Discussion
I've been wanting a small sporty car, for a little while now. so I've impulsively brought a Mazda MX5.
After a few years of having no notable cars under my ownership, I've decided I wanted something a bit faster and more fun to drive.
This will serve as a 2nd car and will only really be used on the weekends.
As with all crazy car purchases, this one also started with a browse on eBay.
This one was really quite local to me, so a quick phone call with the seller to check all the details, it all sounded legit, then 2 days later I went over checked it all over in person and now its on my drive.
I got lucky with a low mileage car, having only covered 50k miles and it has a full service history as well, so a little win win there.
It's had some remedial work done due to rust. The sills had rotted, so they had already been replaced by the previous owner.
Its also got new pads and discs and Michelin pilot sport's all round, also has a new exhaust, as someone stole the cat on the old one, sounds a bit fruiter now.
Although it was already clean, it'd been sat around in a garage for the past 2 years, so smelt a bit "old and musty".
So, within 24 hours of ownership I set about taking out all the interior to give it a good clean and to also replace any nuts and bolts that looked a bit rusted.
A couple of jobs I'm already doing on the car.
I noticed a small leak on the rear glass window so I've brought some liquid silicone sealant in a bid to stop the leak.
I've replaced some of the ancillary screws and replaced with zinc ones, in a bid to slow down any rust.
As you can see from the picture below of the engine bay, it's had a coolant leak at some point in its life, so I want to clean that up.
I'll replace the head unit for something a bit more modern, so I can connect my phone to the car.
I've also coated the hood in Fabsil gold, to hopefully preserve the hood as well.
There's nothing majorly wrong with the car, little bits of surface rust in all the usual place.
When funds allow, I'll get the front bumper resprayed, as its got a couple of chips and scratches on it.
I'm not planning on doing any modifications, I've brought it mainly to enjoy a bit of b road driving with the top down.
Any other tips with Mazda mx5 ownership will be greatly received.
After a few years of having no notable cars under my ownership, I've decided I wanted something a bit faster and more fun to drive.
This will serve as a 2nd car and will only really be used on the weekends.
As with all crazy car purchases, this one also started with a browse on eBay.
This one was really quite local to me, so a quick phone call with the seller to check all the details, it all sounded legit, then 2 days later I went over checked it all over in person and now its on my drive.
I got lucky with a low mileage car, having only covered 50k miles and it has a full service history as well, so a little win win there.
It's had some remedial work done due to rust. The sills had rotted, so they had already been replaced by the previous owner.
Its also got new pads and discs and Michelin pilot sport's all round, also has a new exhaust, as someone stole the cat on the old one, sounds a bit fruiter now.
Although it was already clean, it'd been sat around in a garage for the past 2 years, so smelt a bit "old and musty".
So, within 24 hours of ownership I set about taking out all the interior to give it a good clean and to also replace any nuts and bolts that looked a bit rusted.
A couple of jobs I'm already doing on the car.
I noticed a small leak on the rear glass window so I've brought some liquid silicone sealant in a bid to stop the leak.
I've replaced some of the ancillary screws and replaced with zinc ones, in a bid to slow down any rust.
As you can see from the picture below of the engine bay, it's had a coolant leak at some point in its life, so I want to clean that up.
I'll replace the head unit for something a bit more modern, so I can connect my phone to the car.
I've also coated the hood in Fabsil gold, to hopefully preserve the hood as well.
There's nothing majorly wrong with the car, little bits of surface rust in all the usual place.
When funds allow, I'll get the front bumper resprayed, as its got a couple of chips and scratches on it.
I'm not planning on doing any modifications, I've brought it mainly to enjoy a bit of b road driving with the top down.
Any other tips with Mazda mx5 ownership will be greatly received.
You should be onto a winner.
With my old NB it was a trooper, never had anything wrong with it except a sticky calliper. Driven hard on track even ran with very low oil for an unkown amount of time (due to my negligence in not checking, I have since learned) and did not kick up any fuss. I actually thought the seats to be very comfortable.
People often fit upgraded door bushings which are a very easy simple and reversable mod that only takes a few minutes.
The main thing is usually rust but it seems like you already have that under control. Make sure to keep the roof drain holes clear, can use a trombone type cleaner for that.
Only other thing I can think of from my ownership is to make sure the throttle cable isn't loose. Made so much difference on mine once I got it right.
Enjoy!
With my old NB it was a trooper, never had anything wrong with it except a sticky calliper. Driven hard on track even ran with very low oil for an unkown amount of time (due to my negligence in not checking, I have since learned) and did not kick up any fuss. I actually thought the seats to be very comfortable.
People often fit upgraded door bushings which are a very easy simple and reversable mod that only takes a few minutes.
The main thing is usually rust but it seems like you already have that under control. Make sure to keep the roof drain holes clear, can use a trombone type cleaner for that.
Only other thing I can think of from my ownership is to make sure the throttle cable isn't loose. Made so much difference on mine once I got it right.
Enjoy!
Happy new car day 
Get the insides of your rear wings and sills [u]flooded[/u] with Lanoguard. Actually, if you can find a hole, pump Lanoguard into it. Clear drain holes is vital, but the fact of the matter is that the surface protection on the insides of all the body cavities which water flows into and drains out of could be described as "indifferent" at its most charitable.
This is what's going on inside:
Prevention is better than cure
Get the insides of your rear wings and sills [u]flooded[/u] with Lanoguard. Actually, if you can find a hole, pump Lanoguard into it. Clear drain holes is vital, but the fact of the matter is that the surface protection on the insides of all the body cavities which water flows into and drains out of could be described as "indifferent" at its most charitable.
This is what's going on inside:
Prevention is better than cure
Wow that's some serious rot going on there.
Did you manage to get it fixed?
Rear sills is a good shout, I'll get them check out when i get under the car tomorrow.
I checked the front sills and they look in pretty good nick.
I managed to get all the leaf mush out if them.
The passenger drainage hole was blocked, so i shoved a bent coat hanger in there and cleared out the blockage and checked the water flow, seems good for now.
I have noticed some water in the boot, but I've not worked out how its got there yet, I suspect a leaking seal somewhere, so futther inspection is needed.
In other news i noticed the engine guard has ripped from the holding bolt and is literally an inch from the ground, so they'll need replacing too.
Did you manage to get it fixed?
Rear sills is a good shout, I'll get them check out when i get under the car tomorrow.
I checked the front sills and they look in pretty good nick.
I managed to get all the leaf mush out if them.
The passenger drainage hole was blocked, so i shoved a bent coat hanger in there and cleared out the blockage and checked the water flow, seems good for now.
I have noticed some water in the boot, but I've not worked out how its got there yet, I suspect a leaking seal somewhere, so futther inspection is needed.
In other news i noticed the engine guard has ripped from the holding bolt and is literally an inch from the ground, so they'll need replacing too.
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