After much painful searching and narrowly missing out on MX5s for sale I came across one that a bloke from work decided to clear a hedge with. It was a perfect base as a 1994 Eunos 1.8 S-Special that was a Cat C due to bent front wings and bumper, damaged headlight, damaged tyre and some dents here and there. The car was well taken care of and has plenty of receipts over the last 7 years.
It was at this stage that a mate who had just garaged his Ford Racing Puma decided he wanted to pitch in and use it at track days too. We drive together on a daily basis and are similar levels of skill so the friendly competition keeps the times down! With more funds and an extra pair of hands we got to it.
So after parting with a small amount of money I towed the car home:
Got it up on a ramp in the wash bay to clean off the nature:
First thing was to get a new T1R to replace the damaged one, luckily the tyres weren’t that old so a new one wasn’t out of place. Pre MOT & VIC check we changed the knackered front wings for some straight ones (stonechip area touched up):
New wings on the car ready for MOT:
Passed the MOT, no advisories:
Now to crack on with the fun stuff! Interior stripped:
A/C fully removed:
New parts stacking up, GRP seats:
Gaz Gold Pro (400lb Front, 300lb Rear):
Mk2 top mounts, Genuine front discs, aftermarket rear discs, Mintex fast road rear pads:
HEL braided lines, Mintex 1144 racing front pads:
Full set of new damper rubbers prior to cutting(!):
Pair of Luke 4-point harnesses:
First thing was to get the GRP seats mounted to the floor, therefore the subframes needed some tweeking. Locator lugs removed and mounts bent horizontal; before:
And after, mounted to the seats:
Mounted in the car:
Car then went off to WT Motorsport for a bespoke cage:
Car then re-stripped and prepped for painting:
Painted black:
Seats padded:
Then to fit the brakes, suspension, braided lines and to flush the brake fluid. Discs painted up in the paint booth!?:
Car up in the air for the big switch out:
Standard springs and dampers out (what a pig of a job) and Gaz in:
Front fully built up:
Rear completed:
How the car then looked:
Next was to tidy up the doors with some 3mm Perspex, pictures speak for themselves:
The car was then ready for its first run @ Abingdon airfield. Was a largely positive run, however an unfortunate off road excursion left the rear subframe slightly bent:
As a precaution this was swapped out:
At the same time the car was stickered up: (Note the Godzilla theme comes from a nickname I got slapped with over here due to a funny photo of me in Japan. Basically it revolves around the fact I am 6'7")
Car then corner weighted and geometry set:
We then took the car to Rockingham for another run last weekend. It went great and is very rewarding to drive. The T1-Rs come on well once they are warm but still feel a little soft in the sidewalls.
I will put a link to trackphotos.co.uk once they are up
Next things to do are more weight savings, Yokohama Paradas, oil change, possibly CAI and then to the Ring on June 11th. Will we make it back???
