Isn’t it strange? Such lovely stuff, exhausts, coilovers, manifolds etc, all gleaming and shiny, then buried away! 
Barrie
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Took my Mk 2 down to Halfords for its free MOT test this morning which resulted in no advisories. For the previous 4 years I’ve had it serviced and MOT’d at a local garage in Drayton (Norwich), but when they completely fouled things up last year, I decided never to use them again, and did it myself instead. As I wanted to rid of the advisories from the previous two years regarding deformed floor strengtheners that were partially crushed very early on in its life, I used AutoDoc that did a very neat job on them. Relatively expensive, but well worth it as I’ve no urge to upgrade to a newer model.
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I hope you’re going to fit them yourself😁
Lockdown has a lot to answer for. It can send you a bit mad.
Like many people with extra time on their hands I have spent a fair amount of time on the internet studying all things MX-5. For some reason I started looking at Abarth 124 Spiders, which are, of course, MX-5s under the skin. Not sure why, but I got drawn in.
There are loads of informative videos on YouTube about them and the Abarth does look good on paper. With some Italian styling flair and a powerful turbo-charged engine they are very tempting. I need an automatic and compared to my RF the performance of the Abarth auto is remarkable with zero to 60 being 1.5 seconds faster and top speed 22mph higher! They also come with Brembos, Bilstiens and a limited slip differential, none of which are available on the auto RF. I also fancied a soft top because I rarely go roof up.
I got a thumbs up from SWMBO when I said I was thinking about changing the MX-5 and the search was on.
Monday 26th
Found a very nice sounding Abarth for sale at a dealer in Corby and I arranged to see it the following day. Before seeing the Abarth I decided to advertise my RF on the club website. I got an immediate response from DaveW14 who is in North East Midlands area. He happened to be in Bakewell and we agreed to meet the following morning.
Tuesday 27th
DaveW14 had a good look round the my RF and I took him out for a run round the Peak District (top down, obviously). He loved the car and the deal was done. OK I hadn’t got a new car yet but what the heck, I was going to look at a 2019, low mileage Abarth in the afternoon armed with a wedge of cash in my pocket, what could go wrong?
First impressions of the Abarth were not good. The car had not been prepared for sale, apparently it had only just arrived in stock at the dealers, and it was pretty dirty. The local bird population had been amusing themselves with a bit of target practise which didn’t improve things and a look under the bonnet revealed an engine that was covered in corrosion. I formed the impression that the previous owner hadn’t exactly been an enthusiast. Never mind because the proof of the pudding is in the test drive.
Due to Corona Virus restrictions I had to go on the test drive on my own (oh dear, what a shame, never mind) and I took myself off for a decent blast. The dealer’s premises were embedded in an endless industrial estate but I eventually found my way onto some empty country roads where I could wind the Abarth up.
The Abarth is very fast, significantly faster than my RF. However, it’s also very noisy, really, really noisy. The suspension is hard and the brakes were rubbish! The automatic gearbox was quite strange and didn’t feel very happy in manual mode (my preference in the RF) but was OK in automatic. Handling was similar to the MX-5 but the suspension was very hard. Compared to my RF it was noisy and crude. If the RF is a scalpel then the Abarth was a club.
The salesman was very understanding when I explained my misgivings although I did feel a bit guilty about burning up a couple of gallons of his fuel.
Trouble is I’m now stuck with no MX-5 for the first time in about eight years. I’m not panicking though, not yet, but I am desperate. I need an RF automatic, preferably an ND2 and preferably in Mica blue so if you know of one…
Today
Went to have a look at a Soul Red ND2RF. It was a bit neglected and well over priced. The owner hadn’t opened the bonnet in two years of ownership! Made a low offer and walked away.
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PVCtrading have an auto RF in grey, 19 plate 
Good luck!!! there are a few around, but as you have already noted, it is not worth jumping in without doing the right deal on the right car.
Haha, of course!! 
Need to borrow my mate’s piston rewinder, though, so next set of days off it’ll be job done:grin:
Hope it goes well
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Cheers pal 
Sure all will be well
Don’t forget to remove the brake fluid reservoir cap, and keep an eye on the fluid level as you retract the pistons - brake fluid isn’t good for paint. .
I’m sure you’ll be fine😁
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Cheers mate! Yeah, my brake fluid’s sitting just below max so am going to take a wee bittie out before I start 
Am going to paint the callipers while I’m at it too!
You could paint the non-brake part of the discs to match…
Nah, the discs are black powder coated as well as slotted so wouldn’t want to risk paint going where it shouldn’t. The contact points on the centres, I’ll be putting a touch of grease on anyway
Thanks MickAP, I will have a look immediately!!!
Today I got an MOT pass, no problems, no advisories, 19 year old car. But with lockdowns and MOT extensions and SORN first test since June 19.! Now for some tax and to use it a bit…
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Result, and with some lockdown freedom can now enjoy! - Just wish it would get a bit warmer 
Rob
Warmer would be nice… 
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Haha - if you think it’s cold in your nice heated seat air conditioned warm air cocoon try running in a new motorbike in this weather…
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Busy day today!
Fitted a lathewerks titanium knob which feels as good as it looks and makes shifting gear even more of a pleasure. I waited 73 days and it was worth it for sure!
I’ve had the rear callipers painted to match the red 6 pots on the front. Also fitted the mazda oem dust caps.
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