MK1 MX5's - tell meee!

Phate

Phate

Phate

Caporegime
Joined
1 Nov 2003
Posts
35,691
Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Hey guys,

Going on from the thread yesterday I had a chat today and a MK1 MX5 with the additional hard top for winter and when its not blistering hot could very well be a possibility.

So I'm after information on them.

How much for a tidy one? 1.6 will be enough, maybe the 1.8
I'm told the hard top's cost around £300 from a forum, correct?
Can you get them with a leather interior?
Common faults?
General running costs?
MPG of the 1.6/1.8?
What to look out for when buying?

Cheers guys :)
Jake
 
Why will it automatically get slashed in the summer? My dad has a hard top for the winter; it is kind of handy but of course keep in mind you need somewhere else to keep it for the rest of the year.

Myself, I couldn't be bothered. Not that cold in the winter, man up, it's part of the experience ;)
 
The hardtop just prevents a bit of noise really, the heaters on softop's are oversized so you really dont feel the cold in the winter, even with the hood down
 
[TW]Fox;16865067 said:
How will a hard top for winter stop it getting slashed in the summer?
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It won't but when I said about the MX5 she instantly said "no soft tops" so I said "but you can get a hard top for the winter and when you don't want the roof down in the summer, takes about half an hour to remove" she said "ah, thats not so bad then!"

AtomicBanana said:
Why will it automatically get slashed in the summer?
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S'what happens when you live in the ghetto that is Essex :p

Myself, I couldn't be bothered. Not that cold in the winter, man up, it's part of the experience ;)
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The car isn't for me ;) - And yep, she's got somewhere to store it.
 
Tinders said:
The hardtop just prevents a bit of noise really, the heaters on softop's are oversized so you really dont feel the cold in the winter, even with the hood down
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It's not for the cold, just a bit of added security.
 
[TW]Fox;16865124 said:
No idea but in his last thread he said a soft top was a complete no no as it would get slashed in his area.
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Because last time she had a soft top it did get slashed. That was her justification for not having one anyway!
 
Fair enough... anyway I don't have all the figures to hand, but generally they are very cheap to run, and very little goes wrong. I've done 1000's of miles in mine, I can't remember the exact figure but I got it with 140 something thousand miles on the clock and it's now a few thousand away from 170,000. All I've done is oil + filter, + cam belt in that time. Still goes like the day I got it.

I get about 30mpg regardless of how I drive it. I wish I could rememeber more, currently dying in the heat! I'm sure the other resident experts will be here soon enough ;)
 
AtomicBanana said:
I get about 30mpg regardless of how I drive it. I wish I could rememeber more, currently dying in the heat! I'm sure the other resident experts will be here soon enough ;)
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Thanks mate sounds good.

Servicing isn't a problem, we can do that. How much is a cambelt change though?
 
Phate said:
1. How much for a tidy one? 1.6 will be enough, maybe the 1.8
2. I'm told the hard top's cost around £300 from a forum, correct?
3. Can you get them with a leather interior?
4. Common faults?
5. General running costs?
6. MPG of the 1.6/1.8?
7. What to look out for when buying?

Cheers guys :)
Jake
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1. £1500-£2000 will be enough
2. Yeah around £3-400 for a good condition one in the same colour
3. Yep, much more common on imported models though
4. Rust
5. Cheap to insure, cheap to repair should something go wrong (cheap parts and easy to work on so labour is cheap), cheap to service. Cambelt change would cost around £200, but if the belt snaps it's not game over because the engine is non-interference, meaning valves don't meet pistons should it happen
6. I got about 30-33 mpg average from my 1.6 before I supercharged it - a mixture of hooning and cruising. I get... slightly less than that now ;) Because the urge to hoon is too strong
7. Rusty sills and arches, dodgy repairs, lack of history
 
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can get 40MPG on a run from a 1.6 if you stay at a sensible speed. Just make sure it's got no rot on the arches/sills. You can pick up a pristine one for £2k. Stop being a sissy, IF the softop gets slashed then replacements are cheap.

Do it now before you change your mind, you won't regret it.
 
Alex*TLR said:
Do it now before you change your mind, you won't regret it.
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Someone hasn't read the thread ;)

It's not for me!!!

Perfect! Thanks Howard! I was having a quick gander on PH and seen the Eunos ones? are these the imported?

Whats the difference between imported and UK ones? :)

Cheers guys, really appreciate the help as always!
Jake
 
Eunos = import, yep. Your friend might find her insurance is a bit higher for an import vs a UK model, so maybe check first? Obviously if she has such experience that it only costs £300 to insure a car like this then it's not so much of an issue!

You'll find that *generally* the imports have more in the way of equipment - air con, fancier (although early 90s so still pretty crap lol) audio systems, leather interior, lowered suspension, limited edition versions with different wheels/interior trim, etc. But the cars will generally have patchier service history. The mechanics are identical on them
 
Howard said:
Eunos = import, yep. Your friend might find her insurance is a bit higher for an import vs a UK model, so maybe check first? Obviously if she has such experience that it only costs £300 to insure a car like this then it's not so much of an issue!

You'll find that *generally* the imports have more in the way of equipment - air con, fancier (although early 90s so still pretty crap lol) audio systems, leather interior, lowered suspension, limited edition versions with different wheels/interior trim, etc. But the cars will generally have patchier service history.
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Cool cheers, well she's 30 so insuring it shouldn't be an issue :)

Right so an Eunos with a decent history is what we are after...ideally.

Is there anywhere which supplies the hard tops? or just finding one on a forum?
 
All imports start with 70k miles ;), so i wouldn't worry about mileage too much.

As they are getting on a bit now get one with the shocks, clutch and belts done.

If won't cost any more, but it will save you money.

In terms of spares, buy a clutch slave, gearshift boots, rocker gasket and CAS o ring.
£70 you will no regret when one of them goes, but thankfully it is all cheap to do or DIY'ble.

EDIT:

I would rather buy a car with some rust, than no rust and know the job has been done right. A number of cars on the forum have pics of the rust removal and you know the job is going to last 5-10 years, too many have filler slapped on.

the worst case for rust would be £500 and that is assuming the whole sill/arch and underside are rotten.
 
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