So here the story begins!
About 14 months ago, my time with my NA6 roadster came to an end at the hand of Mt. Donna Buang as most of you know. Since then, i have dearly missed owning a 5. About 3 months ago, i decided that i was ready to own another. I started looking at car sales, the forum and other classifieds, as my previous NA6 was in top condition, my standards were high.
Weeks passed and cars went, nothing that really leaped out at me.
Over a month ago now, while browsing through car sales, i found a 1990 Red NA6. It had all the bits, great paint and a straight body. I called the owner and booked a test drive.
31/08/2010
The day began, i had 4 hours sleep and was jittering with excitement! I drove out to Notting Hill where this great little car resided. I also had Ben Sale by my side to help with the inspection of the car.
We were greeted by Dave, the owner. He opened the garage to reveal the car, what a shine! Initial impressions were very impressive. Every panel was straight, the paint was very well maintained and the interior was certainly something to write home about. There were a few little issues, but none to sway the decision.
Next was the test drive. The car turned over smoothly, first time and continued to hum away. The ride was impressive, it was very smooth, had a rich exhaust note and felt right. All components seemed to be in order, however, on right hand turns, there always seemed to be a slight grinding noise (this will be explained in further detail later).
We arrived back and popped the bonnet, the engine bay was immaculate and there was no sign of the Short Nose Crank issue that i had been bitten by once before. I stalled for a long time, checking every little thing on the car.
I then stood back, made and offer and the car was mine!
After sorting out all the paperwork, i went straight out to the MX5 Factory to get it checked out. The guys there were very helpful and confirmed that i had scored a Gem. I booked it in for a service the following week and a full underbody inspection for any gremlins.
After a few days of getting used to having one again, i drove it Garage Cafe to show the weekly vic crew.
Response was good, it felt nice to be back in the fold.
First Bath
I also took the time to alter a few things on my day off...
Removed foam from seats, one of the best free mods for the NA, holds you in very well.
I took the time to peel the silver overlay off the dash, not as hard as i though, came up quite well. I also removed the sun visors.
Next was to detail! I took a quick trip down to Supercrap and bought some meguiars cleaner wax, i will eventually do a proper job with claybar, polish and wax, this will do for now though.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15/09/2010
So, the time came to take it down to the chaps at MX5 Factory for it's first service and check over. This was also the time to start looking for that awful grinding noise it made on right hand turns.
We started with a routine service, change all fluids, safety check etc.
We replaced the AC and Alternator belts as the were old and cracked, we also had to replace part of the intake tube, this is why...
We then went to change the spark plugs, which proved a little more difficult, they had not been changed in a very long time and were some how stuck. with some adjustment to the socket though, we got them out!
The motor was pretty tidy too
I also has this puppy fitted while i was there
Thats all the mechanical stuff done. All was good, runs wonderfully and to confirm, no sign of the SNC problem.
We ran out of time to check everything else, so i booked the car in for another week.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22/09/2010
Off to MX5 factory again!
The main reason this time was to investigate the sound, we took the car into an empty car park, we started to do circles, figure 8's and sweepers. The sound was a loud but deep grinding/bumping coming from the passenger side of the car.
We took the car back and put it on the hoist, the underbody was fully inspected in every nook and cranny.
We did replace the 2 passenger side wheel bearings, these were beyond rooted and were the main cause of the sound (or so we thought)
Getting the rear one out was fun
I took the car back to the car park, full of hope that the noise was gone. First right hand turn... nothing! then..... pushed a little harder... there it was again but significantly quieter and now only from the back.
I was asked to leave the car for a couple of days so they could look further into the issue. The suspension was removed, the wheels were changed, diff and drive shafts were inspected and exhaust was given a quick look over. They still could not find the noise! This was driving me nuts and making me fearful to drive the car even remotely hard.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04/10/2010
I had kind of gotten used to the noise by now, i was just over. I had to go to the MX5 Factory to pay a bill. When i got there, they asked if the could jack the car up. When we got it up there, freddy pointed to the rear subframe bracing, one of the brackets were slightly bent, which caused the exhaust to swing over and rub/knock... FACEPALM!
I was very relieved, i took the car for a quick drive with now rear brace on, as i guessed, noise was completely gone!
The left hand mount was the problem, pic does not show it very well.
Now that i had no front or rear bracing, the car was going in a backwards step, i had a chat to the guys and organised to have some Cusco front and rear tension bars fitted.
And what better way to test out the new bits and celebrate the disappearance of the noise than a good twisty drive!
Thats it for now guys, short term plans are:
-Get some 15" wheels on the car
-Change the roll bar to an NB type BD in black with and NB roof
-NA front lip and a NA boot lip spoiler.
-Get new tombstone, headunit and speakers
Also, some random shots to finish off this huge post!
Thanks for reading!
This will be updated regularly.
