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Jun 25, 2018 15:17:25 GMT
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Bought a week ago for an absolute steal, with no MOT and a whacking great dent in the door, but seemingly very little rust. Paint is very patchy and there were some mods I didn't want to keep (stickers, neons and puddle lights). Currently the brake lights don't come on (suspected switch) and the stitching has come away from the heated glass rear window. Once I replace the switch this week I'll get her tested and see the real lay of the land.   Plan is to sort the issues while enjoying for the summer. So far I have: - Removed the aerial - need a blanking grommet though
- Replaced a headlight bulb (had no highbeam)
- Cleaned it 20%, still smells pretty bad
- Removed the stickers
- Removed the neons
- Removed the puddle lights
- Removed giant transformers badge
It's really, really different to my last sports car (350z). It's raw and tiny and terrifying. First time I put the roof down I got something in my eye. What could be better?
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Last Edit: Oct 6, 2023 11:31:14 GMT by celshady
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Bought a low-priced hardtop, gingerly escorted home on the roof when it failed to fit inside the Volvo  Now taking up half the garage while I try to source Frankenstein bolts for less than £24 the pair! Daylight robbery for a couple of bolts, surely? |
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Last Edit: Jun 26, 2018 8:13:03 GMT by celshady
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A few more detail shots. The door dent:  Substantial. Previous owner pushed it out and creased it badly in the process. Doubt I'd have done better though! That wire coming from the bottom is now gone - it was for the neons to the cigarette lighter. Typical (apparently) under battery rust:  Post-MOT I'll get a wire brush on this lot and repaint with hammerite or similar |
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After a lot of moaning about the cost of Frankenstein bolts (seriously, £24 for a pair of bolts?!) I managed to source a used pair for £14 from www.ukmazdaparts.co.ukMOT is booked for Thursday so fingers crossed! |
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Jun 26, 2018 10:20:08 GMT
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Excited about this. Love an MX5
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Speedle
Posted a lot
Need a Country Rock band in the Hampshire Area? https://www.facebook.com/DirtRoadDiaryUK
Posts: 2,221
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Jun 26, 2018 10:54:54 GMT
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lots of potential here! Even if the sills look good though check the waterways in the rear 1/4 panels they clog up easily and are often the cause of the rot on these. I used a rifle cleaning rod to unblock mine, although it was too late at that point and the rot had set in...
Look forward to seeing the progress, good luck with the MOT
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Jun 26, 2018 11:49:40 GMT
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Trombone cleaner for the rear drain holes.
It'd be far easier to replace the door, sure someone breaking a silver one somewhere.
Battery is rusting as it's vent to atmosphere (inside the boot), you need one that has vent ports that the rubber tubing (pictured next to it) connect up to. Venting to outside the car and not rusting your boot inside out.
Looks a clean car, look forward to seeing your progress with it.
Always wished I got a 350Z!
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Jun 26, 2018 13:08:31 GMT
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Trombone cleaner for the rear drain holes. It'd be far easier to replace the door, sure someone breaking a silver one somewhere. Battery is rusting as it's vent to atmosphere (inside the boot), you need one that has vent ports that the rubber tubing (pictured next to it) connect up to. Venting to outside the car and not rusting your boot inside out. Looks a clean car, look forward to seeing your progress with it. Always wished I got a 350Z! I wondered what that tubing was for! Although there are 2 holes in the boot floor going dreckly outside - will these do for venting? I had presumed an old battery had leaked. I managed to score two navy doors for £25, so will be swapping one door and one window motor over at some point. Spraying will occur. Presuming the colour is Stone Silver as have yet to check, but fairly sure there's only one silver for the mk1. The zed was very very very nice. Amazing vfm performance. Values have dropped like a rock recently so now's the time  I dailyed i for 2 years but post-dog it just didn't suit my lifestyle anymore. Drain holes! I read about them and then forgot. Sadly don't own a trombone or a gun, but I have a coat hanger that I could tip with something soft. Thanks for the tips and keep 'em coming  |
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Pulled out the brake light switch last night. Gave it a more thorough clean just in case but no dice. Used the paperclip method to complete the circuit - this turned the brake lights on which confirms once and for all it's the switch. "New" one should be turning up today.
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I wondered what that tubing was for! Although there are 2 holes in the boot floor going dreckly outside - will these do for venting? I had presumed an old battery had leaked. I managed to score two navy doors for £25, so will be swapping one door and one window motor over at some point. Spraying will occur. Presuming the colour is Stone Silver as have yet to check, but fairly sure there's only one silver for the mk1. The zed was very very very nice. Amazing vfm performance. Values have dropped like a rock recently so now's the time I dailyed i for 2 years but post-dog it just didn't suit my lifestyle anymore. Drain holes! I read about them and then forgot. Sadly don't own a trombone or a gun, but I have a coat hanger that I could tip with something soft. Thanks for the tips and keep 'em coming 2 holes would be for the tray and battery bracket they come with, whether they'd be enough or not I'm not qualified to comment, but I fitted a battery that matched up to the tubing for piece of mind. Re: doors, keep an eye out on the Facebook groups for someone breaking a silver car if you don't want to spend on paint. So many cars getting split for parts at the minute there will be plenty about. Trombone cleaner on ebay/amazon is dirt cheap, certainly cheaper than new sills! Test drove a Z a few cars back, picked something else, always regretted it  |
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MOT was a fail, but only on the backbox. New one getting fitted today. Considered doing an upgrade but I'm not chasing performance here, so just got a normal mild steel, will-rot-again bog-standard one. Took the cheapo tip off this morning on the basis that polished up it'd probably look nice... and discovered the pipe pretty much blew away in the wind after that.   Plenty of advisories on the MOT, mostly surface rust. I'll basically work through the list this summer. Right now I'm thinking wire brush and treat with underseal or hammerite depending on position. Also my frankenstein bolts turned up, looking a bit mangled but usable. Will do a test fit of the hardtop this weekend. When the weather returns to rubbish, I'll take the soft top out entirely and fix the various issues.  |
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2 holes would be for the tray and battery bracket they come with, whether they'd be enough or not I'm not qualified to comment, but I fitted a battery that matched up to the tubing for piece of mind. I'm going to try and make a tray (let's not say fabricate, that implies skill. Let's say cobble together) for the battery that will allow those tubes to attach. Apparently the battery in there is relatively new so I don't ideally want to buy another just yet. I'd apparently rather spend a lot of time cobbling together something that barely works, then buy a new venting battery |
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Jun 30, 2018 12:10:27 GMT
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New exhaust on, MOT passed, taxed! Took her out for a nice evening shakedown   Really lovely drive. Wound her up to 7 grand a few times, sounded great. The lightweight and skinny tyres combo meant little squeals out of junctions without even trying. There were a few things that need looking into though: the transmission tunnel got pretty warm - not sure if this is normal, there was a funny smell (could be slight coolant leak) and a chatter/clatter on deceleration with engine braking. Probably need to check/change the gearbox oil |
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Last Edit: Jun 30, 2018 12:11:12 GMT by celshady
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Rained hard Sunday morning so fitted the hardtop. Thought I'd better sample the driving experience with it fitted so took her 15mins up the road to Dartmoor for a quick blast.   Apparently a hot tranny tunnel is normal, but still the next job on my list is to change the gearbox oils. And there's a rubber thingy in there under the gearstick that tears, so will swap that out too. |
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Speedle
Posted a lot
Need a Country Rock band in the Hampshire Area? https://www.facebook.com/DirtRoadDiaryUK
Posts: 2,221
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Looks smart with the hardtop, great news on the MOT too! The warm tunnel is very common, nice in the winter... not so much in this heat wave  |
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Went out for a spirited drive on Saturday and discovered the radiator fans never come on! Turned the heater on and waited. No. Tried the AC switch too as some people reported that can turn the fans on manually. No dice. Did a little research then tried using a paperclip to jump a couple of connectors in the diagnostics port - one of the fans can work (the bigger one).
Apparently this is either a fault with the 'water thermoswitch' or the thermostat itself. Neither is a particularly expensive part, it's just a shame I don't know how to test which it is.
And then there's the matter of project creep - I know the cambelt is overdue, the serpentine belt looks worn, the radiator hose going to the top of the block leaks slightly at both ends, the rad itself looks pretty shagged and I know I need at least one fan! Those costs would be non-negligible.
Owning the Volvo as a running-project-I-don't-care-about has blinded me to these project car costs.
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If you're doing the gear-stick rubber, it's worth doing the lot: larger top rubber , smaller bottom rubber and the nylon cup. Will sort your shifting out.
Chatter/clatter on decel can be PPF misalignment (search "mx5 ppf alignment guide") quite easy to do.
If you're planning on removing the softop completely, you get brackets from JASS Performance that'll fix it in position more thoroughly.
These are quite susceptible to alignments so if you've not had one yet I'd recommend one (Hunter 4 wheel alignment), it's next on my list.
Good progress so far, congrats on the MOT pass!
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Apparently this is either a fault with the 'water thermoswitch' or the thermostat itself. Neither is a particularly expensive part, it's just a shame I don't know how to test which it is. A little more research suggests the thermostat is likely fine. So main candidates are Water Thermoswitch or Cooling Fan Relay. No idea how to test either |
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Jul 10, 2018 12:08:15 GMT
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Apparently this is either a fault with the 'water thermoswitch' or the thermostat itself. Neither is a particularly expensive part, it's just a shame I don't know how to test which it is. A little more research suggests the thermostat is likely fine. So main candidates are Water Thermoswitch or Cooling Fan Relay. No idea how to test either I had the same issue on my old Eunos and wrote a guide for myself that might help you - mx5eunos.wordpress.com/2016/07/24/overheating/ |
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Jul 10, 2018 13:31:45 GMT
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A little more research suggests the thermostat is likely fine. So main candidates are Water Thermoswitch or Cooling Fan Relay. No idea how to test either I had the same issue on my old Eunos and wrote a guide for myself that might help you - mx5eunos.wordpress.com/2016/07/24/overheating/Lifesaver! I've done the diagnostics paperclip and I'm off to do the rest. Thank you very much for posting this! |
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I dailyed i for 2 years but post-dog it just didn't suit my lifestyle anymore.
