Hi all, I’ve recently found myself the owner of a sort of barn find 1992 SE version mk1. It’s sort of a barn find because it’s been in my barn for 7 years as it belonged to my little brother who had to park it off road as it needed the sills doing and he planned to do some upgrades at the same time.
As projects often do, it slipped when he had kids and it just sat there for years. Very sadly, during the first lockdown last year, my little brother took his own life. It’s taken a year for me to get round to the Mazda and I’d like to bring it back to life as something to hold on to that was his as I have lovely memories of driving places in it with him.
As you can imagine after 7 years in a barn, it’s going to need a fair bit of work. Most immediately, I’ve found that mice have eaten into the wiring so most of the wires under the bonnet are damaged. I need to pick up a loom and try to replace all the various bits under there, hoping it will mostly be a case of unplugging and replugging the various sections. At the same time, I want to remove the alarm/immobiliser because the fob no longer works and I hate alarms anyway. He had a new set of shocks waiting to go on along with a full set of poly bushes.
If I can get the car running by sorting the wiring loom, then it would probably be a case of pulling off the shocks, brakes, wishbones and subframes. Blast and paint the frames and wishbones, replace all the bushes, fit new shocks and then refurb the callipers and might as well fit 1.8 size new discs and pads. Oh and new tyres because they’ve perished.
Cosmetically the car is in reasonable shape, the interior, despite a bit of surface mould on the seat should come up with a decent scrub some leather treatment and the hood needs a new zip out window section.
I’m expecting this to be a long process and, while it’s not ‘money no object’, I’m not trying to make a profit because I plan to keep it long term and just get it to a point where I can enjoy driving it on nice days and perhaps the odd track day and keep it going in my brother’s memory because he loved it.
I also know that I’m bound to uncover more things that need doing once I get started. I’m sure I’ll be in need to lots of advice along the way.
