Possible MX-5 NB project
Discussion
Guys,
First time posting in here so hello.
I’ve been looking around for a Mx5 project for myself and my 15 yr old to work on and improve/ modify whatever over the next few years and the aim is to give it to him for his 21st so lots of time!
My mate used to have a Eunos a few years back and I loved that car though not that fussed over an Na or Nb really.
I’ve looked at a LOT online and watched all the videos so I know full well the bad points!
There seems to be a rather large discrepancy between what adverts say and what the MOT history says and even great looking cars are hiding a lot of issues.
Budget is about £1500 ish and then spend time and money over however long it takes to end up with something decent.
Any mechanical issues I have no problem with but obviously rust is the main thing to look out for. A neighbour owns a welding company and could help though.
With that in mind what do people think of the following car?
It’s a 1999 1.8s on 102,000 miles.
It’s pretty crap and an Mot failure on lights, brakes and broken spring with a few advisories, all fairly simple stuff and things I would be changing or refurbishing anyway.
The sills are apparently “ok” and a dented door and some corrosion on the boot lid but again all things I can deal with.
My thinking is that if more expensive cars need work then might as well start with something cheaper!
It’s a part x at a garage 10 minutes away and it’s £500!
Worth looking at?
First time posting in here so hello.
I’ve been looking around for a Mx5 project for myself and my 15 yr old to work on and improve/ modify whatever over the next few years and the aim is to give it to him for his 21st so lots of time!
My mate used to have a Eunos a few years back and I loved that car though not that fussed over an Na or Nb really.
I’ve looked at a LOT online and watched all the videos so I know full well the bad points!
There seems to be a rather large discrepancy between what adverts say and what the MOT history says and even great looking cars are hiding a lot of issues.
Budget is about £1500 ish and then spend time and money over however long it takes to end up with something decent.
Any mechanical issues I have no problem with but obviously rust is the main thing to look out for. A neighbour owns a welding company and could help though.
With that in mind what do people think of the following car?
It’s a 1999 1.8s on 102,000 miles.
It’s pretty crap and an Mot failure on lights, brakes and broken spring with a few advisories, all fairly simple stuff and things I would be changing or refurbishing anyway.
The sills are apparently “ok” and a dented door and some corrosion on the boot lid but again all things I can deal with.
My thinking is that if more expensive cars need work then might as well start with something cheaper!
It’s a part x at a garage 10 minutes away and it’s £500!
Worth looking at?
Edited by nessiemac on Tuesday 9th June 23:30
For £500 that's spot on, then if you do end up spending £500-750 on sills and respray you could end up with an mx5 that is far more structurally sound than those for sale at £2000,£3000 now...
To be honest I'd do exactly the same, buy at the cheapest end and have good quality repairs and be happy upgrading other parts around a solid chassis. The mx5 is a great car for having a very healthy second hand market so trim/cosmetic/performance parts and engine upgrades are plentiful!!!
To be honest I'd do exactly the same, buy at the cheapest end and have good quality repairs and be happy upgrading other parts around a solid chassis. The mx5 is a great car for having a very healthy second hand market so trim/cosmetic/performance parts and engine upgrades are plentiful!!!
Suspension components rusted to the point of an MOT failure might worry me a bit - not because they're hard or expensive to get hold of (they are neither!) but because it sounds like it's lived under the sea and the NBs rust through the chassis rails for fun, especially when someone's jacked the car up using them... lol
If you look at it, get it up on the ramps and poke around the rear arches, sills, chassis rails...
The rest on the list is easy to swap and parts are cheap, so it's an ideal first car to work on and fix up
Basically, if the shell is decent, the rest doesn't matter!
If you look at it, get it up on the ramps and poke around the rear arches, sills, chassis rails...
The rest on the list is easy to swap and parts are cheap, so it's an ideal first car to work on and fix up
Basically, if the shell is decent, the rest doesn't matter!
RSTurboPaul said:
Suspension components rusted to the point of an MOT failure might worry me a bit - not because they're hard or expensive to get hold of (they are neither!) but because it sounds like it's lived under the sea and the NBs rust through the chassis rails for fun, especially when someone's jacked the car up using them... lol
If you look at it, get it up on the ramps and poke around the rear arches, sills, chassis rails...
The rest on the list is easy to swap and parts are cheap, so it's an ideal first car to work on and fix up
Basically, if the shell is decent, the rest doesn't matter!
The corroded suspension is only an advisory! For now! There’s a 2001 NB with 26,000 miles from new (26!) and it looks like new but the recent MOT lists every single suspension component as severely corroded and a final “sever corrosion underneath” advisory!If you look at it, get it up on the ramps and poke around the rear arches, sills, chassis rails...
The rest on the list is easy to swap and parts are cheap, so it's an ideal first car to work on and fix up
Basically, if the shell is decent, the rest doesn't matter!
This one doesn’t look too bad but I think I’ll go and look tomorrow.
nessiemac said:
The corroded suspension is only an advisory! For now! There’s a 2001 NB with 26,000 miles from new (26!) and it looks like new but the recent MOT lists every single suspension component as severely corroded and a final “sever corrosion underneath” advisory!
This one doesn’t look too bad but I think I’ll go and look tomorrow.
D'oh, apologies for the skim-read - as you say, advisory only should be fine!This one doesn’t look too bad but I think I’ll go and look tomorrow.
They always rust but they can be removed, wire brushed and then painted with something rust-proof / powdercoated.
They will then rust again
but it puts it off for a few more years. You can buy new but they are £££ (and will then rust anyway... lol).
As per other comments, for 500 quid it's worth a look at
If you're going to want to do work on it anyway, might as well spend as little as needed and do as much to learn off it as possible! In a worst case it's then only £500 wasted Hope it's a good one when you have a look!
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