Loz's MX-5

Well here's the replacement for the MG ZS, she's a 1995 UK spec 1.8iS 5 with a confirmed 69,000 miles on the clock, 2 lady owners the last being a MX-5 OC member from new & full service history from new including all the receipts & MOT's. The sills have been repaired in the past but have been done to a good standard. The paint work is good for a 17 year old car but could do with a little tidy up although I am thinking of a respray in Honda pearl white. I love the OEM wheels & they are in good nick but I will get them refurbed this winter.

Some quick pics...

f715a290.jpg


1e5144e3.jpg


89fefe31.jpg


Engine the right way round & proper wheel drive. :amuse: Sticker on the slam panel confirms cam belt was done 2010 at 67,000 miles.

593252eb.jpg


5bf7b685.jpg


7becc917.jpg

Full tool kit including a pair of pliers a screw driver & spanners, though I've not found the jack yet.

Got a few bits stocked up already too... :amuse:

2e602b60.jpg
 
Click to expand...
Few bits arrived today.
wooman.gif


Firstly a box from Japan.

Untitled-1.jpg

Containing a Jetstream Type 1 shorty console & carpet doohicky. I bought this because I'm a long armed freak & my elbow hasn't got room with the OEM console in place, more of that in a bit.

8e085526.jpg

Other goodies (from the UK) included a Sandwich plate for another project & a pair of Turn signal intakes, these replace the sidelight units & allow a flow of fresh cold air into the engine bay. I'll be dropping these off for painting tomorrow.

5d24b0a5.jpg


e7dd0217.jpg

So here's OEM console, nothing wrong with it & it's in great condition but I need more elbow room so I found a suitable alternative on rev9autosport.com it's made in fibreglass & sprayed satin black, it's very well made & all fittings are nut & bolt & they don't use any of the self tappers currently in the original console. I'll be keeping the original console & if I ever sell the car I'll refit it.

So here's a before pic,

ecee2ec4.jpg


& here's the after,

ce42f7f6.jpg


b013c158.jpg
Including new leather gear stick gaiter to replace the worn out vinyl item. :)​

Carpet bit covers the hole at the back & tidy s up nicely, I might have to re-dye it though because it's a lighter shade than the rest of the carpet.

405b374c.jpg

That's if for now. :bigsmile:
 
Last edited:
MasterAuron said:
Made for tiny Jap arms!

That is the ugliest steering wheel in the world, how have I not noticed that before?
Click to expand...

:lol: Tell me about it, I'm not sure what to do with that yet, I want to keep the airbag to stay legal ( & safe) so my options are highly limited. The MKII airbag wheel is a lot better looking but I don't know if it's compatible with the MK1's hardware, I need to do some more reading.

You might not have noticed because import cars of the same generation don't come with airbags, they got nice wheels like the Nardi ones.
 
Last edited:
Its all coming together quite nicely Loz ;) I had a similar issue with my steering wheel in that the one I wanted was from a much later model, this meant that I had to buy a whole new airbag to allow the fitting of the new steering wheel; costly but worth it for me :)
 
T9 man said:
Its all coming together quite nicely Loz ;)
Click to expand...

I'm only just starting. :amuse:

T9 man said:
I had a similar issue with my steering wheel in that the one I wanted was from a much later model, this meant that I had to buy a whole new airbag to allow the fitting of the new steering wheel; costly but worth it for me :)
Click to expand...

One other thing that's motivating me to replace the wheel is the fact that airbags have a shelf of roughly 10 to 15 years depending on where you read & I understand that some manufactures even state in their manuals that airbags must be replaced after 'X' amount of years.

I can get a new replacement for mine with a new airbag fitted but it's in the same style as the current one but with wood trim.
e50d7c1a.gif
 
Sigh... Car's trip to the garage delayed as a certain company has failed to produce what they promised, so now an alternative is being sourced from Australia of all places. :blink:

Really hard to talk about a secret job & not give away any details. :lol:
 
The world is full of un reliable people, Loz. Shame, really.

You can tell me... I'll promise to keep it a secret! ;)
 
Continuing from T9's steering wheel goodness I have my own new-ish wheel to replace the one that MA described as,
MasterAuron said:
"...the ugliest steering wheel in the world"
Click to expand...
:amuse:

The wheel is a Nardi item taken from a MK2 MX-5. There was some modification needed to allow the wheel to fit my MK1 & I did a lot of reading before deciding to go ahead & attempt fitting, I have to say it was the most nerve wracking job I've done the car & I was quite anxious when I first turned the key!

Now it's fitted the wheel feels great a lot chunkier than the original & my hands sit at a more comfy position so it was definitely worth the effort. :bigsmile:

Befores:

ce42f7f6.jpg


Middle

9c91f19d.jpg


NA/MK1 male plug (blue) spliced onto NB/MK2 male plug (yellow from NB clock spring). Rear of the NB steering wheel had to be drilled to accept the pins on the NA clock spring, sorry forgot to take a pic of that. I also used the NA horn plug so the horn works as it should too.

After

f6def5ae.jpg
 
Ha! Yoof! I wish I was. :lol:

Thank you all for the thumbs up & here's another little update.

Remember these?

e7dd0217.jpg

Well I got them painted up by a local body shop, the chap wasn't impressed with the surface finish & suspected they were packed in bags when they were still warm out of the mould, after a few enquires it seems this the norm for these, sigh.
So I whipped out the side lights & fitted them & guess what...

45b7bb5b.jpg


I hate them. :lol:
I bought them to allow more air into the engine bay for a future doings but the fit is rubbish & they look crap so off they come & back to standard we go & off to Ebay they go!

dd348a91.jpg

Better!​

To console my self I fitted these shiny engine hooks (I know their not hooks but that's what they all call them) & forgot to take a pic.

71ad7e5c.jpg


& here's a sneak preview of a new thing I'm putting together, made in stainless just painted it today.

2d9b2e1c.jpg

That's it for now. :D
 
May sound silly but those sidelights started to grow on me :embarrest:

The engine hooks certainly looks substantial, are you sure they are not a truck version? :blink:

That last photo is intriguing ;)
 
sign0020.gif


T9 man said:
May sound silly but those sidelights started to grow on me :embarrest:

See, I was the opposite. First I loved them when & then I went off them, I think if you saw them in the flesh you'd agree. To me it just looks like my car's developed a squint. :lol:

The engine hooks certainly looks substantial, are you sure they are not a truck version? :blink:

Engine hooks look howj because I used the macro to take the pic, their the same size as the originals, just shinier. :D

That last photo is intriguing ;)

Yes. :amuse:
Click to expand...
 
Sorry if I have missed it Loz, but have you joined an MX-5 owners club now by any chance? if so does club membership give you any valuable avenues to obtain hard to get hold of parts or other discounts from various other services?
 
T9 man said:
Sorry if I have missed it Loz, but have you joined an MX-5 owners club now by any chance?
Click to expand...

Haha! Well there's a story in it's self! I'll Pm the lowdown. :p

T9 man said:
if so does club membership give you any valuable avenues to obtain hard to get hold of parts or other discounts from various other services?
Click to expand...

I've not paid up to join anywhere, there is the MX-5 OC but for the life of me I can't see what paying £35 gives you that you can't get from the free public forum.

There is a good base of guys who machine & fabricate lots of interesting doings & solutions for problems Mazda never got round to fixing, such as the coolant re-route spacer I've just joined a group buy for, the spacer address's the problem of one of the cylinders running hotter than the others because when Mazda turned the original transverse engine through 90 degrees they didn't plumb the coolant system quite right.

I've also found companies that know 5's well & will offer small discounts to community members, the other advantage is having a well established race series, which means there is always development with engines & suspension set up.

Of course there is the second hand parts which is costing me a small fortune in goodies, having just bought a pair of Japanese market folding sun visors. :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Please watch this on my YouTube channel & Subscribe.


Back
Top