gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - big service time !

[gm]

somewhere along the banks of Keilder, I noticed a new noise  

it seemed to go away when I dipped the clutch and let off the revs so presumably engine related - time to pull over and investigate

whipping out my trusty Swiss army 10mm socket

I popped the bonnet open and found a suitable prop

we gave it some revs and spotted the culprit - once again, the horn was wobbling like a big wobbly thing and making a hell of a racket - the front cam belt cover had almost snapped clean through

bolt removed, wire cut, horn lobbed in the boot of the mazda and we're back in business  

 

[gm]

thinking that the low cars would struggle on the forest drive, we decided to head back to Hexham for a bite of lunch then @DVee8 plotted us a course home via Allandale, more fantastic roads to be hooned on   

 

[gm]

I had planned to replace the horn with something more suitable so had a new set on the shelf waiting for me to get round to fitting them

so, up with the bonnet again, no tree branch required today, thankyou

and some sort of fitting bracket was required. I found a length of wardrobe rail that had seen a previous life as a camera mount which looked ideal. 

bolted on some brackets

managed to get it fairly straight

took it off again and fitted the horns

should look pretty smart, I reckon

did a bit of wiring

fitted the inside the nosecone

oh you tit !

I'd drilled the holes on the wrong side  

swapped the end brackets over

ran the cable in a length of trunking? and stuck it down with goop

discovered I had used the quick release connectors I though were sitting on the shelf

I'm pretty pleased with how that turned out

a quick test and they are loud as fuck ! result   

 

[gm]

@NorthernMonkey did you see this ? 

[NorthernMonkey]

2 hours ago, gm said:

@NorthernMonkey did you see this ? 

I did indeed…I messaged him this morning but he hasn’t replied yet! 😂

[NorthernMonkey]

5 hours ago, gm said:

@NorthernMonkey did you see this ? 

I’ve sent you a WhatsApp, Mark…

[Snipes]

On 15/07/2025 at 15:50, gm said:

ran the cable in a length of trunking?

Copex 

[gm]

i’ve booked the day off work already  

 

[gm]

(copied over from the grin thread)

 

I've been looking for an mx5 to replace my trusty but rusty mk1 for some time

on Tuesday, whilst munching a burger at work, I spotted a potential candidate. I had the day off the next day so send a message to see if I could go for a look.

work got busy and I forgot all about it until a reply came through several hours later.

in short, the chap was selling on behalf of his uncle who had owned the car for 25 years but now struggled to get in and out of it.

I suspected that this one might sell quickly so made a point that I was a serial mx5 licker and sent him a photo of my old blue one

 

arrangements were made and I headed down to Hartlepool for a look

and I wasn't disappointed - this was a classic old boys garage queen, it's last mot was in 2022 and looking at the mileage history, it had barely been used

we chatted cars for a while and I had a quick look about the car - this was pretty damn clean, especially for a uk car. the battery was flat but it fired up first time with a jump pack and settled into a smooth idle. yep, this looked to be a good 'un.

figuring that it wouldn't need much for a test, I made him an offer and shook hands  

a pre booked mot was arranged at @scaryoldcortina's place and a lift arranged with @DVee8

so, this morning...

etc...

the old feller was visibly upset to see his pride and joy leave but I promised him I would look after it

we set off home, stopping for a quick coffee and to top up the tyres, all seemed to be going very well

about 10 miles in, the car that hadn't moved in over two years decided it wasn't happy being rudely awoken

 a mild judder, maybe a missing wheel weight, became quite a big judder - we pulled over to investigate

scorchio !

that calliper was definitely a bit sticky  

I backed off the handbrake adjuster and let things cool down

the plan had been to drop the mx5 off at home then head up to Andy's to pick up the Volvo which he mot'd yesterday. phoning him to say we might be late, he suggested that I brought the mazda up and we stuck it in for its pre-booked test anyway - could make a useful to do list 

the calliper seemed to have fixed itself by now so lets see how we get on..

A CLEAN PASS !!!!!!!

bloody remarkable ! what a car !

 to say that I am very happy is quite the understatement !

[gm]

i wasn’t so keen on the blue centre caps

but wait a minute…

that’s better ! still had the protective coating on 

[gm]

the radio cassette was only playing through the left channel and didn’t sound great 

cassette deck works

let’s have a look at the wiring

hmm, not the best but i’ll tidy it up and stick my alpine in

still only one channel and sounds poor  

could this be the problem ? 

a quick search on marketplace found a pair of pioneers just down the road

sorted  got to have decent sounds 

 

[gm]

i carefully removed the extra badges and chrome trim

the boot rack is drilled through the boot lid so has to stay for now 

front end got the same treatment

 

[gm]

the washer fluid i’d filled on saturday was almost empty, despite not using it

a rummage around in my parts stash found a spare

the chrome hoops will be coming off for a real roll bar to be fitted

came with a wind blocker attachment 

probably quite effective but not really my sort of thing 

[gm]

the black one got a wash and was stuck up for sale

apparently i’ve owned it for 9 years, will be sad to see it go 

 

 

 

[gm]

and it’s gone  

 

[hairnet]

soooo

v6

turbo

holiday to magaluf?

[gm]

a bargain for someone 

https://ebay.us/m/9sJoHT

[gm]

the new owner sent me a pic - it's looking better already !

[gm]

in the meantime, the blue mazda needed a new battery - instead of buying one, I nicked the battery off Exo

and replaced it with a fancy little one instead

using a discount code, I got it for £48, pretty much what I would have spent on a standard mx5 battery  

the clamp needed a bit of fetling

using real tools !

fits perfectly, nice and secure

and started first time without needing a charge  

 

 

[gm]

what's that in the corner of the drivers seat ?

something not quite right there

let's have a look round the back

hmm, that's not good  

quick* as a flash, I removed the whole seat (one of the bolts had taken a bit of damage and wouldn't unscrew - turns out that high tensile bolts take a bit of effort to cut !)

that's definitely knackered 

I had a quick check of how much a new seat would cost

and resorted to plan b !

with the welder set on maximum amps

thick paint to hide my sins

well, it seems fairly strong - I'll keep an eye on it anyway

and what about that little hole ?

bit of filler and no one need know  

good as new !

 

 

[gm]

I've not really driven the blue one much yet so ditched the hardtop and headed for the hills

I'd planned to go over the hartside pass but must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Hexham ! not to worry, it was a smashing day for a drive and I'm starting to warm to the car (still doesn't drive as nicely as the scruffy old black one did)

but it's definitely a looker !

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I missed the bit where the blue one entered stage right. Is it a better starting point than the black one? Black one was ace...

[tom13]

Blue one looks really clean. Are you changing those wheels though?

[Shirley Knott]

Spotted your old one's just gone up for sale again on FB marketplace by the looks of it?

https://www.facebook.com/share/19mge3EsjJ/

Apparently the new owner has now decided a fortnight on that he "currently doesn't have the passion for cars he once did" whatever that means! 😆

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 minute ago, Shirley Knott said:

Apparently the new owner has now decided a fortnight on that he "currently doesn't have the passion for cars he once did" whatever that means! 😆

It's when you're sat here, looking out the window (through the falling rain) at the car with the disc/pads to be changed before your wife heads off to Brum at 3pm this afternoon. Just sayin' for a friend.
Back to the topic - is it just me or is the guy flying a bit of a kite on the price in that FB listing?

[gm]

i reckon he’s taken it to his mate who was going to do the welding for £200 and got a much bigger quote  

shame, it is a great little car and i was pleased it had landed with someone keen to make it good. 

price wise, if you deduct the cost of a hardtop, it’s about what he bought it for. 

strange thing about the advert is he makes no mention of all of the good stuff - roll bar, exhaust, differential, suspension, brakes etc. 

it’s in my watch list, hopefully he finds a buyer who will take it on and enjoy it.

[gm]

On 10/09/2025 at 07:55, Dick Cheeseburger said:

I missed the bit where the blue one entered stage right. Is it a better starting point than the black one? Black one was ace...

the blue one is in miraculously good condition - i’ll be putting it away over the winter and keeping it nice - have a look at the mileage on the mot history, it’s been a garage queen and does not deserve a harsh winter outdoors !

[gm]

On 10/09/2025 at 13:04, tom13 said:

Blue one looks really clean. Are you changing those wheels though?

i’d have liked to have kept the 5spoke enkeis off the black one but they were a bit scruffy and these are in mint condition   

i wasn’t keen on the style at first but am coming round to them now - it’s one of the cleanest mx5s i’ve seen, i’ll be looking after this one  

[tom13]

29 minutes ago, gm said:

i’d have liked to have kept the 5spoke enkeis off the black one but they were a bit scruffy and these are in mint condition   

i wasn’t keen on the style at first but am coming round to them now - it’s one of the cleanest mx5s i’ve seen, i’ll be looking after this one  

Yeah worth caring for. I like it when you put the mini steels on them.

[gm]

12 hours ago, tom13 said:

Yeah worth caring for. I like it when you put the mini steels on them.

here’s a pic of a tidy looking blue one on steelies

which is actually a pic the seller pinched of my old blue one parked outside my old house in edinburgh ! 

which looks even better on a set of enkeis ! damn, i wish i’d kept them now