1993 Mazda Eunos - 1.8

[ToolsnTrack]

So with he sale of Big Sexy -

retrorides.proboards.com/thread/161203/1992-volvo-manual-estate-aberdeen?page=1&scrollTo=1891512

...a replacement had to be sought. Soemthing a bit easier on fuel, but just as left field. I was quite smitten with my little Donor MX5 bought for the 7up project (see Sig) although i was less so with the mk2 looks. Long story short, enter the mk1:



Came with a hard top...



a sporty exhaust believed to be a 5Zigen, 17 inch alloys, suspected coilovers...





...and niggles. Lots of niggles.

I'll come to them over the course of the next few weeks.

[daveofedinburgh]

I bloody love a mk1 with a hardtop. They just look so... right. Looks like a cracking example!

[ToolsnTrack]

OK, first up, i had a tenner spare until payday. That means i have to spend a tenner on eBay, no more, no less.....



Sorted. Took it a drive and noticed its MUCH quieter than the one i had in my mk2. Interesting. The AFM seems to be of a very differnt design on the mk1, much more cluttered... I think these points may go hand in hand.

Anyway, i got under the back end for a look around. First diagnosis, the car does not have coilovers. Those are springs and shocks.

Second diagnosis, there is no rear camber adjust, but the rear wheels are about 27 degrees of camber. Might have to look into correcting this as its squirrely as fcuk under heavy braking, cornering, parking...

Its not a 5Zigen exhaust, its a Jasma, and its rattly. I think some alterations may be due here too.

The hardtop is off. The soft top is on, the car is now watertight. The hard top is useless, and may end up for sale.

Gave the whole rear underside a precautionary blast of WD40. I can see me poly bushing a lot of things so some pre-work on those threads was a wise move.

[g40jon]

funny, i found my mx5 is more watertight with the soft-top rather than hardtop fitted. My hardtop wasn't awefull, just leaked a bit around the window seal, till I bought a new seal for it. mx5s are much warmer in the winter with the hardtop fitted.

[ToolsnTrack]

True. Funnily enough it is at the window seal where i got a leak.

Might look into new seals...

[joeytalent]

That definitely doesn't look like standard height, so you've at least got some lowered springs!

Anyway - I think the rear camber is adjustable, this thread might help you: www.driftworks.com/forum/technical/111977-camber-adjustment-mk1-mx5.html

Edit - this page is probably more useful: www.quadesl.com/miata_alignment.html

[zircon]

Looks lovely with the colour, hard top, ride height and wheels!

What's it like at the ends of the sills?

[AverageH]

Have you tried adjusting the hardtop before getting rid of it? There are lots of adjustments to be made for them to seal correctly! First, adjust the turnbuckles on the windshield header latches. Then there are also adjustments to be made on the rear cover plates as well as the side latches. It can take a little bit of fiddling but it should be as tight as a drum, waterproof, and much quieter than the soft-top. Hard-tops are hard to come by in the states as the Spec Miata racing class has created a huge demand for them. Theft of the hardtops is a huge problem here, as they can fetch $1200-1500 used. I just recently got a hardtop for mine, and I'm tempted to bin my soft-top as the hardtop has proven to be better in every way.

-Hamid

[rapidyellow]

I have a mk1 1.8 too, I tried induction kit on it and it was poor on fuel, so then tried a drilled stock airbox and then it was too noisy, so then taped it up and the standard airbox is much better with all of its various pipework!!

[twincammy]

don't be disheartened by the jasma logo. most jdm exhausts came with a jasma plate and you just check out the number against this list to tell you the maker.

www.dtdirl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64284

[ToolsnTrack]

Yea, i guessed the3 JASMA was just a standard tag, but i cant see any other evidence of 5zigen, or any pictures online that resemble it...

OK, so the stereo was the biggest annoyance. First up, door panels off...



...and as suspected, the speakers were at fault. Not in the way i thought though... fora a start, they are aftermarket:



This crossover was a clue. The door speakers were subs from a previous component set. Sadly the tweeters were long gone, and the subs themselves looked a bit worse for wear...



...with big rusty magnets. That leak on the window must have filled it with water. I had pre-empted the speakers being the fault, but i made the mistake of believing what i read on the internet... i bought 4 inch speakers to replace what turned out to be 6 inch door speakers.

Rage.

Plan B then. I had a couple of 6x9 enclosures from the MR2 that didnt really fit it too well. Ehm, they don't really fit this either, but they will make noise until i get a decent pair of 6" speakers for the door...



Oh, they look fantastically curse word. I love it. Max Barry Nitrous innit!

It was sunny too, so i took it for a wee blast. The roof down does make a difference, and the exhaust makes sense. When you hear it from outside it is much more rorty, with the raspyness almost gone. It actually resembles an old MGB in noise.



Still plenty to do, but at least i can listen to stuff on the way into work now!