My JDM Roadster (yup, another mx5)
Discussion
After a bit of thought, maybe the Roadster deserves it's own thread 
The story started about two years ago, when I've realized that I want an MX5. After driving my WRX and other STis and Evos I've understood that I rather prefer a cheap lightweight no-lag kart-like machine. No need to explain lightweight etc, but cheap means cheap tyres, cheap parts, low fuel consumption, so much more track time (= fun) for the same money. Time passed, I've sold the WRX and finally was ready to buy a Mazda. In february I went to Lithuania to look at a '90 1.6 MX5. It didn't look very clean, but showed no signs of crashes or other catastrophic problems so the deal was made and with help of a mate we got the car to Riga. Here it is:
In the meantime I've ordered a set of Meister R coilovers from UK. Decided on them because though they are made at the same Taiwan factory as D2 and many more, their internal construction/damping characteristics are engineered and tested in UK. And when I started to fit the coilies some ugly stuff was discovered - front right lower arm was welded to extend it by 2 cm. After careful inspection and measurement we found out that the distance between axles on right side of the car is about 2cm shorter compared to the left one. That left us scratching our heads since there were no signs of crashes or welds under the hood or in the trunk. In any case, I didnt like an idea of a banana car and a new plan was worked out - to find a good car in UK which also would have some goodies I wanted to buy anyway, and to convert it to LHD.
After browsing on Pistonheads, autotrader and mx5nutz I've found a good offer - '94 1.8 JDM car with a hardtop and LSD. I've arranged inspection at Autolink MX5 shop in UK and after they checked the car I've organized delivery to Latvia. Hats off to Autolink and to the car's seller for being very helpful and not ignoring me due to being an overseas customer from Eastern Europe. Some time later the Roadster arrived:
LHD conversion took me almost a month and then the Roadster was more or less ready:
Current spec of the car is:
'94 JDM Eunos Roadster 1.8
Standard engine
- IL Motorsport hard engine mounts
- hard top
- Cusco / Safety 21 5-point roll bar
- unknown clutch-type LSD, fitted in Japan. I might know what it is when I get to dismantle the diff.
- Meister R Zeta-S coilovers
- Garage Vary front bumper
- Kumho KU31 195/50-15 tyres
A couple more pictures:
The story started about two years ago, when I've realized that I want an MX5. After driving my WRX and other STis and Evos I've understood that I rather prefer a cheap lightweight no-lag kart-like machine. No need to explain lightweight etc, but cheap means cheap tyres, cheap parts, low fuel consumption, so much more track time (= fun) for the same money. Time passed, I've sold the WRX and finally was ready to buy a Mazda. In february I went to Lithuania to look at a '90 1.6 MX5. It didn't look very clean, but showed no signs of crashes or other catastrophic problems so the deal was made and with help of a mate we got the car to Riga. Here it is:
In the meantime I've ordered a set of Meister R coilovers from UK. Decided on them because though they are made at the same Taiwan factory as D2 and many more, their internal construction/damping characteristics are engineered and tested in UK. And when I started to fit the coilies some ugly stuff was discovered - front right lower arm was welded to extend it by 2 cm. After careful inspection and measurement we found out that the distance between axles on right side of the car is about 2cm shorter compared to the left one. That left us scratching our heads since there were no signs of crashes or welds under the hood or in the trunk. In any case, I didnt like an idea of a banana car and a new plan was worked out - to find a good car in UK which also would have some goodies I wanted to buy anyway, and to convert it to LHD.
After browsing on Pistonheads, autotrader and mx5nutz I've found a good offer - '94 1.8 JDM car with a hardtop and LSD. I've arranged inspection at Autolink MX5 shop in UK and after they checked the car I've organized delivery to Latvia. Hats off to Autolink and to the car's seller for being very helpful and not ignoring me due to being an overseas customer from Eastern Europe
. Some time later the Roadster arrived:LHD conversion took me almost a month and then the Roadster was more or less ready:
Current spec of the car is:
'94 JDM Eunos Roadster 1.8
Standard engine
- IL Motorsport hard engine mounts
- hard top
- Cusco / Safety 21 5-point roll bar
- unknown clutch-type LSD, fitted in Japan. I might know what it is when I get to dismantle the diff.
- Meister R Zeta-S coilovers
- Garage Vary front bumper
- Kumho KU31 195/50-15 tyres
A couple more pictures:
Edited by dmitry on Wednesday 12th September 16:29
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