mx5cartalk.com

Hey guys,

This is my ’94 Chaste White NA8 Clubman and I’ve decided to post up a build thread of the car (this is my second car and second mx5, first being a ’90 NA6).

Previous mx5cartalk members (not sure of who else has owned this car)
PUR157
cooper1896

Also gave mazda an email to confirm if it is a clubman

Dear Trung

Thank you for your enquiry and confirm the VIN you provided is for a MX5 CLUBMAN 1.8 5SP.

Originally sold by Eurocars Mazda, Artarmon. Our system indicates this vehicle has been owned by 2 owners however this may not be up to date. If we are not notified of the sale then our database may be out of date.

We have no information regarding any additional extras added to this model.

We trust this information is of assistance.

Yours sincerely

My thoughts … the drive home was awesome! It’s exactly what the NA6 should’ve been. The car feels more refined, solid and the 1.8l engine just gives the roadster that extra kick it needs.

For now, I’ll leave you guys with a few pics of the car .. future plans will be kept a secret.

So after having a little drive of the new car, the niggles started to show themselves. After about a few hours, most of it has been sorted however there's still a few things left to do.

So first thing's first, the number plate. I managed to pick up a JDM side mounted number plate bracket awhile back for my old na6, and put it to good use on my na8. Needed to tweak the bracket abit to get it just right, here's a pic.



Also decided to get swap out the factory wheels for some nice set of lightweight rims, nothing more to say except .. hayashi streets.



F: 14x6.5 +13, R: 14x7 +7
Tyres: Kumho K15 175/65/14

Need to get this thing lowered abit more as well.

Picked up a crystal white hardtop about a month ago. Annoyed that the white doesn't match with my na8, however it will have do for now. Hopefully a lightweight carbon one will be on the cards soon enough.



Removed the soft-top as well since the window was torn. Just another excuse to shed some weight i guess. Removal took about 20-30 mins if anyone is interested.



Removed the seats to get at all the filth built up underneath. Found 20cents which meant the car cost me 20cents less!!!! lol.



Gave the car a good wash and vacuumed the carpet, here's the end result so far.



Next up, a good service and some more weight shedding.

Removed the spare, jack and winder to get rid of some dead weight.

After trawling through the mx5 forums for a carbon fibre hardtop, I managed to find myself a CARBON FIBRE HARDTOP!! Only thing was, it was pickup only and located in Melbourne. So I decided to head down to Melbourne with a mate and pickup the hardtop and hang out with a few friends in Melbourne.

Having never dríven down to Melbourne, I thought it would be a hoot to drive. I imagined 8hrs of winding roads that suited the roadster life however I was met with one massive highway, called hume LOL.





My friend warned me of bugs + 110km/h + front nosecone/bar. Not sure if you can see the pic clearly, but all those brown specks on the front bar are dead bugs

Details about the carbon fibre hardtop: Its approximately 6kg, including all the brackets, bolts, window rubbers and a lexan rear window.

It was leaking pretty badly when I purchased it due to the nature of the lightweight 'race' window seals, so I headed down to a local wrecker and picked up some window rubber off some random holden and cut it up to fit. Took me a few goes and shouting to get it to seal perfectly, but in the end it was all worth it.

The carbon fibre has faded overtime so it doesn't look all that appealing atm so I'm tossing between primer + black paint to keep it sleeper or get it re-clear coated to bring back the carbon fibre finish (hopefully).



Next thing on the agenda is wheels. Sold the hayashi's to a member on this forum with an AE82, and cried myself to sleep lol. Unfortunately, with the whole track build theme going on I had to sell the hayashis (albeit fairly light) in order to get something lighter. At this stage, I haven't been able to track down the set I've wanted, so it might be a while till I find the right set of wheels.

Replaced the hayashis with some factory NA8 wheels and headed down to Bridgestone Select Liverpool to buy some new rubber, Bridgestone Adrenalin Potenza RE001 185/60/14 and paid for a wheel alignment as well. The service there is great and I'd recommend it to everyone who's looking at getting Bridgestone wheels fitted, awesome prices as well .. i think.

$99/tyres with NRMA membership
$50 for wheel alignment



The interior has been bugging me for a while, being a smaller car with a purposeful however cramped interior, I decided to go for an M2-1028 theme.

So I went ahead and hacked up the factory tombstone and rear shelf carpet and DIY'ed an M2-1028 tombstone and carpet as well.

itrungs wrote:Removed the seats to get at all the filth built up underneath. Found 20cents which meant the car cost me 20cents less!!!! lol.

You scored better than me, I found a chicken nugget under my passenger

MadMikey wrote:You scored better than me, I found a chicken nugget under my passenger

Haha. I also found $1.15 as well.

UPDATE

Removed dirt, sticks and leaves from inside the fender well liners (driver and passenger side)



Ripped out the dash, seats, centre console, tombstone and etc



Had to sort out all the clips, bolts, nuts and screws (will be sent out to be cleaned, refurbished and plated)



Lots of things in store for this car.

Haven't been able to update this thread in a while.

Here's a pic of the process of bringing the floorpan back to life.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of the floorpan before I started sanding, but you guys should get the idea.





Sanded it down abit more, primed it and then painted it. I headed over to Peps Auto Spares to get 2 cans mixed to the paint code 'PT' or Chaste White. I am very happy with the result.



The dashboard also came out for some love. The removal process is very simple.



Took the dash apart and decided to refurbish the bar attached behind the dash. As you can see, there is way too much rust.



Getting rid of the rust is quite hard. I sanded most of it down first, and then used some rust converter to get rid of the rest. Primed it and then painted is satin black. Unfortunately I can't seem to find a pic of the end result.

Also, got most of the interior bolts zinc plated. I couldn't stand putting the old bolts back into the car. Nice and shiny!



Some late nights working with some food and beers.



And put the car back together. Couldn't wait to drive it after 2-3 weeks of building it.

Was also able to pick up some door weatherstrips for an awesome price off an mx5 member (wassup) ... FREE!!



A few packages came in: steering wheel, bucket seat and lip.

Updates to come. Will also weigh everything I took out and get the car on a weighbridge some time soon.

Will also make a post on the quick-release carpet design I have made.

SNEAK PEAK of the replacement steering wheel


I also picked up this book from an awesome mx5 member (Mr_Q). The first of many.

Great attention to detail, looking forward to more photos.

Thanks Okibi

MadMikey wrote:

itrungs wrote:Removed the seats to get at all the filth built up underneath. Found 20cents which meant the car cost me 20cents less!!!! lol.

You scored better than me, I found a chicken nugget under my passenger

Man was I ripped off ... I only found rust when I removed both of my seats ....

MX's look nice in white, one of only a few cars I like in this color. Looking good.

[quote="KevGoat"} Man was I ripped off ... I only found rust when I removed both of my seats ....

MX's look nice in white, one of only a few cars I like in this color. Looking good. [/quote]

Haha. Don't worry, I found rust as well.

Thanks man, I'm loving the white colour as well.

SMALL UPDATE!!



I don't particularly like the Momo horn button though. Might go for a Mazda horn button, to keep it nice and simple.

I agree, the Mazda one will look neater.

I found $9 in coins when I removed my seats, it paid for the few cans of upholstery cleaner I used

Nice car mate, I'm really enjoying this build thread! I've got a white Clubman also and I'm loving your taste in mods.

Reading this wants me to spend more time working on my own car. Although I'm not as meticulous as you.

I'm keen to see more about your quick-release carpet...

Keep up the great work.

Awesome stuff mate!

I also can't stand old rusty bolts, same goes for any other parts too I guess.

BTW, I'm stealing your centre console carpet idea, doing mine right now!

MrRevhead wrote:I agree, the Mazda one will look neater.

I found $9 in coins when I removed my seats, it paid for the few cans of upholstery cleaner I used

Haha. I used my coins to buy myself an ice-cream lol.

Smacca wrote:Nice car mate, I'm really enjoying this build thread! I've got a white Clubman also and I'm loving your taste in mods.

Reading this wants me to spend more time working on my own car. Although I'm not as meticulous as you.

I'm keen to see more about your quick-release carpet...

Keep up the great work.

Thanks Smacca! I checked out your build thread as well and your car looks mint. Goodluck with the build.

mrpham wrote:Awesome stuff mate!

I also can't stand old rusty bolts, same goes for any other parts too I guess.

BTW, I'm stealing your centre console carpet idea, doing mine right now!

Thanks mrpham! Your build thread is insane.

HAHA, the carpet idea isn't even my own design so it's all good.



Some other parts have come in: 93 LE tie rod ends, secret element tie rods and upper ball joint boots.