1991 Mazda MX5 1.6
Discussion
Sorry for yet another MX5 thread!
I was looking for a wee MX5 project for myself and my 15 yr old lad to work on over the next few years until he is old enough to get insured without costing an arm and a leg and bought this Mk 1 2 weeks ago.
Originally we were looking at anything up to an NC with a budget of £2500 maximum but cheaper the better. The MK 1 was ultimately the one we were after but looking at some of the cars for sale at that price just brought up some right horrors.
I don't mind attempting anything mechanical at all but rust was going to be the issue and wanted to try and get as rust free a car as possible (ha ha!)
Discounted the NC in the end as just too new and for a fun car we wanted some character so settled on trying to find an Nb.
Obviously these have their own problems (even more rust issues) but saw some half decent ones advertised but nothing that really grabbed our attention.
We had just came back from driving a 2005 icon Nb which was nice but too nice in some ways. Heated leather, aircon and all that jazz but was missing that old car feeling. Well, that and the filler starting to crack under the rear sills was a bit off putting!!
Took the dog out and thought unless I increased my budget that it was a waste of time. I was pushing my luck with the budget I had anyway (Mrs Mac not happy with spending that much at this time) so thought I would give it a by but opened up Autotrader just for a quick look.
And just that morning a silver Na had been put on. Car was only 20 minutes away and looked ok. Covered in awful stickers and looking rather chavvy and described as scruffy I thought I would phone up anyway.
Drove over that evening and actually it wasn't too bad really. Not a fan of silver at all but by now I was just after one in as good condition as I could find.
The guy had had it for 9 years and put 17,000 miles on it. He has had the inner and outer sills done and as well as the rear arches.
New tyres, wheels and brakes. New clutch and all belts. Roof all good (so I thought!) New radiator and lots of other items replaced and a huge history file with all previous bills.
It was covered in some very dubious owners club stickers everywhere and crappy daytime leds and the bodywork although very straight had some issues with lacquer going cloudy and a large scratch and patch of lacquer missing from the boot lid.
We took it out for a drive and couldn't stop smiling and laughing!!
THIS is what we were after! It is very raw and noisy and smelly but all in very good ways. My lad compared it to the newer models by comparing it as going from an Airbus to a Spitfire!
Deal done and we picked it up the next day.
More to come......
I was looking for a wee MX5 project for myself and my 15 yr old lad to work on over the next few years until he is old enough to get insured without costing an arm and a leg and bought this Mk 1 2 weeks ago.
Originally we were looking at anything up to an NC with a budget of £2500 maximum but cheaper the better. The MK 1 was ultimately the one we were after but looking at some of the cars for sale at that price just brought up some right horrors.
I don't mind attempting anything mechanical at all but rust was going to be the issue and wanted to try and get as rust free a car as possible (ha ha!)
Discounted the NC in the end as just too new and for a fun car we wanted some character so settled on trying to find an Nb.
Obviously these have their own problems (even more rust issues) but saw some half decent ones advertised but nothing that really grabbed our attention.
We had just came back from driving a 2005 icon Nb which was nice but too nice in some ways. Heated leather, aircon and all that jazz but was missing that old car feeling. Well, that and the filler starting to crack under the rear sills was a bit off putting!!
Took the dog out and thought unless I increased my budget that it was a waste of time. I was pushing my luck with the budget I had anyway (Mrs Mac not happy with spending that much at this time) so thought I would give it a by but opened up Autotrader just for a quick look.
And just that morning a silver Na had been put on. Car was only 20 minutes away and looked ok. Covered in awful stickers and looking rather chavvy and described as scruffy I thought I would phone up anyway.
Drove over that evening and actually it wasn't too bad really. Not a fan of silver at all but by now I was just after one in as good condition as I could find.
The guy had had it for 9 years and put 17,000 miles on it. He has had the inner and outer sills done and as well as the rear arches.
New tyres, wheels and brakes. New clutch and all belts. Roof all good (so I thought!) New radiator and lots of other items replaced and a huge history file with all previous bills.
It was covered in some very dubious owners club stickers everywhere and crappy daytime leds and the bodywork although very straight had some issues with lacquer going cloudy and a large scratch and patch of lacquer missing from the boot lid.
We took it out for a drive and couldn't stop smiling and laughing!!
THIS is what we were after! It is very raw and noisy and smelly but all in very good ways. My lad compared it to the newer models by comparing it as going from an Airbus to a Spitfire!
Deal done and we picked it up the next day.
More to come......
Got it home and first things first was to try and remove the myriad of stickers that lovingly adorned the car .....
And also removed the tacky day time running LED's.
It also had an odd passenger side cover the headlight with a duct to feed the amazing homemade air intake that does absolutely nothing!
A quick clean and once over and all looks much better than I thought.
Bad points are are loose passenger wing mirror that upon further investigation it looks like the securing screws have seen some action with both not fully tight down but neither will tighten or loosen without the fear of shearing them! The window is also very slow on that side which is a common problem.
That's a job when I get my garage back from the daughter who is storing all her possessions in between house moves so no room for the car.
The rear exhaust box has a rattle so waiting for a Cobalt exhaust to come in stock.
I spent the last 2 weeks just driving it and enjoying it for 700 miles and loved every minute.
Had it machine polished which worked wonders but shows up all the little marks and scratches which i'm not that fussed about but definitely needs a new boot lid.
And then I walked past the car during the week and moved the driver wing mirror and then......
And also removed the tacky day time running LED's.
It also had an odd passenger side cover the headlight with a duct to feed the amazing homemade air intake that does absolutely nothing!
A quick clean and once over and all looks much better than I thought.
Bad points are are loose passenger wing mirror that upon further investigation it looks like the securing screws have seen some action with both not fully tight down but neither will tighten or loosen without the fear of shearing them! The window is also very slow on that side which is a common problem.
That's a job when I get my garage back from the daughter who is storing all her possessions in between house moves so no room for the car.
The rear exhaust box has a rattle so waiting for a Cobalt exhaust to come in stock.
I spent the last 2 weeks just driving it and enjoying it for 700 miles and loved every minute.
Had it machine polished which worked wonders but shows up all the little marks and scratches which i'm not that fussed about but definitely needs a new boot lid.
And then I walked past the car during the week and moved the driver wing mirror and then......
oops!!
Wing mirror came off in my hand! Literally just fell off with hardly touching it!!
Upon investigation there is a bolt that runs from the mirror housing down into the door bracket but lets just say the bolt had slight rusted away.......
Bolt and washer from above.
Bolt and washer from the side......
Not much left of that!!
Unfortunately I managed to crack the glass getting the trim off but a replacement was soon here and some new stainless nuts and bolts and soon had it all back together.
Now at the stage where I am waiting for the exhaust to come into stock and getting some quotes to touch up a few issued on the bodywork.
Then strip down the door and fix the slow window and get that mirror off!
Wing mirror came off in my hand! Literally just fell off with hardly touching it!!
Upon investigation there is a bolt that runs from the mirror housing down into the door bracket but lets just say the bolt had slight rusted away.......
Bolt and washer from above.
Bolt and washer from the side......
Not much left of that!!
Unfortunately I managed to crack the glass getting the trim off but a replacement was soon here and some new stainless nuts and bolts and soon had it all back together.
Now at the stage where I am waiting for the exhaust to come into stock and getting some quotes to touch up a few issued on the bodywork.
Then strip down the door and fix the slow window and get that mirror off!
bombercountynick said:
1991 Eunos roadster probably the best hooning car i've ever owned. Point, squirt, squeal, no problems! 
80mph feels like 180, the tiny brakes are more than adequate to anchor the mini missile up and they sound fruity as hell even on the stock system!
Do think they look nicer with the eunos/jdm rear plate recess but bar that, she's lovely mate!
They also do not like K&N, open type filters. I reverted to a modified stock airbox as mine came with a K&N and I couldn't believe how much difference it made. Changes the exhaust note for the better too (especially aftermarket) with the stock airbox.
I had a Tanabe Manifold on mine with a custom stainless I made and soon as I put the stock airbox back on I got some rather fruity bangs inbetween every gear change when driven hard!!
Torsen diff's are pretty cheap now too, although the 1600 diff ratio is much more suited than the 1800, with a 4.3 FD they really wake up and buzz through them gutless revs much easier!
Love it, Enjoy!
Shouldn't of sold mine
Thanks and very interesting about the airbox. This has been modified but the original airbox came with the car.80mph feels like 180, the tiny brakes are more than adequate to anchor the mini missile up and they sound fruity as hell even on the stock system!
Do think they look nicer with the eunos/jdm rear plate recess but bar that, she's lovely mate!
They also do not like K&N, open type filters. I reverted to a modified stock airbox as mine came with a K&N and I couldn't believe how much difference it made. Changes the exhaust note for the better too (especially aftermarket) with the stock airbox.
I had a Tanabe Manifold on mine with a custom stainless I made and soon as I put the stock airbox back on I got some rather fruity bangs inbetween every gear change when driven hard!!
Torsen diff's are pretty cheap now too, although the 1600 diff ratio is much more suited than the 1800, with a 4.3 FD they really wake up and buzz through them gutless revs much easier!
Love it, Enjoy!
Shouldn't of sold mine
Edited by bombercountynick on Saturday 4th July 20:20
What you you do to modify yours to improve the box then?
Oh and lovely car!
stickleback123 said:
Amuses me to see the MX5OC sticker on a car that someone has been making a half arsed attempt to ruin with stick on crap and rubbish aftermarket mods; my experience of going to a couple of their meet ups is a load of proper old giffers in love with stick on chrome, badges, and rubbish like cone filters even on the newest models.
It's great to see one brought back rather than ruined.
I was expecting some young chavvy lad that was selling but an older gent who loved his stickers and hoped to meet me at a future owners club meeting..!It's great to see one brought back rather than ruined.
The plan is to keep it very original with just a small drop on the suspension on the cards but nothing that makes it crashy as it drives so well.
Cheers.
stickleback123 said:
nessiemac said:
The plan is to keep it very original with just a small drop on the suspension on the cards but nothing that makes it crashy as it drives so well.
IMHO they are the most outright fun on the standard mazda springs and dampers with bushes in good order. Once you start lowering and so on the car feels a bit more serious and the lack of grunt becomes frustrating; the chassis writes cheques the engine can't cash.I've always enjoyed totally standard cars the most.
Oh and daisies are staying. In fact it came with a spare set of daisies that I am going to refurb and have some winter tyres on.
Edited by nessiemac on Sunday 5th July 08:24
stickleback123 said:
Minor slightly on topic digression:
I tried a trip out with the owners club and I saw this beauty, what you can't see so well is the chrome strip all around the weather seal, the chrome door handles and mirrors, and the stickers all over the side. The paintwork looked like it had been washed with a brillo pad too, poor car.
I was by no means the only car so tackily adorned, and I can only assume they got those 2000GT badges as a job lot because a few had them stuck on.
Crazy! I tried a trip out with the owners club and I saw this beauty, what you can't see so well is the chrome strip all around the weather seal, the chrome door handles and mirrors, and the stickers all over the side. The paintwork looked like it had been washed with a brillo pad too, poor car.
I was by no means the only car so tackily adorned, and I can only assume they got those 2000GT badges as a job lot because a few had them stuck on.
Managed to stop driving the '5 for 5 minutes to grab some photos and scrubs up well!
Mazda Mx5 sunset (7 of 7) by nessiemac1, on Flickr
Mazda Mx5 sunset (4 of 7) by nessiemac1, on Flickr
Mazda Mx5 sunset (6 of 7) by nessiemac1, on Flickr
Mazda Mx5 sunset (3 of 7) by nessiemac1, on Flickr
Mazda Mx5 sunset (2 of 7) by nessiemac1, on Flickr
Mazda Mx5 sunset (5 of 7) by nessiemac1, on Flickr
Mazda Mx5 sunset (7 of 7) by nessiemac1, on FlickrMazda Mx5 sunset (4 of 7) by nessiemac1, on FlickrMazda Mx5 sunset (6 of 7) by nessiemac1, on FlickrMazda Mx5 sunset (3 of 7) by nessiemac1, on FlickrMazda Mx5 sunset (2 of 7) by nessiemac1, on FlickrMazda Mx5 sunset (5 of 7) by nessiemac1, on FlickrThought I had better update the last couple of months rather eventful ownership of the MX5!
Starting with a nice easy cure for the leaking boot floor. New tail light gaskets fitted as the old ones had seen better days.
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|https://thumbsnap.com/VM1MNY2x[/url][url]
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Dry as a bone since then with just some fun enjoying driving it until...
Starting with a nice easy cure for the leaking boot floor. New tail light gaskets fitted as the old ones had seen better days.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/VM1MNY2x[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/JcpN1k6Z[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/gMNULWT7[/url]Dry as a bone since then with just some fun enjoying driving it until...
Driving home from work one morning, enjoying a bit of a blast along the A30, car feeling brilliant and then stopped at some roadworks.
Few seconds later, slipped into first, went to pull away and the loudest bang and clatter ever!
Awful noise so switched off and got out expecting to see a pool of oil or something on the ground but nothing!
Checked all over the car and nothing obvious.
Popped the bonnet and some hazy smoke but all looked good!
Stupidly, went to start it and obviously the same incredibly loud, banging noise so switched off.
Having a good nose around I just saw that the the spark plug lead had popped off so pushed it back down but thought no way that a plug lead off would make that noise but hey ho.
Started again and yep, same noise but noticed the plug lead had popped off again.
Cue lots of head scratching and getting pissed off at 4 am I remembered I had a small torch in my bag so had a good look around and guess what I found.
Or didn’t find.....
The bloody spark plug was missing! Seriously, deep down in the recess, instead of a spark plug there was an empty thread!
Car was running great 30 seconds earlier so that awful bang must have been the spark plug flying out and hitting under the bonnet. Sure enough, about 30 yards behind the car the still warm plug was siting in the middle of the road.
In fact in the photo above, it can just be seen on the road behind the car before i’ve even noticed the problem.
Threads looked fine and plug was intact so had the plug but no way of seeing if it would thread back in as no tools. RAC were useless as 1 hr turned into 2 hrs then before they turned up a white knight stopped with a full toolkit and helped out!
Dropped the plug down into the recess and slowly tightened up and it went in ok! No problem at all and started it up and fine, back to normal and drove home with no issues.
Checked the car over, took all the plugs out, reinstalled them and all went in and torqued up ok. Kept an eye on them after every drive for the next couple of hundred miles and no issues at all.
The most bizarre thing I’ve ever had happen to me with a car.
More to come involving boroscopes, rust and many snapped bolts.......
Few seconds later, slipped into first, went to pull away and the loudest bang and clatter ever!
Awful noise so switched off and got out expecting to see a pool of oil or something on the ground but nothing!
Checked all over the car and nothing obvious.
Popped the bonnet and some hazy smoke but all looked good!
Stupidly, went to start it and obviously the same incredibly loud, banging noise so switched off.
Having a good nose around I just saw that the the spark plug lead had popped off so pushed it back down but thought no way that a plug lead off would make that noise but hey ho.
Started again and yep, same noise but noticed the plug lead had popped off again.
Cue lots of head scratching and getting pissed off at 4 am I remembered I had a small torch in my bag so had a good look around and guess what I found.
Or didn’t find.....
The bloody spark plug was missing! Seriously, deep down in the recess, instead of a spark plug there was an empty thread!
Car was running great 30 seconds earlier so that awful bang must have been the spark plug flying out and hitting under the bonnet. Sure enough, about 30 yards behind the car the still warm plug was siting in the middle of the road.
In fact in the photo above, it can just be seen on the road behind the car before i’ve even noticed the problem.
Threads looked fine and plug was intact so had the plug but no way of seeing if it would thread back in as no tools. RAC were useless as 1 hr turned into 2 hrs then before they turned up a white knight stopped with a full toolkit and helped out!
Dropped the plug down into the recess and slowly tightened up and it went in ok! No problem at all and started it up and fine, back to normal and drove home with no issues.
Checked the car over, took all the plugs out, reinstalled them and all went in and torqued up ok. Kept an eye on them after every drive for the next couple of hundred miles and no issues at all.
The most bizarre thing I’ve ever had happen to me with a car.
More to come involving boroscopes, rust and many snapped bolts.......
Edited by nessiemac on Friday 20th November 03:07
Jonmx said:
I've had three A's and they're so much more fun than the NB I'm currently driving. I'm planning to try and get back into one asap.
This one looks great, especially now the tat has gone. We have a few around here that have suffered similar, usually with gash lexus lights as well. Never had the spark plug issue, usually the alternator belt giving out for me!
Enjoy the winter with the roof down, especially if it's snowing, great fun!
Cheers, there won't ne much driving over the winter though..... You will see why in next update!This one looks great, especially now the tat has gone. We have a few around here that have suffered similar, usually with gash lexus lights as well. Never had the spark plug issue, usually the alternator belt giving out for me!
Enjoy the winter with the roof down, especially if it's snowing, great fun!
RazerSauber said:
I'll have you beaten all ways up on rust I'm sure! Got a welder not long back and going to venture into the world of melting metal soon hopefully. Looking forward to updates!
I'm shocked you've broken several bolts though, mine is in a right state on the underside and I think I've only encountered 1 snapped bolt and 1 bolt so stuck in I had to cut it off!
It's not too bad underneath really. Snapped bolts were all on the passenger side wing! Couple of them the heads just came off like cheese! I'm shocked you've broken several bolts though, mine is in a right state on the underside and I think I've only encountered 1 snapped bolt and 1 bolt so stuck in I had to cut it off!
Just trying to get pics together!
With the car back to running well, thoughts turned to some subtle mods but before that I wanted to make sure the shell was solid before spending any money.
Apart from slightly scruffy paintwork in places it all looks good from the outside.
I knew the rear sills have been welded before but arches and spot welds all original and underneath looks good, apart from crusty suspension so I bought a cheap endoscope from Amazon to have a proper look inside.....
And then wished I hadn’t!
Both rear inner sills were “replaced” in 2016 at a cost of £1400 by the previous owner. Let’s just say the company that done the work are absolute cowboys.
The pax side has no issues apart from some surface rust
Which has been coated in rust converter and cavity wax but the drivers side....
It looks they they cut the outer skin, had a look in, tried to weld it then thought f
k it halfway through. And just left all the rotten metal and bits of welding rod inside!
Funny thing is they done a brilliant job on the outer skin, perfect from outside and that’s the hard part.
So inside the drivers side....
Bloody awful!
Luckily a neighbour owns a welding company and restores the odd classic car so we are going to replace that side in the near future.
Also found a large amount of debris under the bottom lip of the front arches, a common trap that can lead to serious issues.
So even after a hoover out, this lot still fell out.
This led to me taking the front wings off to check underneath. This led to taking the front bumper off as well.
Many snapped bolts later.
luckily everything else looks ok, inside the wings and chassis rails etc.
Now I was down to this stage it was a choice of just put it all back together or tackle the crusty running gear and chassis now.
Which is where I will get to next.
Apart from slightly scruffy paintwork in places it all looks good from the outside.
I knew the rear sills have been welded before but arches and spot welds all original and underneath looks good, apart from crusty suspension so I bought a cheap endoscope from Amazon to have a proper look inside.....
And then wished I hadn’t!
Both rear inner sills were “replaced” in 2016 at a cost of £1400 by the previous owner. Let’s just say the company that done the work are absolute cowboys.
The pax side has no issues apart from some surface rust
Which has been coated in rust converter and cavity wax but the drivers side....
It looks they they cut the outer skin, had a look in, tried to weld it then thought f
k it halfway through. And just left all the rotten metal and bits of welding rod inside! Funny thing is they done a brilliant job on the outer skin, perfect from outside and that’s the hard part.
So inside the drivers side....
Bloody awful!
Luckily a neighbour owns a welding company and restores the odd classic car so we are going to replace that side in the near future.
Also found a large amount of debris under the bottom lip of the front arches, a common trap that can lead to serious issues.
So even after a hoover out, this lot still fell out.
This led to me taking the front wings off to check underneath. This led to taking the front bumper off as well.
Many snapped bolts later.
luckily everything else looks ok, inside the wings and chassis rails etc.
Now I was down to this stage it was a choice of just put it all back together or tackle the crusty running gear and chassis now.
Which is where I will get to next.
mattman said:
Ok - you are to blame for me being in the trouble with the wife. eBay purchase tonight of a Mk1 SE, same model as we had to sell 20 years ago when my eldest was born.
Wasn’t expecting it to finish quite as low as it did, hope it’s as good in the flesh as the photos
Sorry buddy! Wasn’t expecting it to finish quite as low as it did, hope it’s as good in the flesh as the photos
Bet you can't wait to get it!
mattman said:
Wow, is that one of those jobs you wish you never started?
I would love to get another Mk1 some day after having one 20 odd years ago, but appear to have missed the boat on the cheap stuff and lots now seem to be quite rusty.
Your thread gives me hope there is still some half decent stuff out there
Nah, glad I caught it now and enjoying doing something to distract me from everything that is going on in the world right now!I would love to get another Mk1 some day after having one 20 odd years ago, but appear to have missed the boat on the cheap stuff and lots now seem to be quite rusty.
Your thread gives me hope there is still some half decent stuff out there
Front suspension all done now, pics to follow.
Paul S4 said:
Great buy there.
I quite like the Mk 1 MX-5, mainly because the design was based on the original Lotus Elan..... one of which I used to own.
if you compare the side view, the nose with the pop up headlights, the interior layout ( instrument cluster) gearstick placement, central tunnel.....etc etc, they are all very similar too the Elan 63-73.
Even the cam covers look similar !
But the good thing is.... they are much easier to look after ( ask me how I know ! ) : they have the Mazda reputation for bullet-proof mechanicals, and I would guess that the spares are a lot cheaper than Lotus aftermarket parts.
They don't have the infamous 'Rubber donut' drive couplings that were famed for driveshaft 'wind up' ( to be fair I never experienced that with mine.....although I quickly replaced them with solid conventional ones)
Or the pop up headlight system that relied upon induction vacuum to lift ( and retain in position !) the very heavy "pods"....l
so you would be unlikely to get stuck in The Lakes one evening after a cracked T piece resulted in no vacuum, and hence no available headlights at all....!!!
I think that there is now an electric conversion ( based upon your Mk1 car) that solves that issue !
Also the MX-5 is a steel bodyshell..... (unlike the 'plastic' fibreglass dismountable Elan one), which is very much stronger than the Lotus ( in fact there was no metal (at all) between the outer door skin and the central 'backbone' of the chassis ! That was taking the concept of ' adding lightness' to a new level in the 1960's !
Anyway, apologies for going off Mazda Topic, but just though you may like to know where the heritage came from !!
I am getting tempted to get an early mk1...... Just so that I can have a project at this time....
I presume that the spares are reasonably priced for your model of MX-5 ?
There is a huge aftermarket scene for parts and prices from reasonable to not so reasonable, depending on what you are buying.I quite like the Mk 1 MX-5, mainly because the design was based on the original Lotus Elan..... one of which I used to own.
if you compare the side view, the nose with the pop up headlights, the interior layout ( instrument cluster) gearstick placement, central tunnel.....etc etc, they are all very similar too the Elan 63-73.
Even the cam covers look similar !
But the good thing is.... they are much easier to look after ( ask me how I know ! ) : they have the Mazda reputation for bullet-proof mechanicals, and I would guess that the spares are a lot cheaper than Lotus aftermarket parts.
They don't have the infamous 'Rubber donut' drive couplings that were famed for driveshaft 'wind up' ( to be fair I never experienced that with mine.....although I quickly replaced them with solid conventional ones)
Or the pop up headlight system that relied upon induction vacuum to lift ( and retain in position !) the very heavy "pods"....l
so you would be unlikely to get stuck in The Lakes one evening after a cracked T piece resulted in no vacuum, and hence no available headlights at all....!!!
I think that there is now an electric conversion ( based upon your Mk1 car) that solves that issue !
Also the MX-5 is a steel bodyshell..... (unlike the 'plastic' fibreglass dismountable Elan one), which is very much stronger than the Lotus ( in fact there was no metal (at all) between the outer door skin and the central 'backbone' of the chassis ! That was taking the concept of ' adding lightness' to a new level in the 1960's !
Anyway, apologies for going off Mazda Topic, but just though you may like to know where the heritage came from !!
I am getting tempted to get an early mk1...... Just so that I can have a project at this time....
I presume that the spares are reasonably priced for your model of MX-5 ?
Suspension bushes for example, huge range available from oem to many different types of polybush. Which range from £100 a set to over £500 for a set for the whole car!
Which brings me to the next set of piccies.
With the 5 in the garage the decision was made to go over the car with a fine tooth comb and see what other issues I had.
This revealed very crusty and worn looking bushes and shocks and decided to start here.
Impact wrench bought ( best tool ever) I have spent the last few weeks stripping down the front suspension and getting everything cleaned up and painted and replacing the bushes with the best you can get. An Aussie company called Superpro apparently are the best money can buy so all control arm and anti roll bar bushes replaced.
New coilovers from Meister R were more than I was initially prepared to spend but only want to this once and want to do it right so here they are!
Brake callipers refurbed and painted and inner arches cleaned of any surface rust and painted with POR15 range of cleaners, etch primers and paint.
Just finished the front end and got to clean up under the wings and paint them, and then get them and front bumper all back together and tackle the rear end where I will be doing the same but dropping the whole subframe and diff as well and going over the whole lot.
So this is how the last few weeks have gone....
And ending up here....
This revealed very crusty and worn looking bushes and shocks and decided to start here.
Impact wrench bought ( best tool ever) I have spent the last few weeks stripping down the front suspension and getting everything cleaned up and painted and replacing the bushes with the best you can get. An Aussie company called Superpro apparently are the best money can buy so all control arm and anti roll bar bushes replaced.
New coilovers from Meister R were more than I was initially prepared to spend but only want to this once and want to do it right so here they are!
Brake callipers refurbed and painted and inner arches cleaned of any surface rust and painted with POR15 range of cleaners, etch primers and paint.
Just finished the front end and got to clean up under the wings and paint them, and then get them and front bumper all back together and tackle the rear end where I will be doing the same but dropping the whole subframe and diff as well and going over the whole lot.
So this is how the last few weeks have gone....
And ending up here....
Today’s job is tidying up under the wings. A very common rust spot as it’s a real trap for collecting leaves, dirt, small children etc! 
With the wings off it luckily doesn’t look bad at all. I’ve seen some videos where you can literally put your hand through the inner arch but this is solid.
And under the wings there is only a small bit of surface rust.
So out with the POR15 again.
Both wings the same and hopefully front end all together next week but looking good.
With the wings off it luckily doesn’t look bad at all. I’ve seen some videos where you can literally put your hand through the inner arch but this is solid.
And under the wings there is only a small bit of surface rust.
So out with the POR15 again.
Both wings the same and hopefully front end all together next week but looking good.
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