Hello everyone!
Although this is actually my second post on this forum, after learning how useful this place is yesterday, I have a feeling I’ll be spending a fair bit of time here over the coming years!
Meet Gladys, my 1994 MX5 1.8iS! I picked her up in February for around £1000 and she had 80,000 miles on the clock and was completely original. The previous owner had her for 16 years but only managed to do around 5000 miles in that time, but would take her out every year for an MOT and service, so she was in pretty decent condition for the age and price.
So far, since buying the car I have changed all the fluids and filters and rebuilt the clutch master and slave cylinder. I also fitted a cheap Sony headunit with bluetooth and some new JVC speakers since the old ones were knackered! The interior has been given a deep clean and I 3D printed some cupholders to replace the ashtray (which also functions as a phone holder), and 3D printed a new fob for the immobilizer.
My plans for the car include first fixing the things that need fixing, then I can move on to MODS!! On the list of things that need doing:
-Both the front and back anti roll bars need replacing as the paint has all peeled (I’m guessing they were originally powder coated) and there’s a fair amount of rust on them. I’ve seen some adjustable Whiteline ARBs which I’ve heard are decent, but I’d love to hear from you guys and gals to see if you have any recommendations.
-Most the rubber bushings on the car are old, so poly bushes on everything!
-The wishbones are looking a little tatty, maybe they could be stripped and powder coated but I think I’m gonna need a professional opinion on that. Any recommendations on a garage to go to?
-The car definitely needs under coating/sealing. Again, any recommendations for places that can do that? Preferably close to Oxfordshire
-The exhaust is close to being on it’s last legs. It’ll pass an MOT but I think it’s rusting from the inside out and it rattles a bit. Maybe a full Cobolt exhaust is the way to go once I have the money.
-Paint is in a bit of a state. There are weird paint bubbles on the bonnet and a few other panels which need sorting. Plus, a paint correction and ceramic coating sounds nice.
In terms of mods, I’d absolutely LOVE a rocketeer V6 kit, but I reckon it’s gonna be at least 4 years before I can afford that so I really hope those guys are still in business then! Some slightly bigger and wider alloys, plus some coilovers so that the wheels fill the arches a little better and to improve handling and grip would be nice.
I’ve seen some amazing custom MX5 interiors on the net, and I’d love something in a brown or tan leather, something that has the retro roadster/e-type feel to it. But for now, I think that’s just a pipe dream!
For those of you that have managed to read all this, thank you for reading and I can’t wait for my first OC meet to see what people have done with their cars and to talk all things MX5!
Regards,
Irfan
