gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - must be summer - the toys are back :)

[gm]

driving past Seaton Delaval hall, they had left the gates open again - couldn't resist nipping in for a couple of snaps

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/seaton-delaval-hall

 

 

[gm]

I'm sure they don't mind  

[gm]

On 08/10/2025 at 19:53, gm said:

many years back, I owned this one (bloody hell, must have been a long time ago, it's got a tax disc !)

and always thought it really suited those wheels

so was on the look out for a set to go on bluey

these turned up on marketplace, described as tatty and in need of a refurb and new tyres

£50 later...

yep, those tyres are borked, but lets give them a quick clean up and see what we have got 

not too bad at all

I'll probably get them done anyway, this whole having a nice car worth looking after is a bit alien to me  

current wheels that I'm just not keen on

new* wheels

but while I get the new ones sorted and try to sell the old ones, it needs something to run around on. 

nicked them off the Exo  

I'm not sure - maybe it's the silver hardtop that makes them look odd but it's only temporary anyway

 

 

 

those enkei 5 spokes were smart but not quite smart enough, so I bundled them and a set of new tyres in the back of the 'onda and dropped them off at https://stellablast.co.uk/alloy-wheel-refurbishment/

 

a few days later.....

how good do they look now ? 

I'll order a set of silver wheel nuts, the black ones look a bit odd, but otherwise, I'm very pleased  

[MrBig]

That looks so much better. What a great looking car it is, especially in that colour. It's so rare to see a clean unmolested MX5 that it's easy to forget their charm.

(I am aware of the irony in making that statement, but mine is probably £10k away from being clean, so I stand by what I said).

 

[Mr Laurence]

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17NyTHutQc/?mibextid=wwXIfr
 

This is your old one isn’t it?? Looks like it’s gained a giant spoiler since it was last for sale

[gm]

i’m sorry to say that you are correct - and that i have seen that spoiler in person and the photos don’t do it justice - it’s flipping huge !

i was speaking to the owner last week who was busy telling me how much he loved the car and was glad it didn’t sell the last time it was up for sale ! 

[gm]

he’s taken the massive wing off and dropped the price 

those red door cards do look pretty smart

but i don’t think i’ll be buying it back 

[paulplom]

You selt it at exactly the right time.

[gm]

7 hours ago, paulplom said:

You selt it at exactly the right time.

he’s now sold the hardtop and dropped the price again - although it’s a scruff, it is still a very capable track toy and i bet if someone offered him a grand, he’d bite your hand off !

https://www.facebook.com/share/17euTTzNca/?mibextid=wwXIfr

[gm]

On 24/10/2025 at 18:12, gm said:

I took Exo out for a hoon this afternoon and the screen was more than a bit wobbly, just being clamped into the phone holder. the plug popped out of the 12v socket a couple of times too so a permanent install was needed

the supplied bracket got chopped up and bolted to the underside of the wiring tray, the cable being fed through a grommit and hardwired into the loom

yes, CarPlay in a kit car is perhaps excessive but I like it  

speakers next ? 

turns out there’s an input for a reversing camera on there too

which sounds a little daft but thinking about it, if you’ve got a helmet and a 4 point harness on, it might just be bloody handy  

great success ! 

oh no ! i’ve run over Buster BloodVessel ! 

[gm]

i’ve been thinking about having a custom exhaust made for Exo but saw that some builders have used bike exhausts on their kits.

something like this ? 

got to be worth a go at that price

its tiny ! but massive too ! 

bet it’s loud ? 

oh yes ! 

i took it for a very short test drive, sounds bloody brilliant  

[gm]

 

[gm]

[gm]

minor problem with that fancy dan reversing camera - it's wired to trigger when the reverse lights are on, but is a little too sensitive and is also triggered by the sidelights, headlights and the bloody indicators ! made for a fun test drive the other day  

turned out to be a simple fix, it just needed a separate ground, rather than sharing the ground with the rest of the lights. 

but a phot of a ground wire wouldn't be very interesting so here's a nice clean engine instead  

[gm]

so I got that noisy exhaust fitted properly

and went for a test drive hoon ! it sounds utterly awesome bouncing off the limiter  

plenty of sideways action was had on the cold track tyres - even with a lowly 115 horses, its a bit of a handful !

 

 

 

[gm]

some not very good donuts 

but what a cracking noise  

[gm]

@NorthernMonkey have you seen this ? he’s selling his unbuilt kit for about half what a new one costs - not too far from you either 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvUj6cGLv/?mibextid=wwXIfr

 

[hairnet]

so when are you finishing the do's

noisy pipes are for winnahs

[gm]

two weeks into hibernation and the battery in the mazda is kippered  

my "good" jump leads are in the back of the other honda up at andys garage but this tesco value set did the job  

@Spiny Norman will be relieved to see the honda has plenty of volts to spare 

[tooSavvy]

+ 100% vote on exhaust mod....

@hairnet.. "noisy pipes are for winnahs".

😁

🚙💨

[gm]

I'll leave it on charge for a couple of days to see if it recovers

 

 

[gm]

time for a bit of mx5 fettling

when I bought the car, it came with a tidy hardtop

which I sold and spent the money on another bini

no problem, there is still a soft top

which I suspect is original to this 36 yr old mx5 !

and leaks !

repairs have been attempted by the previous owner

I clagged on a bit more goo and hoped for the best

but it would appear I may have made a bit of a blunder selling that hardtop

(I could replace the soft top but finding a good used one is proving tricky and new ones are pricey - the mazda will be living in the garage until April when Exo returns so no rush)

[gm]

somehow it leaks from the rear window too  

no idea how as it all appears to be in good condition 

[gm]

anyway, lets get those wet seats out and dry them in the house

hmm, while i'm in there

centre panel off

fetch the angle grinder

cut cut cut cut cut

bang a bit of edge trim on

[gm]

the little mazda had one of these daft things fitted

which I took off and sold

to be replaced with this hefty bastard !

many times it had to be lifted in and out of the car while I fannied about getting the fit just right

but eventually it was in the right place

that centre panel also got the snip

as did the side trims

b

but eventually, after many hours

@DVee8 conveniently popped in for a cuppa and was employed to help torquing the bolts

the seats went back in

and we're ready for some red hot track day action !

(the roof still leaks and there is the minor matter of a badly slipping clutch to be dealt with too !)

but soon, there will be hoon !

 

 

[DVee8]

The weight of that rollbar!  But you have cut away all of that metalwork to balance things out.

[DVee8]

Luckily, it was left out in the  pissing rain yesterday evening, or you may have never noticed that the roof still leaked.

[gm]

nearest thing to a wash it's had   

[gm]

time for a quick* service

not sure when it last had oil  

while I'm in there, i'll delete the charcoal canister and give the engine bay a tidy up

I'll get the air intake out of the way

and maybe do something about that coolant leak

yes, definitely time for a little tlc

 

 

[gm]

I cleaned up the water pump inlet

and bought a replacement set of hoses (despite being model specific, they all needed a couple of cm chopping off to fit)

no point in replacing 99% of the cooling system without doing this little sod (£6 for a stupid blanking cap) (this is the one that burst on @paulplom's trackday when I was driving his car  )

which lives buried at the back of the block

 

half an hour of fighting later

and the new one fitted