My poor NC needs a lot of help

Technical Area Body, Interior & Styling
21

Laurence,
I’m sorry to seem harsh but you need to have a Reality Shake with this 'ol shaker.
( I run a 28 years old Eunos Roadster and my wife’s is 3 years older than yours, so we know our way around them to say the least.)

By Reality Shake, your car is bordering unroadworthy & potentially dangerous…and is basically what my two were like before I had them restored & refurbished…it’s marching into shed/ spares- project repair status. In fact, in my view…it’s there now.

Leaky exhaust, perishing cracked tyres, and multiple “minors” which in isolation are not a great big deal on their own, but put into the same basket…are.
Corrosion? As has been pointed out to you quite clearly…it’s approaching rust bucket status…and in another year or less could be better scrapped.

Who knows? You need to get it ramped pronto and have an MOT chap or chapette who does not mince his or her words…and drill to the bottom line.
In it’s current condition on several levels I’d not take your car from Scotland down the M6 to Brum at any speed…put it that way. For money or a bet. . I’d be waiting for blow out for starters, not to mention a rotting tub no way has the same crash integrity as a solid one.

As it stands…it all appears to be fixable with a suitable amount of wad chucked at it.
Only you can decide whether to ditch it and pay off the finance, or restore…but for sure…one way or another you won’t be driving it as is…while paying for it.

22

I would have the bodywork inspected by an MX5 expert company like MX5 Restorer without doubt, their experience is worth loads.

As I said before MX5 Restorer do not charge for inspections and they also use video camera probes to look inside the sills and main frame etc.

Shame they are not more local to you.

Roy

23

It’s beyond economical repair. What you do about that is your own business, chalk it up to experience and do your best with it.

24

Ive contacted Sam Goodwin Mx5 specialist so I’ll wait to see what they say about it. Unfortunately it doesn’t sound good reading these comments. I took out a bank loan to buy it for £2500 the guy I brought it off was genuinely a nice person and I believe he just didn’t know about the issues being this bad. I will have to wait and make a decision on whether i keep it or sell it. I have made a real connection with the car now as well so it’ll be a harder decision. Thanks for all your help

25

He must have known…if he can read…
Just look at the MOT reports.
No such thing as nice guys flogging known rot boxes but you’ve not got a leg to stand on really.
All he has to spout is “Sold as seen”…etc.

My MOT guys, who I’ve gone to for 24 years, would never have given it a Pass in a month of Sundays.
So, that’s another problem…
It’s history is now in full glare of public scrutiny.
It’s a fixer-upper or a flipper as a “resto”
Damage limitation now.

26

Laurence,

Sorry to read this. From the MOT history it failed on corrosion last year, so it must have been repaired to then get a pass. Also, corrosion of some sort has been mentioned as an advisory for the last 6 years, so the previous owner would have had some knowledge of this, although you may be right and he may not have understood how bad it was.

Hopefully Sam Goodwin will find it isn’t too bad and can be repaired economically. If not, someone may be interested in it for breaking - mk3 engines can command good prices, if in good fettle, and yours does have fairly low mileage. It looks like it is a 1.8, so possibly won’t have too many goodies on it like leather interior, 17" wheels etc, but may still be worth a reasonable sum if sold to someone that specialises in MX5 spares.

Hope you get away without getting your fingers burnt too badly, whatever happens.

Phil

27

Agreed. And if the level of neglect on the body is applied to the engine and it’s the more vulnerable 1.8 then potentially more problems may be on the horizon. Sad story unfortunately all to common these days. Tough and potentially expensive lesson. I hope Sam comes up with a solution for Laurence but I think it’s likely to involve even more ££££.

28

The rotten holes need sorting but shouldn’t cost that much , for mot bushes and covers are either nackered or serviceable owt else is pass and advice

29

I’ve no doubt a small independant back street place will patch it up to get it through the MOT for only a few hundred quid.

However, sorry for being brutal here, but when rot starts, it will generally just keep going.
If you’re patching it up to keep it going then expect more work somewhere else next year, then the year after, until eventually it’s no longer economical to keep chucking money at it.

30

Ive been quited by a professional welder it was cost around £300-£600 most likely £600 as the sills will need more work. Tbf it’s not as bad as I thought, I won’t be using the car until next summer anyway so I have 8 months really to get the work done. Also this chap is a mobile welder so even if the MOT runs out I can still get the work done.

31

Spend a bit of money on some axle stands, and spend the next few months with a wire brush and screw driver having a poke underneath, so you get to know yourself the sound and not sound areas. There might be some braces you need to order, but which will be an easy enough fit, once the welder has done his work, and the underside is given a general tidy up.

Sounds like you might have a solution The good news is that as everything is underneath, repairs don’t have to look pretty.

Its a sad fact all cars made of steel will rust out, even cars undersealed from new. They wil eventually fall part due to rot, but maybe not during the lifetime of the original owner.

As always, whether something is “worth repairing”, is a matter of perspective, and plans. I’ve had my current NA (the 3rd of 5 I’ve had) for nearly 17 years now, and it will probably be the last NA I’ll ever have (I missed my chance of a M2, and now they are beyond the price I’ll pay for any car). Paid £4500 for it 17 years ago, god knows how much has been spent since (2 sets of shocks and springs, 3 roofs, new seats, respray (which needs doing again) etc), ontop of £1500 worth of welding in 2017. No doubt it will need welding repairs in the future (the bottoms of the 2010 fitted front wings are looking suspect).

The car is brought and paid for long ago, mainly as a result of the only car loan I have ever had, that for a 1992 Eunos Roadster back in 1997 (£9000). It owes me nothing, and only costs the price of annual servicing (which appears to be a predictable £300 a year) and whatever extraordinary repairs come about (but i’m not foreseeing any more 4 figure welding jobs). The cost for me to change to a allegedly rust free NA will be £6k (£4k for a rough Japan based NA, plus shipping and taxes), but looking at prices, realistically, its more like £10k.

I have a 270k kms NA, worth on a good day £3-4k. £6k gets a lot of welding! My job is just to stop it from becoming a basket case.

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32

Hi I had a similar issue with my 2006 MX-5 , I used SPA servicing in Ilkeston , they specialise in MX-5 repairs , it cost me around £400 they did both sides and fabricated repair panels , fully seam welded , it passed MOT no issue after that. Your price may be different but they did a good job for me in quick time. So maybe this helps
Regards Paul

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33

May also be worth speaking to Martin at MX5 City. He’s in South Kirkby, Pontefract. Would be nearer to you than MX5 Restorer in Pevensey, but not as near as SPA Servicing in Ilkeston. Best of luck. Paul

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34

As others have said it sounds like the car maybe needs more work than it’s going to be worth. If you can afford to get the rust patched there’s no harm in getting it done and selling it as long as you’re honest about what has been done. That way you can find a better base since you’ve borrowed against it you don’t want to be paying out regularly for patching bits up aswell. There’s plenty of good ones out there

35

Why tell others what’s been done unless it’s a selling point to the excellent work. if it passes its MOT its fine to sell on.

36

most prospective purchasers would ask about rust… be honest and say it’s been repaired to MOT standard im sure most people would understand when they’re buying a car of that age

37

There’s a lot of doom and gloom in this thread. The only real way forward is to take it to an MX-5 specialist, get it up on a lift and have a good look. All else is speculation.

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38

Hi laurence1995
This is very common. I had both sides sill replacement and floor rails repaired on Mk1. Mine was considerably worse than your images. I had to purchase Sill ends and rear wheel arch repair panels. So a lot of work. I paid £1600 for a proper job ! Don’t cut corners with this kind of repair work, use a recommended workshop, it will be worth it mate !

39

It isn’t speculation, read the list. Anyone with experience knows exactly what it means.

40

OPs questions have been adequeately explored. I’m sure he’ll update the forum in a new thread.

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