Afternoon chaps.

I thought I'd start a thread to cover the work I'll be doing shortly on the missus Mk1 MX5. We bought the car on a bit of a whim about a year ago as an eBay special. It had solid sills but that was about all it had going for it. It was (and still is, generally untidy bodywork wise).

So why the thread?

Well, every year, myself and the missus jump into the S2000 for a blat down to the South of France and back. This year we (she) has decided we're taking the MX5 instead.

The car itself is utterly brilliant to drive. Pure fun. It's slow (1.6), fairly bouncy on stock shocks/springs and teeny 14" wheels with 60 profile tyres but it all suits the character of the car nicely.

Anyway, if we're going to cover 2500 miles in August, I have my work cut out to get the car reliable and looking like her indoors wants it to.

The first thing I need to do really is get it up in the air and give it a right good going over to make a big list of all the things that need doing. I will be speaking really nicely to Ray in the next day or so to see if I can defile his ramps again with a non-S2000 motor so I can poke and prod the bits that I can't really get to on axle stands.

Once I've done that, the list will go on here and I'll start working my way through it.


The best bit is, in order to know where to start I've been using it for the last few days instead of the S. The current no-brand 14" tyres have absolutely no grip whatsoever and a trip to work involving 6 roundabouts has been hugely entertaining. So much so I'm not sure I want to give it her back...

Anyway, enough waffle. Some pics of the motor from when we got it and some current ones will appear later to give you an idea of the starting point.

 

Ikwym, just put new rears on my BM and am much less smiley as a result

Enormous grip, good for racing, shit for being a massive dickhead

 

It's taking me 20 mins more to get to work on wet mornings as I set off extra early and if it's quiet, one lap is never enough.

As it has no grip either front or back, you just build up the speed gently until it's about to understeer and then you can balance the rear really easily on the throttle.

 

Benign thwarting about. When my rears were down to 2mm and cracking they were grip less. Great fun, tail out all the time without effort.

I never take the long way back from the station in the winter though. Too late, too dark, too tired. Which is all a pita.

This is how the GT86 sells itself I reckon

 

Well, the first vital purchases have been made.

Heated seat kit and retro looking dash dial faces.

Ok, the heated seats aren't vital for august in the south of France but they'll keep me warm on the run to work while driving it when fault finding.

And the dials were just cool.

 

Sort of.

Except it's deceptively fast round corners. Actual grip levels on the Prius tyres are a lot more than on an NA MX-5.

I can see the argument that driving an MX-5 with a switch throttle (I used to) could actually be more fun. TC off, 86s will pirouette a long way with the extra momentum.

The 86 is a lot newer, better on M-ways etc. But way less boring then most new cars.

Could I make a case for someone who had both? Throw in the folding roof and yes, I could.

 

I shall watch this thread with interest

I drove mine to work this morning for the first time in a few weeks, resulting in a very wet behind. Not as as watertight as I'd thought! But to be fair, the rain has been coming down sideways not-stop for the last two weeks, or so it seems.

Mine is pretty good bodywork-wise too - soon it's going to the MX5 restorer to have a couple of bits tidied and be under-sealed. I don't mind doing the oily bits but not bodywork, and especially horribly messy jobs like underseal.

Like you say the 1.6 is slow, but it is a lovely little engine, and the overall package is probably as much fun as I've had on four wheels, all at license friendly speeds

 

I think everyone should be made to have one for the first 3 years after they pass their tests. No ABS, RWD with no traction control and no airbags... That'd teach people very quickly how to drive properly.

 

OK, I'm down to one last rattle and I know what that is!

Roll on the weekend.


Driving home tonight though in the dry, my god what a great car! So responsive, so much feedback. I absolutely ragged the pants off it on the way home (and the best bit is, I don't think any other motorists knew I was ragging it) and it was fabulous.

The pedals are in the perfect position to be able to heel & toe so precisely and with the deep dish suede wheel its a great driving position. The seat is a touch high so it'll be getting a foamectomy when I fit the heated seats.

The main downsides are the transmission lash noise is bloody loud but apparently it's a case of TADTS. I've experimented with different types of gearbox oil recommended on most of the MX5 forums and adjusted a few things like the brace etc and none of them seem to make any real difference. Hey ho.

The most annoying thing though is the clutch judder. It's horrific. In traffic the car lurches badly when trying to slip the clutch and makes the whole car judder. Now my guess is oil contamination on the friction plates which is more common on the newer models but not so much on mine. That usually means the rear crank oil seal which is a box off jobbie. Getting the box out though seems to be propshaft disconnected and half a dozen bell housing bolts off that are all easy to see and get at and yer done. Easily a weekend job to do that and put a new clutch kit on it. The best part? The clutch kit is under a hundred quid. Ner ner ner ner nerr.....


I am really struggling to see a downside to having one of these and as you can pick them up for less than a grand now, I really can't understand why every petrolhead in the world doesn't own one! A lot have tin worm so you have to pick wisely but bloody hell, there has to be one issue. Although given I could probably buy 3 more whole cars for the cost of a used S2000 motor, they're almost disposable fun.

Buy one now!

 

Probably because a lot of petrolheads aren't, really. Or are straightline men.

Having said that, an S2000 seems terribly solid & refined, by comparison! How times change.

But no; factor in the pocket money they now are and it's really the new Shitfire/Spridget.

And like Chippo said elswhere, better than a new A4.