Sold Mk1 MX5: Fresh pics. £700 or swopz

[Wack]

Ah yes! Too many threads at the moment. Problem is, getting sills sorted out properly, which is really what you want, can be pretty expensive. As in £400-500 per side before paint.

 

 

I had a merlot about 6-7 years ago , sills were rotten but only the outer bits below the rear wing , got a talented guy at work to cut them out with an air buzzy thing then he bent some sheet metal to the right shape slid it under then welded it in , quick flick of filler and a rattle can and it was done

 

Took about 3 hours , it's all a £700 car needs , it's never going to be valuable classic so if they're bad enough to need more than that walk away.

 

A guy I know bought a good one for £450 , this time of year it's a buyers market

[gm]

Merlot makes it a uk car, not an import, 20 British winters will have taken their toll - check it carefully. As a special edition, it is fairly basic - metallic paint, leather seats, Momo steeering wheel, different alloys. No lsd, keep fit windows, mirrors, aerial, no aircon or headrest speakers. Essentially, less to recoup your losses if it does end up being a breaker. I'd say around £500 is nearer the mark.

 

Welding up the sills (properly) only makes sense if it is a keeper, if you are looking for a keeper you might want to choose a better starting point.

 

Having said that, get a proper drive in it and discover just how much fun these little cars are

[gm]

hang on, this has almost a years mot on it ? Fuck it, why not take a chance ?

[Fabergé Greggs]

Aye, it's just been put through an mot which has thrown up the bonkers list of advisories, most of which seem to be over zealousness..

 

Advice taken re price!

[Fabergé Greggs]

Hang on, where are all these MOT'd MX5's for 400-500? I can't see any!

[dollywobbler]

Not sure I've seen any either. Think the overall conclusion is that it's not a gift at the price.

[PiperCub]

Hang on, where are all these MOT'd MX5's for 400-500? I can't see any!

 

In general, the days of running/driving/ticketed MX5's (esp. Mk1's) in this price range are not necessarily over but getting very short, you might get lucky if you look hard for long enough but I wouldn't hold your breath, not down here anyway. 

The category that requires some work (servicing, £1-200 of parts max, bit of spannering etc.) but no major expense (ie:welding, clutch etc) in the near future are now four figures and that includes Mk2's which were pretty unloved for a while. 

 

As others have said, £700 is a bit steep for basically a project. £500 is probably nearer the mark IMO. 

[SiC]

Also this time of year is not the easiest time to sell a old convertible. Not necessarily cheaper but slower market and thus can bargain harder on ones that have been around for a while.

[OwdChina]

Throw the rusty bits away, keep the fun bits and make them more fun.

 

 

That one is from an American company and is called the Exomotive Exocet but I'm sure something similar can be sourced in Europe. Not the cheapest or a particularly practical way of doing things but it'd be a good use of one that is too far gone (especially if you turbo it  ).

Oooohhh I like that...............I feel another project may happen.

[New POD]

I'm sorry, bit that sounds like a decent car. Get the rust sorted, get the advisories sorted and it's worth £2K any day of the week in May and June

 

Can I have the interior if you ever break it for my poverty spec Monza.

[eddyramrod]

You could have a Rover 75 for much less - on this very forum!

EFA

[Fabergé Greggs]

So imagine if I got an anotherwise very tidy but crusty sills MX5 with a years MOT for 400?

 

Does one bite off the hand?

[SiC]

Yes.

 

 

That is all.

[Fabergé Greggs]

That's the kind of simple advice I need

[PhillipM]

400 quid, no brainer, 700 quid with that list of advisories....nah.
 May as well pick a decent one up for a grand that's already been welded up and had calipers replaced, they don't command mega money for good ones, too many around.

[gm]

Can I have the interior if you ever break it for my poverty spec Monza.

I have a luxury* leather interior from my v-spec that I stripped out - tan leather seats, tan carpet, tan seatbelts - yours for £notverymuch as it is clogging up my attic space

 

Pics here

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/25192-stroppy-mazda-collectioning/

[hpi_matrix]

Id haggle them down to £500-£600, especially given the time of year.

 

I bought my MK2.5 in the depths of winter for £700, 60K miles, rust just about coming through and 6-7 months MOT.

[Fabergé Greggs]

Now bought for £300, practical* WBOD and the most modern car I've ever owned.

 

Haven't driven it yet due to insurance issues- Peter James are closed for the weekend, so I'd obtained a decent temporary quote, which at the point of checkout said "service not available"... grrrr

 

Anyway, here's a pic.

[SiC]

Farking hell that's cheap. If you ever need to get rid, you'll be sure to shift it on here for the same amount with less MOT left.

[mk2_craig]

Three hundred quid, wow well done. Looks great in the photo too.

[dollywobbler]

I think we can all finally agree - that's a result. Now, the difficult choice. Run as is or steadily improve?

[SiC]

Weld the diff and go Drrrrriiiifting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Please don't)

[Fabergé Greggs]

I've hardly driven it and I'm already googling super/turbo charging kits..

[dollywobbler]

I've hardly driven it and I'm already googling super/turbo charging kits..

 

Don't rule out throttle bodies. I've driven an MX-5 so equipped and it was ruddy hilarious. A proper induction growl and a good power boost. On the road, supercharger is the way to go. On track, turbo for maximum giggles. Worth checking out the Mighty Car Mods vids on MX-5s. A bit of extra bracing goes a long way on these too.

[SiC]

Bini Cooper S MK1 supercharger and fixing kit. Something I've wanted to do for ages. However the 'chargers are getting pricier nowadays.

[Christine]

buy my book !  

 

 

[SiC]

That is a very good book. I still have mine if/when I buy another MX5. It gave me enough confidence to start spannering my own cars.

[gm]

I disagree - I've driven both turbo and supercharged mx5s but have no desire to own either - the fun is in thrashing the nuts off the stock engine and making the most of that wonderful handling. decent tyres and a full alignment make a massive difference, but for now, just enjoy that omgmegabargain

[gm]

buy my book !  

 

 

Copy of mazda book 007.jpg

the bloke on the cover of that book was a member of mx5nutz who insisted that they allowed him to actually change his brake pads on the photo shoot !

[gm]

I think we can all finally agree - that's a result. Now, the difficult choice. Run as is or steadily improve?

trackday ?