My '94 Eunos Roadster, and its story! (Photos abound!)
Discussion
Excuse my lengthy, rambling post, but I've never really done one of these before, thought someone at least might be interested!
Autumn 08 I was tooling about in this -
306 GTi-6, Which was a fantastic car that I miss hugely. Fast, fantastic chassis and a sound than an MX5 owner can only dream of, full on BTCC soundtrack. The engine is a peach in these, and they would absolutely destroy an MX5 down a tight bumpy road - like a Grp N Tarmac rally car with leather seats.
But - it was time to move on. No-one ever sat in the back, I didnt do that many miles, it was dear to run, etc etc...
So after much deliberation and consideration of what to buy I kept coming back to the MX5 as ticking all the boxes (well apart from the 'Is it a TVR Chimeara box') with this -
That is literally seconds after I handed over the cash and the previous owner closed the door on it. I had viewed a whole bunch of Roadsters, mostly absolute dogs, overpriced tat, badly modified cars, rotten UK cars etc and was getting a bit turned off the idea of a decent being available one for <£2k. Then saw this one on ebay, exactly the spec I wanted - Import, early 1.8. Not the best description on the ad but it had been owned by a couple since import in 99. They didnt know a huge amount about the car but had kept it tidy and serviced, everything checked out. Did a deal at the house and bought it for £1650. Seller was going to put the hardtop on ebay aswell but just left it on the car and let me take it!
Drove home in the pitch dark, all the way over the M62 from Merseyside across Manchester to Leeds, Rush hour traffic, unfamiliar car, no sat-nav or directions. I nearly pissed myself with excitement/fear.
I reckon I got a good deal - no rust at all, good condition, blah blah... Also there was a number of things on the car that the seller didnt really know about - like the fact the hardtop was an easy £300 extra. And it turned out the car had Ohlins Dampers all round, and a HKS super drager cat-back, and a Stainless 4-2-1 manifold. Result! The nosecone is a Mazdaspeed Aero Type 2 IIRC, Factory option in Japan possibly? Odd how it doesnt have the rest of the kit though (Skirts and rear lower lip). . Under the bonnet was a cone filter of some sort, plus a neat little add-one brake servo brace. A very retro very old Japanese Alpine stereo and seperate CD changer, some funky metal surrounds for the stereo on gear shift boot. Being an S-spec it has the Torsen LSD, strut brace, nice Nardi wheel etc etc. Basically seemed to have been owned by a bit of an enthusiast over in Japan, then this couple had just run it for 9 years exactly as it was after import.
So that winter it was my only car - and I fell completely in love with it. As soon as I got home it had the obligatory cleaning and car/driver bonding sessions.
I wasnt scared of using it in 'inclement' weather either, and it got plenty filthy from time to time!
Over the course of the first year I somehow managed to do a slightly ridiculous (for me, I know some Sales Reps do it in a matter of days...) 30,000 kilometres in the car. Partly because it was my only car and my commute to work most of the time, also the fact that my g/f lives a 50mile trip each way every time I see her. Also the fact that I would regularly get up and drive from Leeds to Northumberland and back before work, or to the Evo Triangle in wales on a Summers evening, or to Scotland... just for the hell of it. And my Girlfriend may live 50 miles away down the M62. But its 75 miles down the best that East Yorkshire B-roads have to offer...
Over the year started doing a few mods, and a fair bit of maintenance/servicing.
First the wheels - went with some nice lightweight Enkei 5 spokes from a Nutz member, I was a bit dubious about the colour but they turned out to be a bargain. The car also got new headunit/speaker, a WIM alignment session, a sticky plate, the obligatory MX5parts.com S/S exhuast, and various other little trinkets, bits and bobs. I did plenty of servicing and in Spring did the 'big' one, and changed out the waterpump, timing belt, tensioners, oil seals, plus all the fluids, coolant bleed, brake bleed etc etc. These cars are so easy to work on that even something relatively involved like that is a piece of piss for any home mechanic.
Had a summer holiday/roadtrip with SWMBO -
And the car looked a bit better with the new wheels - was really pleased. Lots of cleaning and polishing was done every so often, as is needed when your daily driver also happens to be your most prized possession!
In here aswell
For a £1650 16yr old car, that lives outside and has had a life of hard use - it shine ups pretty well
All important Pistonheads Smiley gives +10bhp at the wheels and gets the knowing 'nod' every so often.
Car was used for everything and anything. Even went to my Mountain bike races with the bike in passenger seat, camping gear in the boot off, roof off and fold up table and chairs bungeed to the bootlid.
Many hours spent tear-arsing round the countryside chasing much more exotic machinery. It may get left behind on the straights but the TVR, Lotus, 7-type owners et al often come over while eating their fish and chips at the end of a run, to express their surprise and amusmentat how the little Roadster appeared to have grappling hooked itself to their bumper on the windy, bumpy, twisty sections. Much fun.
Regular 'roofs are for poofs' society meeting
Note correct positioning of Mazda in front of all the vastly more powerful, but less superior cars
Driving off into heaven...
A sense of scale - makes an S2k look enormous
Which brings us to Autumn just gone. And for some reason I went mad.
I'd done 30k kms without a single hiccup, all over the country, all kinds of roads, weather, traffic, everything.
Despite that I decided that an MX5 is not the place to be on a soggy Friday rush hour, on the M621, with a HGV's wheelnuts going round next to my ear, and a tiny little bit of water plopping onto my right knee evey few minutes.
I had a new job (I'd finished Uni that summer). A proper grown ups job this time. New start and all that.
I thought I'll keep the Roadster for 'best'. I'll do loads and loads of jobs on it over winter, it will be amazing. So I bought myself another car. A sensible car - a 2 ltr Audi 80, Saloon, full rep-spec, similar vintage to the Mazda. Suspension courtesy of Rolls Royce, Bodyroll by Routemaster bus. Steering response like a cross channel ferry. A heaving 8 valve power lump, dragging itself to 60 in about a week.
Its a fantastic car - so, so comfy, quiet, refined. So much space in the back, and a boot almost big enough to fit the Roadster in. Built like the proverbial tank. Eeerily quiet. Fellow MX5 owners would be quite literally freaked out by its refinement. Such light controls, my Nan would love it.
I've driven it every day since November, through all that snow and everything. I dont take the B-road route back from the Girlfriends house anymore. I go on the motorway 'because its easier'. She likes it as it doesnt jiggle her tits about like the Black one and she can put her crappy music on the stereo and actually hear it. I havent been to a single crack-of-dawn hoon round the moors with any other addicts.
And I've suddenly realised that I'm not enjoying motoring anymore. Its a chore. Its practical, and safe, and economical, but its a chore. My roadster has barely done 100 miles in months. I've neglected it. And I'm not minted, I'm skint. Because I spent loads of money on another car, insurance and tax. On a car so conservative and 'grey', that I could easily fall into a coma when driving it. Its a car for my Dad. In 20 years time because its not exciting enough for him in his 50's. Its not fun to drive to work the long route anymore.
I havent done any of those jobs on my Mazda as I had no money. And I didnt use it so wasnt inspired to.
I've realised now, that I dont really care for back seats. Or a dashboard with no rattles.
I want my Roadster back. I want to powerslide out the T-junction at the top of my road. I want to have to put gloves and hats on to drive my car, because the roof is off. ALL the time.
I've dug it out this week, from its corner of the drive where its sat festering all winter. it has a layer of sawdust on it, and a couple of bird-expellation strikes that are so big they may have come from a Pterodactyl. It needs a new battery. Its soggy inside. The brakes are stuck. I checked it still had oil in it and it had not solidifed back to coal again. I got some jump leads, and with a lot of swearing, a bit of finger crossing, and a small electrical shock, it started.
The exhaust rattled on the heatshield. The back window has gone opaque. The Hydraulic tappets make the noise of a dinner hall full of kids smashing their cutlery against their plates. Clutch is a bit sticky and the gearbox feels like it has lead in it. It revved, and hunted for a steady idle. Stood at the back it makes a lovely burble with a massive cloud of condensation coming out the tailpipe. Getting in was a right effort, and caught the pedal with my great big boots. I remembered that it takes only a tickle on the throttle of this car to make it come alive. I love this car.
The Tax is in the post.
The Audi is for sale.
Autumn 08 I was tooling about in this -
306 GTi-6, Which was a fantastic car that I miss hugely. Fast, fantastic chassis and a sound than an MX5 owner can only dream of, full on BTCC soundtrack. The engine is a peach in these, and they would absolutely destroy an MX5 down a tight bumpy road - like a Grp N Tarmac rally car with leather seats.
But - it was time to move on. No-one ever sat in the back, I didnt do that many miles, it was dear to run, etc etc...
So after much deliberation and consideration of what to buy I kept coming back to the MX5 as ticking all the boxes (well apart from the 'Is it a TVR Chimeara box') with this -
That is literally seconds after I handed over the cash and the previous owner closed the door on it. I had viewed a whole bunch of Roadsters, mostly absolute dogs, overpriced tat, badly modified cars, rotten UK cars etc and was getting a bit turned off the idea of a decent being available one for <£2k. Then saw this one on ebay, exactly the spec I wanted - Import, early 1.8. Not the best description on the ad but it had been owned by a couple since import in 99. They didnt know a huge amount about the car but had kept it tidy and serviced, everything checked out. Did a deal at the house and bought it for £1650. Seller was going to put the hardtop on ebay aswell but just left it on the car and let me take it!
Drove home in the pitch dark, all the way over the M62 from Merseyside across Manchester to Leeds, Rush hour traffic, unfamiliar car, no sat-nav or directions. I nearly pissed myself with excitement/fear.
I reckon I got a good deal - no rust at all, good condition, blah blah... Also there was a number of things on the car that the seller didnt really know about - like the fact the hardtop was an easy £300 extra. And it turned out the car had Ohlins Dampers all round, and a HKS super drager cat-back, and a Stainless 4-2-1 manifold. Result! The nosecone is a Mazdaspeed Aero Type 2 IIRC, Factory option in Japan possibly? Odd how it doesnt have the rest of the kit though (Skirts and rear lower lip). . Under the bonnet was a cone filter of some sort, plus a neat little add-one brake servo brace. A very retro very old Japanese Alpine stereo and seperate CD changer, some funky metal surrounds for the stereo on gear shift boot. Being an S-spec it has the Torsen LSD, strut brace, nice Nardi wheel etc etc. Basically seemed to have been owned by a bit of an enthusiast over in Japan, then this couple had just run it for 9 years exactly as it was after import.
So that winter it was my only car - and I fell completely in love with it. As soon as I got home it had the obligatory cleaning and car/driver bonding sessions.
I wasnt scared of using it in 'inclement' weather either, and it got plenty filthy from time to time!
Over the course of the first year I somehow managed to do a slightly ridiculous (for me, I know some Sales Reps do it in a matter of days...) 30,000 kilometres in the car. Partly because it was my only car and my commute to work most of the time, also the fact that my g/f lives a 50mile trip each way every time I see her. Also the fact that I would regularly get up and drive from Leeds to Northumberland and back before work, or to the Evo Triangle in wales on a Summers evening, or to Scotland... just for the hell of it. And my Girlfriend may live 50 miles away down the M62. But its 75 miles down the best that East Yorkshire B-roads have to offer...
Over the year started doing a few mods, and a fair bit of maintenance/servicing.
First the wheels - went with some nice lightweight Enkei 5 spokes from a Nutz member, I was a bit dubious about the colour but they turned out to be a bargain. The car also got new headunit/speaker, a WIM alignment session, a sticky plate, the obligatory MX5parts.com S/S exhuast, and various other little trinkets, bits and bobs. I did plenty of servicing and in Spring did the 'big' one, and changed out the waterpump, timing belt, tensioners, oil seals, plus all the fluids, coolant bleed, brake bleed etc etc. These cars are so easy to work on that even something relatively involved like that is a piece of piss for any home mechanic.
Had a summer holiday/roadtrip with SWMBO -
And the car looked a bit better with the new wheels - was really pleased. Lots of cleaning and polishing was done every so often, as is needed when your daily driver also happens to be your most prized possession!
In here aswell
For a £1650 16yr old car, that lives outside and has had a life of hard use - it shine ups pretty well
All important Pistonheads Smiley gives +10bhp at the wheels and gets the knowing 'nod' every so often.
Car was used for everything and anything. Even went to my Mountain bike races with the bike in passenger seat, camping gear in the boot off, roof off and fold up table and chairs bungeed to the bootlid.
Many hours spent tear-arsing round the countryside chasing much more exotic machinery. It may get left behind on the straights but the TVR, Lotus, 7-type owners et al often come over while eating their fish and chips at the end of a run, to express their surprise and amusmentat how the little Roadster appeared to have grappling hooked itself to their bumper on the windy, bumpy, twisty sections. Much fun.
Regular 'roofs are for poofs' society meeting
Note correct positioning of Mazda in front of all the vastly more powerful, but less superior cars
Driving off into heaven...
A sense of scale - makes an S2k look enormous
Which brings us to Autumn just gone. And for some reason I went mad.
I'd done 30k kms without a single hiccup, all over the country, all kinds of roads, weather, traffic, everything.
Despite that I decided that an MX5 is not the place to be on a soggy Friday rush hour, on the M621, with a HGV's wheelnuts going round next to my ear, and a tiny little bit of water plopping onto my right knee evey few minutes.
I had a new job (I'd finished Uni that summer). A proper grown ups job this time. New start and all that.
I thought I'll keep the Roadster for 'best'. I'll do loads and loads of jobs on it over winter, it will be amazing. So I bought myself another car. A sensible car - a 2 ltr Audi 80, Saloon, full rep-spec, similar vintage to the Mazda. Suspension courtesy of Rolls Royce, Bodyroll by Routemaster bus. Steering response like a cross channel ferry. A heaving 8 valve power lump, dragging itself to 60 in about a week.
Its a fantastic car - so, so comfy, quiet, refined. So much space in the back, and a boot almost big enough to fit the Roadster in. Built like the proverbial tank. Eeerily quiet. Fellow MX5 owners would be quite literally freaked out by its refinement. Such light controls, my Nan would love it.
I've driven it every day since November, through all that snow and everything. I dont take the B-road route back from the Girlfriends house anymore. I go on the motorway 'because its easier'. She likes it as it doesnt jiggle her tits about like the Black one and she can put her crappy music on the stereo and actually hear it. I havent been to a single crack-of-dawn hoon round the moors with any other addicts.
And I've suddenly realised that I'm not enjoying motoring anymore. Its a chore. Its practical, and safe, and economical, but its a chore. My roadster has barely done 100 miles in months. I've neglected it. And I'm not minted, I'm skint. Because I spent loads of money on another car, insurance and tax. On a car so conservative and 'grey', that I could easily fall into a coma when driving it. Its a car for my Dad. In 20 years time because its not exciting enough for him in his 50's. Its not fun to drive to work the long route anymore.
I havent done any of those jobs on my Mazda as I had no money. And I didnt use it so wasnt inspired to.
I've realised now, that I dont really care for back seats. Or a dashboard with no rattles.
I want my Roadster back. I want to powerslide out the T-junction at the top of my road. I want to have to put gloves and hats on to drive my car, because the roof is off. ALL the time.
I've dug it out this week, from its corner of the drive where its sat festering all winter. it has a layer of sawdust on it, and a couple of bird-expellation strikes that are so big they may have come from a Pterodactyl. It needs a new battery. Its soggy inside. The brakes are stuck. I checked it still had oil in it and it had not solidifed back to coal again. I got some jump leads, and with a lot of swearing, a bit of finger crossing, and a small electrical shock, it started.
The exhaust rattled on the heatshield. The back window has gone opaque. The Hydraulic tappets make the noise of a dinner hall full of kids smashing their cutlery against their plates. Clutch is a bit sticky and the gearbox feels like it has lead in it. It revved, and hunted for a steady idle. Stood at the back it makes a lovely burble with a massive cloud of condensation coming out the tailpipe. Getting in was a right effort, and caught the pedal with my great big boots. I remembered that it takes only a tickle on the throttle of this car to make it come alive. I love this car.
The Tax is in the post.
The Audi is for sale.
I've often admired your MX5 from afar (on the 'show us your mx5 thread', don't worry I'm not a stalker 
)
I'm probably going to be in the market for a 5 over the next year or so, hopefully I'll manage to get one as nice as yours.
I hope you get to use it and enjoy it a lot over the Summer, good luck selling the Audi.
)I'm probably going to be in the market for a 5 over the next year or so, hopefully I'll manage to get one as nice as yours.
I hope you get to use it and enjoy it a lot over the Summer, good luck selling the Audi.
Thanks guys, glad you like it.
I'm praying that the weathers nice this weekend so I can work on it. If I can get the brakes unseized then I may be able to go for a drive.
The HKS exhaust was really nice and a great sound. But the midpipe cracked on the flange (acceptable really as it was 10+ yrs old and got regular smacks off speed bumps).
I priced up getting it welded or getting an all new mid section built, but the MX5 parts exhaust looked more to my taste, gets consistently touted as being stunning value, and is regularly on special offer, so I thought bugger it.
The HKS backbox has gone to another owner as it had plenty more life left in it.
With the air filter, posh manifold and exhaust, its pretty LOUD for a such a little engine!
I'm praying that the weathers nice this weekend so I can work on it. If I can get the brakes unseized then I may be able to go for a drive.
The HKS exhaust was really nice and a great sound. But the midpipe cracked on the flange (acceptable really as it was 10+ yrs old and got regular smacks off speed bumps).
I priced up getting it welded or getting an all new mid section built, but the MX5 parts exhaust looked more to my taste, gets consistently touted as being stunning value, and is regularly on special offer, so I thought bugger it.
The HKS backbox has gone to another owner as it had plenty more life left in it.
With the air filter, posh manifold and exhaust, its pretty LOUD for a such a little engine!
snotrag said:
Thanks guys, glad you like it.
I'm praying that the weathers nice this weekend so I can work on it. If I can get the brakes unseized then I may be able to go for a drive.
The HKS exhaust was really nice and a great sound. But the midpipe cracked on the flange (acceptable really as it was 10+ yrs old and got regular smacks off speed bumps).
I priced up getting it welded or getting an all new mid section built, but the MX5 parts exhaust looked more to my taste, gets consistently touted as being stunning value, and is regularly on special offer, so I thought bugger it.
The HKS backbox has gone to another owner as it had plenty more life left in it.
With the air filter, posh manifold and exhaust, its pretty LOUD for a such a little engine!
ah no worries, im tempted by a MX5 parts one myself, as mine is blowing!I'm praying that the weathers nice this weekend so I can work on it. If I can get the brakes unseized then I may be able to go for a drive.
The HKS exhaust was really nice and a great sound. But the midpipe cracked on the flange (acceptable really as it was 10+ yrs old and got regular smacks off speed bumps).
I priced up getting it welded or getting an all new mid section built, but the MX5 parts exhaust looked more to my taste, gets consistently touted as being stunning value, and is regularly on special offer, so I thought bugger it.
The HKS backbox has gone to another owner as it had plenty more life left in it.
With the air filter, posh manifold and exhaust, its pretty LOUD for a such a little engine!
Missus is tempted for a 306 Gti-6, are they hard to insure?
If there still on special offer (£135?) then its an absolute bargain - they are really well made and use really high grade, very shiny stainless steel so it looks great.
The GTi-6 insurance was about the same as my import MX5 - group 16 ISTR. Wasnt too bad for me in my early 20's. Flipping awesome car though.
The GTi-6 insurance was about the same as my import MX5 - group 16 ISTR. Wasnt too bad for me in my early 20's. Flipping awesome car though.
snotrag said:
If there still on special offer (£135?) then its an absolute bargain - they are really well made and use really high grade, very shiny stainless steel so it looks great.
The GTi-6 insurance was about the same as my import MX5 - group 16 ISTR. Wasnt too bad for me in my early 20's. Flipping awesome car though.
thanks chap...i'll leave your thread to it!The GTi-6 insurance was about the same as my import MX5 - group 16 ISTR. Wasnt too bad for me in my early 20's. Flipping awesome car though.
Lovely '5
_Batty_ said:
lovely '5.
any reason you moved from a HKS pipe to an MX5 parts one?
i adore my '5 and can only see it being replaced by a cerbera.
Keep them both... The Cerb is an absolute event to drive, but the mx5 is the better road car 99% of the time IMHO. any reason you moved from a HKS pipe to an MX5 parts one?
i adore my '5 and can only see it being replaced by a cerbera.
Great thread, pretty much explains the appeal. The only thing I can add is that whenever I drive anything else I tend to wonder whats broken in the gearbox of every other car?
identity_crisis said:
Need to organise a few runs soon so i can actually get some use out of the s2000
I forgot you had that - getting on with it yet? You will once its Summer I bet. I am going to do a run out before the Malton do on Easter Sunday if you fancy it. BCA said:
The only thing I can add is that whenever I drive anything else I tend to wonder whats broken in the gearbox of every other car?
Oh God yes! Makes any other cars gearbox feel like stirring coal. Ive not put enough wheel time into the S2000 to really get to grips with it but its very twitchy and lack of torque is annoying. We shall see how things are after some more miles.
I've managed to blag myself into a run out over the peaks with a load supercars in april so will have to see about the run your organising. If you can email me some details that would be great.
Only ever drove an MX5 once and it was a MK2 1.6. It was in the winter so back end came out alot and it was so catchable. Im tempted to get an old MK1 and use it for a track car as there so cheap to run.
I've managed to blag myself into a run out over the peaks with a load supercars in april so will have to see about the run your organising. If you can email me some details that would be great.
Only ever drove an MX5 once and it was a MK2 1.6. It was in the winter so back end came out alot and it was so catchable. Im tempted to get an old MK1 and use it for a track car as there so cheap to run.
Nice story. I've pretty much done the same thing. I had a few fast but boring Eurobox type cars, bit the bullet and got an MX5 after rave reviews on here.
Used it all summer, took it to the south of France and vowed never to sell it.
Come winter, driving home from work in rushour traffic in the dark and drizzle with the ragtop on and the lack of sound insulation very apparent, I decided to get a second car.
MX5 now hardly gets used.
I'm off in a couple of weeks for a much-needed holiday. I have two weeks off work when I get back and I'm hoping to get the '5 back on the road and make inroads to selling my capable but quite dull sensible car.
Used it all summer, took it to the south of France and vowed never to sell it.
Come winter, driving home from work in rushour traffic in the dark and drizzle with the ragtop on and the lack of sound insulation very apparent, I decided to get a second car.
MX5 now hardly gets used.
I'm off in a couple of weeks for a much-needed holiday. I have two weeks off work when I get back and I'm hoping to get the '5 back on the road and make inroads to selling my capable but quite dull sensible car.
An update. As I had suddenly been inspired to put my ass in gear and get my car working I set aside this weekend for it.
In typical fashion, it should have been one days work to get he car drivable again but I'm now going completely head on into some kind of mild spring mini-restoration. Hey ho, if your going to do something, do it right and all that.
I managed to get the car into a more useful position on the drive, which was harder than it sounds considering it had one brake seized on, and no running engine (battery is fecked). Anyway, got it all up on stands nice and high for a through inspection.
The rear brakes look ok - I think they've had replacement calipers recently. Front calipers were disgusting, just two lumps of corroded orange lumpy iron.
So I've stripped both them off the car, and the mounting brackets.
I then stripped all the trim out of the boot - because the car has had the wrong type of battery fitted (a bog standard lead-acid) the fumes cause corrosion - you get horrible white corrosive residue on everything. Boot floor is going to be fully cleaned out and probably a new lick of black paint.
Electric aerial mast has been removed to be rebuilt/service - it was dull, slow and grubby with lots of stuck sections and they should be snappily quick, tall, and shiny chrome.
Horrid Caravan style Rear foglight which I bodged on for MOT last year is ripped off - will relocate to centre brake light or RHD reverse light - alternatively I've seen a nice slimline LED fitting on carbuildersolutions.
Under the bonnet I seem to have leaky CAS o-ring, common fail but luckily its piss easy. Rest seems ok, bit worried about the coolant system as despite it being flushed a year ago it looks a bit brown and goopy.
All the interior carpet and seats has pulled out.
Reset the clutch pedal freeplay/lash (lay on back with feet sticking out the roof, head under steering column, nice).
I gave the whole of the underside a thorough blast off with a pressure washer. Rust is the one thing that worries me about this car.
I removed all the plastic undertrays and arch liners, and the various trims from under the fuel tank/engine etc. Scrubbed all the wishbones and hubs. I'm sure anyone whose done similar knows just how disconcerting it is when you see literal handfuls of congealed mud come out from behind the arch liners.
I also removed the interior B pillar trims, the kick plates, and all the rubber bungs under the underseal in the ends of the box sections to get access to most of the inside chassis rust/water traps.
The car always looked fine on the outside of the sills but I think I've always been subconsiously nervous about checking it thoroughly.
It seems I've got lucky. The sills appear to be solid and peeking inside only shows up the occasional small spot of dusty muck - its otherwise clean, grey galvanized steel. Very relieved.
The seams between all the panel joins all seem good and solid.
Some of the chassis runners on the bottom of the car have had a bit of a bashing (speedbumps plus its pretty low) but even on the areas where a bit of underseal has fallen away its still solid, unrusted metal.
The sill seams where the jacking points are are a bit battered - the drain holes look a bit crushed and they have squashed/folded a bit where the jack sits. I will encourage(hammer) these back to shape before rust treatment and coating. My only problem is how to do this... when this is the part of the carthat is resting on the jackstands.... Hmm?
The wishbones and subframes all look pretty solid, just with a lot of muck, filth and a touch of surface rust on the bare edges. The Arbs look a bit knackered, there very thin and the pain is very cracked nad flaky where they twist. The ARB bushes look absolutely b
ksed, you can see daylight through them, so the ARBs wont be doing much when your actually driving other than flopping about. The rest of the bushes look ok-ish but they are no doubt very old and saggy. Unfortunately it looks like my lovely Ohlins have come to the end of their life. The springs are rotten, they need new dustboots and one may even be leaking. I've enquired about rebuilds but its going to be £500+ which is brand spanking new coilover money.
So I've got a fair bit of work to do...
- New battery has arrived to be fitted, correct sealed gel type with vent pipe attachement.
-Order brake rebuild kit and fix up front brakes. Maybe HEL braided lines if I have the £££. Flush through and bleed up all round.
- Rebuild aerial mast
- Clean out boot floor, treat and protect
- CAS o-ring replace
- Flush coolant and refill. will probably remove the thermostat and clean the top hose/thermostat out aswell.
- Clean all interior carpets, boot lining, seats, mats.
- Re-grease and reseat the window sliders (they are slooooow)
- £80 worth of Dinitrol products on their way for the chassis. Will scrub down, kill the rust, wax over then re-paint with fresh shiny black chassis paint.
- Full service, oil, plugs, filter, reset base timing and idle control, gearbox and diff oil.
- Clean engine bay, degrease, rinse, protect.
- Sort out the suspension. New bushes needed really, will get a set ordered. ARBS and wishbones need treating painting, will do all this woth POR15 metal ready and POR15 Silver paint probably
- Dampers+springs. May go 2nd hand as this is going to be a big cost. Alternative is to wait until car is drivable, and Audi is sold, then Ideally I'd like Koni Sports with some relatively low rate springs, teamed up with stiffer ARBs for a nice plush but flat road setup with plenty of clearance (current Ohlins use 400+ lbs/inch springs in the front from what I can work out - way too hard - but with stock spaghetti ARBs - better for track than road).
- Alignment again, when appropriate.
- Purchase and paint headlight shrouds (mine are missing).
- Spring clean the exterior, wheels, hood and bodywork. Machine polish and lots of nice hard wax to suit the black paint - so it will look like it does in those pictures up there again!
Thats a bit of an epic list but its all doable. I just have to prioritise - primary concern is rust proofing the chassis and getting the brakes rebuilt, As that means I can get rid of said German saloon car and spend the money on this one! Its nearly time of the year when I can ride to work too meaning more time to work on the car.
In typical fashion, it should have been one days work to get he car drivable again but I'm now going completely head on into some kind of mild spring mini-restoration. Hey ho, if your going to do something, do it right and all that.
I managed to get the car into a more useful position on the drive, which was harder than it sounds considering it had one brake seized on, and no running engine (battery is fecked). Anyway, got it all up on stands nice and high for a through inspection.
The rear brakes look ok - I think they've had replacement calipers recently. Front calipers were disgusting, just two lumps of corroded orange lumpy iron.
So I've stripped both them off the car, and the mounting brackets.
I then stripped all the trim out of the boot - because the car has had the wrong type of battery fitted (a bog standard lead-acid) the fumes cause corrosion - you get horrible white corrosive residue on everything. Boot floor is going to be fully cleaned out and probably a new lick of black paint.
Electric aerial mast has been removed to be rebuilt/service - it was dull, slow and grubby with lots of stuck sections and they should be snappily quick, tall, and shiny chrome.
Horrid Caravan style Rear foglight which I bodged on for MOT last year is ripped off - will relocate to centre brake light or RHD reverse light - alternatively I've seen a nice slimline LED fitting on carbuildersolutions.
Under the bonnet I seem to have leaky CAS o-ring, common fail but luckily its piss easy. Rest seems ok, bit worried about the coolant system as despite it being flushed a year ago it looks a bit brown and goopy.
All the interior carpet and seats has pulled out.
Reset the clutch pedal freeplay/lash (lay on back with feet sticking out the roof, head under steering column, nice).
I gave the whole of the underside a thorough blast off with a pressure washer. Rust is the one thing that worries me about this car.
I removed all the plastic undertrays and arch liners, and the various trims from under the fuel tank/engine etc. Scrubbed all the wishbones and hubs. I'm sure anyone whose done similar knows just how disconcerting it is when you see literal handfuls of congealed mud come out from behind the arch liners.
I also removed the interior B pillar trims, the kick plates, and all the rubber bungs under the underseal in the ends of the box sections to get access to most of the inside chassis rust/water traps.
The car always looked fine on the outside of the sills but I think I've always been subconsiously nervous about checking it thoroughly.
It seems I've got lucky. The sills appear to be solid and peeking inside only shows up the occasional small spot of dusty muck - its otherwise clean, grey galvanized steel. Very relieved.
The seams between all the panel joins all seem good and solid.
Some of the chassis runners on the bottom of the car have had a bit of a bashing (speedbumps plus its pretty low) but even on the areas where a bit of underseal has fallen away its still solid, unrusted metal.
The sill seams where the jacking points are are a bit battered - the drain holes look a bit crushed and they have squashed/folded a bit where the jack sits. I will encourage(hammer) these back to shape before rust treatment and coating. My only problem is how to do this... when this is the part of the carthat is resting on the jackstands.... Hmm?
The wishbones and subframes all look pretty solid, just with a lot of muck, filth and a touch of surface rust on the bare edges. The Arbs look a bit knackered, there very thin and the pain is very cracked nad flaky where they twist. The ARB bushes look absolutely b
ksed, you can see daylight through them, so the ARBs wont be doing much when your actually driving other than flopping about. The rest of the bushes look ok-ish but they are no doubt very old and saggy. Unfortunately it looks like my lovely Ohlins have come to the end of their life. The springs are rotten, they need new dustboots and one may even be leaking. I've enquired about rebuilds but its going to be £500+ which is brand spanking new coilover money. So I've got a fair bit of work to do...
- New battery has arrived to be fitted, correct sealed gel type with vent pipe attachement.
-Order brake rebuild kit and fix up front brakes. Maybe HEL braided lines if I have the £££. Flush through and bleed up all round.
- Rebuild aerial mast
- Clean out boot floor, treat and protect
- CAS o-ring replace
- Flush coolant and refill. will probably remove the thermostat and clean the top hose/thermostat out aswell.
- Clean all interior carpets, boot lining, seats, mats.
- Re-grease and reseat the window sliders (they are slooooow)
- £80 worth of Dinitrol products on their way for the chassis. Will scrub down, kill the rust, wax over then re-paint with fresh shiny black chassis paint.
- Full service, oil, plugs, filter, reset base timing and idle control, gearbox and diff oil.
- Clean engine bay, degrease, rinse, protect.
- Sort out the suspension. New bushes needed really, will get a set ordered. ARBS and wishbones need treating painting, will do all this woth POR15 metal ready and POR15 Silver paint probably
- Dampers+springs. May go 2nd hand as this is going to be a big cost. Alternative is to wait until car is drivable, and Audi is sold, then Ideally I'd like Koni Sports with some relatively low rate springs, teamed up with stiffer ARBs for a nice plush but flat road setup with plenty of clearance (current Ohlins use 400+ lbs/inch springs in the front from what I can work out - way too hard - but with stock spaghetti ARBs - better for track than road).
- Alignment again, when appropriate.
- Purchase and paint headlight shrouds (mine are missing).
- Spring clean the exterior, wheels, hood and bodywork. Machine polish and lots of nice hard wax to suit the black paint - so it will look like it does in those pictures up there again!
Thats a bit of an epic list but its all doable. I just have to prioritise - primary concern is rust proofing the chassis and getting the brakes rebuilt, As that means I can get rid of said German saloon car and spend the money on this one! Its nearly time of the year when I can ride to work too meaning more time to work on the car.
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