Took delivery of the car yesterday, it’s an early mk2, 1998 model.
First spin out today and what a little riot of a thing! Steering feels precise, ride is compliant enough on the Derbyshire back roads and the engine loves a rev to get her moving.
With the rain back end was pleasantly lively when gently provoked too.
List of niggles already to address:
electric aerial is buggered, need a replacement, motor is okay so guess get away with just the aerial part itself, easy to swap?
electric windows are lazy so going to start with cleaning the rubbers and silicone grease
drivers side roof to window seal leaking a little
exhaust blowing a bit somewhere, need to investigate where
needs an oil service
brakes are woeful
headlights need a polish
rear arches rusty but they’ll probably remain so
Couple of pics, I’m more than happy with it and it’ll do as a cheap and fun summer roundabout
Thanks trufflehunt, I have already picked up couple of cans from screwfix and been liberally applying to both windows. Limited success thus far but I’ll keep on with it!
I see that the three numbers of your reg. number are very close (a few earlier) to my almost identical NB (also painted black, same wheels). The rest of the reg (R***MKO) is exactly the same as yours.
I was originally told by an experienced MX-5 parts dealer that the wheels on my car had come from a Mk1. I told him I had no reason to think that the wheels were anything but the original ones from the factory and seeing your car has confirmed that they probably are (although at this time it still has steel wheels and winter tyres fitted). My car is what my son calls “poverty spec” because unlike later cars it has no central locking, no electric mirrors and no ABS.
I’d be intrigued to know the last 4 digits of your VIN number! Both cars must have been registered in the same part of the country and I think must be some of the very earliest NBs delivered to UK. If you’re OK with it, it’s probably best to get in touch by P.M. message rather than on the open forum.
We must meet up and compare cars - I’ll be at Elvington tomorrow - you going?
Mine is June 1998. 1.8i with no ABS, no electric mirrors, no central locking and just a chipped key for security. I have the same wheels, I think they were the 14" option to replace the steel wheels. I do not know whether this was a factory fitted option or a dealer supplied one.
These early NB seem to resist rust better than the later ones. I put it down to the use of solvent based paints being better protectors than water based ones. I suspect the primers used in the body dips for the bodies before the top coats were applied are more rust resistant.
Not having ABS or central locking certainly reduces the problems in running an older car. Just check your front chassis rails. Mine are still ok but I shall get them repaired later this year.
So that’s 3 of us with early poverty spec cars, what’s your reg out of interest if you don’t mind sharing? PM if preferred?
I’ll take a good look under the car when I change the wheels, sort the exhaust and change the oil/filter this weekend I think it will be, hopefully she’s not too far gone and the issues are just more cosmetic…not holding out loads of hope though.
Coming from clios, which the mk1’s of those are notoroious for rust, I tend to suspect the worst, I currently have one mk1 clio with little or no front jacking points and floor above…doh!
We’ve found out that Coop’s NB and mine were registered on exactly the same day. Presumably this was done at the same local registration office (anyone else remember when we had those? Life was a lot simpler back then).
I wonder if these cars were among the first batch delivered to UK as main dealers’ demonstrators? Mine was apparently first registered to a main dealer.
You need to remove the door cards, clean the old grease from the metal window slides and replace with the equivalent of Castrol LM multipupose grease not molygrease.
That will quicken them.
The cars appear to be the standard 1.8i. Only the 1.8iS had ABS and electric windows and semi central locking with no fob. 195 x 50 x 15 VR .tyres and 6in x 15 wheels. Stainless kick plates, elec aerial
My Mk1 has the very same alloys as yours too. I have all the original accessory brochures for the mk1 including the brochure for the cars themselves. These alloys are in the accessory brochure. Funnily enough, mine is also the poverty spec model so no ABS, central lockinglor a lecky windows. She does have PAS though and was registered December 97 (R reg) so possibly one of the last mk1’s. Might explain the alloys on both our cars?
20190427_114629 by staindsoul_18, on Flickr
20190427_114649 by staindsoul_18, on Flickr
20190427_114642 by staindsoul_18, on Flickr
