Hi all,
Im a Brit living in Cape Town, finally found the car that I always dreamed of owning since 1990, an original, thankfully unmodified with the original undamaged daisy wheels. Some previously repaired damage to the nearside front wing area and a slight rear knock, but an ok repair, chassis straight, brakes and steers straight. Hood intact, rear window need replacing. 84k miles on the clock, engine sweet but came with the cold idle cutout issue. Previous mechanic deserves to be shot, after finding the following:
Radiator pressure relief connected to emissions canister outlet instead of coolant expansion tank (yes, im not kidding!)
Lock bolt missing from cam angle sensor (timing can vary on its own accord!)
Thermostat innards removed.
Alternative radiator installed, using hot connection off alternator via thermoswitch in rad striaght to fan, that gave me a surprise when delving under the hood after a fast run, engine off and the fan came on!!
Plugs seized almost solid (had to grind a standard socket to get it to sit deep enough for extraction with an extension bar!)
Oil filter seemed to have been tightened with a filter wrench, had to swing the alt out the way to get to it with a chain wrench.
Bu wait, theres more, but i’ll leave it to your imagniation…
Thanks to the amazing faqs on this site for the invaluable info, complimenting a Haynes manual, I checked all the sensors, in the end cleaned out the AV and ISC and I bleive the air bypass may have been clogged too. Also the clip off the rearmost injector was broken so on putting evering back together, was running on 3 till I pushed it home.
No cat on this one, no check engine light either (yes I pulled the panel and shone a light in every orifice, till I found the NZ guys also have this anomaly, then found the LED diagnostic check tip, fantastic, no codes except for the evap relay code 26 (not fitted!), but I’ll leave the details for a post on the forum.
Cheers
Mark
G’day mate, Welcome to the Forum from another southern hemisphere dweller
Thanks Geoff,
Nice and hot this time of year eh! Should be on the beach, not up to my elbows in grease! Looking forward to cruising the coastline in this baby…
Cheers
Mark
I am off to Jo’burg next week, but I am not going to Capetown otherwise I would look you up and check out your new '5! I am looking forward to the hot weather! it’s so cold over here at the moment! [:|]
Shame you cant make it, CT has so much more to offer than JHB (imo!), esp for MX5 drivers! Try and wangle a trip down, you wont regret it! Im happy to meet up with any MX5 drivers visiting, show them the ropes etc, open offer to all. Theres a local club here too, which Im going to join, mostly a social afaik but good to meet likeminded ppl. The older models are like hens teeth here tho, so even better, bring a car out with you…please? lol…
Cheers
Mark
I would have thought all MX-5s were rarer than hens teeth in SA!!! not just mark 1s. Not sure you would like to drive around in my mark 1 - the colour scheme is a bit bright! Do join the local club and go on some drives!
I might visit Capetown in June this year! I am visiting an old school friend in Jo’burg, that’s why I’m going there. [:D]
Ur right, but due to natural (or unfort. unnatural!) attrition, the mk1s seem to be dying out… Well, mines white, thats pretty bright! Going on a trip to Franshoek on the w/e with the new club, if they’ll accept my poor unloved specimen on a vehicle (not to mention the owner haha)!!
Well, drop me a line if your heading south, June is pretty misterable weather wise, but theres always the wine farms!! Have a good trip and be careful in JHB, dont stop for anything, they will shoot you for you car, no questions asked. Sorry to be a downer but its happened too many times, incl nearly to my bro in law whos now sensibly back in Scotland.
Cheers
Markk
hi squid, welcom to the forum, nice to see there is another brit, suffering , like geof, dying to get back here mate,
we were in cape town, in march 95 and 97, weather was absolutelly brilliant and the thing that springs to mind with you is, whats that saying in that film, you lucky-lucky -------- said by john cleese [:D]
i wish you happy motoring, and if ya get down simons town way,say hello to them little black and white blighters on the beach for me will you [;)] regards leemarb
Yep its tough, but someones got to do it lol!! I got so tired of numb fingers and arthritic pains working on cars in the UK, and having to dash out on the sunny weeked in summer to make the most of the weather, although you cant beat a summers day drive in the British countryside, we just dont have the greeness here (and the sheep arnt friendly haha!)
Oh yes, I’ll keep an eye out for your penguin pals, I was there last about 5 years ago, swimming with them…
Cheers
MArk
greetings squid
my cousin lives in scottburgh, but its about a million miles from the cape as i remember.
welcome anyway & enjoy the 5.
at least you have hood off weather most of the time.
[H]
them little fellas werent swimming when we were out there sqid, in fact about a third of them were actin rather rude [:D] lust in the sand = regards
Welcome along to the forum !!
You’ll have to get some pics up of your '5 and some of the roads around there. [H]
Will work on getting the pics, but first gotta sort out the cold start issue, its driving me crazy! Theres a stunning coastal mountain pass drive along Chapmans peak, about 20 mins from me, a great drive but gotta concentrate on the road, otherwise… unfort its been closed due to rockfalls after an unseasonably wet winter, but heres hoping they reopen in time for the 2010 football world cup traffic!
Theres another kewl coastal mountain pass on the Strand side of False bay about 45 mins from me, I’ll probably attack that first and let a passenger take the pix!
Cheers
Mark
Welcome and enjoy the Mark 1 Mark
Cheers
Ben
Bren and I drove the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth in a Fiesta about 3 years back. What a brilliant run, but would have been much nicer in a 5. Friend of mine was there at the same time and bought an E-Type in Knysna and shipped it back.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Pretoria and PE and that was great, but Joburg was not a very welcoming city.