Going to look at a 1.6 UK Car tonight...
Discussion
I assume you're paying hundreds not thousands for it!
1.6 perfectly fine on track. Neither the 1.6 or 1.8 set the world alight in a line but the cornering makes up for it.
Look for:
Sill rust
Hood Condition...even the smallest of "cracks" on the edge above the window let water in...if you care on a track slag.
Oil leaks from the cam cover and CAS
Blocked radiator
Sticking rear calipers
And other stuff on the wiki!
1.6 perfectly fine on track. Neither the 1.6 or 1.8 set the world alight in a line but the cornering makes up for it.
Look for:
Sill rust
Hood Condition...even the smallest of "cracks" on the edge above the window let water in...if you care on a track slag.
Oil leaks from the cam cover and CAS
Blocked radiator
Sticking rear calipers
And other stuff on the wiki!
According to the UK Model guide on the Common faults/Buying giude wiki, the 1.6 was down to 88bhp from April 95.
EDIT: Found some info on the affected VIN numbers:
VINs starting JMZ NA18 B2 were 114bhp then from April 95 VINs starting JMZ NA C2 were 88bhp.
Not sure how reliable the info is though.
EDIT: Found some info on the affected VIN numbers:
VINs starting JMZ NA18 B2 were 114bhp then from April 95 VINs starting JMZ NA C2 were 88bhp.
Not sure how reliable the info is though.
Edited by Risotto on Wednesday 16th June 14:35
Rust spots -
-Front wings where it curves down to meet the sill (wings bolt on). This is a good dirt trap, fills with wet mud from the front wheel and leads to rust outer and inner wings. Easily cleaned out though.
-Sills. Particularly the rear end. From the top of the outside section (directly below the door) right down as it curves under the car, to the seam that runs along the bottom. Watch out that the seam is not too battered.
-Inside lip of rear arch, from the bottom all the way round to the top.
-Front 'face' of inner rear wheelarch. There is an inspection hole here with a rubber grommet on that you could pop out if the owner is ok with it.
-Windscreen surround/pillars
- Top of sill section inside door shut - underneath and around the chrom kick plates. Again - you could unscrew these for an easy inspection.
Check the seam along bottom of the sills at each end there is a reinforced jacking point, either side of this is a small drain hole. Check they are not mangled/blocked (take a bit of wire with you). Otherwise the sills fill up with water.
Check the hood drain hole aswell, this exits through a little rubber tube that pops out infront of the rear wheel arch.
Check the two chassis rails that run the length of the car - they are often dented/scraped and this is a place where rust starts. Also the floorpan where it curves up at either end of the cabin - often dented and crunched here.
Subframes and wishbones usually have a bit of surface muck/rust on them. Avoid any that look like they've come out of the sea.
Also checking under the rear bumper, above the backbox will give you a good idea - obviousll filthy, rusty brown metal is bad, nice black metal is good.
Bear in mind that no matter what the owner tells you - theres no such thing as 'a bit of surface rust on the outside, but its solid underneath'. They go from the inside out.
As many people on here have found out, when it gets to the point where you can see bubbles on the outside of the sill, it generally means that the inside is falling apart.
In answer to your question though - yes, its generally quite easy to spot the difference between a terminally rusty one and one worth considering. Lots of the important bits are visible underneath, and you can get your head in the wheelarches etc. If you can park it on a high kerb that would be really useful, even better if they'll let you jack it up a few inches.
ETA - also note that black painted sills are normal and doesnt necassarily mean its been repainted, and also an unpainted car will have textured anti-stonechip paint all along the side up the the crease-line.
ETA again - i will assume that like most keen DIYers, that welding and bodywork are out of your remit. Its worth remembering that rust and bodywork is what kills MX5's. its expensive and difficult to fix.
Mechanical issues, even seemingly quite major ones, are generally easy to fix and nearly everything it DIY--able Even if you end up needing an engine there easy to get hold of and not expensive/difficult to swap.
-Front wings where it curves down to meet the sill (wings bolt on). This is a good dirt trap, fills with wet mud from the front wheel and leads to rust outer and inner wings. Easily cleaned out though.
-Sills. Particularly the rear end. From the top of the outside section (directly below the door) right down as it curves under the car, to the seam that runs along the bottom. Watch out that the seam is not too battered.
-Inside lip of rear arch, from the bottom all the way round to the top.
-Front 'face' of inner rear wheelarch. There is an inspection hole here with a rubber grommet on that you could pop out if the owner is ok with it.
-Windscreen surround/pillars
- Top of sill section inside door shut - underneath and around the chrom kick plates. Again - you could unscrew these for an easy inspection.
Check the seam along bottom of the sills at each end there is a reinforced jacking point, either side of this is a small drain hole. Check they are not mangled/blocked (take a bit of wire with you). Otherwise the sills fill up with water.
Check the hood drain hole aswell, this exits through a little rubber tube that pops out infront of the rear wheel arch.
Check the two chassis rails that run the length of the car - they are often dented/scraped and this is a place where rust starts. Also the floorpan where it curves up at either end of the cabin - often dented and crunched here.
Subframes and wishbones usually have a bit of surface muck/rust on them. Avoid any that look like they've come out of the sea.
Also checking under the rear bumper, above the backbox will give you a good idea - obviousll filthy, rusty brown metal is bad, nice black metal is good.
Bear in mind that no matter what the owner tells you - theres no such thing as 'a bit of surface rust on the outside, but its solid underneath'. They go from the inside out.
As many people on here have found out, when it gets to the point where you can see bubbles on the outside of the sill, it generally means that the inside is falling apart.
In answer to your question though - yes, its generally quite easy to spot the difference between a terminally rusty one and one worth considering. Lots of the important bits are visible underneath, and you can get your head in the wheelarches etc. If you can park it on a high kerb that would be really useful, even better if they'll let you jack it up a few inches.
ETA - also note that black painted sills are normal and doesnt necassarily mean its been repainted, and also an unpainted car will have textured anti-stonechip paint all along the side up the the crease-line.
ETA again - i will assume that like most keen DIYers, that welding and bodywork are out of your remit. Its worth remembering that rust and bodywork is what kills MX5's. its expensive and difficult to fix.
Mechanical issues, even seemingly quite major ones, are generally easy to fix and nearly everything it DIY--able Even if you end up needing an engine there easy to get hold of and not expensive/difficult to swap.
Edited by snotrag on Wednesday 16th June 16:49
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