Varjak's Ultimate NA
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:03 pm
Hi guys, thought it might be nice to share my project with you all. In June '10 I bought a '97 NA8 which is slowly being transformed into my ultimate MX-5!
Firstly, a bit of my MX-5 history. Bought my first in 2002, a 1991 NA. Previously an MG nut (2 Midgets and a BGT), I needed an everyday equivalent that didn't need a garage or tinkering to keep running. I haven't looked back.
6 years and 120,000 MILES later (and it had 90,000 miles on when I bought it!) I found myself in Australia starting a new life. Most excitingly, I needed a new car. Some familiarity was sought so rather predictably, I found my English NA's long lost Aussie cousin, an '89 NA6 with a new paint job and some blingly wheels.
Yeah, the wheels looked great but they knackered the ride and it was.. so.... s-l-o-w. So in late 2009, as a 30th birthday present to myself, I decided to buy a shiny new (used!) NC!
I duly sold the NA and congratulated myself on having saved hard and upgraded to a faster, newer, more comfortable and slightly more practical model. But something was missing. The NC is a fine machine and arguably, more capable in almost every respect over the NA. But we all know, a car's character is so much more than the sum of it's parts. It just wasn't as fun as my NAs. So after a few months I started to think about going back to the tried and tested formula.
Come June '10 I had heard of some bargains to be had at auction, following the hail storms we had in March. I took a look and followed a couple of auctions on line. Hail damaged repairable write-offs indeed were going for thousands less than their dent-free equivalents. I spotted what seemed on paper to be a hidden gem of an NA coming up the next week so I traipsed down to a muddy field in Melbourne's north west to take a look. Amongst the Corollas and Falcons, this is what I found:
It was in a sorry state but beneath the muck and the hail dents was a '97, last of the line NA8, limited edition Neo Green with 88,000kms on the clock and in original, unmolested condition. If I could snap it up for a bargain price, I would have a very nice basis for a restoration job and the chance to own, in my humble opinion, the best and most desirable of all NAs.
The hammer went down at $3800 and it was mine. Bidding at auction is a blast, I highly recommend it! I hadn't dríven the car and had only spent 20 minutes doing an inspection, I wasn't sure if it would even start but start it did and much to my relief, everything worked. I drove it back and cleaned it up to inspect my purchase properly.
The good: all original, no nasty mods, full working order, strong mechanicals. The bad: neglected, damaged paint on most panels, clear coat gone in some areas, hail dents all over, not too bad but enough to need some work on each panel. Water damage due to cracked rear screen. Plenty of work then!
It looked like it had been sitting outside under a tree for many months, there were leaves composting in the fenders and under the hood, it needed a lot of clearing out. Here is how it looked when I got it home:
Grr, 5 pictures limit per post! More to come!....
Firstly, a bit of my MX-5 history. Bought my first in 2002, a 1991 NA. Previously an MG nut (2 Midgets and a BGT), I needed an everyday equivalent that didn't need a garage or tinkering to keep running. I haven't looked back.
6 years and 120,000 MILES later (and it had 90,000 miles on when I bought it!) I found myself in Australia starting a new life. Most excitingly, I needed a new car. Some familiarity was sought so rather predictably, I found my English NA's long lost Aussie cousin, an '89 NA6 with a new paint job and some blingly wheels.
Yeah, the wheels looked great but they knackered the ride and it was.. so.... s-l-o-w. So in late 2009, as a 30th birthday present to myself, I decided to buy a shiny new (used!) NC!
I duly sold the NA and congratulated myself on having saved hard and upgraded to a faster, newer, more comfortable and slightly more practical model. But something was missing. The NC is a fine machine and arguably, more capable in almost every respect over the NA. But we all know, a car's character is so much more than the sum of it's parts. It just wasn't as fun as my NAs. So after a few months I started to think about going back to the tried and tested formula.
Come June '10 I had heard of some bargains to be had at auction, following the hail storms we had in March. I took a look and followed a couple of auctions on line. Hail damaged repairable write-offs indeed were going for thousands less than their dent-free equivalents. I spotted what seemed on paper to be a hidden gem of an NA coming up the next week so I traipsed down to a muddy field in Melbourne's north west to take a look. Amongst the Corollas and Falcons, this is what I found:
It was in a sorry state but beneath the muck and the hail dents was a '97, last of the line NA8, limited edition Neo Green with 88,000kms on the clock and in original, unmolested condition. If I could snap it up for a bargain price, I would have a very nice basis for a restoration job and the chance to own, in my humble opinion, the best and most desirable of all NAs.
The hammer went down at $3800 and it was mine. Bidding at auction is a blast, I highly recommend it! I hadn't dríven the car and had only spent 20 minutes doing an inspection, I wasn't sure if it would even start but start it did and much to my relief, everything worked. I drove it back and cleaned it up to inspect my purchase properly.
The good: all original, no nasty mods, full working order, strong mechanicals. The bad: neglected, damaged paint on most panels, clear coat gone in some areas, hail dents all over, not too bad but enough to need some work on each panel. Water damage due to cracked rear screen. Plenty of work then!
It looked like it had been sitting outside under a tree for many months, there were leaves composting in the fenders and under the hood, it needed a lot of clearing out. Here is how it looked when I got it home:
Grr, 5 pictures limit per post! More to come!....
