Plan less, drive more... Jace's NA6

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:53 pm

After an epic day of travelling, picked up my second NA6 from the other side of Melbourne.

I forgot why I sold my last one, so I'm having another crack.

Enter stocker, got it for $6k with 6 months reg. and a RWC.

It's right on 200k, so need for a major service was my bargaining chip. Going to do the t/belt and waterpump, brake fluid, gearbox and diff oils in the next week or two.
It won't be long 'til it needs a clutch, I have a lot of catching up to do in a RWD car

All ^those pics are pre wash, the thing is filthy because it hasn't been used properly for a while.

My sis fell in love with it instantly and chamois'd it for me, then started on the interior.
R
Bit cleaner:

Times have changed since my last roadster.
Lots more younger guys with 'em, parts availability is killer now, I have a lot more mechanical aptitude and evolved and defined taste, and the bloody dashboards now crack!!!

On their way to me are F&R OEM lips (saved $350 even after shipping by not buying from mania), some wheels from Japan that I'll keep a surprise, Zoom eng fuel lid thanks to *shadow run*, got a replacement stock momo steering wheel to replace the thrashed one in the car thanks to another forum member. Just finished cleaning that and repainting the rusty bolts for it as it got dark tonight.

I have an assload of plans. For now I have a heap of cleaning to do, think of this project as a resto-mod.

More soon.

- Jace

taminga16 · Postby **taminga16** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 9:59 pm

Neat.

davidau · Postby **davidau** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:45 pm

Nice car hope to see you in one of the garage cafe night

yem11n · Postby **yem11n** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 7:45 am

Looking good..

Is that an unpainted OEM hard top?

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 8:51 am

Thanks guys, long way to go from here though.

Yeah, I will try and get to the garage cafe nights, I can cruise up with Josh (nanotech).

The hardtop looks like it has been painted black over primer that wasn't wet-sanded.

CheyneX5 · Postby **CheyneX5** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:22 am

That would probably be one of the first hardtops then. They gad a textured black finish to replicate the vinyl on the soft top.

I followed your old build thread and am quite thrilled to see what your going to do with this little fellow. I trust it's in capable hands ;)

Looking forward to meeting you at Garage Cafe.

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:41 pm

Same here mate!

The hardtop has definitely been painted by the way... the finish will match Joshes a-pillars so a swap may be in order :lol:

I spent alllll morning cleaning out the interior. I'm an interior guy so it'll get a fair bit of restoration attention.

Nice fix for a shredded lower shift boot...

Dunno what the heck this stuff was, thinking solvent burns

Much better, polished out with Meguiars Plast-x mostly.

Much cleaner, still not perfect though.

Before -> After

If/when I replace the dash all the screws and hardware that's corroded (ie: everything) will be replaced.
The carpet cleaned up better than I thought it would, so when I get around to removing it it should look as good as new after a bit of work.

I repainted a few bits and pieces like the ashtray but mostly screw-heads.

Thinking I'll remove the soft-top after i've given it a good clean, then stash it somewhere warm to preserve it a little bit.

Anybody have any advice on repairing my seats? Not sure if the outer bolsters have collapsed a bit or if the center base foam has sort of shifted across or been squashed on one side, but they don't look right.

I'll probably have more updates soon.

- Jace

mr bender · Postby **mr bender** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 4:57 pm

I really like the idea of Plan Less , Drive more !

looks neater than when you first got it.
goes to show you how fixing small thing makes a big difference!

keep it up :beer:

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 6:48 pm

Thanks mate!

Got to put the car through its paces today, felt good and performed pretty solidly, I'll need to give the front end a go over when i do the service.

DSC_3255 by jaaaace, on Flickr

DSC_3252 by jaaaace, on Flickr

DSC_3249 by jaaaace, on Flickr

Thanks for coming Josh.

You know you've been stuck in a rut when an MX5 feels powerful and fast! :oops:

Consider the lid to the money pit now open!

More soon, going to pay Mazda a visit through the week.

- Jace

ps: 9-11 weeks until my wheels get here!

Caffeine · Postby **Caffeine** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:38 am

Jace wrote:Nice fix for a shredded lower shift boot...

That brown furry stuff is meant to be there, or at least is has been there in every MX5 centre console I've seen pulled apart

Maybe not as much perhaps...

Locutus · Postby **Locutus** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:02 am

Caffeine wrote:That brown furry stuff is meant to be there, or at least is has been there in every MX5 centre console I've seen pulled apart

Maybe not as much perhaps...

yep, it's noise/heat insulation.

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 6:29 pm

Good to see you finally cracked and bought another mx5. Can't wait until the 'mystery wheels' arrive though

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:26 pm

Thanks for that one guys, as little as it does I saved it. Hadn't seen it in my last car.

Visited Mazda tonight and have a couple of NOS parts coming, hopefully picking em up after work tomorrow.

Came home to my F&R lip spoilers. Ordered from Rspeed.net friday night, $460 including shipping, and they arrived today!

Got the front on tonight, even though it's pretty rainy and cold. Lucky I'm still spilling with that 'new-car motivation'!

Was dark by the time i finished but crappy pic for proof:

More (minor stuff) soon no doubt!

-Jace

-alex · Postby **-alex** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:21 pm

Rspeed goodness, mmmm nom

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:50 pm

Well I got onto my rear lip after work today, but realized that i'll either need to remove the mud flaps and detail the questionable paintwork under there, or remove them and modify them (preferred option).

Because my car is white and old, it's had the undercoat failure problems and most of the panels have seen paint. Whoever painted it was a major dipsh't who couldn't apply masking tape properly as there's overspray everywhere and they didn't even bother to remove the mirrors or the plastic door sill scuff plates!

Well anyway I got my bits from the stealer today.

Nothing too exciting, 95-97 tombstone panel for when I get around to installing one of those CD player thingos, new window scrapers (wish i could go buy these for my VW!), pedal rubbers and seat floor bolts (couldn't be stuffed cleaning and painting my ones and they were cheap to replace (and yes I am that anal about my interiors...))

New seals are sooooooooo good!

In even less exciting news, bought some insurance just now.

Just chasing insignificant bits and pieces, if you have an A/C button and mint boot carpet you don't need let me know!

- Jace