Hi guys, I’ve been looking for a nice MX5 for a few weeks and eventually came across this one which seems to be really nice. The price is a bit high compared to the average one, however if the car is genuine rust free and without rewelding as described I think it’s worth. I asked for a couple of photos of the delicate areas, and according to what I learnt from the MX5restorer videos, I’m still a bit doubtful…however the seller assures me that the car is absolutely genuine, allowing me even to bring a compression tester and check everything I want to. I’m posting a few pictures in hope that someone of you experts can give me a piece of advice. Thanks a lot!!! It’s a '92 1.6 Eunos…so shouldn’t have the crankshaft weakness problem, 115 hp, LSD …in other words exactly what I was looking for
By the looks of it the car will need a sill* doing, the second photo shows bubbling towards the bottom of the panel. The panels rot from the inside outwards, I bet if you were to pierce the bubble water would come out.
The 4th photo shows a similar thing with the front wing, although it’s a common issue due to a dirt trap at the bottom of the wing which is a bolt on panel. Sometimes the front of the sill behind the wing can rust out if this area has been left .
I’d say the car will need some bodywork for the next mot.
*When most people say the sill on these cars it’s actually the lower part of the rear wing that covers the back of the sill that corrodes. But everyone calls it the sill when talking about it.
I do see some bubbles on the sills, nothing much but these things tend to show on the surface as they rot from within. I do see a slight sign of some work has been done in the past, they do look clean/freshly painted though, the tell tale spot welds are there, which is a good sign. Have a look at the MOT history, tells a little more of any underbody work that has been needed such as failures or advisories in those areas.
Agreed with everyone else. Looks quite original but not long until some welding will need doing. Not sure what it’s advertised at but you need to budget anywhere from 200 to 400 per sill to get repaired in the next year or so.
its if its more than £2k I would be tempted to leave that if it was me.
Thank you guys. So, what you are trying to say is that those little bubbles on the visible areas, are sign that the inside/behind structural sills are rusted? I thought that if I found a car with pretty decent external sheets, I wouldn’t have anything to worry about. The seller (private) told me that the car is completely original and rust free. He took all the pictures I asked him to, and agreed for a deposit which he would refund in case I find any major issues. And the major issues we agreed is rust, engine and transmission. He’s even allowing me to bring a compression tester. So I trusted him and left the deposit. I have not to arrange to get there since it’s very distant from where I live (from London to Bradford)
PS Mot history already checked and it’s all clean…not a single corrosion voice since 2006
I just came on to see if it was the car in Bradford and indeed it is. You say you’ve put a deposit down? Well the seller (Naser, I presume?) just (re)advertised this car on facebook about an hour ago.
Lots of photos on there and several showing bubble on the arches which to be fair to the guy he has taken close up photos of. But be under no illusion when this guy says “this car is absolutely rust Free” it is not. Now is it a horrible rust bucket? Hard to say but there doesn’t seem to be any gaping holes or anything.
Did he mention the split in the roof too? Also odd that the speedo hasn’t been converted to MPH, thought it had to be for the MOT? Tippex marks on the dash aren’t really good enough… (which it has BTW)
Sills can rust from inside out so if you see rust it is likely to worse underneath, it doesn’t always follow from what I have seen (admittedly only in photos on the internet) but I would be prepared for the worst. Also you may want to check his profile picture on facebook is a red MX5 91/92 with white wheels that has obviously been lowered and has a big splitter on. Not sure it is the same car or not as he has taken the number plates off for the advert, but it may be and he has put it back to standard…
That aside, for the money (assuming it is the same car) it looks pretty tidy, price looks to be about right, he has shined it up well and assuming it drives OK and history looks OK it could be a really nice car. Be prepared to get roof and rust fixed in the not too distant future though.
London to Bradford seems a long way to go just for a mK1, especially as you seem little unconvinced with various issues. Couldn’t you find one a lot closer? My first Mk1 I found just 2 miles away and my latest mk1 was just 20 miles away, and both corkers!! Quick test drive and deals done…and I’m no mechanic! Good luck anyway.
The speedo does not have to be converted for the mot both my imports are in km and on the mot cirtificate it says km and as for the rust keep looking mine is rust free and I got it for £521 off ebay
Yes exactly. At first I was surprised as well to see the other adv, but then I found out that it’s another car. Apparently he sold a very similar MX5 2 weeks ago, and is currently selling an “immaculate” MX5 for 2.5 K, another “immaculate” for 2.2 K which I placed the deposit for, and the last placed today for 1.4 K still immaculate. All with previous owners that kept them for ages, all red, all '92, all Eunos, all 1.6 and all advertised in a very similar way…I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the photos are mixed. Don’t me, sound a bit weird to be honest…but if he is a genuine enthusiast, and if he have three of them at least, probably it’s worth going there and have a look.
Of course I’d like to find an MX5 closer, but it seems to be impossible. I saw a couple so far but 2 of 3 rusted and the last one a bit expensive. There are some more but being without a car it’s always a big trouble to go somewhere outside London, in terms of time and expense. And then, my ideal MX5 would be an Eunos 1.6 '92-'94, preferably red…this one seemed just perfect so I decided to take the risk. Of course in case there is anybody near Bradford so kind to have a look for me, I wouldn’t mind compensating him for the help. It is a long journey, very long by public transport, but I tried to use so far gumtree, facebook, pistonheads, autotrader, classiccars, even newspapers and couldn’t find anything close and decent. I don’t even mind the color after all, provided that the car is solid and rust free…
But the mk1 seems so difficult to be found nowadays
Every time I see a good one for sale, they always seem to be in the south west. I presume that the reason there are so many around Southampton is because they were shipped in there from Japan?
Your telling me. I even have a thread on here asking for Mk1 buying advice, I’ve been looking since February. Every day/hour at work I’m refreshing ebay/pistonheads/gumtree/classiccars/facebook. I’m getting seriously bored now.
I want a decent half modified one ideally though to save the hit on £700 coilovers / £500 roll bars. Not interested in standard models but I might just have to buy one and spend out…
