Chris' MX-5 - Project 'Short back and sides'

I think he said that when it was on the autotest lol...proves you don't need to spend poopoo loads and do tons to a car to get it looking good.

Look a bit familiar?



Yeah, turns out I might be needing a new exhaust sooner rather than later... caught it with my foot, and this kinda happened...





Also got a knocking noise coming from somewhere, checked all the top mounts and stuff and I now think my diff mounts have worn out... great.

Woop! Exhaust problem solved, JDM Kakimoto exhaust spontaniously purchased and fitted. Sounds immense IMO, and the pics don't show it in the best light but it really suits the car. Spot on!

Looking good mate!

Not too sure on that tbh... it's a little... big?

I like

Norledge wrote:

Not too sure on that tbh... it's a little... big?

Looks massive in the pics. It's fairly big but it fills the cutout spot on, really does look a lot better up close!

Better than the rust pipe that was there before, or the massive gap. The 'side exit' had started to melt the internals of the bumper

Just realised you can see my beaten up mudflap in that pic, fell off down a bypass due to the 'side exit' too lol

Love it Chris!

Thats a big hole... And it does fit quite nicely there

Is it going to make big black marks all over your nice white bumper that even your relabeled demon shine wont get off?

I hope so

I like it

Been looking about at similar style cars to the 5, just to get a bit of inspiration - want to keep developing it to take it from what it is now, to completely awesome.

First thing that caught my eye, was on an S2000 - there's quite a popular option for a 'cut-out' front wing, looks a little like this:



Pretty subtle but mean IMO. However, it would seem that someone with an MX-5 has been thinking along the same lines... Ignore the wing/wheels if you don't like them, I'm after opinions on the front wings thinking of picking up two white front wings to have a play about with.





Sticking with S2k's, the Spoon hardtop you can buy... bloody sexual!



And ofcourse... didn't take long to find a picture... unfortunately, no info as to what the hell it is!



Going to be a bit of work done this week too... hopefully re-packing the back-box, sorting out the scrubbing at the front, maybe going a little lower and generally tidying it up a bit. Hopefully going to sort the fuelling issue out too, 230 miles to a tank just aint right for something this slow!

Not sure on that fastback, seen better, rounder ones.

Wing chops could look good, but it'd have to be done reaalllly well like the S2k you've pictured, not poopoo like the MX you've pictured

Fudge the wing... BIG ASS SPOILER

Ughh, that mx5 roof looks gash :/

Hardtops are ghey. I like the Spoon one but seriously, roof down or GTF! I think the MX hardtop might actually be something to do with Mazda. They were planning a coupe Mk2 with a very similar looking top at one point.

Not sure about the wings TBH, would need to see it be done properly to be convinced, not even sure of it on the S2000s. TSW Venoms FTW however

This roof...



AutoKonexion Miata NA One Piece Fastback Full Top Version Two - 1990-1997
(ATK-FGFASTBACK02) Retail Price: $2,200.00

Fudge that price, I want one but not that badly

In all seriousness though, it'll need a hardtop over winter. It's misted up bad enough in the spring, inside, I don't want to have to scrape the insides!

Main difference I noticed between the S2k and the MX5, the edge on the S2k is vertical... MX5 is slanted. Obviously it would be a bit neater too!

Oh and James, yeah, Venoms FTW

Hmmmm...

Hmm... completely changes it... not sure though, I kinda like it. Cheers for the shop mind!

I like

I do like the shop job james has done

Boost?

Boost will be happening along the line... need to sort other bits out and get it through winter first of all!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mazda-mx-5-eunos-roadster-black-hard-top-/110721520382?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19c78452fe#ht_500wt_1156

Hardtop sorted now get to boost

I would boost it and go standalone ecu... Fixs the power to mpg issue... Then save for a hardtop... Least then you can enjoy driving it.:-) or even just a standalone ecu and fix this mpg... Then you have it ready for boost :-)

It's a good point... a guy on MX5 Nutz ran a standalone on his standard 1.6, gained 10 brake, 7 lb/ft, smoother torque curve and generally improved running, as well as MPG. Forget that these ECU's were designed well over 20 years ago now!

Made a small change today whilst giving the car a good going over, quite subtle but looks pretty decent IMO



Should have sorted out the scraping from the front wings too today, or at least I hope I have - haven't actually tested it!

And also a little comparision - it's a MK2, which is what suspension mine is running on now, feel the drop is pretty nice but I'm craving a bit more

I quite liked the little reflectors LOL

Mk2 looks like a monster truck!

needs stripes

Recently discovered the joys of wiring in little cheap bits to modernise the car a bit.

First to go in was this little switch



Which means I can make adjustments to the pop-up height!



MIght also be able to see in that pic that the front badge is missing - fell off down a back lane. With a bit of polish, filler, and white paint, you'd have to look quite hard to see where it was now - really like it!

The Mk1 MX-5 as standard doesn't come with any warning of lights left on after the engine turning off/doors opening - which means quite often the sidelights can be left on, and has happened to myself a couple of times! So I wired in a dark an blurry buzzer, which gives a warning if the lights are on and the engine is off!



In an attempt to free up a bit of room in the engine bay, and to sort out cold running, I got rid of the charcoal canister:





Finally, the exhaust - most of you know it was rattling like a bugger. It was getting worse, so with a bit of spare time, I took it off, and was quite shocked by what I found!



Except the top say, 1/5th or so, this end had completely cracked off. Then the internal pipe that went through the middle, looked a little like this:



This was the main cause of the rattle! Each edge that had snapped had been worn smooth from rattling against each other. This is now getting welded up, so it should be good as new when I get it back

Busy weekend Chris. Looks good without the badge.

Bloody hell that exhaust didnt last. Was it secondhand or new?

As said looks good badgeless.

Exhaust was secondhand mate, and it's a jdm one too, so unknown history - guessing it's fairly old lol!

Keep forgetting to ask you... how have you wired in the buzzer? Is it relayed with the ignition live and the sidelight live?

Lights live and engine live from the internal fuse box... don't think it's relayed. I dunno, just followed a guide on MX5Nutz, it worked, I'm happy

Hmm i'll work something out for the VAG at some point

Think this is the guide I followed (can't see pic at work lol)

Fixed - you should see it now

Not relayed and a bit of a bodge... prefect

Maplins here i come

Great, looking forward to that

Was only £2.19 for the relay aswell... and there's a Maplin's down Eastern ave now, didn't know if you knew or not!

I didn't know that no... wonder if i can get there and home in 45 minutes...

Next to Staples. Should be able to, it's kind of on the way-ish?

Now with more lows...



Previous floor to arch measurements were as follows;

NSR 57.5cm NSF 56cm
OSR 57.5cm OSF 56cm

Pretty pleased with the even-ness of that, measured a rough height on the wheels, looked at a 30mm drop all round, which = roughly 15mm drop on the coils. Gave it a go, new floor to arch height is...

NSR 54.5cm NSF 53cm
OSR 54.5cm OSF 53cm

Sorted!

Hopefully get the Kakimoto back this week. Also need to look into some nice oil residue on the only visible part of the sump - might have had a scrape or two lol

Well... had a bit going on this week!

First off, picked up some cheapy door speakers from maplins... Massive improvement over the stock 16 year old jobs! Can see the difference in depth, they're about twice as deep!



Secondly, clear side repeaters at last, and a decent shot of the new stance... tucking tyre ftw!



Tonight, I've de-tangoed the front indicators, which I'll get pics of tomorrow, also putting the Kakimoto back on, and giving it a good going over as it's been a bit neglected since I've been on crutches! Then off for Edition/Trax!

God thats low, but it can allways go a litle bit lower

Well... it was a bit of a push... but got everything I needed to get done by 12 Friday afternoon - and after this weekend, I'm falling back in love with it. Kakimoto sounds bloody awesome, it kicks out more sideways now it's lower, and I got told it was bloody low multiple times at a VW show lol.. it's just awesome.

Crap pic of it, will have some decent ones up in time, plenty taken!



Going to look into getting it running as spot on as poss when it comes to fuelling etc, do some diff and engine mounts, sort the arches out properly, then get it boosted, once I've saved some money lol. Going to save for a proper LSD as well, rather than weld it - bad enough having it scrape all the time, let alone jumpskip about!

Nice, how you do the lazy eye lights?

Just a little switch that interrupts the motors, mounted in the dash like £2 off eBay