[olionabike1]

Okay...

I've been on this forum since around 2013/2014, made many friends and have in all honesty gained some seriously valuable knowledge along the way. This forum as a whole has been the best automotive space I've logged onto and in all honesty is one of the reasons i have bought another MK1 MX5, so lets rewind back to the beginning all those years ago!

2013/2014

Picked up my first MX5, a rusty yet loved silver MK1, and being only 18 years old at the time of purchase it was my only vehicle and my pride and joy, i went as far as i could realistically go with that car (still a build thread on here somewhere) but both time and money held me back along with KNOWLEDGE. I say knowledge because i made a ton of mistakes along the way and subsequently learnt from them, at least i think i did to summarise the car ended up with an original Struvo turbo manifold and downpipe kit accompanied by an old TD04 turbo, and made around 210hp, it felt FAST! being my first RWD and turbo car the whole experience was amazing, the car was stripped out completely with just a pair of cobra Monaco bucket seats (never stripping a road car out again) it ran a set of HSD coilovers and then it was just a GV front lip to finnish it off. It looked good from the outside but underneath it was rotten, botched together with a small budget and ready for car heaven

2015

Bought a crappy ex drift car.... Threw it in the bin...

2016

Purchased another silver MK1 MX5 and this time spent some time and money on making sure that the base car wasn't going to fall apart later down the road. Did a full turbo conversion using a G19 manifold and downpipe along with a reconditioned TD04 turbo and ME221 ECU. This car flew! and with the launch control and anti lag is was a real yobbo car i loved it! However...

At the same time as owning the MK1, i had an FD RX 7 sat in the garage which i was also blowing all my money on, and the time had now come to do the dreaded engine rebuild after losing a rotor at silverstone on a track day, so i put the MX5 up for sale, the car was quickly purchased from the boys at Dream Car Giveaways and this then meant the RX 7 had my full attention.

The engine build went perfectly, i upgraded everything that made sense to upgrade whilst the heart of the beast was out of the car, i decided to go single turbo, V-mount rad setup, big fuel system upgrade and lots of porting. The result was a very healthy 450HP FD which was an absolute animal..... But it didn't hit my G spot quite like the MX5 did. Now i'm not saying the MX5 is better than the FD, if money was no object id have the FD over the MX5 any day of the week, but, we don't live in dreamland.
The FD cost me money every time i drove it, there was always something i needed to do and with the FD its never cheap. I had the FD for 5 years, the longest I've ever owned a car, got it in Banzai magazine which has been a life long dream of mine, amazing car and if you can afford one do it! Bang for buck though, the MX5 wins for me and thats' why i'm here today writing this god awful long thread sorry for the length but i like to document my builds not only for everyone else to see but for me to look back on and see where I've come from. So here is the new build...

Collected on 11/09/2020 this is the first car ive bought which had already been modified, usually i avoid the pre modded cars, but this time, i wanted to save some money and found a car that looked to have been built properly, this car already had the turbo conversion i knew i'd now NEED coming from the FD and it also had a 99% rust free chassis! WIN WIN. i'll let the car do the talking below, not sure if the previous owner is on here but if so, thanks again!

Spec Engine;

1993 MK1 1.8
Garrett GT2560R Turbo 235hp 14psi
Megasquirt MS2 ECU
Forge Actuator
Kraken manifold
V-Band downpipe
Custom intercooler kit
RX8 Injectors
Walbro 255lph Pump
Torsen Diff
Duraflex hard engine mounts (hate these already)
3" Exhaust

Suspension/Wheels/Brakes;

HSD Coilovers
IL Motorsport bushes
Willwood BBK front
Rota RKR 8X15 ET0 wheels
AD08R Tyres all round
Jass performance chassis leg bracing
Whiteline front and rear adjustable anti roll bars

Exterior;

GV front lip
Hardtop
Ducktail spoiler
Destroy or die bonnet
Cut rear bumper
Caged laser rear jacking bar
Jass indicator lenses

Interior;

Nardi wheel
Nrg quick release boss
Corbeau bucket seat (drivers)
Jass seat brackets
Takata harnesses
rear roll bar with harness bar
short shifter with extender and Tegiwa knob

So, plans with the car, the car is already booked in for paint, we are going for a complete colour change including the bay, im not going to say the colour but im sure it will be amazeballs! :rofl:
I plan on swapping out the jass performance side lights for TSI ones and also sort out some new seats.
Ive been toying with the idea of picking up a second engine to do a forged build but that isnt set in stone so we will see, other than that its going to be trying to get some track time in before winter fully sets in
I'll keep everyone updated

Cheers
Ollie

 

[Shadowraven]

Sounds like a pretty well sorted mk1 you have there. Also love the FD, and although Ive never owned one (had an rx8 though) I get where you are coming from with the issues of running costs, it's the main thing that stops me getting one, sadly I feel the ship has sailed for me on getting one prices are just too high now, I just couldn't justify it.

 

[Zed.]

can't fault a Silver 5

Rich.

 

[olionabike1]

Sounds like a pretty well sorted mk1 you have there. Also love the FD, and although Ive never owned one (had an rx8 though) I get where you are coming from with the issues of running costs, it's the main thing that stops me getting one, sadly I feel the ship has sailed for me on getting one prices are just too high now, I just couldn't justify it.

The FD is a brilliant car! But yes, prices have skyrocketed recently, bit like most JDM cars have, mx5s are now starting to do the same, it was only a matter of time but they will slowly rise also fingers crossed haha

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Shadowraven]

Sounds like a pretty well sorted mk1 you have there. Also love the FD, and although Ive never owned one (had an rx8 though) I get where you are coming from with the issues of running costs, it's the main thing that stops me getting one, sadly I feel the ship has sailed for me on getting one prices are just too high now, I just couldn't justify it.

The FD is a brilliant car! But yes, prices have skyrocketed recently, bit like most JDM cars have, mx5s are now starting to do the same, it was only a matter of time but they will slowly rise also fingers crossed haha

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

People have been saying that about mx5s for the 9 years I've been on the forum, true the days of a £300 ebay bargain are gone but there are still plenty under 1500. FDs on the other hand not so much, mostly because of how much rarer they are and people finally understanding what they are capable of rather than just screaming about engine rebuilds, lol.

Interested to see where else you're going to take this car, it sounds really well rounded as it is. Forged engine and wider tyres are about the only thing left ! lol.

 

[Zed.]

the days of a £300 ebay bargain are gone

:blink:

I had a '90 Eunos with hardtop for less a year ago

Rich.

 

[olionabike1]

So a little update;

I've had some time with the car now to understand the things I love and hate about this particular car and I also opened the boot for the first time to discover a rather large subwoofer instant removal and bin!

I also noticed the previous owner had really gone to town with weight saving, even though he rammed a 15kg speaker in the boot, but, I noticed the foot rest had been removed, so I ordered one to then find on trying to fit it that he had cut the studs off hey ho, I can live without one.

Next is the vibrations and rattles, this is by far the worst mx5 I've been in for things rattling, honestly it's actually horrendous, the solid bushes all over definitely won't help this issue but I'm still determined to reduce the rattles as much as possible so that's now on my list.

Now I have 2 questions for you people, my main one and most important being brake caliper clearence? What's acceptable? I will be doing plenty of track time in this and I'm just worried about heat in the calipers/wheel and them subsiqently rubbing, these willwood calipers are super close to the spokes! 0.5mm to be exact with a feela gauge, I've got some 5mm wheel spacers I can slap on but no really wanting to run them, any ideas?

Next question is seats, I'm after something buckety but not necessarily a full bucket, I particularly like the evo 7 recaros (confetti seats)
Think these will fit?

Cheers, that's all for now, I'm enjoying the sun whilst I still can

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Zed.]

oooh, thats close :lol:

if you're a bit commited into a corner & I wonder if the spokes flex slightly opcorn:

get a 2mm spacer in there, wont affect offset worth worrying about AND the wheel-studs will still have enough threads in their nuts to secure the wheels :thumb-up:

Rich.

 

[olionabike1]

Exactly what I'm worried about, I don't want my trip to the ring to end before it's even started I'll source some 2mm spacers, hardly a massive width change

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Scotty Dugg]

RKR's really suit a mk1, looks a great starting point. Interested to see what colour you choose.

FD looked really good also.

 

[Shadowraven]

I think the recommended brake clearance is 1/4". With sticky tyres I get enough flex in the brakes to close a 5mm gap, the clearance you have now would definitely be in danger of rubbing. The other risk is debris becoming jammed in the gap.

Regarding seats, I think the max width at the shoulders is 57cm before they foul on the doorcards for a mk1, you can go to 60cm if you trim the door card (I have Corbeau Sprints). I'm not sure what the max base width is, mine are 48cm and they sit against the tunnel, I wouldn't risk going wider. The passenger side tunnel is a different shape and has less clearance I would only bother with the drivers side.

 

[olionabike1]

I think the recommended brake clearance is 1/4". With sticky tyres I get enough flex in the brakes to close a 5mm gap, the clearance you have now would definitely be in danger of rubbing. The other risk is debris becoming jammed in the gap.

Regarding seats, I think the max width at the shoulders is 57cm before they foul on the doorcards for a mk1, you can go to 60cm if you trim the door card (I have Corbeau Sprints). I'm not sure what the max base width is, mine are 48cm and they sit against the tunnel, I wouldn't risk going wider. The passenger side tunnel is a different shape and has less clearance I would only bother with the drivers side.

Thanks for that info mate! Will definitely be sourcing some wheel spacers or maybe use the ones I have, we'll see, Currently on the look out for a driver's seat only now as to be honest the standard seats are so bloody comfy! Be nice to let the missis enjoy comfort

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[olionabike1]

So today, being that it has been awful weather I decided to give the car a good clean inside and out, quick wash outside then into the garage to dry and then begin the interior, no more mods have been added as still looking for a suitable replacement driver's seat, although I have now added new floor mats to my list as the ones I have pulled out are well past their use by date! Also tempted to swap out the jass performance sidelights for some TSI style ones.
Just a few pics below (sorry about the messy garage )

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Zed.]

sorry about the messy garage

I call hossshit :lol:

I'll match & raise you...


Rich.

 

[olionabike1]

sorry about the messy garage

I call hossshit

I'll match & raise you...

Rich.

Wow! No more words needed

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[dadbif]

Looks homely to me ????

 

[olionabike1]

Just put a rather large order in via jass performance, I'm a sucker for paying for next day delivery too hopefully it's all here by Thursday ready for the weekend oh and an order placed to rev limiter, that obviously won't be here for a while being made to order and from the USA but they are well worth the wait! Had a set of Adams gauges in my last 5 and they really set the interior off and make it feel like your own.
Also grabbed some oil and a filter for a quick oil change for over winter, not sure the car will be used very much as only get it out in dry weather but there you go, will go 10w 50 in the spring ready for track day season

Still looking into seat options, think I'll be waiting for corbeau to release there new clubsport range later in the year.

I'll update with pics of the new goodies when they arrive

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[lozd]

Hi I’m the previous owner! Love to see it’s being looked after, I don’t suppose you want to sell it back to me? I really miss it and since it went it has really left a hole I’m garage 😂