Mazda MX5 NB Mk2.5 Sport

Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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Man maths. That's the answer :grinning:

I suspect if either of you guys took me for a spin, I'd be online buying boxes of stuff that night!

Well - despite the attraction, I think I'll tighten up the front end next, harden up my brakes.... keep the engine OE and maybe stick some headers on (Racing Beat do a nice set).
 

Gaz86

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That's a serious bit of kit!! At least 10 points on that drive where I'd have been facing the wrong way lol.

The child/hooligan in me says "Yes". Massive fun... great noises.

My issue: Car price + Chassis and brake upgrades + Boost. You're looking at a hefty price tag on all that and if I'm spending that.... I'd be more inclined to buy something else. The beauty of my car as it stands is it costs peanuts to run. If I cross the boosted line, I reckon I'll need to put at least another £3-4k in. We're talking clutch and 3" exhaust on top of the conversion... ME221 management, although I see these Ardiuno based systems are reasonable.

Yeah... I can see that!! I'm paying labour for most of my work now on the car... so the cost would probably outweigh all sense for me. I'd have a nice SL500 on the drive for less than ir'll cost to boost my 5 (using for example a BOFI Racing kit + uprated clutch + labour for building)

Yeah I probably could've just bought something fast to begin with (Evo, Skyline or something like that) but it wouldn't be anywhere near as unique and people won't expect mine to be fast... not at first at least lol I'm sure word will get out eventually :joy: I feel kinda committed to it now so I'll have to go through with it. The only things I've had to pay labour for was the paintjob, fitting the MeisterR coilovers and new alloy radiator (which I could have done myself had I had room in my garage) and an alignment (which now needs done again), otherwise my costs would've been astronomical!!!
 

Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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I should really wait till the ceramic coating is on the car tomorrow.... but check out the amazing work James @ Bluehill Detailing has done. I think there was about 10 dents removed, then multi stage paint correction.

 

Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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Gratuitous glamour shot! PIcked the car up from Bluehill Detailing today. Blown away... I had a pretty nasty set of creases on the passenger door and DentsNI, well.... he's a genius. Zero sign of a mark on the car and I think at the last count, he got 10 dents away.

2 coats of Titan ceramic, IR baked in... wheels coated.. glass coated. Just delighted with his work. I'll have hi res pics and a Youtube walkaround video in due course to share.

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Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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Shameless plugs for these 2 local businesses who did this work for me:

1. Bluehill Detailing - James is seriously good at this stuff. Was able to tell me which bits of the car had seen paint (3 areas!!.. I was aware of none!). The finish on the car is without doubt, better than new.

2. DentsNI - Andrew spent a whole afternoon on my door. A dent and creased over the side impact bar. the result? Flawless. Check out his FB page for some RIDICULUOUS repairs!! There's a few on that page that you just can't comprehend how he does it. For mine, there was about 10 dings overall. Every one of them now gone.

Both businesses are beside each other, Carn Indistrial Estate, Portadown. Well worth the trip even if you're not close.
 
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TheDaniel

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Silvia PS13
Awesome, another MX5 friend! A mate of mine just bought one almost identical to yours and he loves it. The sport will be brilliant fun. Health to enjoy and looking forward to updates👍🏻
 

Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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A rainy day today, working from home as usual.... so spent lunch time in the garage with some Renovo ultra proofer. I used their colour restorer at the end of last week - very easy to apply, just brush on and leave to dry. Same with the proofer. Today was the 2nd coat of proofer:

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This is the original hood and it really looks like new again. It needs 24hrs to fully dry in so I'll post up some beading shots in a day or 2.

I added up my spend on this car last week and threw a wobble as a result.... sell it... or keep going? I'm still undecided. The car needs a few more horses to be perfect. Got a drive in @Alemsee 's wonderful Mini Cooper S at the weekend. Quite blown away by the fun factor.... it gave the impression of being MUCH more rapid. Driving my MX5 home, I paid attention to the speedo - the cornering speeds weren't that far apart but the Cooper S was WAY more dramatic in its delivery.

So... I'm still on the fence. Tis the '7 year itch' I guess :laughing:

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FM155

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The noise the cooper s is making is it panting, burning more fuel to shift its lardy weight around lol
 

eamon343

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Belfast
A rainy day today, working from home as usual.... so spent lunch time in the garage with some Renovo ultra proofer. I used their colour restorer at the end of last week - very easy to apply, just brush on and leave to dry. Same with the proofer. Today was the 2nd coat of proofer:

51157557378_8da3cd7b53_k.jpg


51158428105_c09b417235_k.jpg


This is the original hood and it really looks like new again. It needs 24hrs to fully dry in so I'll post up some beading shots in a day or 2.

I added up my spend on this car last week and threw a wobble as a result.... sell it... or keep going? I'm still undecided. The car needs a few more horses to be perfect. Got a drive in @Alemsee 's wonderful Mini Cooper S at the weekend. Quite blown away by the fun factor.... it gave the impression of being MUCH more rapid. Driving my MX5 home, I paid attention to the speedo - the cornering speeds weren't that far apart but the Cooper S was WAY more dramatic in its delivery.

So... I'm still on the fence. Tis the '7 year itch' I guess :laughing:

51143229597_cc90dab810_k.jpg

Sounds like you want a supercharger for the mx5
 

Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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Spent a few hours using Renovo's 3 stage clean/restore/proof liquids. So easy to use being water based. Just brush on. The mohair hood was already in good nick but the restoration liquid brought it up again. The Ultraproofer... well... see for yourself after 2 treatments:




Took the car out for a good run this morning before starting work. I've felt a tiny hesitation but only under heavy load at low revs - common enough when you search for it. Plugs or coil packs. The plugs haven't done many miles but they're 6 years old. Coil packs?... they're the originals from 2003.

So - new set of uprated coil packs incoming from IL Motorsport and a set of long reach plugs. Hopefully that'll get it back on song.
 

Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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Well, that was an easy lunch time job - swopped in the new coil packs and plugs. Hesitation is now gone, so it must have been the start of a coil pack going off. The car pulls from low down now, no stammers.

The Mk2.5 coil packs sit on top of the engine rather than behind the head on older models:

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Nice quality items from IL Motorsport (via mx5parts.co.uk). Plugs were fine on removal, but I swopped in a new set while at it for the sake of a few quid extra.

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Johnny_E

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Johnny_E
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What a week to own an MX5 - my baldy top is roasted!

Been out for about an hour a day, just driving. I'm on my 3rd change to the MeisterR damper settings. Now running -10F, -13R and its close to spot on: fast turn in, rear a tad softer but still on the side of oversteer. Its feeling really good on the B roads now. Took a few friends and neighbours for a run and they've all been amazed at the grip and handling.

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Nothing radical done to the car... just a bit of engine bay detailing. I'm a bit stuck for a paint match for this. Its LIKE a grey primer in the engine bay until you notice a slight fleck in it! Nobody can tell me what paint code this is, so I'm a bit stumped. I've a few wee nooks and crannys in the engine bay that need a rub and paint, just to rid me of some fine surface corrosion. Off to Google to see if I can get an answer....

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Still thinking that a M45 charger will be perfect as the next stage... so I think I'll start to uprate the cooling (alloy rad, silicone hoses) and get that washer bottle moved to the scuttle (with a G19 Engineering tank).
 

Johnny_E

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Flew through MOT again... a full year on it now till 30 July 2022.

Now is a good time to close this chapter and move onto the next project so next step is to transfer the plate off and get it advertised. If any of the MX5 owners/experts following this thread can advise on a ballpark I'd appreciate a PM. I've poured a ton of money into this wee car over 8 years but its only worth what someone will pay I guess....

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cormac81

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Hadn't noticed this thread before until I saw the classified ad. What a great example of a mx5, sitting perfect.
 

Johnny_E

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Lol.... Sorry about that...

That's my "away for milk but it took an hour to get home" route. There's a great note out of t on the throttle for sure.

Only put it on the FB MX5 groups this morning and the calls have started....
 

Johnny_E

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I had a deposit offered unseen yesterday within 24hrs of listing, to hold the car for viewing when this wet spell passes. All good... and I transferred the cherished plate off the car as it was definitely for selling given the interest I was getting.

11pm last night.... my son was in bits. The reality of it going caused a bit of a household panic. The MX5 has been here since he was 8 years old and sentiment kicked in big style with him. Deleted the ads.... and he's been promised it as a hand me down. No harm done although I'm now £160 down to remind me of the occasion thanks to moving the plate onto retention and needing to pay another dose of £80 to put it back on again.
 

RoniN

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You only pay the £80 once to put a numberplate onto retention.
It is then free to transfer it onto a car. You don't pay another £80 !!

Dock his pocketmoney !!!

Cheers
 
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