Hello Everybody, here is my Mk2.5 MX-5 Euphonic, in Titanium Grey.
Shortly after buying this car, I sent it in for a full restoration by Steve Garbutt and his team at MX5 Motors in Doncaster. They have done a cracking job, for a really good price!
Now that it’s structurally sound, my goal with this car is to create a sense of refinement, which is very much missing in any standard MX-5. The long-term plan is to get it fully soundproofed, add some mod-cons, and learn some new mechanical skills along the way.
Done so far:
Restoration (full rust removal and respray)
Replaced the broken Halfords antenna with an MX5 Parts one
Set up a little system of a Bluetooth receiver, wireless charger and OBD2 dongle to turn my phone into an extended media centre / car computer
Fixed one of the busted speakers
Tightened the throttle cable
My To-Do list:
Full service
Renovo the faded roof
Cobalt stainless exhaust (just the back box)
Remote locking
Uprated speakers
Oust that godawful smell (It’s like wet dog or something, I don’t know!)
Soundproofing. So much soundproofing!
Various bits of mild bling
Hard top (maybe, just for winter)
New tyres
New brakes
Restore the alloy wheels
Toying with the idea of installing a tablet, but doubtful I’d be able to keep FM radio and the CD changer if I replaced the head unit.
And more, probably…
I’d always wanted a Euphonic, but they are really rare to find in my area. I saw this one pop up online about two months ago and had to go see it. One impulse buy later, I picked it up from York. It was looking quite tatty at the time, with a lot of rust in all of the usual places, but I got it for a fair price and planned to get it professionally restored.
So I got it home, parked it next to my perfectly good, immaculate Astra Cabrio, and wondered what the heck I was going to do with two cars.
Worst part about owning two cars? The cleaning. Cleaning both together took ages, but it allowed me to see just how many stone chips the MX-5 had suffered compared to the other car of similar age. Anyway, the Astra eventually got sold to fund the MX-5’s restoration work. I was sad to see it go and will continue to feel that way until I’ve gotten the MX-5 as perfect as the Astra was, mechanically and aesthetically.
Here it is after giving it a wash and wax, being very careful not to take the bubbling paint off the wheel arches. I like the Euphonic for the red trim leather interior, the titanium grey colour, and the unique wheels. What I was quite disappointed in was the sound system. It’s utter garbage! I’m not really that into my “bangin’ choonz”, but my god the speakers are pathetic and tinny (Not to mention that the driver’s door speaker does not work). The Sony head unit that was a feature of this car is also really confusing to use, and requires alarming amounts of concentration to press buttons while driving. I want to keep the car as standard as possible, so I’ll probably stick with the silly Sony head unit, but those speakers will have to be replaced at some point. And Dynamat, lots and lots of Dynamat!
After owning the car for a couple of days, I began to notice a bunch of things that I hadn’t detected during the test drive. This car must have come out of the factory with an awful lot of bracing as standard, as it always corners completely flat. I’ve seen a lot of videos of MX-5s wallowing around corners, but this thing just stays level. It’s brilliant! The brakes are also very good compared to my old car, but they are looking really crusty. I’ll add them to my to-do list. Finally, I picked up a few alarming noises which turned out to be a rattly heatshield above my back box, and stones in my brake disks.
I sent the car in for a restoration at MX5 Motors a month after I got it, when I was happy that I hadn’t bought a lemon. Two weeks later, I picked it up after both sills and all four arches had been chopped out and replaced, and the car had received a full respray and cavity wax. Once I get all the plastics blacked up, the lights de-clouded and some new number plates, it’ll look like it just left the factory!
The new paint is stunning. The wheels will need bringing up to scratch at some point, but that’s not a priority just yet. Somebody in the past got them powder coated in roughly the same colour as the car, and the finish is really rough. I want them bringing back to the standard factory finish.
Since getting it back, I’ve managed to jiggle the broken door speaker into a working state again, but the tweeter above it is still dead. They all need replacing at some point. I’m shocked that Mazda dared to advertise this as a special edition that revolved around music. At 60mph, in order to hear the tinny speakers you have to turn them up until your ears bleed. Soundproofing should fix that.
Yesterday I also adjusted the throttle cable as it was really hard to drive this car in stop-start traffic. Wow, what a difference, it feels like I’ve gained 50 torques!
So yeah, that’s what I’ve done in two months of owning the car. I guess the addiction got me good. I’ll post updates as I do stuff. Feel free to ask any questions or suggest any good things to do to make the car a more refined machine. 
