May 1990 Mk1 1.6 project.

Hello all. 

 

We’ve owned a red 1990 1.6 for a number of years now. We bought it with 37k on the clock in 2008 (IIRC) and got it up to 77k by approx 2011 at which point I put it in storage at my FiL’s garage. After 18mths we moved it up to his workshop and put the car cover on. There it has stayed, untouched, for 7yrs. I went up yesterday to have a look at it with a view to getting it back on the road again. 

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how good it looked and the condition it was in. Now starts the task of getting it ready to use again. I’ve been a busy little bee today ordering brake sets, service kits, extra oil/filter/engine flush, cambelt kit, diff oil, coolant, brake bleed kit, oil pump and the like so I can make a start next weekend. 

I’m new to the world of fettling MX5’s so would very much appreciate any pointers for essential fixes during this little adventure, not covered by what I have ordered already. 

 

I’ll also be changing the springs/dampers and was considering the Gaz fixed height coilovers as I’d like the car to be a little lower with more sporty handling. Do any of you use these and have any feedback??

 

Any pointers gratefully received!

If you go with Gaz go with the ‘Gold’ version, I don’t have personal experience but my understanding is that the non-gold version is the older model that had some issues. I have the meisterr zeta CRD’s and they’re brilliant (having a minor customer service problem at the moment but the product is great) - definitely go the coilover route rather than lowering springs. BC’s are a good choice if you know what kind of spring rate you want.

My only bit of advice is keep in mind that most service intervals are distance OR age. So regardless of mileage you probably want to replace pretty much all of your service parts. Water pump, timing belts etc. I’d also check any rubber or plastic parts as they’re old and likely brittle/crumbling to dust.

Throw whatever tyres it has on it in the bin.

Replace all fluids.

Otherwise if it works it works!