Thursday 27th April 2017

Mazda Eunos Roadster: PH Fleet

Dan pops by Deepcar Autobodies (again) to see what's what with the Eunos

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The proximity of Deepcar Autobodies to legendary Sheffield mountain biking spot Wharncliffe Woods is working out well - I can combine a ride with popping in to check progress on the Eunos and did just that by Sea Suckering my bike to the roof of the McLaren and heading down the M1. Which certainly caught the attention of the locals.

Ta-dah!

To business though. How's the Mazda looking? Well, a bit better than it did last time. Dave's welder brazed in the seam on the back end, letting the solder fill any gaps and get rid of any potential rust traps. Two-pack epoxy filler has been applied and sanded back, the rear end now as smooth as the proverbial and ready for its paint. Inside the boot the signs of the repair have been tidied up too and Dave has applied a tough UPOL Raptor coating, inspired by its use on the stripped cabin of an NC race car he'd been painting. I should probably get some new carpeting to tidy it up in there too.

The rest of the panels are off, the doors, bonnet, bumpers and bootlid (a replacement for the rusty one that was on the car) primed and on stands. With these and the screen off it's gratifying to see my car is, as I'd hoped, rust free and structurally sound - a source of much envy from various NA MX-5/Eunos owning friends and relatives with horror stories of chasing corrosion around their cars.

Having seen my last story my brother called to ask about my sills. What of them? He identified that they should be black but some people seem to be going body coloured. With commendable attention to detail he pointed out this creates a 'step' in the profile, the body appearing lower than the bottom edge of the bumpers unless you fit a front splitter. As much as possible I want mine original so instructed Dave to keep them black. Seeing that mint Miata in our recent low-mileage heroes classifieds story got me quite excited about seeing mine done, to the point I almost considered getting the wheels painted back to silver. We'll see about that.

Expect plenty more on this

I'm unsure how to badge mine too. Dave will leave the Eunos badge holes in the bumper, likely to be covered with another stick-on plate. I really like the Mazda logo on the front bumper beneath the nearside sidelight and am tempted. But it wouldn't really be correct on my car, given it's strictly a Roadster and not an MX-5. Decisions, decisions.

A shared launch car with former colleague and fellow Mazda nut CJ Hubbard (his Mariner Blue MX-5 has now passed through two Trent brothers) has me some leads to follow up on a damper rebuild for my P5 Sportdrives, though the contact I've been given (Ian at IG Racing) says he's never actually seen a set. Hopefully P5's original promise that they're fully rebuildable plays out - CJ has equipped me with his preferred damper extraction how-to and I'll have a go at removing them when the car's back so I can send them to Ian for further exploration. Let's hope I don't wang a spanner into the new paint in the process...

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FACT SHEET
Car: 1993 Eunos Roadster (JDM import model)
Run by: Dan Trent
Bought: January 2011
Mileage: Not many of late
Purchase price: £1,250
Last month at a glance: Stripped and ready for paint

Previous reports:
The answer to everything?
More exhaust noise? Don't mind if I do...
Skidfoolery at Silverstone on the eco tyres
Er, more skidfoolery at Silverstone on the eco tyres!
Hibernation? Not for this Eunos!
Sell it? Nah, I'll just drive it, ta
Spring comes along and heating mechanism packs up
Skids on hold as LSD bites the dust
Eunos out of hiding and expenditure looms
To the paint shop!
Issue with rear quarter

[lodgey77]

She is in good hands, whilst not original they did a very good job on mine.

[Krikkit]

lodgey77 said:

She is in good hands, whilst not original they did a very good job on mine.

Phwoar, SuperL's are my new favourite wheel on an NA.

[shaun442k]

Krikkit said:

Phwoar, SuperL's are my new favourite wheel on an NA.

Ultraleggeras?

[ij]

Re: bumper stickers on a Eunos...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112367100301

[FourRingedDonuts]

" A source of much envy from various NA MX-5/Eunos owning friends and relatives with horror stories of chasing corrosion around their cars "
And even greener with envy are those who can't find a rust free example to buy in the first place.
It's great to see owners truly cherishing their cars, good work Dan.

[Dan Trent]

lodgey77 said:

She is in good hands, whilst not original they did a very good job on mine.

That looks lovely - very tastefully done. And I think I may have to get the Ultraleggeras back on having seen that!

Dan

[lodgey77]

Dan Trent said:

That looks lovely - very tastefully done. And I think I may have to get the Ultraleggeras back on having seen that!

Dan

Thanks, Dan. Deepcar did a very good job and I can't fault them apart from they forgot to put my wind blocker back and they are over 200 miles away!

[Hafod]

I'll admit to doing the very same thing. Ie repainting a track car. So maybe I'm really being self critical here. But I,d say being too precious on cosmetics takes half the fun out of spinning off backwards through cones and gravel traps. Good. Luck with the project anyhow