I just went through the service history and work receipts.
turns out that it had new spark plugs in march of 2020.
and it has also regular brake fluid changes every year, tho the last time was in Jan of 2020
it is due for a service by date, not milage.
and it has never had the coolant changed.
i am a little worried about the coolant tbh.
they say that we are in for a very cold winter and I’m told that the coolant lasts 10 years.
well, this will be the 9th winter for the coolant.
so with that in mind, I’m thinking I might as well get it done while I am having everything else done anyway.
nb i just found out that i can repley to a person or the thread!
so, sorry about replieing/posting wrong.
i shall try to get it right from now on.
I found the OEM pads/discs great on my previous NC. I changed them as they were getting low, I fitted Ferodo front pads/discs and just changed the rear pads (discs ok) for Pagid. Most impressed with fronts in particular (well that’s where you notice the effectiveness of brakes I suppose) although they throw off more dust than the Mazda pads. Would fit them again or go OEM, with me it would be a price thing but no doubt I reckon OEM are harder wearing. You make your choice.
I’m not going to add confusion by adding my opinion on brake pads - but be very careful with the brake fluid.
The MX5 is DOT 4. DOT 5 is incompatible (its a different type of fluid) and mustn’t be used in a DOT 4 system.
Twenty years ago - you would have been upgrading from DOT3 to DOT 4, not from 4 to 5…
But just to add to the confusion, DOT5.1 is the same type of fluid as DOT 4 so could be used and is compatible - but just make sure you don’t use DOT5…
your post has jogged a vague memory in me.
I think it was 5.1 that I upgraded too.
I did the upgrade because my master cylinder seals went and long story short I ended up having to order a new part special from Germany at a cost of £280 (in 1996 money) and somewhere along the line, I was told to upgrade from dot4.
manta brakes were terrible and faded something awful when hot.
as said this is a very very short version of what is a very long story.
Manta? Great cars bar stoppers.
I’ll raise you.
My Monza 3ltr brakes. Widow makers! Especially the Courteney Turbo Monza.
Half a dozen near-to-locking presses, no brakes but lots of smoke.
Go Tarox grooves all round and upgraded pads…kinda sorted but never quite.
Best braked car in 50 years I’ve ever driven / thrashed in extremis is the Wife’s 2002 Sport with its OEM Big Brakes and standard pads. Just about pulls your face off.
I never got to drive a Monza!.
the only problem with them that I knew of was the fact that they were so rare!
tho I’m not surprised to hear that the brakes were just as bad as the manta.
they were, after all, built from very old tech, even when they were new!
oh for the days of the TIN FOIL DEATH TRAPS!
edit I just dug out an old photo of my manta, I shall get it scanned and post it up later this week
Always rated the Manta way over the Capris TBH up to 2000cc anyway.
De Dion-…sort of… torque-tube chassis etc…and looks.
Always hankered after a GTE tbh. I think it was one of the best Pox-all Opels built.
Guy in Falkirk I know well has a late GTE and it’s got, I believe, a Red Top turbo mill in it…lovely install his engineer brother did from I think a Calibra Turbo wreck…not certain. Total Q car. I’m reliably informed it eats Fiesta STs. Nut & bolt ground up “resto-mod” sort of thing.
Also has a rare (?) Manta 400 in dire need of resto…which will happen.
mine was an 87 2L GTE Exclusive, late register so it was on a d plate instead of an e.
i did 0-60 in 7 seconds flat.
after having it a few months I noticed it had no engine numbers!
so I dropped a 2.2 Carlton engine in there. which had the same 0-60 as the 2L but improved 3rd 4th and 5th gear performance.
I got it in 97 and back then there was only 1 place still doing manta modding PMC near Birmingham although they were phasing it out.
I got a suspension kit from them. spax shocks and PMC springs for £400.
I tried to get the twin pot brake calipers from them as well but while they still had the calipers they didn’t have any of the hanger adapters left.
I also replaced all the suspension bushes and changed the rear axel to one from a 1.8 to give better pick up as they were supposedly geared slightly differently.
i wanted to put a power steering rack in there from the carlton too but never got to it.
and I was told that you could also put a carlton rear axle on there which wasn’t a solid like the stock manta but again I never got to even look into it.
i did put a 1k sound system in there tho! and I put a full rear body kit bumper on the back.
i think that’s in the pic I got, yes it is.
its the rear bumper from the elegance 3 kit that I got off of a written off car that had the full kit on there, tho sadly the only bits salvageable were the rear bumper skirt and the boot spoiler…
