I had always known about the MX5 but never given it any attention or known much about them, until recently. I started seeing more and more photos popping up on my FB newsfeed and loved the look of them. I have always been a fan of the RX7 FD and Honda S2000, so it's no wonder I liked the MX5.
I started my research on Wikipedia and soon learnt about the different models and found out that it was the NA that I had been seeing. I searched for more pictures of the NB but quickly didn't like the look of the headlights. I can appreciate that they are a great car and I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, but personally they remind me too much of the Hyundai Excel X3 headlights, and I hate Excels. As the NB is very similar to the NA, I love the rest of the body, but prefer the pop up lights of the NA. I still love seeing what other people do with the NB's but I don't want one for myself.
Once I started looking into the cars a bit more, I realised how good of a track car they make which is exactly what I have wanted to get into since I was a kid. Then the next greatest thing about them was the price. From what I can see, you have a great platform at a cheap price and I think they are under valued.
Originally when searching for the right MX5 to buy, it seemed like the only color available was red haha. I quickly hated red and wanted either black, white or silver (note: I have since seen many great builds in red, and I know like it).
I found a 1990 Silver Eunos Roadster with Hardtop for sale locally and went to have a look. My mate's father got excited when I told him we were going to look and he wanted to come. I said yes but told him I don't have the money right now to buy this one, but I wanted to have a look at it and go for a test drive anyway as I had never dríven one before. After me and my friend had gone for the test drive, I told the dealer that I will have a think about it etc. and as we walked away, his father was still standing next to the car. I looked back and he said "Aren't you buying it?", I laughed and said, "I am going to have a look at a couple more first" then he said, "If you don't buy it, I will". We thought he was joking but when we got home he was telling his wife how much he wants it and was trying to convince her. My friend and I thought it would be good for him, as he is now 75 years old and he loves building things around the house and getting into the paddock down the back and working etc. But for the past year he has had to hold back a little as his body can't do what he wants to do. The next day he went and had another look with his wife. He was there for about an hour and we called him and he had bought it and he asked us to come pick it up for him. Once we got it home, he went for a little drive and them parked it in the driveway. He was out the front for a few hours just looking at it
. So its safe to say, he loves it.Anyway, back to my continued searches. After driving the Silver Roadster, it felt great but I felt it was lacking a bit of power. I started doing some more research as to what engine would be good to swap in when I buy one. I liked the idea and the simplicity of the 1.8 but wondered if it would still not be enough. I looked into how much a turbo kit or supercharge kit would be and have left it at that as I then found the US thread for the K20/24 swap and quickly wanted one. I showed another friend that loves Hondas and he loved the swap. I looked into it more and found that the kit offered by KMiata will not work with RHD cars. Then I saw the MONDA thread here on these forums and now I have some hope. I love the idea of N/A raw power + VTEC, with plenty of headroom.
Soon I found the right car for me on these forums. It is a White 1990 NA6 with a broken engine at a great price. This was perfect as I wanted to do an engine swap for something with a bit more go. The car was located in Harvey Bay, which is a 9+ hour round trip from the Gold Coast. We left at 5.30am yesterday and got home at about 4pm with the car. I decided to call the car "Snowflake"
After talking to my mate that I live with who owns an Evo VIII, he said until the RHD K20/24 swap kit is available from BYP and I save enough to do the swap, I should just chuck in either a 1.6 or a 1.8 so I can at least enjoy the car for what it is and maybe even do a couple of days at the track with him and another friend we have who races a cobra. I think this may be the best option for now but am having trouble deciding which one to take..
Option #1
1.6 Long nose (150km) from MX5plus for $990 which should be a clean swap for the old if I am not mistaken + New timing belt kit/ water pump etc. = Around $1,300 total.
Option #2
1.6 Short nose (95km) from wreckers for $650 + New timing belt kit/ water pump etc. = Around $950 total.
Option #3
1.8 (89-97) for around $1,300 + FM 1.8 swap kit for ~$220 + 94-97 Exhaust headers, downpipe and cat + New timing belt kit/ water pump etc. + anything else I am forgetting? = Roughly $2,000-$2,200 total.
Either swap I do will be left N/A while I save for the K20/24 swap but I am unsure if it would be better to spend the extra $800-$1,000 now for the 1.8 swap or put that money towards other things like; Hardtop, LSD, Wheels/Tyres etc.
Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated and I will keep this thread updated with any more progress as it happens
Here is a couple pics of Snowflake on the trailer when we loaded it up:
I am on the Gold Coast but can travel up to Bris.. What gearbox are you running in that one?
