Bettabuilda's AHURA MAZDA

Hiya Mick, yes, it’s a terrible affliction! :grinning: I should not have doubted the bodyshop? They are doing so much work that I never considered? The stuff that they’ve stripped off the car to do the job they’re doing worries me a bit as there must be a massive pile of nuts, bolts and clips along with all the panels and trims,just hope it all goes back together nicely :crossed_fingers:
To be fair though, they needed the side skirt clips and instead of just putting them back on with whatever came off, they asked for replacement ones? Easy to just ignore the lack of clips, but they didn’t :+1: stuff like that I guess does help? Hopefully some black paint going on today along with some more pictures. All the removed panels/parts are being done over the weekend, followed by reassembly and polishing so I don’t expect car back maybe until next weekend? Looks like it’s going to be worth the wait though :+1::+1:

Barrie

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My mk3 has had paintwork done previous to my ownership. Should have picked this up when I bought it as there was clear overspray evidence (actually took my car expert uncle to view the car and he missed it). As I learned more about these great cars I also realised the door jam stickers on the passenger side have been removed. This bugs me to this day, more than the paintwork, as this is reasonably well done.

We live and learn, but sounds like a few of us suffer from the perfectionist trait when it comes to our cars.

Glad you are all good on this one though​:+1::+1:

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Thanks Dave and yes it’s just one of those thing’s unfortunately. When I showed my previous NC (the 1800GT) I got marked down for the very VIN sticker I’ve mentioned. I had that panel resprayed as it’s quite a common issue and the shop (not this one) did a very poor job of masking the sticker! I used thinners, unsuccessfully, to clean the sticker up and had to put up with losing a point due to someone’s mess up!
Sounds daft but marking rules are marking rules, applies to everyone!
I’ve been and looked at NC’s, accompanying prospective buyers and always go through the ritual of checking the VIN stickers, any missing and you start to think, what’s happened? OK, my car’s fine but had defects to the paint finish, try explaining that to a buyer or a show judge! :frowning_face:

Barrie

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A little more progress! I mentioned previously that I ‘modified’ the wing mounted indicator holes to accommodate the mini ones? Well, reverting back now to OEM style but, holes too big! Body shop have welded holes back up to receive OEM parts. I’ll probably get some smoked ones but gave these clear ones to shop as patterns. I’ve also got some mk1 amber originals with the black surrounds? :thinking:
Anyway, wings being welded, doesn’t look overly pretty but judging by everything else they’ve done, I’m sure it will look perfect at the end!

Barrie

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Hi Barrie the cars looking really good :+1: just don’t tell your wife what the final bill is :rofl::rofl: . Regards Bob.

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I know Bob :grimacing: I’ve not revealed the final cost yet, as although body shop has given a price, there has been stuff beyond what was discussed! Regardless, they are doing a great job so far :+1: what I’d like to do, is, at the great reveal (I’ll do a detailed walk round video) ask members to provide a cost, based on what they’ve seen and read, right up to the final handover? A bit of fun and perhaps an idea for me if I’ve got a bargain or I’ve paid over the odds? TBH, it’s the final bit of the jigsaw for me, cannot think of much more I could do :thinking: hmmmmm? Perhaps engine performance mods? :nerd_face::nerd_face: No, stop me now! :crazy_face:
Barrie

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I think we’re all afflicted with this obsession , I’ve just spent over £500 on a new head unit and facia plate , can’t wait to get it fitted , just look at it that we’re doing our bit for the economy.:rofl::rofl:

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That’s a great spin! :+1::+1: it’s just so nice to have a hobby and direct a bit of the hard earned in that direction! :sunglasses:

Barrie

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Yes we all enjoy these cars , nothing else comes close to them in terms of fun and relaxation. Fettling and tinkering are a big part of mx5 ownership . Of course having an understanding wife helps , :blush: . We’re very lucky we can afford to indulge ourselves . You will have a car to be proud of when it’s finished try to stop biting your nails it will look great :+1::+1:

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So, inspired once again by my mate Geoff’s Recaro model, I’ve bought these,

image image

Dash one in silver to match the new paintwork and the side stripes with red to black fade. International shipping was $11.99 by air which I thought was good? The decals or stickers :smiley: were $24.99 for dash and $59.99 for the sides, again, didn’t think that was too bad? Was watching something similar on eBay which was £39.99 and they wouldn’t (or couldn’t) change the kanji text to mx5 logo so decided on these instead and they couldn’t supply the dash one either. These, whilst not genuine Mazda are pretty good replicas and miata.net mention them as an alternative to those fitted to the US club edition.

Barrie

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Should look great Barrie ! :+1:

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Thanks Steve! There’s not much more things I can cross! :pleading_face::grimacing: here’s hoping!

Barrie

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You must be on for the lightly modded trophy this year, Barrie ?!!!

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Never thought of that? :thinking: :joy::joy::joy: joking! would love to get back into that circuit though. I’ve missed, as I’m sure we all have, the social side of the club, meets, rallies, run outs etc? The forum though has helped (me) to keep things going :+1:

Barrie

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Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh lol

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Me too Steve! :smiley:

Barrie

Update time :+1: last night, I got a few more pictures through. Another ‘surprise’, they had taken the rear deck cover off the car and removed the third brake light completely to paint the deck? I just assumed it would be done in situ? Anyway that level of attention is top notch, amazes me really :sunglasses:

Each day, another piece gets done! I’m getting very excited about the prospect of handover day and also a little nervous too! It’s going to look better than I envisaged at this rate! :grimacing::crossed_fingers:

Barrie

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That is going to be absolutely perfect Barrie you must be feeling very pleased , won’t be to long now. The level of work there is top class.:+1::ok_hand:

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You need to have an open day Barrie at yours​:+1::grin:
Fire the barbeque up, hot tub on and a whip round for paint job.
Looks amazing from the pics, class job, stop your worrying now😁

Just to make you nervous, I let a truck out on to the A38 on our way home yesterday, he preceded to thank me by throwing up a stone on to the car, no inspection yet to find where it hit and any damage.:-1::dizzy_face:

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Looking good, just wondering seeing it’s all stripped down are you replacing the top PRHT seal that costs a lot of money if so how much was it read horror stories on fitting and price.

Like everything on my car seen better days but nothing a bit of black sealant didn’t cure😅

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