- My model of MX-5 is: 1997 na mk1
- I’m based near: sheffield
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: the interia of my car as its been stripped out due to it being a drift car and any advice on the maintenance side of things and some good upgrades i could do to it this is my first “project” car im 17 years old so ive never done anything like this before so any advice would be brillent
- More about the car - its a 1997 na mk1 it has 115000 miles on the clock it was 1500 pounds it came with 12 extra wheels it has a set of rota wheels on it there is no carpets inside it has been stripped of the door cards it it has is the heaters dashbored and wireing it has an nrg re.ovable steering wheel it has a hydraulic e break as well has the hand break and its that low you can bearly put two fingers underneath the car its a 1.6 liter engine i will attach some photos and videos so you can have a look i hope you like the buy and any advice on maintaining modifcation and what to do with it would be brilliant
What a great first car! Here’s a few parts suppliers for anything you might need; https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/
For performance parts, https://bofiracing.co.uk/
Second hand autolinkmx5.com
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Thank you !!
Used wings that aren’t rusted are thin on the ground. New pattern wings have shot up in price. Get the sill coveres off and have a good poke. I expect rust here, and probably the rear arches are going. If you can weld, its a straightforward repair.
If original 1.6 engine; this is a “detuned” 1.6, with 90hp, created to keep the running costs down. Mazda stripped these cars a bit to get the weight down, so no subframe braces, no cockpit brace.
If you get the body all sound, I wouldn’t waste too much time expecting much from the engine; a manifold and intake will look nice but really add anything. These late UK cars, unless someone has messed around with the exhaust, has an extra long cat to get through stricter emissions. Unless you have custom bulld, your exhaust options are limited, unless you replace everything from manifold and back. But fitting the earlier shorter cat is pretty marginal on the later cat test…
Getting replacement trim is straightforward, though old Mk1 carpet sets can be in a bit of a state now. I think a Mk2 carpet will fit.
Mechanically, besides making sure the engine is sound, I’d focus on the chassis, but stay away from chassis braces. They’ll just add weight, and you don’t have a lot of power.
Thank you for the reply i know the exhaust has a decat pipe in it and it has diffrent manifold in it i belive ill have to put a cat back in for the mot