MX5 Dilema

[New POD]

So the answer is already in my mind, but I wanted to see what advise the autoshite massive might suggest.

 

We bought the Mx5 mk1 in sept 2009, and have done about 10K in it.  It's the poverty spec 90 bhp Monza model, and has a nice roof, and nice exhaust.

 

It has nasty sills, and I have some second hand front wings in the wrong colour that have no rust hanging in the garage, to replace the nasty front wings. The drivers seat is well worn, as opposed to wearing well.

 

The clutch is starting to complain if you give it too much too soon.

 

 

Now this is the wife's second car, and she much prefers the BINI, so I probably drive it more than her. (Most weekends I try to avoid using my Honda)

 

Anyway, she'd been having to share the Bini with daughter back from University for the summer, and so has been using the MX5.

 

Now she has suffered on and off since 2006 with ME or (Post Viral) Chronic Fatigue.  She is complaining that the Mx5 hurts to drive. Her arms obviously hurt as there is no power steering, but also her legs. Now I think, that maybe the clutch being on it's last legs won't help, and her using it around town won't help, but she's starting saying "I think we should sell it"

 

Now I like driving it. I would like to fix up the body as planned (if only I had time and space).

 

I would concede to retrofitting PAS. It would probably cost almost nothing, using second hand parts

 

A new clutch may not solve her painful legs.

 

But I think it's still not the car for her.

 

So I've offered to use the MX5 over the summer, and she can have the Honda, whilst daughter is home from university.

 

What I'd really like to do is get it supercharged and run it as a kind of toy.  But then it would have to be my car, as there's no way it would get easier to drive.

 

Now to add to the discussion, is that I wanted me and her to go on a European road trip now the kids are adults and don't want to have holidays with us, but she thinks the Mx5 will be unreliable.

 

Help me out here.

[Parky]

MX5's are very reliable so no major issues there. Retrofitting PAS probably not too hard but would it be easier to sell it on and buy an auto version instead? 90 percent of the fun but much better for Mrs Pod maybe?

 

Autos tend to be less thrashed and cheaper too......

[Six-cylinder]

Head says ditch this MX5 and buy her an Auto with PAS?

 

Heart says if you have had your car a while and love it then rebuild it to match your needs but that will be a lot of work and cost.

[garethj]

Sounds like there's all kinds of reasons why it isn't the right car for the moment.  As it's not a minter and they're not exactly scarce I'd say you should move it on (especially as it's summer so you'll get a good price) and try to find whatever is the best car for your needs.

 

If you fancy another in a year's time you can always go and get one, plus you'll know what to look for when buying the second time around.

[New POD]

MX5's are very reliable so no major issues there. Retrofitting PAS probably not too hard but would it be easier to sell it on and buy an auto version instead? 90 percent of the fun but much better for Mrs Pod maybe?

 

Autos tend to be less thrashed and cheaper too......

But if I think auto, I think 2 or 4 seat merc convertible.

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-SLK200-KOMPRESSOR-WITH-FULL-LEATHER-/151746433475?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2354cad1c3

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-SLK-Kompressor-2-3-auto-Kompressor-/291496798018?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43de902742

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-SLK230-SLK-SLK230-KOMPRESSOR-/251973277454?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3aaac7170e

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-Mercedes-Benz-CLK-3-2-CLK320-Avantgarde-2dr-/121693998240?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c55870ca0

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-CLK320-3-2-Sport-STUNNING-LOW-MILES-/191626509763?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c9dd47dc3

[Junkman]

If your kids are adults, then you should eventually consider to grow up yourself. A European road trip in an MX5 with someone suffering from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome? I don't know who you are kidding. At the ferry port, there was an MX5 with German plates behind me. The couple driving it obviously were on their way home from a holiday in England and if I ever in my life saw people emitting the vibe that they had lost their will to live out of every single pore, it was them.

A collegue of mine also has an MX5 and I once rode with him all the way from Didsbury to Altrincham. It was such a miserable experience, that I refuse to repeat the ordeal ever again.

Do your wife - and with that yourself - a favour. Ditch that half arsed goolies knocker and get yourself a decent motor.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

We've had a 1990 MX5 and a 91 Eunos for daughters in the past and whilst great fun they're not suitable for grown ups to use every day. Saying that I find FathaN's SLK less comfortable and more cramped than an MX5.

So before you jump out of the wok into the feuer ,try one for size.

Mrs N loves her 230 CLK cab and I must admit it's a lovely smooth drive and the hood is much more wind and watertight than the collection of tin and glass that makes up the SLK roof.

Obviously you need to budget £500 every 4 years for repairing the arches if you buy a CLK and if I was buying one now,I'd get a 430 ,as the waftyV8 suits the cars nature far better than the rough Kompressor 4 banger.

If you want to try and compare the SLK and CLK and find yourself in the Northern Home Counties,your welcome to come round.

Some bits of rusty convertibles last year.

[New POD]

I consider myself told.

 

 

 

If your kids are adults, then you should eventually consider to grow up yourself. A European road trip in an MX5 with someone suffering from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome? I don't know who you are kidding. At the ferry port, there was an MX5 with German plates behind me. The couple driving it obviously were on their way home from a holiday in England and if I ever in my life saw people emitting the vibe that they had lost their will to live out of every single pore, it was them.

A collegue of mine also has an MX5 and I once rode with him all the way from Didsbury to Altrincham. It was such a miserable experience, that I refuse to repeat the ordeal ever again.

Do your wife - and with that yourself - a favour. Ditch that half arsed goolies knocker and get yourself a decent motor.

[Fat_Pirate]

As the owner of a Mk1 turbo, I can only recommend you keep it as a toy for yourself, they're horrible things to be a passenger in.  And don't bother modding it - it's a never ending job, with things breaking/wearing out due to stresses it was never designed for.

[stripped fred]

I enjoy my mr2. I don't care how old I am, there's no age limit on enjoying these type of cars. As long as you can still get in and out of them!

[PiperCub]

As the owner of a Mk1 turbo, I can only recommend you keep it as a toy for yourself, they're horrible things to be a passenger in.  And don't bother modding it - it's a never ending job, with things breaking/wearing out due to stresses it was never designed for.

 

As a basically stock Mk1 owner I'd agree with this. Modding 5's is largely (with a few exceptions) pointess and often counter-productive.

 

If you want to sell it on and buy a much better one, I'd recommend you do it fairly soon as really good Mk1's are getting more and more scarce and are getting expensive now.

[fordperv]

They do take some abuse if you have it as a toy, a weak point is the radiator, the top plastic where it mounts to the slam panel is crap, the one on my mates went bang on me when I was sliding around in a wide open space, he stood there laughing because it went with such a bang and shat it's coolant.

[jonny69]

I'd suggest that if there is a later auto with PAS then the answer lies here if your wife wants to drive it. It's also a lot less work for you, which you then don't have to worry about. Sounds like you already have a fair bit of family stress so there's no point adding to it unnecessarily fella

[gm]

it's going to be a lot less hassle to just sell yours and buy one with the right spec - I had power steering retrofitted to one of mine which cost around £200, add in the cost of your sills and you are better to cut your losses and move on. This looks like it could fit the bill : £1195 including hardtop

 

View item:

MAZDA EUNOS ROADSTER 1.6 AUTOMATIC PETROL

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141676362674?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

You could swap the nice roof and exhaust over before selling your current mx

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Get a 'mk3' MR2 Roadster. Cheap for what they are, generally pretty good re rot (check rear subframe) and they feel like a more solid, grown up version of the mk1/2 MX5. We've owned both and the MR2 is a GR88 toy for the dollar.

[New POD]

it's going to be a lot less hassle to just sell yours and buy one with the right spec - I had power steering retrofitted to one of mine which cost around £200, add in the cost of your sills and you are better to cut your losses and move on. This looks like it could fit the bill : £1195 including hardtop

 

View item:

MAZDA EUNOS ROADSTER 1.6 AUTOMATIC PETROL

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141676362674?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

You could swap the nice roof and exhaust over before selling your current mx

 

And sell the hard top separately. Hummmmmmmmm. Interesting.

[Cavcraft]

180 CA$H TOMROW M8

[New POD]

180 CA$H TOMROW M8

 

That red herd tip est warthy oft TRICE that figu-our you uncouth lout.

[New POD]

So the I had a new Clutch fitted by PH sportscars in Sharlow a couple of weeks ago, and they quoted £100 for Retro fitting of PAS, so we have agreed to get that done, once I've sorted the sills.

 

 

Obviously All it takes is to remove the previous bodge by "Tim"

 

I failed miserably to take photos of the after welded repair. But it's now awaiting sanding down of the p38 which I skimmed over the whole thing after welding as it looked a bit shit.

 

And given my love of  GM vehicles the repair includes a short section of astra mk2 sill, and cavalier mk3 drivers side wheel arch repair. (As I had spare metal left over from previous cars)

[Bear]

In the longer term, might I suggest a Mercedes SLK (R170) as a good vehicle for roadster fun with easy driving and good for aching/pain issues? Every cheaper CLK Cabriolet I've looked at has had problems - one even broke when the dealer went to show the roof working. Very light controls, including brakes if they're serviced properly.

 

Gotta admire sticking with the MX5, though.

[purplebargeken]

Good on you for sorting the MX5. The PAS will make life easier generally.

 

European tour? Might Sir like to consider a Rover 75, cruise control and all that, plus leather. All very comfy and easy to drive in auto form.

 

Super in V6 form and cheap.

[Honey Badger]

S2000?

 

 

Slightly more room and with mega comfy seats, we did the 9 hour drive from Fort William to sunny Kettering with hardly a break with no trouble from my funked back, you are doing 4250 rpm at 80mph though.

 

Sub grand tourer I'd recommend an accord coupe (there's a shock. ...) get a V6 auto and you could waft all day in comfort as you weep at the immense expenditure in petrol.

 

There are a couple of just under 1k Soarers on the bay/auto trader at the moment as well

[Six-cylinder]

new POD - Thanks for inspiring me to get my MX5 out of storage and booked for a MOT next week. A couple of rust spots have appeared in the 3 years I have owned it so we will see if it needs welding or not. Yes the boot is open because the battery is on a long slow charge.

 

I also admire you for saving your current MX5 and adapting it to your needs rather than the easy route of changing it for another one.

[Tamworthbay]

If your kids are adults, then you should eventually consider to grow up yourself. A European road trip in an MX5 with someone suffering from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome? I don't know who you are kidding. At the ferry port, there was an MX5 with German plates behind me. The couple driving it obviously were on their way home from a holiday in England and if I ever in my life saw people emitting the vibe that they had lost their will to live out of every single pore, it was them.

A collegue of mine also has an MX5 and I once rode with him all the way from Didsbury to Altrincham. It was such a miserable experience, that I refuse to repeat the ordeal ever again.

Do your wife - and with that yourself - a favour. Ditch that half arsed goolies knocker and get yourself a decent motor.

I suffer from an aggressive form of arthritis and driving most cars causes immense pain after about thirty minutes. My daily is a, wait for it, mx5. It's lowered on hardish shocks - it came with them. It's one of only cars I can drive all day. When I have a bad flair up its a bugger getting in but then it's brilliant. The driving position is perfect and I rest one arm on the centre console and the other on the arm rest. Some people think I am mad (and so did I on Monday when I spent six hours welding the damn thing up again) but it just works. Having an illness doesn't mean you need to give up on life and buy a Vauxhaul zafira

[New POD]

This was the car 5 years ago

 

 

Starting at 8:15 on Friday

 

Then taken at 5:30 pm Friday.

Foolishly I stopped taking photos due to "stress"

 

Just need to sand down the skim of filler on both sides and paint.

[New POD]

No pictures, But the since then, the filler has been smoothed and Aldi black paint applied to the sills, and 12 months MOT obtained.

 

Then the alternator belt snapped, on the M57, but once fixed, the Car took me back to PH sports cars where it had a new cam belt kit and tensioners and rocker cover gasket. (I paid someone because CBA), and second hand PAS, and new track rod ends. Lets not talk about the final bill, surfice to say, this car owes me MONEY.

 

The PAS is great (so far in the 15 miles I've done), but the performance is definitively blunted a bit. From Rest 1000 to 2500 rpm it's noticeably less quick to add speed. And above 85 mph, it seems a bit erm (marginally) less willing in top.

 

I guess that's why the track day enthusiasts want manual racks.

 

Anyway, you can now turn the steering wheel TOO quickly if you forget.

[Six-cylinder]

Great Job you have done returning your MK5 to the road and adding PAS.

 

One day the world will wake up, realise they are great cars and wish not so many had been scrapped.

 

Mine did need a small weld for the MOT but not much. I have been driving it and even the hard when cold to put back up hood seems to have eased.

[New POD]

Well fun and games today. a small bypass coolant pipe, disturbed in the fitting of new cam belt started to piss out green stuff at 5 am this morning - lucky I noticed the fog at a junction was coming from under the bonnet. .

 

Took it back at Lunch time and they took one off a breaker, I think the one that gave it's PAS, and then this evening I drove home from Derby Up the M6 and M62 and M57.

 

Only it was painful

 

a) airlocks in the coolant now

fan switch is dodgy, and only works if you HOLD the connector hard to one side

c) Lots of traffic jams, requiring me to put the heat on full blast. So I put the top down. Yes 110 miles in the dark with the top down, most of it motorway.

d) The alternator belt has not been adjusted correctly, or maybe it's the coolant on it, and up to 2000 RPM screetttttches

e) The exhaust is TOO noisy.

f) I need to make the radio work, because listening to my phone via headphones via party shuffle mode is shite.

 

But PAS is great.

[brownnova]

Yes 110 miles in the dark with the top down, most of it motorway

 

This is what owning an MX5 is all about! Who cares if its freezing or dark or spitting a bit...

 

Some colleagues did find it hilarious this week when after a meeting we drove back in convoy, and I put the roof down on my MX only to have to pull over 20 mins later coz out started to absolutely chuck it down!!

 

 

e) The exhaust is TOO noisy.

 

Mine has this problem too. 3/4 of an hour, then it gets a bit tiresome!!

 

Great saving work on the welding tho!!