'92 Eunos S-Special with a few nice mods

[hallsy]

Tough one this, as the mk1 eunos/mx5 market seems quite varied these days, but thought it would be worth asking an unbiased crowd of petrol heads for advice.

So '92 Eunos S-Special imported around 2000 iirc, I've owned it three years or so, always garaged but barely used last year.

Service history is patchy but has had annual oil/filter changes from me (second car so low miles per year) and has had whatever it needed in that time, slave cylinder, rear calipers, track rod end (s-spec specific), very recent new battery & tray/brackets.

Approx 180,000 km 1600 engine
4 branch manifold, apexi induction, uprated ht leads
Cusco coilovers, 1.8 front brakes, S-Spec strut brace, TR lane HD toolbar, harness bar
Sparco sprint buckets on adjustable runners, small steering wheel, s-spec door cards, chrome vent trim, Becker hu
15" BBS wheels, OEM front lip, offset number plate, chrome mirrors, duck tail style spoiler

Some old pics (it's a bit dusty at the mo!)


Mazda Eunos Roadster S-Special by Hallsy01, on Flickr


Mazda Eunos Roadster S-Special by Hallsy01, on Flickr


IMG_9702 by Hallsy01, on Flickr


IMG_9710 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

Now for the bad bits:

Couple of small dents & marks around the body, slightly over sensitive alarm, slow windows, rear sills are rusty.

This is the main reason I barely used it last year, once the rust started to show through I didn't want to use it until sorted, trouble is I just wasn't finding the time to sort it out.

Currently SORN with no MOT. I took it for MOT a couple of months back nd it failed on emissions, rust was an advisory. The car drove OK, no fault codes, I cleaned the filter and replaced plugs but still the same. My hunch is o2 sensor and I have a new one to fit, and will get it re-MOT'd as soon as I have fitted it, to see if it cure it.

So basically a nice car, with a few obvious problems. I've totted up what I can break it for (I also have an almost completed M45 supercharger kit to go with it) and as usually it probably far outweighs the cars worth, but unless the rust is terminal (I've seems one pretty bad ones repaired by the mx5restorer) it's really too good to break, and breaking's not my thing really - I'd feel bad!! But then again, if needs must...

So, what do we reckon it would be worth as a going concern with a fresh MOT? I have an idea but would he good to hear what others thought.

Thanks :)

[broomaround]

Got to be totally honest with you, Mazdas I know little about in terms of value (more of a Saab guy) but that looks mint! Obviously the thing that would or could concern people is the rust specifically on the sills but it would depend how bad it is really as to what the repair cost would be and what the car would be worth or as you say if it would be better breaking it. How much btw did you think it would be worth if it was sold for parts if you don't mind me asking?

The small dents, alarm, slow windows ect are all minor problems really, it looks amazing but I think your best bet selling it would possibly be a specialist forum. I want to suggest a price here but I think id be doing yourself an injustice as when i was looking at ones a few years ago they varied from 600 - 1200 and the difference was immense in terms of what you got (quality/age) but this with the mods really make it alot nicer that those!

Good luck whatever you do with it tho!

[hallsy]

Thanks for that Broomaround - that's why it seems a shame to break it, as when I was using it reguarly, it really was a lovely looking car.

Those pictures are old, but essentially it is still the same, just a little dusty where it has sat in the garage, and with the rust now more pronounced at the rear of the sills. A quick polish and it would be very much the same as the pictures above, just with scabby sills!!

I quickly totted up what it would break for, and got to around £2k before I got into the real nitty gritty of the bits that you get left with that may or may not sell. Then the SC bits I have (soon to be rebuilt M45, mounting bracket, tensioner, dummy TB, inlet & outlet) would probably fetch around £400-500.

It's a tough call!

[broomaround]

If I was you then i'd see if it you can get it thru it's MOT without spending too much on it (you said you already had some of the bits for it too?) and then if so chuck it on a dedicated MX5 forum (and here too of course!) for around the 2.5k mark (to fetch 2k) with the sc bits included that way you'd save yourself alot of effort from breaking and to keep it intact, and for that kinda money with the nicer seasons coming up its basically a kind of mini project with parts for someone at a decent price. Plus you also then have the option of selling the SC bits seperatly and lowering the overall price if need be!

If however the MOT cost more than £500 (which from what you say isn't likely) if it did,then possibly just focus on the selling seperatly? only problem with that is selling a car just for parts takes a long time and you will probably encounter a non payer or just basically the awkwardness of listing packing wrapping sending and then getting lost in post/damaged/returned Not saying that would happen alot but unfortunatly it can with the sheer amount of items.

So basically if it was me, personally, probably try for the MOT and then see how that goes! maybe take it to a reputable place that deals with rust repair place to see how much it would cost and factor that in to the price if no luck? Just a few ideas!! (knowing me tho probably the wrong ones so be wanred haha!)

[hallsy]

Cheers for that mate - all of those thoughts have gone around my head.

To put it through MOT is going to cost me the cost of an MOT, as I say, it only failed on emissions, and I'm 90% sure it's the O2 sensor which I have sitting in the garage ready to go on.

To do the welding properly would cost me about £70 per side for a part panel, then the cost of paint, materials, etc. So that would run me around £200 I guess, plus time. The MX5 restorer once quoted me around £400 for the welding with a blended paint repair, not sure if his prices still stand, but he does a good job.

The reason I started to doubt it, and thinking about breaking, was that I had it in my head that the car in good condition as was, would be worth around £2k, and then say around £2.5-3k with the SC conversion, but then I started to see the odd FI'd MX5 for around the £2k mark, and it seemed that I would be spending money for zero gain (as far as selling went).

So at that point I shelved the SC project as I was convinced I'd be selling, and didn't bother spending out on a MegaSquirt, etc.

I think if I get it MOT'd in the coming weeks that may change my mind about it, as once the weather gets nicer and I can get a few of the jobs sorted, then it will be 100% sorted.

Trouble is, I said that last year, lol!!

[md]

With an MOT I'd say in the current market you'd probably be looking at around £1800. I've got a mk1 1.6 uk car and I've been looking at replacing it with something with F.I., preferably a 1.8, and they seem (for a good one with some decent mods) to be selling for between 3 and 4k at the moment

[broomaround]

Jan 8, 2013 18:37:48 GMT hallsy said:

Cheers for that mate - all of those thoughts have gone around my head.

To put it through MOT is going to cost me the cost of an MOT, as I say, it only failed on emissions, and I'm 90% sure it's the O2 sensor which I have sitting in the garage ready to go on.

To do the welding properly would cost me about £70 per side for a part panel, then the cost of paint, materials, etc. So that would run me around £200 I guess, plus time. The MX5 restorer once quoted me around £400 for the welding with a blended paint repair, not sure if his prices still stand, but he does a good job.

The reason I started to doubt it, and thinking about breaking, was that I had it in my head that the car in good condition as was, would be worth around £2k, and then say around £2.5-3k with the SC conversion, but then I started to see the odd FI'd MX5 for around the £2k mark, and it seemed that I would be spending money for zero gain (as far as selling went).

So at that point I shelved the SC project as I was convinced I'd be selling, and didn't bother spending out on a MegaSquirt, etc.

I think if I get it MOT'd in the coming weeks that may change my mind about it, as once the weather gets nicer and I can get a few of the jobs sorted, then it will be 100% sorted.

Trouble is, I said that last year, lol!!

No problem!

If its not the 02 sensor tho try the injectors, had a part blocked one a few years back and threw the readings off even tho it wasn't that rough! Just a thought incase it doesn't work!

You could try selling the SC bits now freeing up some cashios, leaving the welding if its safe enough, getting the Mot done, wing it round untill the height of summer and sell it easy peasy ;D (all in a perfect world but hey!)

Everyone loves a convertable in the summer!!