Hello from new Mx-5 NC owners in the Solent

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Hi all,

Thanks for having us, we are very excited to be part of the club and the mx-5 way.

We recently picked up our MX-5 from a local dealership in the solent area who had been trying to sell it for over 7 months, probably due to the TLC it needed. Of which, we decided (probably a crazy idea) to take it on.

It’s a 2006 NC 1.8 in that amazing grey color.

It’s a big dream of mine from a young age to own one and at 26, it’s my first in many restoration pieces I’m picking up! My partner is with me on this as her love for Miatas is rather explosive :sweat_smile:

Our plans so far are to bring the car back to its beauty and add our own personality along the way…

  1. Repair the sills. There is some minor deteriorating of the sills on both sides at the rear end.

  2. Replace suspension with something better (undecided)

  3. New black rims on 17inch instead of the current factory fitted 16 inches.

  4. Metal coolant tank. We plan to drive this across the country so this is a peace of mind idea.

  5. Complete rust removal, welding and weathering coat underneath. This is going to be a big project as with 40k miles it needs some serious work before we coat it.

  6. Replace drive belt. We have noticed a strange metallic rattle from the drive belt when under load on the clutch. This is what I suspect put people of buying the car. Relatively easy fix in my opinion!

  7. Variety of interior repairs to bring the car back to perfect condition including:

  • Replacement sun visors. Both have snapped.
  • Replacement carpet. Holes in driver’s side carpet
  • Replacement interior door handles. Scratches to oblivion!!
  • Replacement seat belt guides as I have read the stock ones seem to stop the belt retracting well.
  • Inner Boot lid paint flaking.
  1. Wing mirror electronic adjustment repairs. My first post on the forum was to help diagnose an issue with adjusting the mirrors. I have since learnt the ball sockets pop out so will have to take them apart to repair!

I have added some pictures of it so if you see us around the solent area, give us a wave :wave:

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Welcome from a fellow Galaxy Grey! I’ve had my second 5 for about 18 months, after having had a 1.8 when I was 25.

FYI - new suspension is totally transformative. Highly recommend getting that done. I’m on Meister Zeta CRDs, and I hear Teins are also excellent.

I also highly recommend grabbing a strut brace as soon as you can. Relatively cheap and the difference in handling sharpness is huge. I replaced my OEM brace, so have that available. I just haven’t put it up for sale yet.

Plenty of options on coolant tanks and a very easy job to do yourself. I have the IL Motorsport tank from MX5 parts. It’s doesn’t have a window, so I have to periodically dip the tank when cold to check the coolant level.

All NCs are chain driven. Your engine is called a MZR L8-HE for reference. Same block as Ford Duratecs.

That rattle is likely to be a bearing in the clutch. Very common and a cheap replacement part job, although getting at it will be a faff.

If you’re going to replace the door handles you might want to consider replacing the door cards for NC2/3 versions. They accommodate knees far better if you’re tall.

I changed my belt guides and that has helped but isn’t perfect FYI.

Inner boot lid flaking is very common. Water gets in behind the Mazda badge and then rust starts appearing underneath. Aluminium rust is white, not orange.

Welcome to the club! You’ll like it here!

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