounting,hand brake ajustment and a tyre). Gulp.
Also needs small amount of paint but has clearly been cherished.
I'll be selling the 1800 and wondered how you would address matters if it was your dilemma (as it very easily could be!)
Oh, I forgot to mention I have all the technical expertise of an earwig.
Any advice, up to and including "set fire to one/both" will be much appreciated.
Given that I've never owned one (never mind two) before,I need to embark on a steep learning-curve prior to being hospitalised when my wife finds out about the second one.
If there is anyone in the Watford area who knows a lot (or indeed anything) about Mx5s,not to mention first-aid when my testicles go in the Magimix, I've got a degree in bacon and egg sandwiches.
Eunos 91 auto,air,tan leather,hardtop,12 months mot,could do with hood replacing,apart from that,it really is lovely.
Mx5 April 96 1800 manual,cloth seats,new hood,98,000miles,no mot (needs 2shocks,front suspension spring mounting and rear outer sill suspension mounting,hand brake ajustment and a tyre). Gulp.
Also needs small amount of paint but has clearly been cherished.
I'll be selling the 1800 and wondered how you would address matters if it was your dilemma (as it very easily could be!)
Oh, I forgot to mention I have all the technical expertise of an earwig.
Any advice, up to and including "set fire to one/both" will be much appreciated.
root 666 said:
rear outer sill suspension mounting.
not sure i understand what you mean by this? the suspension is mounted to the chassis via a top mount which can be located in the boot. if you mean it needs a rear outer sill replacing, that is something totally different to suspension.replacement mazda shocks arent that cheap so if i were you i would buy some second hand coilovers allround (maybe better to go aftermarket and adjustable) and new mk2 top mounts (they cost less than the mk1). you could probably pick up the shocks for £150-200 and the top mounts would set you back about £70 for 4. fitting i would do myself but probably factor in about £100 to get the geo done afterwards. regarding the rear sill (if that is actually a problem?) it will cost about £250 to get a new outer sill welded on and the bodywork finished nicely. You should probably replace both tyres on the same axel so budget £100 for that. total comes to £650 if you do the work yourself or probably more like £800-£850 if you got a garage to do the shocks.
Eddited to say i would probably fix up the 1.8 swap all the good bits from the 1.6 into it and flog the 1.6 as i couldnt live with a slushboxx in an mx5 the gearchange is one of its best features.
Edited by Pete Franklin on Thursday 18th August 15:07
Depends where you go to get your MOT done i guess. my freindly MOT tester passed my car with an advisory on the outer sill (which you can now see through) because the inner sill was still structually fine, stating correctly that the outer sill is not a structural element.
how much did you buy the car for if you dont mind me asking?
If the suspension mounting area is corroded (i.e where the top mounts are mounted), then it might be a bit more of a serious issue...
how much did you buy the car for if you dont mind me asking?
If the suspension mounting area is corroded (i.e where the top mounts are mounted), then it might be a bit more of a serious issue...
Edited by Pete Franklin on Thursday 18th August 15:58
With regard to Pete Franklin's price enquiry, I gave £585 for it (please don't laugh, I'm feeling sensitive).
It's got an induction kit and a tricky exhaust, good tyres and some sort of amplifier thingy in the boot as well as more speakers than are entirely necessary ("Technical" is my middle name).
The vinyl hood is 3 months old and the car looks really straight and cared for unless of course you're an MoT inspector to whom apparently it closely resembles a heap of s
t.
A friend has said that the garage that failed it would fail the Popemobile (leak on n/s holy water dispenser) as they make a very good living from repairing failures (they quoted £350 to fix the Mx5) so I might re-MoT elsewhere and see if the "to do" list gets any smaller rather than my bank balance.
As a matter of interest what is it that makes the 1600 preferred? Can't the 1800 deliver the same/more power? How long before my wife finds out? Do two Mx5s mean mid-life crisis AND ghey? What if you've got a bus-pass?
Am I losing my mind?
It's got an induction kit and a tricky exhaust, good tyres and some sort of amplifier thingy in the boot as well as more speakers than are entirely necessary ("Technical" is my middle name).
The vinyl hood is 3 months old and the car looks really straight and cared for unless of course you're an MoT inspector to whom apparently it closely resembles a heap of s
t.A friend has said that the garage that failed it would fail the Popemobile (leak on n/s holy water dispenser) as they make a very good living from repairing failures (they quoted £350 to fix the Mx5) so I might re-MoT elsewhere and see if the "to do" list gets any smaller rather than my bank balance.
As a matter of interest what is it that makes the 1600 preferred? Can't the 1800 deliver the same/more power? How long before my wife finds out? Do two Mx5s mean mid-life crisis AND ghey? What if you've got a bus-pass?
Am I losing my mind?
Edited by root 666 on Friday 19th August 16:39
If your mechanically up for it, It would be straighforward-ish to make one good one. Pick the best chassis, make sure its all sorted underneath, then put the car together using the 1.8 engine, and back end.
You can pick and choose the best of the brakes (use the 1.8 caliper carriers), best hood, seats, etc etc. Then sell the rest for scrap/spares.
Auto MX-5 is totally missing the point of the car, stupid unless for obvious reasons like missing legs.
You can pick and choose the best of the brakes (use the 1.8 caliper carriers), best hood, seats, etc etc. Then sell the rest for scrap/spares.
Auto MX-5 is totally missing the point of the car, stupid unless for obvious reasons like missing legs.
Captain, I think I love you and yes, I'd love to see yours, what can we arrange? (Are we on the right forum?)
I've appreciated enormously (well, a bit) input from those whose touchingly naive belief in my mechanical ability hasn't been even mildly toned-down by my initial statement of having the expertise of an earwig, however, the liklihood of me surrounding myself with spanners and...erm...well... some other stuff..I dunno...WD40?...a saw? isn't great even if I had any, which I don't.
Both cars are black (I don't know why I mentioned that) and LOOK great. One of them actually IS (apart from a slightly tired hood under the hardtop).
The other (96) needs £350 and a little paint to be superb - it's already got a new hood and loads of what may or may not be referred to as "ICE".
I think I was looking for someone to suggest a person who loved fiddling about (steady) with Mx5s and priced their work accordingly, or perhaps someone who was looking for one to work on and who might buy the 96. In any event, the scrapman won't be seeing either of them for a good while yet.
Why have I just got a feeling that I may come to regret the last sentence?
(I apologise for the capitals which are meant to denote emphasis rather than shouting as I don't know how to underline.)
Thanks to everyone for their input.
I've appreciated enormously (well, a bit) input from those whose touchingly naive belief in my mechanical ability hasn't been even mildly toned-down by my initial statement of having the expertise of an earwig, however, the liklihood of me surrounding myself with spanners and...erm...well... some other stuff..I dunno...WD40?...a saw? isn't great even if I had any, which I don't.
Both cars are black (I don't know why I mentioned that) and LOOK great. One of them actually IS (apart from a slightly tired hood under the hardtop).
The other (96) needs £350 and a little paint to be superb - it's already got a new hood and loads of what may or may not be referred to as "ICE".
I think I was looking for someone to suggest a person who loved fiddling about (steady) with Mx5s and priced their work accordingly, or perhaps someone who was looking for one to work on and who might buy the 96. In any event, the scrapman won't be seeing either of them for a good while yet.
Why have I just got a feeling that I may come to regret the last sentence?
(I apologise for the capitals which are meant to denote emphasis rather than shouting as I don't know how to underline.)
Thanks to everyone for their input.
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