Matt GTA's Black 1991 Le Mans

[MATTGTA]

Hi everyone,

I thought we should start the next chapter of J207UPB’s life with a fresh “Reader’s Rides” entry.

Matt

In the beginning…

The story starts last year with my search for a second BBR Le Mans, having previously been lucky enough to own the well-known J16 LEM from 2012 - 2013.

http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst84927_Looking-for-a-BBR-Le-Mans-again.aspx

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much coming to the market… so after an initial search, I settled into a regular Classified / Ebay / Pistonheads check a couple of times a week.  It was slow… and other than a brief moment of euphoria when my first Le Mans popped up at a dealer (with the same mileage as when I sold it but a much stronger price tag) there was nothing about.

Months went by and still nothing happened until last week when I was visiting New York on a work trip. As usual on such trips, I found myself wide-awake at the wrong time of the day and ended up browsing Ebay classified on my phone in the middle of the night.   I nearly leapt out of bed:

http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst93176_1991-MAZDA-MX-5-LE-MANS-SPECIAL-BLACK—of-24-made.aspx

Several international phone calls and some haggling later, I’d successfully made a blind purchase, paid a deposit and agreed to collect the car upon my return. The advert and discussions had been quite vague, but in spite of this I was delighted with my impulsive buy and immediately started planning a restoration.  Mrs. MattGTA was less impressed, but after putting up with me for 20 years, she knows better than most that this sort of behavior is true to form.  I have a long car history – much of it involving MX5s !  

Fast forward to last night and I found myself in Surrey having a cup of tea with a gentleman and his wife in their seventies.  They have owned the car for the past twelve years and for a big chunk of that time J207 has sat in their garage, buried in assorted garage stuff.  Before advertising, they had washed the car, changed the oil and fitted a battery… but other than that, it was very much in ‘barn’ condition. 

“In need of TLC” declared the advert.  

Well, first things first, it’s definitely one of the chosen twenty-four.  V5, spec, service book and Johnny Herbert signature all check out, as does the original sales invoice.  About 10 years ago the history stops, apart from a pile of old MOTs and a receipt for a new roof.  Early in the vendors ownership the car put on a fair bit of mileage (currently sat on 128k) but has gone nowhere for quite some time. 

Almost every panel has significant scars – rust in the usual places, dents on the wings, scuffs on the doors and scratches on the paint.  From a distance it looks neat and tidy. Close up, it really doesn’t. In many places, green, orange or red is showing through the battered brilliant black finish. (For those who don’t know, 2/24 of the 1991 Le Mans MX5s were sprayed black by Mazda when they failed to sell.  As I understand it, this one, like Doug’s, was sold and registered black from new.) The body kit is mostly intact, other than the front spoiler which flaps about. Sadly, the wheels are not original.  In the cabin, things are a little better - it’s nearly all there and things seem to work, but it’s tired and dirty.

So how does it drive? 

Frustratingly, I’ve not driven the car more than a few yards as its SORN, uninsured and without MOT.  It starts, it goes and it stops. The idle seems fine, as does the gearbox.  It has the ‘oomph’ of a healthy turbo and the whistle and smoke of a grumpy one.  As with the bodywork and interior, love and attention is definitely required. 

We loaded her up onto a trailer and I followed the precious cargo back home to East Sussex in my V-spec mk1 - grinning from ear to ear.  By 10 o clock last night I was back home having a late dinner and J207 was safely tucked up in here, enjoying some night-time company for the first time in many years.

Yesterday was a good day. 

 

[Malcolm_Mazda]

Brilliant! Love it! Nearly bought it - twice I think before you!

I may only have the Imposter, but it’s ace that this has gone to a true connoisseur!

I look forward to the updates!

If I’d bought it, I toyed with respraying it back to true colours btw?! Now there’s a conundrum!

Good luck!

[Doug]

Sounds like it’s gone to the right person. I too watched it the first time it was for sale in 2010. Much as I would have loved to buy it I couldn’t justify TWO black LM’s, particulary with the ‘his and hers’ red and white Eunos Roadsters on the drive.

Both those have gone to be replaced by an immaculate VR-A but ‘Black Betty’ just gets sweeter with age. She’s on 138,000 miles and has just had a genuine Mazdaspeed exhaust fitted, which really seems to have freed up the power. She’s super-smooth and whisper quiet. A real ‘Stealth LM’ and so very usable, with bags of character.

She too has traces of the original Classic Red, orange and green about her person and is complete with a FULL history since the day she hit these shores, coming over in the shipment that contained all the Classic Red cars destined to become LM’s. She also has the the original LM wallet with Johnny Herbert certificate of authenticity.

I had many people ask if I’d be getting her sprayed green and orange, still do, but she wouldn’t be ‘one of two’ then, would she? 

No, Black Betty will remain dark and alluring, just as she was when she attracted her first buyer 

Good luck with your restoration. I’ll watch with interest

 

 

 

 

[Doug]

First thing to do is send off to the DVLA for his full history. It will give lots of clues as to where to look for more detail - and might answer the question about the 2010 ‘sale’.

Those leather seats would be original. Several LM’s have exactly the same pattern but with different coloured piping. I know one had green to match the external colour.

[MATTGTA]

Time for some Pics:

Battle Scars:

 

Plenty of Red, Orange and Green on display:

 

Bodykit:

Engine Bay:

Boot:

 

Inside:

 

 

So, lots of work to do, but still pretty happy overall. 

 

M

 

[Risingsun]

Good to see that another Le-Mans is going to be lovingly looked after…

I seem to remember a black one up for sale just before I bought mine in 2010, 

Good luck with the project Matt.

As you are in East Sussex, myself and another Le-Mans owner aren’t too far away from you, perhaps we could do a photo shoot with all 3 together ?

[bk65]

Now that I’d like to see…

[MATTGTA]

@Risingsun

As you are in East Sussex, myself and another Le-Mans owner aren’t too far away from you, perhaps we could do a photo shoot with all 3 together ?

Yes I am - close to Heathfield.

[Roadie]

After seeing the thread last week my thought like many others was, what would my other half say! Lots of work to do obviously but at least you haven’t paid top dollar and then found out there’s loads of problems.

I parked my Zsport at Wentworth and the other black LM parked behind me. Will be great to see the two reunited.

Great that it’s back in the fold and in good hands. Looking forward to seeing the restoration.

[MATTGTA]

 Decisions, Decisions…

 

Or is it…?  

Either way, almost everyone I’ve spoken to so far has had the same first question… so I thought I’d share some thoughts on the subject.

I once owned a brown Lancia Fulvia.  It was a fantastic car in a truly horrific colour and I loved it dearly.   As with most Lancias (and MX5s) it was in constant need of remedial rust work and every time it went into a body shop, I considered stripping her right down and spraying on a more sensible colour.   In the end, I decided to keep the 70s brown paintwork in all it’s glory and the Fulvia wore it with pride.  Certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but the colour belonged to the car.

 

One of the best things about our love of cars is that we all like different things.  There is no right or wrong answer to the decisions we make or the cars we choose to drive – some people get their kicks from custom mods, whilst other prefer polishing the chrome on pristine classics, wafting about in barges, or hammering around a track in something racy.  At the end of the day, that’s what makes forums like this so interesting to browse through.  

With that in mind, here’s a random selection of my own personal ‘car rules’:

• I prefer OEM to modified.

• Handling and driving experience is more important than power or speed.

• Nobody should ever wash a car in the middle of a road trip – until you get home, that bug splatter is your badge of honour.

• The answer is always 'roof down'.

• Cars should not change colour.

That last one is normally simple to apply.  But, of course, J207 complicates matters significantly – a red car which was painted orange and green and then re-sprayed black... all before it was sold the first owner !

So now for the big question: Is J207 going Green and Orange?

The short answer is no. 

Initially, my intention was to restore the Le Mans back to it’s lary origins.  However the reality is that every time we talk about this car (and Doug’s car too) we say ‘the black Le Mans’.  Quite simply, that’s what it is… and for that reason, that’s what it’s staying.  The fact that she was registered and sold black (as well as the story behind that) just serves to re-enforce this – for me at least.  I do have some ideas about applying some or all of the livery (in matt black, perhaps?)  but that discussion can wait for another day. There’s a lot of work to do before cosmetic decisions need to be made. 

So black it is, and that’s that.  

I should add that I’m a huge fan of the Orange and Green and really enjoyed my time owning and driving one.  It’s truly special and something that will almost certainly never be repeated - not by a major manufacturer (Well done, Mazda)  and not by me.  So whilst my days driving around in a MX5 shaped 787B are in the past, he’s a nostalgic shot of my race livery Le Mans on a 2012 road trip to Luxembourg.  It was a lot of fun. 

[Roadie]

Nice to know your thinking on the colour scheme. Can’t argue with anything. Brown Fulvia looked great too. So 70s.

As it’s missing the bonnet decal how about replicating it in orange and green?

[leman]

Great another lm is found and although I am biased I think you should get it back in the 787b colours, I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

 

[kerry_lea]

Wow she looks stunning  

[GEOFFNMAZ]

Hi, I have just recently restored J10DMS  If you need any help or advice just ask  And good luck with your project …

 

[Doug]

Good for you on sticking with the cars history and colour. You’ll need to grow a thick skin though, as it soon gets boring the number of people who ask if you’re going to respray it green and orange . There are plenty that colour but only two black LM’s  

They just don’t seem to get the fact that these cars, plus the two orange and one blue are all from the same family but just like a family, each has its own personality and features. Funny how people have accepted ‘Jaffa’ but can’t accept the black cars so readily.

It’s spooky how how closely the twins seem to have mirrored each other’s lives and survival, even down to the rust induced cracked windscreen. However, yours is literally the mirror image of  Black Betty’s, hers being at the base of the drivers side screen pillar.

Getting that sorted was the last and most nerve wracking part of her beauty treatment!

Best  of luck with the restoration. It’ll be good to see brother? and sister reunited at a club rally some day, proud to be black!

[Doug]

Oh…and I added some subtle elements of the LM graphics to BB as a nod to her heritage. Just enough so people know her kin, without being brash about it 

Ill have to post up one or two photos - in this thread, if you don’t mind? Or elsewhere?

[MATTGTA]

Time flies.

How on earth did we get to September so quickly?  

Too much work, summer holidays, building work at our house and other assorted stuff has eaten away at the past 2 months without me really noticing. Worse still, there has been very little movement on the car front, other than a brief flurry of excitement (the wrong kind) when the cam belt on my daily commuter (Clio 182 with 100k on the clock) let go in the most spectacular of ways.  Seriously uncool. 

Even with that said, I’m still a little ashamed to report that having rescued the Le Mans from someone else’s garage, it has now taken up residence in mine.  Annoyingly, with no effort or time to get it back on the road this summer, it’s covered a total of about ten metres since my last post. 

However there is some exciting news to report because those ten metres were pretty important. That’s because the reason for rolling it out of my garage in the first place was so that Chris and Garath from The MX5 Restorer could pay the car a visit.  They had a good look around and we had a discussion about some options for restoration work.  Nice chaps.  Fast forward through several conversations and mail discussions and it was agreed that J207 will be going to them in mid November for some serious work.  The aim, quite simply, is to create a very special Le Mans.   I’ve not met them or used their services before but I know of their reputation and their passion for MX5s was immediately apparent. I discussed options with some other garages and specialists, but for me, this was an easy decision.  I have no doubt the car is in safe hands.  

To say I’m excited is an understatement.  I’m keen for the restoration to be documented on here so will make sure the work is well recorded once it gets underway.  

November can’t come quickly enough.  Suddenly, time is no longer flying by. 

 

 

[MATTGTA]

So, er, remember me ?

I think this thread is rather overdue an update. How on earth have five years passed. .

October 2016.
We were starting to gain momentum. Things with the Le Mans were getting exciting and everything was swimming along nicely in the world… when out of nowhere, life in the MattGTA household suddenly turned upside down.

We’d decided to redo our kitchen - about 3 weeks of work, which should have been straightforward enough. But then, about a week in, our builders found asbestos… and it was everywhere. .

What followed was a very unwelcome, very unplanned and outrageously expensive nine months, where we had to strip our home right back to timber and brick… and then put it back together again. It was a nightmare of an experience, and genuinely the most stressful thing I’ve ever been through - especially with two young children, a listed building and a massive mortgage!

Late 2017.
After the longest year in history, everything somehow turned out ok, although I’m still not sure how, to be honest. All that we had (and every penny we could borrow) went into fixing the house, so the Le Mans simply had to go. It was some consolation to see J207 pass into the safe hands of The MX5 Restorer, but I was sad to see her go and frustrated not to get a chance to finish the job.

Fast forward to today. It’s 2021.
Asbestos-gate is fading fast in the rear view mirror - neatly filed under ‘character building life experiences’ and forgotten in a sea of global pandemics and other assorted life drudgery. The black Le Mans took its rightful place in history at the very top of my “cars I wish I’d never sold” list… and that was that. The fish that got away.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve lurked on the forums and hoped for an opportunity to own another Le Mans, but never quite got there. Some of you may have seen my recent ‘wanted’ post - after all, if you don’t ask…

Meanwhile, J207 has remained a work in progress at The MX5 Restorer - mostly stripped naked and awaiting a gap in their busy schedule; but to no avail.

A week ago, I took a deep breath and made a strong offer to buy her back.

I’m delighted to say that ownership has been transferred back to me and restoration work should restart in the autumn.

I have less hair, my beard is greyer, my kids are nearly grown up and my 2016 trousers don’t fit anymore… but I have a big grin today and my passion for the little back Le Mans is as strong as ever.

Watch this space.

[IanC]

Good to hear you’ve reunited with J207 Le Mans. Best of luck with the renovation work and keep the story going.