gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - squeezing in a few last drives before Exo goes into hibernation

[paulplom]

How much would it be? I'll pay cash so you can make it much cheaper.

[gm]

A productive day yesterday turning

into

boo  

 

and my kitchen looks like

 

the mechanicals are not yet changed so it still goes well but feels like a totally different car. 
 

 

[dome]

Seems a shame to transform it like that but i suspect you're right, it'll sell easier in a more standard form. 

How much for the seats Mistah?

[gm]

I’ll do a price list once all the bits are (dis)assembled  

 

[gm]

Seats need a bloody good clean first, they are minging  

[Jenson Velcro]

6 hours ago, gm said:

Seats need a bloody good clean first, they are minging  

Surely it’s just the passenger seat that needs unsoiling?

[tom13]

Did you ever sell the wooden Nardi that was in it?

[gm]

I did - to a lad in Italy who was so desperate for it he paid something daft like thirty quid for postage to make sure it got there safe (on top of the already high purchase price)

it was a lovely piece of kit, and I can see why folk covet them, but it was totally inappropriate for a track car  

[dome]

3 hours ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Surely it’s just the passenger seat that needs unsoiling?

Nope, I've driven it too!

[stuboy]

never driven one, they as good as promoted?

[tom13]

2 hours ago, gm said:

I did - to a lad in Italy who was so desperate for it he paid something daft like thirty quid for postage to make sure it got there safe (on top of the already high purchase price)

it was a lovely piece of kit, and I can see why folk covet them, but it was totally inappropriate for a track car  

No worries. Yeah I have an rs ltd with Nardi wheel, handbrake and gearshift but I wanted another for another car I have as I love the size and look. 

[loserone]

3 hours ago, stuboy said:

never driven one, they as good as promoted?

Buy this one and find out

[gm]

38 minutes ago, tom13 said:

 I have an rs ltd

You lucky bugger ! Does it have "the seats" ? I thought I'd struck gold when I heard of a lad breaking an RS over in Glasgow, I got there as quick as I could but the seats were gone. I had to settle for the strut brace and door cards instead. The underneath was spectacularly crispy, I think it ended up being sent to the scrappy as the lad hurt his back and gave up stripping it  

 

[gm]

I had an hour spare after work so set about swapping the rear suspension - the logic here being that I like way the current set up handles, why not use it for the exo, at least until it's on the road and I save for fancy coilovers.

Stock mazda set up on the left, my kyb shock / eibach lowering spring on the right

so let's have a look at before and after

 

oh yes, she's low and mean and moody

 

Holy fuck, are you going off roading ? 

 

 

i had to double check I hadn't left an axle stand under there by accident ! Hopefully it will settle down a bit 

 

[tom13]

20 minutes ago, gm said:

You lucky bugger ! Does it have "the seats" ? I thought I'd struck gold when I heard of a lad breaking an RS over in Glasgow, I got there as quick as I could but the seats were gone. I had to settle for the strut brace and door cards instead. The underneath was spectacularly crispy, I think it ended up being sent to the scrappy as the lad hurt his back and gave up stripping it  

 

It's a r limited sorry. I saved rs limited into my phone dictionary and it always corrects r limited. Wish I had the Kevlar seats but I have the full red interior which is still cool just not as good or anywhere near as expensive. 

[gm]

I do like an R-limited, stick some pics up so we can all enjoy that lovely red interior 

[tom13]

It's not immaculate but I am working on it. Seats are a bit worn but it adds to the character.

Just sorting out some lowering springs on standard struts. It has bilsteins but they are pretty old and shot. 

[Mr Laurence]

Not immaculate?! That looks lovely. I do like the R-Limited. Definitely one of my favourite limited editions

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I'm confused now. Which JDM mk1 had the yellow strut brace? I am sure my old turbo was S Ltd but it didn't have a red interior. 

[Sir Snipes]

12 hours ago, gm said:

I had an hour spare after work so set about swapping the rear suspension - the logic here being that I like way the current set up handles, why not use it for the exo, at least until it's on the road and I save for fancy coilovers.

Stock mazda set up on the left, my kyb shock / eibach lowering spring on the right

so let's have a look at before and after

 

oh yes, she's low and mean and moody

 

Holy fuck, are you going off roading ? 

 

 

i had to double check I hadn't left an axle stand under there by accident ! Hopefully it will settle down a bit 

 

You havent fitted a front spring by mistake have you? I've seen cars on stock, but tired suspension be broadly the same ride in height as a newly fitted lowering kit, usually to the owners disappointment.

[gm]

I don’t think so but will check - the struts were already assembled, I assumed they were correct.

[Mr Laurence]

1 hour ago, Dick Van Diesel said:

I'm confused now. Which JDM mk1 had the yellow strut brace? I am sure my old turbo was S Ltd but it didn't have a red interior. 

Could it have been an S-Special? Those also had a yellow strut brace, but had the same interior as normal models

[Dick Cheeseburger]

20 minutes ago, Mr Laurence said:

Could it have been an S-Special? Those also had a yellow strut brace, but had the same interior as normal models

That'll be it. Don't know if paintwork colours were a limited palette, but ours was black. 

Sorry to veer off @gm - good luck with the sale of yours. 

[tom13]

4 hours ago, Mr Laurence said:

Not immaculate?! That looks lovely. I do like the R-Limited. Definitely one of my favourite limited editions

Cheers. It needs work the pictures flatter it. Needs a bit of welding once I finish all the mechanical stuff. 

[tom13]

4 hours ago, Dick Van Diesel said:

I'm confused now. Which JDM mk1 had the yellow strut brace? I am sure my old turbo was S Ltd but it didn't have a red interior. 

My R limited has the yellow strut brace which matches the yellow bilsteins. It was standard on there as well. They did an s limited as well which had it but it was from factory with red interior and black panels. This one is like a purple/blue colour. 

[gm]

The car I've broken to build the exo was an s-spec which should have had but didn't have the yellow brace however my non broken mx5 (originally a v-spec) does have a yellow brace that I got off an RS limited. 

They are all special really

 

i'd like to find a better resolution version of this to print for my garage wall 

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

10 minutes ago, gm said:

The car I've broken to build the exo was an s-spec which should have had but didn't have the yellow brace however my non broken mx5 (originally a v-spec) does have a yellow brace that I got off an RS limited. 

They are all special really

 

i'd like to find a better resolution version of this to print for my garage wall 

 

I think a couple of mine were V spec. It rings a bell. Was V spec wooden handbrake sleeve etc? 

[gm]

That's the one, mine originally looked like this

[Dick Cheeseburger]

That Nardi wheel is pure class. 

[gm]

A bit more fettling this evening, this time the front suspension 

As before, standard mazda on the left, kyb with eibach lowering springs on the right

So let's bung them on and see how it looks

yep, bit of a gap there too

three fingers in the front

and the full kit kat in the rear

Roll it out of the garage for a proper look

definitely a bit awkward, let's go for a quick drive and see if it will settle things down ?

.

.

.

 

nope, still looks odd but, and this is a big BUT, how does it feel on the road ?

well, obviously, it's nothing like it was before BUT it's actually really good. Totally different but still composed, controlled, smooth and capable in the corners - I'm astonished ! I've spent so long with a modified 5, I'd forgotten just how good they are as mazda intended.

I may just have to keep this as a daily (the exhaust has to go though)  

 

Back to normal under the bonnet too