Hey all,
Going to look at an MX5 over the next few days and have been sent the following off the car.
Can someone let me know what model it is and what it has spec wise? All I know is 1996 1.8 eunos, would it have an LSD?
Cheers
Steve.
Its a late model version, S-Special, red with black cloth interior. Because its a Phase 2 car, this will have the 4.3 Torsen-2 diff and lightened flywheel Watch out for wear on the drivers seat. With these late cars, the cloth wears badly, and the thin carpet can get some holes. Mechanically desireable. Should have a black front brace.
Fab, thanks for the help. Will look out for the brace, not too worried about the seats as would be putting different ones in but from photos it does look like slight wear.
But lsd and flywheel are good news!
Impossible to tell though if its an S-Spec 1 or 2 (the only difference being 15" BBS wheels).
Looking at this I’m guessing they’re not BBS wheels… Shame but ah well! Any idea what they are, think they are oem for standard eunos?
In 1996, Mazda dropped the 14" BBS wheel. So the S-Special 1 had the Bilstein suspension pack, but 14" “standard” Enkei wheels, whereas the S-Special 2 had the 15" BBS wheels.
The 1996 model brochure:
It has the teardrop speaker covers as well as the sill kick plates however is missing the black engine brace. Think it also has a momo wheel, should this be a nardi wheel as stock?
Last question - if it’s rust free with original spot welds with 65k miles and runs well, what’s a rough price estimate?
Should be a Modern style Momo steering wheel as its a late S-Special. Originally, it would have had a black leather Nardi gearknob, but these often fall to pieces…
If its rust free, and the body straight, and everything in order £4-5k is fair.If its had good sill repairs done, £3-4k or so.
Awesome. Thanks for the help, unsure about the gearknob but will take a look on Saturday when I go to view. Looks to be the new momo style so that rings true, would just need to find a engine brace to bring it back to original spec as its been removed for some reason…
The engine brace was just the common garden variety S-Spec brace, but painted black, not yellow.
Late S-Special with brace
Earlier S-Special
If the plastic slam panel cover is missing, it might be a sign that someone has had the nose off at some point.
Ah OK, thought the brace was a slightly different design but nice to know its the same as the earlier models.
Still got the original slam cover fitted, cars never had an advisory for rust anywhere on the body, so it’s either been found and fixed early or the underseal has done its job.
My 1996 S-Spec 2 never had a rust advisory. in the 15 years I’ve had (and none before). Still, both sills and arches were replaced in 2017. Wish I could say I was being incredibly proactive, but no. Lots of advisories for everything else, but never rust (SAZ9961).
On these later cars, also check the seam sealant, on the door skins, particularly the bottom rear corner, and, when you open the door, the area around where the wing top bolt attaches to the inner wing. You can see it with the door open. The sealant seems to harden off, then cracks as the body flexes, creating a rust trap.
Also the front panel. Here it is in 2012. I just ground back and treated, coated in underseal, and forgot about it. But the metal was a bit thin in places/
Cheers Saz for all the tips, will take a look at the areas mentioned that I can see. If I do purchase I’ll put a post up on here as I’m sure I’ll have loads more questions going forward!