MX5: Budget motorsport for the Gentleman Driver
Discussion
I’m hoping there will be some entertainment for my fellow PHrs in sharing what could well become a multi-year sports-car based story. However, it will become apparent there are likely a few, varying, opportunities for the story to be woefully short!
The background to all this is that I’ve always dreamed of rallying, sparked by my fathers own clubman rally experiences, but I’ve always baulked at the cost! Now, in what I must accept is surely middle age (43 and a half, and counting), I have a few quid to spare, a 12yr old son loafing around the house (the relevance of that will become apparent in due course) and awareness that club motorsport provides some relatively cheap opportunities to try and scratch that itch. I have zero expectations of any level of achievement, rather I fancy doing some skids and having some fun without troubling my local Tesco car park and ending up with an ASBO…
I started pondering an appropriate purchase several months ago and decided I would go one of three ways.
Option 1: a Mk1 Ford Ka. Precious little motorsport heritage, or any other desirable features, but one of these was my first car. I did nearly 100,000 miles in mine, from new, including plenty of spirited driving in the Peak District, so it would have been a safe choice in some ways.
Option 2: an original Mini. Good supply of parts, competition pedigree and overall not *too* expensive. One of the right age could open up entry to some events where more modern cars can’t tread. And with potential to be pressed into service for a continental road trip (if it was good enough for Mr Caine…).
Option 3: an MX-5. In my context ‘The Poor Man’s Mk2 Escort’, but equally a car that could be used for touring adventures…
After a few weeks of scanning Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Autotrader, and Gumtree; during which a few Minis and a couple of Ka’s piqued interest but were snapped up before I could have a look at them, I came to realise MX5’s are more plentiful and available at a range of price points…
The first one I looked at in the flesh, a MK2 1.6 in almost BRG, was nearly snapped up but a looming need for sill repairs made me keep moving on. Crucially however it did give me the opportunity to actually drive one for the first time. In the 10 minutes I had to blat from the vendors driveway, down a couple of narrow lanes and back, I was hooked. Snug, lithe, wind in hair… I quickly came to see why “MX5” is always the answer, I just needed to keep looking…
A few days later a regional MX5 Facebook page threw up another MK2, this a 1.8 special edition, with bodywork rust issues recently addressed. A trek up from Essex to Norfolk on a Monday evening and the seller seemed perfectly reasonable and honest, and the car all I wanted: structurally solid, reasonable provenance, a bit cosmetically tatty, colour matching hard top included in the deal. Perhaps best of all, only a couple of weeks short of a full years MOT which had been passed with no advisories.
Two days later I was back with cash in hand, and I became the proud owner of a rear wheel drive, and a convertible, for the first time in my life…
Obligatory photo at the nearest petrol station included, as I bought something other than diesel for the first time since 2013…
Happy to continue the story if it’s of interest to anyone
The background to all this is that I’ve always dreamed of rallying, sparked by my fathers own clubman rally experiences, but I’ve always baulked at the cost! Now, in what I must accept is surely middle age (43 and a half, and counting), I have a few quid to spare, a 12yr old son loafing around the house (the relevance of that will become apparent in due course) and awareness that club motorsport provides some relatively cheap opportunities to try and scratch that itch. I have zero expectations of any level of achievement, rather I fancy doing some skids and having some fun without troubling my local Tesco car park and ending up with an ASBO…
I started pondering an appropriate purchase several months ago and decided I would go one of three ways.
Option 1: a Mk1 Ford Ka. Precious little motorsport heritage, or any other desirable features, but one of these was my first car. I did nearly 100,000 miles in mine, from new, including plenty of spirited driving in the Peak District, so it would have been a safe choice in some ways.
Option 2: an original Mini. Good supply of parts, competition pedigree and overall not *too* expensive. One of the right age could open up entry to some events where more modern cars can’t tread. And with potential to be pressed into service for a continental road trip (if it was good enough for Mr Caine…).
Option 3: an MX-5. In my context ‘The Poor Man’s Mk2 Escort’, but equally a car that could be used for touring adventures…
After a few weeks of scanning Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Autotrader, and Gumtree; during which a few Minis and a couple of Ka’s piqued interest but were snapped up before I could have a look at them, I came to realise MX5’s are more plentiful and available at a range of price points…
The first one I looked at in the flesh, a MK2 1.6 in almost BRG, was nearly snapped up but a looming need for sill repairs made me keep moving on. Crucially however it did give me the opportunity to actually drive one for the first time. In the 10 minutes I had to blat from the vendors driveway, down a couple of narrow lanes and back, I was hooked. Snug, lithe, wind in hair… I quickly came to see why “MX5” is always the answer, I just needed to keep looking…
A few days later a regional MX5 Facebook page threw up another MK2, this a 1.8 special edition, with bodywork rust issues recently addressed. A trek up from Essex to Norfolk on a Monday evening and the seller seemed perfectly reasonable and honest, and the car all I wanted: structurally solid, reasonable provenance, a bit cosmetically tatty, colour matching hard top included in the deal. Perhaps best of all, only a couple of weeks short of a full years MOT which had been passed with no advisories.
Two days later I was back with cash in hand, and I became the proud owner of a rear wheel drive, and a convertible, for the first time in my life…
Obligatory photo at the nearest petrol station included, as I bought something other than diesel for the first time since 2013…
Happy to continue the story if it’s of interest to anyone
Edited by johnpsanderson on Friday 15th August 08:32
Edited by johnpsanderson on Friday 15th August 08:35
johnpsanderson said:
Option 1: a Mk1 Ford Ka. Precious little motorsport heritage
I think the PH racing team and EnduroKa racing series might disagree. 
I am looking forward to hearing more! I picked up an NB last year after driving my 18 year old son's NB SVT and really enjoying it.
Similarly I found one on marketplace, a non-runner for £900. Just needed a deep battery charge and it was all good! 41k miles and no visible rust, but I have protected anywhere that could (and still might!) rust in the future. I then got offered a 1.8 VVT for £500 from a friend of a friend as he thought I was collecting MX5s. It came MOTd and with a hardtop! Not as good condition though.
You will have a blast, they are so easy to work on, and a great car to drive.
Similarly I found one on marketplace, a non-runner for £900. Just needed a deep battery charge and it was all good! 41k miles and no visible rust, but I have protected anywhere that could (and still might!) rust in the future. I then got offered a 1.8 VVT for £500 from a friend of a friend as he thought I was collecting MX5s. It came MOTd and with a hardtop! Not as good condition though.
You will have a blast, they are so easy to work on, and a great car to drive.
Thanks for the replies, they're encouraging - and I might need a bit of that at times!
So this is where I have a bit more scene setting to do... I'm happy to get my hands dirty but the reality is I'm comparatively cash rich and time poor. I have been gradually grinding away at building a Locost type car over the last decade or more but that's another story, but it means i'm less inclined to spend time spannering on the MX5 and more likely to impose on my local garage, or an appropriate MX5 specialist, for jobs that I could just in theory be doing myself...
That said, i'm still frugal, so faced with a 12V outlet on the dashboard that didn't do much I have already had an interesting few hours learning about: multi-meters and continuity, fusible links, that the 'cigar (another tick in the 'Gentleman Driver' column) lighter' circuit is rated at 20A; and that Halfords consider outrageous prices appropriate for mini-fuse selection boxes...
The TLDR is, I wanted to plug-in a tyre compressor/etc and the 12V socket wasn't working. I've now bodged it by ripping out a safety feature that is intended to prevent overheating, because I didn't want to pay £30 for a replacement part... (You can see why i'm cash rich / time poor!!!).
Next up i'll give an idea of what 'motorsport' looks like in my case...
Rich135 said:
they are so easy to work on
...So this is where I have a bit more scene setting to do... I'm happy to get my hands dirty but the reality is I'm comparatively cash rich and time poor. I have been gradually grinding away at building a Locost type car over the last decade or more but that's another story, but it means i'm less inclined to spend time spannering on the MX5 and more likely to impose on my local garage, or an appropriate MX5 specialist, for jobs that I could just in theory be doing myself...
That said, i'm still frugal, so faced with a 12V outlet on the dashboard that didn't do much I have already had an interesting few hours learning about: multi-meters and continuity, fusible links, that the 'cigar (another tick in the 'Gentleman Driver' column) lighter' circuit is rated at 20A; and that Halfords consider outrageous prices appropriate for mini-fuse selection boxes...
The TLDR is, I wanted to plug-in a tyre compressor/etc and the 12V socket wasn't working. I've now bodged it by ripping out a safety feature that is intended to prevent overheating, because I didn't want to pay £30 for a replacement part... (You can see why i'm cash rich / time poor!!!).
Next up i'll give an idea of what 'motorsport' looks like in my case...
If you can keep the rust at bay (check the chassis legs in the engine bay as well as the sills as its the mot kills them here too) then they will go for ever and love to be thrashed.
For any sort of motorsport you will need a better diff. Non lsd ones are hopeless and lsd ones are usually 'open' now so also no good.
Have had an NA (sold as mot fail on cills for 350), an NB (lasted 1 more mot after i sold it post cill repairs) an NC (great but really very different to na/nb in all respects).
Interested in your plans !
For any sort of motorsport you will need a better diff. Non lsd ones are hopeless and lsd ones are usually 'open' now so also no good.
Have had an NA (sold as mot fail on cills for 350), an NB (lasted 1 more mot after i sold it post cill repairs) an NC (great but really very different to na/nb in all respects).
Interested in your plans !
Really looking forward to your updates and preparation of the car for competition.
Interested to see what type of events you decide to have a bash at.
Always nice to see people entering competitions for the fun, be careful though, easy to get carried away.
Starts with MX5, next year Porsche Cayman and the wallets off to the races.
Enjoy
Interested to see what type of events you decide to have a bash at.
Always nice to see people entering competitions for the fun, be careful though, easy to get carried away.
Starts with MX5, next year Porsche Cayman and the wallets off to the races.
Enjoy
Snap!
I have just bought a 2001 NB Sport, 6 speed and LSD to take sprinting and hill climbing.
Got the car home a few days ago, oil, filter and spark plugs changed. Now on to making it safe so about to order roll bar (favourite is GC Fabrications either a GC2R or GC3) and other bits including a hardtop.
Took it out yesterday and it drives beautifully.
I have just bought a 2001 NB Sport, 6 speed and LSD to take sprinting and hill climbing.
Got the car home a few days ago, oil, filter and spark plugs changed. Now on to making it safe so about to order roll bar (favourite is GC Fabrications either a GC2R or GC3) and other bits including a hardtop.
Took it out yesterday and it drives beautifully.
Sounds like fun. I did my only track driving in a mate's hanging NA MX5.. It looked dreadful, it had to be jump started as it hadn't moved in like a year. Then, we spent the entire day beating the hell out of it on track and it didn't miss a beat. As all the other track weapons fell by the wayside, it just kept on going. It didn't even use any oil. By the end of the day, the rear brakes were almost working.
Hope you enjoy yours.
Hope you enjoy yours.
I fear there may be some disappointment amongst you all as I outline what I have in mind for ‘competitive’ driving, and how much work will go into the car!
My plans for the next few months are very much at the bottom rung of motorsport. Earlier this evening I put in an entry for our first event, which will be a Production Car Autotest on an old airfield site in about 3 weeks time. Some quick YouTubing will give you an idea of what this will entail, as I understand it, it will be a series of fairly short courses; most likely laid out with traffic cones; which I’ll have to navigate as quickly and neatly as possible. In the class I’m entering it’s mandatory to have a passenger; I’m fairly sure this is largely intended so the driver can be under anything from 13 upwards, in my case it’s so I can take my 12 year old son along with me…
My cunning plan is to use this first event as a gateway activity to try and hook said son into the idea that road rallies (navigational events on the public road undertaken late in the evening/into the night) and targa rallies (longer courses, like ‘stages’, laid out on non-public venues, again, mostly going to be old airfields in my area of East Anglia) will be fun.
The point to all of these formats is, they can be undertaken in standard road cars. So the plans for prep at this point in time are absolutely minimal: no cage, no belts, no underbody protection. And equally, no performance mods. I’m going to take my well balanced and nimble sports car, and see how far we can get with “spirited driving”, whilst also being highly mindful that we’ll need it to be in one piece to get home after each event!
Apologies for anyone that was looking forward to a build diary and stories of trick suspension, big brakes and blue printed engines!
Photo of my proto-nav during one of the ‘shakedown runs’ (blats through the North Essex countryside) we’ve done over the last few weeks….
My plans for the next few months are very much at the bottom rung of motorsport. Earlier this evening I put in an entry for our first event, which will be a Production Car Autotest on an old airfield site in about 3 weeks time. Some quick YouTubing will give you an idea of what this will entail, as I understand it, it will be a series of fairly short courses; most likely laid out with traffic cones; which I’ll have to navigate as quickly and neatly as possible. In the class I’m entering it’s mandatory to have a passenger; I’m fairly sure this is largely intended so the driver can be under anything from 13 upwards, in my case it’s so I can take my 12 year old son along with me…
My cunning plan is to use this first event as a gateway activity to try and hook said son into the idea that road rallies (navigational events on the public road undertaken late in the evening/into the night) and targa rallies (longer courses, like ‘stages’, laid out on non-public venues, again, mostly going to be old airfields in my area of East Anglia) will be fun.
The point to all of these formats is, they can be undertaken in standard road cars. So the plans for prep at this point in time are absolutely minimal: no cage, no belts, no underbody protection. And equally, no performance mods. I’m going to take my well balanced and nimble sports car, and see how far we can get with “spirited driving”, whilst also being highly mindful that we’ll need it to be in one piece to get home after each event!
Apologies for anyone that was looking forward to a build diary and stories of trick suspension, big brakes and blue printed engines!
Photo of my proto-nav during one of the ‘shakedown runs’ (blats through the North Essex countryside) we’ve done over the last few weeks….
Edited by johnpsanderson on Monday 18th August 21:41
Interestingly the class I am entering allows almost no modifications of the car in order to keep the costs down and is caught within the road car classification. It is a mix of sprints and hill climbs.
Safety stuff is ok but engine mods are mostly a no no. The class is limited to mk1 and mk2/2.5 MX5 as the Mk3 has a tuneable ecu.
Might be worth looking at as cheap addition to auto tests.
Safety stuff is ok but engine mods are mostly a no no. The class is limited to mk1 and mk2/2.5 MX5 as the Mk3 has a tuneable ecu.
Might be worth looking at as cheap addition to auto tests.
skeeterm5 said:
Interestingly the class I am entering allows almost no modifications of the car in order to keep the costs down and is caught within the road car classification. It is a mix of sprints and hill climbs.
Safety stuff is ok but engine mods are mostly a no no. The class is limited to mk1 and mk2/2.5 MX5 as the Mk3 has a tuneable ecu.
Might be worth looking at as cheap addition to auto tests.
If my son doesn’t take to the left hand seat I had considered sprints, I’m not too far from North Weald which I think has a series, although I suspect our nearest hill climb venue is quite a way away! What series are you going into?Safety stuff is ok but engine mods are mostly a no no. The class is limited to mk1 and mk2/2.5 MX5 as the Mk3 has a tuneable ecu.
Might be worth looking at as cheap addition to auto tests.
ferret50 said:
OP,
I trust and hope that your young lad takes to this and you can get him behind the wheel quickly, as this will make him a safer driver once he holds a road licence.
Following with interest.
Indeed, I am dangling the carrot that “next year you’d be allowed to drive in the Autotest”! I can but hope it goes well…I trust and hope that your young lad takes to this and you can get him behind the wheel quickly, as this will make him a safer driver once he holds a road licence.
Following with interest.
johnpsanderson said:
If my son doesn’t take to the left hand seat I had considered sprints, I’m not too far from North Weald which I think has a series, although I suspect our nearest hill climb venue is quite a way away! What series are you going into?
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