1991 MX5 turbo - now for sale

[jamesie]

Hi all, I joined not long ago and spend most of my time in awe at the skills shown on the cars here in members rides.
I've got an MX5 NA which isn't that retro and is pretty common but where I'm going with it might be of interest.
There's a bit of a story along the way with some half decent retro content too ;-)

So to kick off, in summer 2009 I found myself with a fair few toys







Plus a S1 Elise built for hillclimbing with a VHPD and straight cut box, a Blackbird engined Locost, and 25 grand on my credit cards.

Oh and no job.

So the lot had to go - sad times, but those cars were there to protect me from redundancy, so that's what they did.


And I proposed to my OH. Which isn't usually very good for toy buying.

Come 2010, and we got married, went on honeymoon, had a great time, and I bought a 1991 MX5 (OK a Eunos Roadster) with a Begi turbo.











So it was on standard wheels and suspension, but with a 1.8 diff, shafts and prop. Apparently the clutch was uprated and the flywheel lighter, but I found out later that was bobbins.

The Begi conversion uses an AFPR to fuel it but this car has a front mounted intercooler, so seemed to be a hybrid of Begi's stage 1 and stage 2 kits.

It picks up and goes pretty well, holds the revs far too high when you come off throttle, and had one damper so knackered the car lurched diagonally when changing gear.

But it was a good price, mechanically strong, bodily straight and rust-free, had only been in the UK for 3 winters at that point, and even had a small steering wheel so I could fit in it. Just about, anyway.

We drove it 80 miles home and it went fine, although it stank of fuel inside. Sadly not sorted that yet, 5 years later...

[jamesie]

So what's the first thing you do when you get a new car home with knackered suspension and a vastly over-fuelling turbo conversion?

That's right, you stick new wheels on it



Sorry for the pic quality...

I've been looking for a single one of these to use as a spare since I bought this set of 4 in late 2011 and never seen any come up for sale. So I better not smash any up...


Next thing was suspension though. A set of secondhand Spax dampers and new Eibach springs to get it down a bit and improve damping, reduce roll and all that.
Spax dampers aren't the best for slow speed damping but they were 60 quid. So at the time, they'd do me.

Looks a lot better for being a bit lower, and for losing the front plate too. But the (frankly terrible) picture quality is hiding a lot of sins as well.

[jamesie]

At that point, I moved house (the commute to work was 85 miles, you can't keep doing that daily) and when summer arrived, I entered the car in the company bring-your-car-to-work day.



I work at Jaguar Land Rover at Gaydon, and they have a test track there, and cars get onto the track on that day, so that's what happened next.

And it blew its head gasket :-(

So, set aside all plans to improve the cabin and make myself comfortable in it (it's a bloody tight squeeze at 6'3" and 17 stone) and get on with renewing the HG.

So the rad came out and the belts came off, from this



to this



noting some knackered hoses along the way





Some hard pipes and the cam cover get the primer treatment



Stripout of the passenger side of the engine bay for a bit of TLC - note the scruffy drivers side under the master cylinders where brake fluid's been spilled





After reassembly



I've never had an engine bay I'd be happy to lift the bonnet to show off, so I was pretty pleased with this.

If I'd only stopped there - but that's getting ahead of myself.

[jamesie]

Turns out it was more than the head gasket. Still overheating, and putting oil into water / water into oil at a remarkable rate.

So as I haven't got a garage, or any hard standing at all, while I waited for a spare cylinder head to arrive I got on with some cosmetics.

Clear side repeaters and bumper reflectors - and a clear photo!





And de-tango'd front indicators.



I also swapped the wiring so that the sidelight became the indicator and vice versa. The sidelights were woeful and fuel economy goes off a cliff with the popups raised, so it seemed to be that bigger sidelights would be more beneficial than tiny ones and great hoofing indicators.

In other news, it got a new mohair hood (sadly the neighbour's cats love this, sleep on it, have scratched it and snapped the stitching) and I removed the rear body humps that form the rear seat mounts, lowering the back of the seat base. Did the famous foamectomy too, which gives me "enough" headroom although I probably still would struggle to do a trackday with a helmet on and the roof up.

And a new pair of door mirrors, as the ones on it were seized and had cracked plastic bases.



Decided to try a stick-on plate. Vented headlamp cover also tried, which needed paint, paint reacted, so needs rubbing down and a rather better paint - one day.
Very pleased with my GV front lip and UK-spec Mazda sticker. Shame it needs a new cylinder head at this point really...

[jamesie]

Next, the intent was to use the car all year round.
They're notorious for rotting in the sills and rear arches, but this car had hardly had any UK winter use so I was hopeful it was still sound.

Rust proofing started like this and made it look progressively worse.

Both front wings came off, one for replacement and the other so I knew the underseal was everywhere it needed to be.



In the sills was pretty decent so I just rust-killed, cavity wax, bunged the holes back up and put it back together.





All good. Time to sort the head, right?
Well I can't remember quite why not, but it seemed a good idea to sort more interior out next. There's a theme / pattern / level of insanity developing here.

The carpet had been replaced at some point, and to do it there was a cut made around the heater. Unfortunately the dash didn't cover it, and it bugged me.

So, carpet out. And while I was at it, dash out too, for a hare-brained plan a bit later.



Removed the AC condenser and replaced with a non-AC duct. The AC rad and plumbing was long since gone to fit the Begi kit.

Good access while the dash is out, so a bit of skate tape on the pedals offers slip protection and isn't too shiny. Not much into shiny.



And got the dashboard onto the kitchen table for a bit of work.



Perforated alcantara over the main dash top, the aim being to reduce glare off the flat section of it.

Bit concerned about how wrapping of the crash pads would turn out, but after failing to persuade any local trimmers to do the job (I already had the material, didn't help my cause) I ended up more than pleased with the result.

This was my first attempt at trimming anything and it ended up better than I could hope.





Trial fit back in the car



Then with my newly flocked instrument cowl and centre stack in place



Note the shorty console - another reason why I wanted a decent carpet in the car.

So with a small wheel and short console helping elbow room, lowered seat helping headroom, the only thing I needed was more knee room. Specifically to the pull handle on the drivers door card. So...

So - door cards made from foam core board, after trying hardboard and plywood without being very impressed.

Direct copy of the standard Mazda ones, without the grab handle holes.



Trial fit on the door



Back inside to wrap it in vinyl with a foam middle layer



Checking all the mistakes and white edges will be covered when it's fitted!



And finally with the (unwrapped) door crash pad on to check final fit



Added a slot in the door card for some blue webbing, and the interior's really getting there

[MiataMark]

Very nice, what are the wheels? Look a bit like 5 spoke revolutions. Did you do the flocking yourself?

Mark

[jamesie]

Around about this time, I got a bonus at work.

What I should have done with it was throw it at someone who would replace my cylinder head and get the car set up properly.

What I did was buy this



Whoops. That's summer 2013 written off then...

I did manage to get the new head fitted, tidy up the interior, fit a new stereo and speakers and some gauges etc, but guess what? Still mixing oil and water.

curse word.

New engine time, then :-(

[boostjunkie]

Really like these little mx5's, sadly at 6.7" I don't think I would fit very well lol

[jamesie]

May 11, 2015 15:17:14 GMT MiataMark said:

Very nice, what are the wheels? Look a bit like 5 spoke revolutions. Did you do the flocking yourself?

Mark

Yes they're 5 spoke Revolution RFXs. 15x7J ET15 I think. Fitment is about right given I don't want to run the car low or with massive rear camber to get inside the arches.
I've also got a set of RH Classics to use as spares or winters, another 80s/90s old school deep dish rim. The idea is to backdate it to the sort of era it was first launched into - no-one modified them back in 1989/90.

I sent the cluster surround, column surrounds, centre stack and stubby console to be flocked for me. Was about 80 quid including return postage.
I'd have tried it myself but the console wasn't cheap and I really didn't want to make a mess of that - the rest of the plastics was no biggy as they're easily replaced.

Not sure I'd flock if I had my time again. It catches the light and looks speckled, not as uniformly dark as I'd been hoping for. As the intent was to reduce any glare off the cluster surround, it's not quite what I was aiming for.

[jamesie]

May 11, 2015 15:18:52 GMT boostjunkie said:

Really like these little mx5's, sadly at 6.7" I don't think I would fit very well lol

You might be surprised, folk fit Elise seats on the floor and can fit in.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be tight, but people have done it.
They're a great little chuckable car that forgive an awful lot when you're blatting down a B road... well worth the effort I reckon.

[boostjunkie]

Humm might have to look for a local one for sale and have a test fit. Sorry about the hijack, Car look really good like where its heading

[MiataMark]

May 11, 2015 15:23:50 GMT jamesie said:

May 11, 2015 15:17:14 GMT MiataMark said:

Very nice, what are the wheels? Look a bit like 5 spoke revolutions. Did you do the flocking yourself?

Mark

Yes they're 5 spoke Revolution RFXs. 15x7J ET15 I think. Fitment is about right given I don't want to run the car low or with massive rear camber to get inside the arches.
I've also got a set of RH Classics to use as spares or winters, another 80s/90s old school deep dish rim. The idea is to backdate it to the sort of era it was first launched into - no-one modified them back in 1989/90.

I sent the cluster surround, column surrounds, centre stack and stubby console to be flocked for me. Was about 80 quid including return postage.
I'd have tried it myself but the console wasn't cheap and I really didn't want to make a mess of that - the rest of the plastics was no biggy as they're easily replaced.

Not sure I'd flock if I had my time again. It catches the light and looks speckled, not as uniformly dark as I'd been hoping for. As the intent was to reduce any glare off the cluster surround, it's not quite what I was aiming for.

I was thinking of Revolutions for mine as you say a nice retro look. Interesting what you say about the flocking not reducing the glare that's what I need, might just spray it matt black as an interim step.

[jamesie]

Snag with putting a new engine in it, is that this is my workshop



Not ideal.
But we get to this point



well actually more like this point



and it won't be much more work and a new engine will be in, right?

...wrong.



At this stage, the rust under the master cylinders is either going to get sorted, or never get sorted.
I don't ever want to get the engine out again.
So.

Rust removed, killed, fingers crossed eh! and in primer



First time using a compressor. Cheap one, with a cheap gun. Some lessons learned!

Top coats



It's not very shiny, quite dusty, but I'm not into polishing it - just getting it one colour will be fine thank you.

While I'm there - let's delete the brake booster!



I don't like lack of boost because you're dabbing the throttle on downshifts causing positive pressure in the inlet manifold not a vacuum... also hoped it would improve brake feel.
So a big lump of billet got made to mount the m/cyl from, and a new brake push rod was designed and made by a bloke off ebay, heat treated and posted to me, within a week. Result.



And as we're after a purer driving experience, who needs power steering anyway?
Manual rack fitted with poly mounting bushes.



Next, clean the engine up, get the sump blasted, bolt it up in your clean-room gazebo on paving slabs



replace the gearbox and clutch, and chuck it in



There's a coolant take-off fitted at the rear of the head, to improve cooling flow and prevent what happened with the last engine - overheated no.4 cylinder which is common with turbo'd MX5s as the coolant comes into and out of the front of the engine. This way the coolant goes in the front and out the back.
Wish I'd known that before I took it on track... anyway.





And while I was there, a set of nearly-new HSD coilovers and a new set of Jackson Racing ARBs front and rear - softest settings for now.





I've also swapped the front brakes for 1.8 sized discs and brackets, 255mm ones, in an effort to get road legal without needing a bias valve. That'll come, though.

I've rebuilt the rest of the engine back to a finished level, but don't have any pics. It was due to go for MoT last Saturday but displayed a worryingly loud knocking when I drove it down the road, which I think is the 2.5" exhaust whanging around.
Have been ill the last few days so yet to investigate - but fingers crossed it'll go through its MoT in a fortnight...

Oh and a pic of the interior as it sits now, few more improvements.



More soon, thanks for looking in.

James

[stevietuck]

Been thinking about one of these for a while, keep up the good work.

[jamesie]

May 11, 2015 16:01:41 GMT MiataMark said:

I was thinking of Revolutions for mine as you say a nice retro look. Interesting what you say about the flocking not reducing the glare that's what I need, might just spray it matt black as an interim step.

I've heard and seen good things about plastidip on mx5 interior panels.
It seems to hide minor scratches and gives a low gloss, almost soft touch finish.
That's what ID probably have a bash at, and if you don't like it you can peel it off!

[jamesie]

PS the eagle eyed among you may notice a wire tuck happened before the engine went in.

Hardly doing myself any favours re getting it running ASAP, but suffered a chronic case of "while I'm there...."

More on that and the instruments when I get a chance.

[tarmacadam]

Just read this start to Finish nice build mate , carnt beat a turbo mx-5 there so under powered standard yours looks the part

[jamesie]

Thanks, sorry I had to fly through the build history but it's been 4 years since it broke down on track so I've forgotten half of what ive done!

This weekend I was investigating the horrible whanging knocking going on underneath on last Sunday's test drive.
Realigned the transmission - not that easy as the reference point to measure from is taken from the chassis rails and they've been bashed a bit flatter than they should be. Whether it's been run too low or jacked on them I don't know but I made a decent guess and the horrible noises have gone.

Inspection of the exhaust told me that the rear end of the centre pipe was contacting the left hand inner driveshaft flange.
So dropped the pipe a bit to give some dynamic clearance.
Except now it was hard against the right edge of the bumper.
Tried everything but couldn't get the rear silencer box any further left, so I relieved the bumper.
Which then looked stupid with an overly wide aperture.
So the bumper came off and I trimmed it all the way along.



Pleased with how it went, so celebrated and fitted my JDM Yo! rear towing eye too.



I've looked for some pics of the wire tuck but no joy.
What I basically did was unwrap the entire loom, remove every connector, pull most of it into the cabin and chop off what's not needed, and just kept the main engine bay fuse box and wiring to the engine running through the bulkhead.
I probably wouldn't do it again...!!



I moved the igniter to inside the cabin, ran the headlamp and fan cables through to the outside of the inner wings, and hid the TPS and injector wiring under the fuel rail to keep it as hidden as poss without going mental about it.

On the passenger side, relays and diagnostic box are now in the glovebox and in time the MAF wiring will go, when the car goes megasquirt and takes a signal from an IAT in the intercooler.



After all that, it went out for a run round the block.
All seems good, it goes, stops, turns and doesn't knock, rattle or whang.
Result.
Time to book the mot :-)

Driveability is awful - nothing nothing nothing LOTS - which means it drives from the rear, when you want it to and also when you don't :-o
May also be detonating, so needs gentle tickling til it can get set up on megasquirt.
For that I think the basics are a variable TPS and bigger injectors, which I've already got.
Going to an I/C mounted IAT sensor will let me delete the MAF but that's for later. I need it to run without putting a hole in a piston first, and worry about the finer tune later.

Fingers crossed for a test pass this week...

Thanks for looking in..

[ettorebugatti]

Like this build and the stormtrooper(excuse the populair language) look.

[jamesie]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys.

Dropped the car off for its MoT last night.
Burst a heater hose on the way there - lesson learned about cheap silicone hoses. I need the car back to check the bore and get some ordered.
Bonnet had pinched the washer fluid pipe, sorted that outside the garage.
And remembered too late that I'd forgotten to rewire the horn. So it'll either fail, or cost me a few quid for them to sort. If that's all that's wrong with it, I'll be happy with that!

Some mundane bits to sort - I think the steering rack is off centre, it needs a rad flush, and my elec window switch came adrift so time to break out the hot glue gun.

It drove pretty badly on the way there, worse than it used to before it came off the road, so something's not right with the AFPR I think.
So when it comes back, getting it going on megasquirt is top priority as I'm concerned that driving it as-is will hold a piston in double quick time.

Fingers crossed for a positive update this evening...