New MX5 owner.

[dixiebabes]

Hello guys, just bought myself a bargain tonight. A little 1840cc MX5 Trilogy #4/333 in black. It's failed its MOT on sils both sides which are very corroded and need completely replacing, it has a few scabs on the arches but apart from that it's a lovely little motor at £500 and I'm very pleased with it.

I am new to MX5's and i was wondering what things to look for and what common faults that might need attention. The engine pulls like a train so there's no obvious signs there. I have been a TVR 350i owner for the past 14 years so i will be using the MX5 as my daily drive as the 350i only gets used very rarely lately and usually when the roads are dry as I'm not that brave driving it in the wet ha ha.

Up to now I'm really impressed with the handling of the mazda and the acceleration is not too bad at all, so all in all quite chuffed with it.

Dixiebabes.

[Gilhooligan]

Mechanically they’re pretty bombproof and if anything breaks, generally cheap to fix.
I’m assuming yours is a mk2 (also known as an NB)?
These suffer serious corrosion to the front chassis legs. If your sills are knackered and have rusty arches then get the chassis legs checked (you’ll need to remove the engine undertray). It’s quite a serious job to fix but there are replacement panels out there now as it’s so common.

[dixiebabes]

Its the rear arch/sill whats quite corroded the section that bends into the sill from the arch. Are there any replacement panels out there for that? It's a 52 plate so im assuming thats a mk11? Know very little about these cars mond.

Dix.

[Gilhooligan]

Yep it’s a mk2 and yes you can get replacement panels for the rear sills and arches etc. There’s plenty out there. Get on the mx5nutz Facebook group, it’s very active and has a wealth of knowledgeable users on there. The other mx5 forums and on here tend be a lot quieter these days.
I’d definitely check the front chassis legs before committing to repairing the sills/ arches etc. The mk2 is worse for corrosion than the mk1 due to this.

Edited by Gilhooligan on Friday 14th September 22:43

[yellowstreak]

Gilhooligan said:

Yep it’s a mk2 and yes you can get replacement panels for the rear sills and arches etc. There’s plenty out there. Get on the mx5nutz Facebook group, it’s very active and has a wealth of knowledgeable users on there. The other mx5 forums and on here tend be a lot quieter these days.
I’d definitely check the front chassis legs before committing to respiring the sills/ arches etc. The mk2 is worse for corrosion than the mk1 due to this.

Agreed - I sadly had to abandon my project and sell a Mk2 as spares recently, the rust fix was just not economical. Hope it works out and its just the sills.

[dixiebabes]

Cheers lads. I'll have a look up front today. I think its ok mind.

Dix.

[MX-5 Lazza]

dixiebabes said:

Cheers lads. I'll have a look up front today. I think its ok mind.

Dix.

You need to get underneath and remove the undertray to get a good look at the chassis legs, especially around where the ARB mounts attach. Unfortunately, if there is much rust in the sills & arches, you will probably find rust here too and MOT stations know to look out for it these days.
That doesn’t have to mean disaster though as you can get repair panels from The MX5 Restorer or Mazdamenders.net but it’s only really financially viable if you can do the welding yourself.