Refurbishing an MX5: Any advice?
Discussion
Hi all
My girlfriend has had a 1991 MX5 passed down to her. Mechanically it seems in good order: I've driven it for a couple of hundred miles with no apparent problems. Reasonable mileage for that age as well: about 50/60K IIRC.
On the outside, thought, it's tatty. Hood is grubby, patched in a few places and needs replaced. (Possibly just the front portion) Door handles broken (the mk1 MX5 has those fiddly chrome ones). Fuel filler cap broken. Windows are manual and a bit wonky. (Tend to slide down once fully wound up.) Paintwork is (non-metallic) red, faded to pink in places, and there are a few dings in the bodywork. Interior is just grubby, dirty and worn.
So the question is this: is it worth refurbishing the car, and if so, how much is it likely to cost? And how much could be done by myself?
Windows / Door handle / Fuel filler cap - I presume these are easily enough done at home?
Replacement hood - internet suggests that this can be done at home with the right tools and lots of patience? Any ideas on how much a replacement hood might cost? Cheapest I've seen is £340.
Dings - a professional job I presume?
Paint - is t-cut likely to help, or would we be talking about a respray? And how much would that be likely to be?
Interior - any suggestions? How hard is it to fit replacement carpet or seat covers?
Any help would be hugely appreciated. It's a lovely car to drive, and if it can be done up economically it'd be a shame to get rid of it. I'm just afraid of finding out that it'd be cheaper to buy a 1991 mx5 that was already in good cosmetic condition.
My girlfriend has had a 1991 MX5 passed down to her. Mechanically it seems in good order: I've driven it for a couple of hundred miles with no apparent problems. Reasonable mileage for that age as well: about 50/60K IIRC.
On the outside, thought, it's tatty. Hood is grubby, patched in a few places and needs replaced. (Possibly just the front portion) Door handles broken (the mk1 MX5 has those fiddly chrome ones). Fuel filler cap broken. Windows are manual and a bit wonky. (Tend to slide down once fully wound up.) Paintwork is (non-metallic) red, faded to pink in places, and there are a few dings in the bodywork. Interior is just grubby, dirty and worn.
So the question is this: is it worth refurbishing the car, and if so, how much is it likely to cost? And how much could be done by myself?
Windows / Door handle / Fuel filler cap - I presume these are easily enough done at home?
Replacement hood - internet suggests that this can be done at home with the right tools and lots of patience? Any ideas on how much a replacement hood might cost? Cheapest I've seen is £340.
Dings - a professional job I presume?
Paint - is t-cut likely to help, or would we be talking about a respray? And how much would that be likely to be?
Interior - any suggestions? How hard is it to fit replacement carpet or seat covers?
Any help would be hugely appreciated. It's a lovely car to drive, and if it can be done up economically it'd be a shame to get rid of it. I'm just afraid of finding out that it'd be cheaper to buy a 1991 mx5 that was already in good cosmetic condition.
Try these sites:
www.sftmx5parts.co.uk
www.donutz.co.uk
www.mx5oc.co.uk
Fitting carpets and seat covers is easy. Best way to sort the paintwork is to have it "mopped" - basically machine polished.
www.sftmx5parts.co.uk
www.donutz.co.uk
www.mx5oc.co.uk
Fitting carpets and seat covers is easy. Best way to sort the paintwork is to have it "mopped" - basically machine polished.
Think you'll find a decent pro-polish will have it cleaned up to be respectable, might cost you £40 at a valeters.
Price you suggested is about the right price for a hood, I would not suggest its a DIY job, pain in the ass by all accounts.
Not much will ever go wrong mechanically, completely bombproof cars, they need new shocks at about 80k so these might have been done, have a quicky look see whats under there.
Price you suggested is about the right price for a hood, I would not suggest its a DIY job, pain in the ass by all accounts.
Not much will ever go wrong mechanically, completely bombproof cars, they need new shocks at about 80k so these might have been done, have a quicky look see whats under there.
On the basis that I've done one, I'd say an MX5 hood is DIY-able. (Took me a full day with no prior experience and most basic tools.)
You'll see new hoods advertised either with or without what they call a rain rail. This is a flimsy black plastic skirt which is attached to the back edge of the hood by several hammered rivets. If you do as I did and buy a hood without this part included, then you have to try and salvage the (probably knackered) rail off your old hood. I'd strongly suggest paying the extra for a new hood with this part pre-fitted.
Rob.
You'll see new hoods advertised either with or without what they call a rain rail. This is a flimsy black plastic skirt which is attached to the back edge of the hood by several hammered rivets. If you do as I did and buy a hood without this part included, then you have to try and salvage the (probably knackered) rail off your old hood. I'd strongly suggest paying the extra for a new hood with this part pre-fitted.
Rob.
Thanks for the advice everyone... some very useful suggestions and links there. I hadn't realised that you could deal with faded red paint by polishing it down, but since seeing these suggestions I've found a step by step guide at [url]www.totalbmwmag.co.uk/HandsOn/TechNov02.PDF[/url] which gives me the confidence to give it a try.
One question though... the paint is faded on the plastic body parts as well - can these be polished in the same way as the paintwork on the metal?
One question though... the paint is faded on the plastic body parts as well - can these be polished in the same way as the paintwork on the metal?
miniman said:
Try these sites:
www.sftmx5parts.co.uk
www.donutz.co.uk
www.mx5oc.co.uk
Fitting carpets and seat covers is easy. Best way to sort the paintwork is to have it "mopped" - basically machine polished.
www.sftmx5parts.co.uk come highly recommended for hoods. They're cheap and good quality, and they have a network of fitters. I don't have one of their hoods myself, but I've seen both their vinyl and mohair hoods and was impressed...
windandwave said:
Thanks for the advice everyone... some very useful suggestions and links there. I hadn't realised that you could deal with faded red paint by polishing it down, but since seeing these suggestions I've found a step by step guide at [url]www.totalbmwmag.co.uk/HandsOn/TechNov02.PDF[/url] which gives me the confidence to give it a try.
One question though... the paint is faded on the plastic body parts as well - can these be polished in the same way as the paintwork on the metal?
Haven't tried this, but all MK1 MX-5's have a slightly different coloured nose. This is one example where the "colour magic" polish works really well. Just needs reapplying from time to time.
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