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Years ago I had a 2 mk,1,s a 1.6 and a 1.8 the 1.8 was sluggish the 1.6 a little better. Looking through the bay there's a couple of the mk2 shape listed with 6 speed boxes and 147hp.
Has anyone owned/driven one of these? I'm looking for a cheap summer toy and turn between trying one of the later engine cars or going for a mk2 mr2 witch I know is a good car from past experience.
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Biggest problem with the Mk2 is chassis rail rot which is why they are mega cheap atm.They are much much worse than the Mk1 as a result of double skinning the rails for crash regs.You need to take the undertray off to check properly too.You can see a bit by looking through the arch on full lock,any blistering run away.Can be fixed but not cheap or easy and not worth it on a cheap summer car. Find one without rot or repaired well and they are a good car.Bit softer than a Mk1 with less raw fun but still good to drive.
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tdk
Part of things
Posts: 958
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Yes, I've driven a few, great cars in every respect but as highvoltage above says, they rust like crazy. Wrong time of year to be buying, too.
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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Within the last 6 months or so the amount of modified mk2 mx5s there are around here is incredible. They seem to be becoming increasingly popular, probably for good reason I suspect.
If I had a choice of the two, having owned one of both, I would go for the MR2. They seem to be increasing in value, well the good ones do anyway, and a nice one really does still grab my attention.
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I thought the only difference on the mk1 and mk2 mx5 was a front end face lift and dash?
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I thought the only difference on the mk1 and mk2 mx5 was a front end face lift and dash? No a bit more than that.The Mk2 has different suspension with more travel at the rear,extra stiffening,more sound deadening etc.They are more refined than a Mk1 with less scuttle shake.Generally a real nice drive but they don't feel as light and raw as a Mk1 does in a seat of the pants Caterham type way. The mods they did to the chassis rails on the Mk2 causes the rot problem,they made them double skinned with some sort of epoxy between the skins.They rot for fun between the layers and it's killed a lot of cars.You can buy repair sections now or new rails from Mazda (different design interestingly).Rear end of sills have the same issues as Mk1s but do seem to be worse in general.Lower grade steel on later cars maybe. If you can find a solid Mk2,rustproof it well and keep the hood and sill drains clear and it will be a nice ride.
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I thought the only difference on the mk1 and mk2 mx5 was a front end face lift and dash? No a bit more than that.The Mk2 has different suspension with more travel at the rear,extra stiffening,more sound deadening etc.They are more refined than a Mk1 with less scuttle shake.Generally a real nice drive but they don't feel as light and raw as a Mk1 does in a seat of the pants Caterham type way. The mods they did to the chassis rails on the Mk2 causes the rot problem,they made them double skinned with some sort of epoxy between the skins.They rot for fun between the layers and it's killed a lot of cars.You can buy repair sections now or new rails from Mazda (different design interestingly).Rear end of sills have the same issues as Mk1s but do seem to be worse in general.Lower grade steel on later cars maybe. If you can find a solid Mk2,rustproof it well and keep the hood and sill drains clear and it will be a nice ride.
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