4 of us decided it would be a good idea to do a Nurburgring trip later this year, but none of us dared to take our own pride and joy (Audi, Tesla, BMW and er something French that I can’t bring myself to type). All of us over 50, so it’s a balancing act between what we can get away with and not kill ourselves.
Did a lot of hunting and wanted the 2.0 LSD and came across this little gem for £1,300.
Plenty of info on this forum, have a good look around. When you do the wax oil protection, treat the inside of the sills and “B” post to rear wheel arch. These cars are known to rust from the inside out. The front chassis legs are also worth doing as well.
Saw an ‘06 on a forecourt today that’s £500 less than I paid for mine privately, so had to have a look.
It didn’t have my tin roof and was two and a half times my mileage. But what was so satisfying from a personal point of view was when my fingers went through the metal that was supposed to be a sill so close to the seatbelt anchor point.
This was a Citreon /Subaro main dealer….
So, does it’s MOT expire after your trip would be my question:) The fact it might be a death trap is one for the relatives
You don’t actually have a tin roof! The PHRT has a resin roof,( that’s what Mazda called it from memory,) give it a magnet test. I suspect there may be bits of metal in the resin for the brackets and locking mechanism.
I did notice that. Just like the bumpers, the paint just doesn’t quite match that on the metal chassis. But I like to think of mine having a ‘tin hat’ rather than what it’s officially called which is some abbreviation I can’t remember
Thanks - Remarkably it has very little rust, checked out @ 15 before getting this one. The paintwork is tired to say the least, but I’ve done a lot of detailing to my Audi’s so it should come up ok with a paint correction and polish.
Thanks for the inner sills tip, I need to clean and refresh the leather so sounds like a seat out job, take up the carpets and give the sills a good treatment.
Not a bad price at all.
Looking at the images, it looks a bit high in the wheel arches… anybody else. ??.
It looks like someone took away the 17s and fitted 16 or 15s
As regards Bluetooth, depending on the model of radio you have, on the rear is a plug for a cd multi changer, but you probably don’t have a multi changer.
There’s an adapter you can buy for about a fiver, which converts this to an aux in jack plug.
Once fitted, you could fit a BT receiver which has audio out jack.
Turned mine into BT capable for less than £25.
Blue starts up with the ignition, phone connects instantly.
I think whatever size wheels are fitted it’ll look high.
Maybe it’s had suspension work done and not been been torqued up correctly. My 2litre Sport looked high in standard form, definitely needed the lowering treatment.
Theres an idential NC just up the road from my mates house. I did compare the ride height and it’s the same (give or take a few mil’s).
MOT is good until August and from my research I think I may change to Lanoguard from Waxoyl, once I’ve done the service and brakes, before shifting attention to the the suspension and wheels / tyres.
The wives would kill is if we hurt ourselves so I like to get the basics right first, before moving to the mods.
My A5 ran @ 350bhp and the A3 now runs @ 300bhp so don’t think I’ll be chasing after them in the Mazda.
Must say I’m loving this Forum already, you folks are far more active than that Audi lot
welcome,
I recently bought this one which was standard suspension like yours. Replaced with meister r zeta Crd’s, although at around £1000 changed the car for the better. This is standard set up from meister so you can raise or have even lower although you will hit every speed hump if you go any lower than what mine is as I scrape a few locally on the bottom rubbers of the front bumper. Also adjustable so with the damping set halfway they are not massively firmer than standard. Hope this helps.
Oh that sit’s nice. Not sure the budget will / should stretch to a bag of sand on a £1,300 car, but you’ve peaked my bargain hunter nose for a 2nd hand set.
I had a fairly low spec 2.0 '06 NC3.0 on 16" from new and it was high off the ground like that; handling was so disappointing vs reputation that a dealer took it in to check all over after I complained in the press and they passed it as to spec. Then got a high spec '11 NC3.5 on 17" (and some other factory upgrades: shocks, strut brace…) and it is a transformation.
Bilt Hamber for rust proofing. I’m a big fan of their products and they don’t need to plaster ads all over social media to get people to buy their products.
Could you please explain why "Waxoyl is nasty nasty stuff and definitely not recommended ".
My experience with a 32 year old Mini seems to contradict this statement. I have also done 2 MX5s with it and it appears to be doing a splendid job. It is very disconcerting when blanket statements like this are made. My experience is based on personal real life fact and not on internet fantasy.
Waxoyl is messy, and a pain to use, IME.
It also covers stuff up, so you can’t tell what’s happening underneath. Both Bilt Hamber and POR15 do clear products that are easier to work with, more resilient to weather and scrapes, and show what is going on underneath.
But don’t take my word for it, here’s someone who actually does this every day, for a living:
Thanks Both,
I’d read that and thought I’d decided on Lanoguard, but now swaying toward the BH as I can see what’s going on.
I also read that unless you get the surface 100% clean and dry the Waxoyl can lock problems in, all comes down to the prep I suppose, just think I’d fret over putting Waxoyl on too much.
Recent mx-5 restorers video said they recommend clear coats for a new car so you can keep an eye out for issues starting and non-clear for older cars (can’t remember why they said non-clear, maybe because it’ll have rust no matter how careful you are).
Do you spray your Waxoyl on or do you go the bucket of hot water and brush method? (and do you use rust convertor or remover before you coat out of interest?).
The worst undercoat is that black rubber looking stuff where if water gets in under it, the metal rots out but everything looks all clean and good underneath.
I use the clear and ‘water’ it down with white spirit substitute and apply with the help of a compressor and suitable ‘guns’ and tubes. It will also then work with a household trigger spray when you require a little more control around external areas.
The amount of watering is temperature dependent but I go for a more runny consistency. This ensures a mist that gives good even covering that is able to run into any gaps. It also helps with ‘creep’ which it does very well when diluted. You can see through the finished areas within box sections but it is very sticky and does attract dirt, so external parts will go black over time.
Using the Waxoyl neat/warm and using their tins/sprays systems is NOT the way to go. Watering it down ensures good thin even coverage.
It is certainly messy and gets everywhere which is both a plus and a minus. The spirit takes a long time to evaporate so there are some fumes to put up with for a while. You need to be prepared for dribbles. It will slowly wash off exposed areas so these need keeping up to. As a rule I top up after year one and then every five years. The Mini has at least 10 litres spread about it’s body.
so I like to get the basics right first, before moving to the mods.
