NA8C Eunos S-Special (1994)
Discussion
I picked this Eunos up in June this year as a replacement for my ’96 UK MX-5. Bought it in Malvern, drove it back to Surrey, gave it a once over that evening and proceeded to take it on a 650 mile trip around the peak district with the Mrs the next morning.
I’d taken my old UK car as far as I could (thread here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a... ) and decided to sell up for an import car after calculating the cost to install an LSD, remove the airbags, the airbag wheel and find a hardtop.
About the new car:
NA8C Eunos S-Special - imported in 1998
LSD - Transforms the way these things corner. I could not believe the difference between my Eunos and my old UK Car!
Bilstein shocks
Lowered 30mm
RS Watanabe B-Type 14x6.5
Zoom side repeaters
Decat
Electric windows
Power steering
Aircon - may remove at a later date
Better sound system with crossover tweeters and headrest speakers
Hardtop
80K on the clock
I cannot stress what good condition this car is in. It is completely rust free (a miracle for a Mk1). The sills have been done but otherwise it's all original. It's always been garaged and it shows. By the look of the underside it's never seen an English winter!
First job was to replace the horrible ditch-finders on the rear so I ordered some Toyo Proxes T1-R in the 195/55/14 flavour.
Then the weather turned nasty so the hard top came out.
I removed the massive front plate plinth. It's obviously had a fair few plates screwed in so the bumper will be being sorted at a later date.
The car was due a service so I changed the oil, filters, spark plugs, leads and cam cover gasket. Whilst I was at it I tarted up the rocker cover and sorted the rusty wiper arms.
Couldn't find any receipts for the cambelt with the service history so was pleased to find it in good condition, no need to change it yet.
Rocker cover before.
After.
I sourced some Runabout S800 mirrors second hand. These are made for the MX-5 and screw straight in to the original mirror positions. They're usually £200 by the time you've shipped a set over from the states so I was pleased with this mint set for £80 delivered.
It's starting to look pretty old school with the S800's, Zoom retro repeaters and Watanabes.
Now it was time to give the paint some love so I washed it, clay barred it, hit it with the super resin polish and finally finished with a few coats of this awesome Japanese Fusso Soft 99 Wax (google it, it's amazing for just over £25).
Letting the wax cure.
Stupidly, I didn't take any proper photo's of the finished result so here's a few shots of it looking reasonably clean a few days later.
The grubby rear plate was letting the car down a bit so I threw a new one on before loading it up for a trip back to the west country to see my folks, watch Bristol Rovers play Argyle away and most importantly get a TR Lane roll bar fitted.
The drive down on the Friday evening was glorious!
I ordered a TR Lane GPD with a harness bar and got Tim to fit it. I'm sure I could have done it myself but as I'm planning to use this car for hillclimbing, and he was offering a generous discount on fitting, I thought it best to get the manufacturer to install it. He told me it was one of the best MX-5's he'd seen which was nice!
Got it home and gave it a wash.
Scrubs up quite well for an old girl!
I’d taken my old UK car as far as I could (thread here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a... ) and decided to sell up for an import car after calculating the cost to install an LSD, remove the airbags, the airbag wheel and find a hardtop.
About the new car:
NA8C Eunos S-Special - imported in 1998
LSD - Transforms the way these things corner. I could not believe the difference between my Eunos and my old UK Car!
Bilstein shocks
Lowered 30mm
RS Watanabe B-Type 14x6.5
Zoom side repeaters
Decat
Electric windows
Power steering
Aircon - may remove at a later date
Better sound system with crossover tweeters and headrest speakers
Hardtop
80K on the clock
I cannot stress what good condition this car is in. It is completely rust free (a miracle for a Mk1). The sills have been done but otherwise it's all original. It's always been garaged and it shows. By the look of the underside it's never seen an English winter!
First job was to replace the horrible ditch-finders on the rear so I ordered some Toyo Proxes T1-R in the 195/55/14 flavour.
Then the weather turned nasty so the hard top came out.
I removed the massive front plate plinth. It's obviously had a fair few plates screwed in so the bumper will be being sorted at a later date.
The car was due a service so I changed the oil, filters, spark plugs, leads and cam cover gasket. Whilst I was at it I tarted up the rocker cover and sorted the rusty wiper arms.
Couldn't find any receipts for the cambelt with the service history so was pleased to find it in good condition, no need to change it yet.
Rocker cover before.
After.
I sourced some Runabout S800 mirrors second hand. These are made for the MX-5 and screw straight in to the original mirror positions. They're usually £200 by the time you've shipped a set over from the states so I was pleased with this mint set for £80 delivered.
It's starting to look pretty old school with the S800's, Zoom retro repeaters and Watanabes.
Now it was time to give the paint some love so I washed it, clay barred it, hit it with the super resin polish and finally finished with a few coats of this awesome Japanese Fusso Soft 99 Wax (google it, it's amazing for just over £25).
Letting the wax cure.
Stupidly, I didn't take any proper photo's of the finished result so here's a few shots of it looking reasonably clean a few days later.
The grubby rear plate was letting the car down a bit so I threw a new one on before loading it up for a trip back to the west country to see my folks, watch Bristol Rovers play Argyle away and most importantly get a TR Lane roll bar fitted.
The drive down on the Friday evening was glorious!
I ordered a TR Lane GPD with a harness bar and got Tim to fit it. I'm sure I could have done it myself but as I'm planning to use this car for hillclimbing, and he was offering a generous discount on fitting, I thought it best to get the manufacturer to install it. He told me it was one of the best MX-5's he'd seen which was nice!
Got it home and gave it a wash.
Scrubs up quite well for an old girl!
lee_erm said:
Awesome, the paint looks fantastic for a 21 year old car! I have the same 94 S-spec, unfortunately mine has the boomerang spoiler! I guess it was as an option?
Can I ask what paint you used on the rocker?
VHT Wrinkle paint dude! Available cheaply off Ebay. The boomerang spoiler looks quite good on some cars, if you're not feeling it you could get a second hand 'non spoiler' boot for peanuts? Or de-spoiler it yourself and stick a nice ducktail over the holes! Can I ask what paint you used on the rocker?
Drums said:
Cheers mate! A weekend and a bit of elbow grease would get yours looking great. Liking the tan hood on yours, looks a bit like my old one.
The tan hood was off my old car and was only put on as the original roof was leaking. Not sure on the red and tan combo but it is growing on meHere's a few recent updates.
I was noticing quite a lot of condensation inside the cabin when left overnight. The hood is perfect and doesn't leak so I decided to give it a deep clean and reseal. Picked up one of the autoglym kits and set to work.
Before
During
After
I could not believe how much crap came out of the hood. It took numerous attempts with the cleaner to stop dark liquid and dirt running from the hood. The reviver has brought the colour of the hood back, stopped the condensation and it now repels water far better than before. Would seriously recommend for £15 if you haven't done it before.
A week later it was heading to work, in the wet, down a narrow country road when I hit the mother of all pot holes. It was full of water and resembled a puddle so I had no chance. One immaculate wheel now marked and one perfectly good T1-R f
ked.
It was impossible to find anyone with 195/55/14 Toyos actually in stock so I left the car gathering leaves for a week whilst I ordered a set.
The damage to the rim isn't as bad as it looks in the photo and is now almost invisible after a bit of sanding back.
New shoes on.
Thankfully the wheel balanced out perfectly. The tyre fitter thought there was nothing wrong with my knackered looking sidewall but I wasn't prepared to take any chances. I had a scary moment with an otherwise perfect looking tyre 3 years ago when one blew clean off the rim of my old A3 and overtook me in the middle lane of the M4.
Yeah, not taking the risk.
Anyhow, I thought I could use my old tyres on a set of skid wheels so stuck them on the passenger seat and headed home. Totally forgot I had to collect a package for the Mrs so that got wedged between the roll bar and windscreen. Got some interesting looks on the way home.
I was noticing quite a lot of condensation inside the cabin when left overnight. The hood is perfect and doesn't leak so I decided to give it a deep clean and reseal. Picked up one of the autoglym kits and set to work.
Before
During
After
I could not believe how much crap came out of the hood. It took numerous attempts with the cleaner to stop dark liquid and dirt running from the hood. The reviver has brought the colour of the hood back, stopped the condensation and it now repels water far better than before. Would seriously recommend for £15 if you haven't done it before.
A week later it was heading to work, in the wet, down a narrow country road when I hit the mother of all pot holes. It was full of water and resembled a puddle so I had no chance. One immaculate wheel now marked and one perfectly good T1-R f
ked. It was impossible to find anyone with 195/55/14 Toyos actually in stock so I left the car gathering leaves for a week whilst I ordered a set.
The damage to the rim isn't as bad as it looks in the photo and is now almost invisible after a bit of sanding back.
New shoes on.
Thankfully the wheel balanced out perfectly. The tyre fitter thought there was nothing wrong with my knackered looking sidewall but I wasn't prepared to take any chances. I had a scary moment with an otherwise perfect looking tyre 3 years ago when one blew clean off the rim of my old A3 and overtook me in the middle lane of the M4.
Yeah, not taking the risk.
Anyhow, I thought I could use my old tyres on a set of skid wheels so stuck them on the passenger seat and headed home. Totally forgot I had to collect a package for the Mrs so that got wedged between the roll bar and windscreen. Got some interesting looks on the way home.
n90acc said:
Nice S-Special.
First thing I noticed - I also have a black S-Special - registration L*** NJO! must have been imported in the same batch.
Very interesting, must have been bought over together. I've got the import docs for mine somewhere with it's history folder, it'd be interesting to see if it's the same company/individual that shipped them from Japan. First thing I noticed - I also have a black S-Special - registration L*** NJO! must have been imported in the same batch.
Carlique said:
Lovely lovely example you've got there! Exactly what I'll be looking for when my lease goes back. Any recommendations/hints/tips for someone looking for something similar? Cheers 
Thank you very much mate. My advice would be to decide what sort of MX-5 you'd like (there's so many limited editions with varying trim specs to choose from) and then buy on the condition of the bodywork. Rust is the biggest killer of these and even a lot of so called 'enthusiasts' don't seem to be up to speed with how to keep the old tin worm at bay. When you view an MX-5 check for rust everywhere - I spent a good 45 minutes going over the bodywork/underside of mine before purchase - and any seller with nothing to hide should be happy to oblige. If you find any rot, walk away.
Personally I'd go for an import, with evidence of a recent professional underseal, and a good hood or hardtop. Really other than rot there's not a great deal to go wrong with them; and it's easy to customise to your spec when you start with a good, solid base car.
Good luck with the search!
Drums said:
Thank you very much mate. My advice would be to decide what sort of MX-5 you'd like (there's so many limited editions with varying trim specs to choose from) and then buy on the condition of the bodywork.
Rust is the biggest killer of these and even a lot of so called 'enthusiasts' don't seem to be up to speed with how to keep the old tin worm at bay. When you view an MX-5 check for rust everywhere - I spent a good 45 minutes going over the bodywork/underside of mine before purchase - and any seller with nothing to hide should be happy to oblige. If you find any rot, walk away.
Personally I'd go for an import, with evidence of a recent professional underseal, and a good hood or hardtop. Really other than rot there's not a great deal to go wrong with them; and it's easy to customise to your spec when you start with a good, solid base car.
Good luck with the search!
Cheers for the advice! Having looked at various classifieds online it would seem like well kept, rust free examples are becoming far and few between. And the ones that are available are commanding an almost 100% premium on the average examples. .Rust is the biggest killer of these and even a lot of so called 'enthusiasts' don't seem to be up to speed with how to keep the old tin worm at bay. When you view an MX-5 check for rust everywhere - I spent a good 45 minutes going over the bodywork/underside of mine before purchase - and any seller with nothing to hide should be happy to oblige. If you find any rot, walk away.
Personally I'd go for an import, with evidence of a recent professional underseal, and a good hood or hardtop. Really other than rot there's not a great deal to go wrong with them; and it's easy to customise to your spec when you start with a good, solid base car.
Good luck with the search!
I think I'd go for an S-Special too as it has that all important LSD and uprated suspension.
Anyway, thanks for the tips and look forward to following the thread/future mods.
Carlique said:
Cheers for the advice! Having looked at various classifieds online it would seem like well kept, rust free examples are becoming far and few between. And the ones that are available are commanding an almost 100% premium on the average examples. .
I think I'd go for an S-Special too as it has that all important LSD and uprated suspension.
Anyway, thanks for the tips and look forward to following the thread/future mods.
Very good shout. Anything based on the S-Special will be a great Eunos. These guys have a pretty handy guide should you want to compare the specs of the various editions. I think I'd go for an S-Special too as it has that all important LSD and uprated suspension.
Anyway, thanks for the tips and look forward to following the thread/future mods.
http://www.goodwoodsportscars.co.uk/section783453....
I'm undersealing mine this weekend. Photos should be following on Monday.
Drums said:
Very good shout. Anything based on the S-Special will be a great Eunos. These guys have a pretty handy guide should you want to compare the specs of the various editions.
http://www.goodwoodsportscars.co.uk/section783453....
I'm undersealing mine this weekend. Photos should be following on Monday.
Fantastic link, thanks. Looks like they have a nice selection of cars coming in soon too. http://www.goodwoodsportscars.co.uk/section783453....
I'm undersealing mine this weekend. Photos should be following on Monday.
Interested to see how you'll be undersealing it too.
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