From TVR to MX5

[SIMON67]

Hi Guys

After many years and 6 TVRs I have decided to buy a proper car! My old man is picking up a (hopefully) lovely R-LTD on monday for me. I'm paying top money but I decided that I wanted the best possible. It's a fresh import with low miles so no rust. I'm planning preventative medicine for as soon as I drive it back from Lancashire. List is : Full service, Timing belt, change box & diff oils, 4 wheel alignment & a good spray with Dinitrol underneath.

Unlike most of the TVRs that I have owned I'm looking forward to fun, cheap & trouble free motoring!

When I was looking for a car I tried a UK Gleneagles which drove apallingly (crashy & wallowy) & then a long in the tooth Eunos S - Special which was superb - is this normal or just the luck of the draw?

Can't wait to get her back to Kent


Simon

[MadaboutMX5s]

well done on the purchase. r limiteds are a nice spec. I had one earlier this year.

was it the one on ebay at about £3500 from a trader?

S specs and r limiteds have bilstien suspension as standard, no sure what the gleneagles had so not sure about why the s spec felt a better drive apart from if it had been more cared for.

happy motoring.

[SIMON67]

Yes that's the one - gave a bit more than that though.

Can't wait.

[MadaboutMX5s]

nice, post some photos up once you have got it back

[hornetrider]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAZDA-MX5-EUNOS-ROADSTER-R-L...

This one? I searched on completed listings...

Leather looks mint fair do's. Looks like you'll be forking out oooh, 60 quid or so in the very near future.... can anyone guess?!

[paulmurr]

hornetrider said:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAZDA-MX5-EUNOS-ROADSTER-R-L...

This one? I searched on completed listings...

Leather looks mint fair do's. Looks like you'll be forking out oooh, 60 quid or so in the very near future.... can anyone guess?!

No fog light?

[hornetrider]

paulmurr said:

hornetrider said:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAZDA-MX5-EUNOS-ROADSTER-R-L...

This one? I searched on completed listings...

Leather looks mint fair do's. Looks like you'll be forking out oooh, 60 quid or so in the very near future.... can anyone guess?!

No fog light?

And our survey said, eh-urgh!

Fog could be integrated into the brake light (mine is). I suspect it is given the car has 12 months MOT.

[MadaboutMX5s]

well im guessing the 2 bbs cente caps.

i had a few kicking about at one point switched one plus cash for a new exhaust.

[hornetrider]

MadaboutMX5s said:

well im guessing the 2 bbs cente caps.

i had a few kicking about at one point switched one plus cash for a new exhaust.

Ding ding! We have a winner!

[MadaboutMX5s]

i heard bbs had stopped making them from andrew at autolink.

[SIMON67]

Yes that's the one. My old man picked her up yesterday & all seems well. He reckons she drives very well - firm but not crashy, very revvy & low geared (low ratio diff). One comment that he did make was that she feels quite flat unitl 4000rpm when things come alive. Does this sound normal?

Only 1 wheel centre missing (he must have found one after the photo was taken) so the hunt is on.

Just need to get her back from Lancashire now. Will post some pics soon


Cheers

Simon

[MadaboutMX5s]

nice one looks nice.

ebay ts a good source for these or try

www.autolinkuk.co.uk
www.mx5mad.com
maztech in telford

or post a wanted note on

www.mx5ocforum.co.uk
www.mx5nutz.com

[Wigeon Incognito]

SIMON67 said:

Yes that's the one - gave a bit more than that though.

Can't wait.

I hope this doesn't seem rude, but do you mind giving me a clue as to how much?

I have an MX-5 that I may want to sell, and Fylde Imports are right around the corner from me so I'd be interested to know what the sticker price of their cars is.

The only MX-5 they have on their site at the moment isn't comparable to mine whereas yours is more so.

If you're happy to tell me but would rather not post it publicly I'd really appreciate a PM.

Edited to add: Flat until 4000rpm sounds perfectly normal. Just wait until your first 3rd gear blast round some twisty lanes keeping the revs nice and high - you'll love it!

Edited by Wigeon Incognito on Tuesday 27th November 10:51

[MX-5 Lazza]

You can add a bit more life under 4k rpm by advancing the timing to 14BTDC. Some say that it loses power at the top-end doing that but I never noticed it and it's worth it for the midrange lift.

If you want to replace that stereo with a double-din from a Mk2.5 (radio & in-dash 6-cd changer) then I have one available. I took it out of my car 2+ years ago and it's sat in the garage ever since.

[Combover]

SIMON67 said:

Yes that's the one. My old man picked her up yesterday & all seems well. He reckons she drives very well - firm but not crashy, very revvy & low geared (low ratio diff). One comment that he did make was that she feels quite flat unitl 4000rpm when things come alive. Does this sound normal?

Only 1 wheel centre missing (he must have found one after the photo was taken) so the hunt is on.

Just need to get her back from Lancashire now. Will post some pics soon


Cheers

Simon

They start to come on cam at about 3K, so that sounds about right. it's all about revs.

[otolith]

I was going to say that a kick at 4000rpm matches the torque curve nicely, thinking it was this one:

http://www.rri.se/popup/performancegraphs.php?Char...

but presumably, unless imports had the later version of the engine, it will be this one:

http://www.rri.se/popup/performancegraphs.php?Char...

which has a much flatter torque curve.

[Planet Claire]

Hello Simon and welcome to the world of MX5s!
Looks a great car, I love the red interior.
If you want to know anything about modding MX5s then MX5 Nutz is the place to go, you can also find some good technical info on the Owner's Club.

[MX-5 Lazza]

It looks like those graphs are for a Mk2 1.8 (first graph) and a Mk1 1.8.

[SIMON67]

Thanks fpr the advice everyone. Just booked train ticket so get to see her next weekend & drive her back 260 miles!

Simon

[Chris71]

Let us know how you get on. I'm thinking about going the other way - used to have an RS-LTD and now I fancy a Chim.