Help & advice on damage repairable

Help & advice on damage repairable

Author
Discussion

MARKS6900

Original Poster:

306 posts

209 months

Thursday 27th December 2007
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Hello, i have just bought a damage repairable mx5 mk 1 in blue, it was hit on the f/o/s, parts that need replacing are front bumper, bonnet plus hinges, o/s wing, h/light pod, windscreen is cracked, radiater, air con system this i have removed no need for it, slam panel, i have removed all damaged parts and have found the chassis leg has been pushed down by 2 inches, its creased just in front of the suspension turret, and the inner wing is badly damaged again in front of the turret, can this sort of damage be repaired by jigging the leg, can the front part of the inner wing be replaced instead of replacing the full panel, the front cross member was not hit but is lower down on the o/s due to chassis leg bent hopfully this would go back when the leg is jigged, thank you.

Herman Toothrot

6,702 posts

205 months

Friday 28th December 2007
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,... damaged repairable,.. sounds much more like "write off" to me. I can't see you getting any money back on it, or saving any to buying an undamaged one considering you can get RS-ltds these days for £3500.

franv8

2,212 posts

245 months

Sunday 30th December 2007
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Hmm, firstly I'm not a crash repair person so take this opinion with that in mind!

Firstly, Mk1's can be bought roadworthy down at the £1000 mark, so bear this in mind with any parts you are thinking of buying/work done. Especially as there will be paint in there too, which starts getting into the hundreds (at least) easily.

Alas, the Mk 1 mechanicals are also pretty durable, so there wouldn't (I think) be a massive market for parts (actually, that's probably rubbish - bearing in mind the MX5 is the most popular roadster on the planet).

Biggest problem is this - the MX5 is a fantastically handling car, even bearing in mind it is a convertible, so any less than perfect set up is not going to be a good thing. With a 'vert too, chassis strength is all the more important. (2" on the front chassis leg also begs the question of whether other parts of the chassis were affected)

It may be better to look for a good donor for a straight body, or part out the parts and look for a cheap MX5 if you actually want a 5.

MazDave

950 posts

291 months

Sunday 30th December 2007
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There's a very cheap shell on the Nutz site at the moment.... here

Admitedly this is lots of work to refit parts but if you're doing it yourself it might turn out a better bet.

Good luck which ever way you go.

Dave

MARKS6900

Original Poster:

306 posts

209 months

Sunday 30th December 2007
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Thank you will get in touch with him, got hold of him, said he would forward some pictures, not received any yet.

Edited by MARKS6900 on Friday 4th January 16:42