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Roadsternut
I've been around the forums for a long while, with different user names. Never really documented my Roadsters before. So each of these will be by year, starting in 1997. (well, first chunk cover 1997-2000)
November 1997. I had returned to the UK after a spell working in the US, to a new job in Ireland. Cash flow due to the move meant I had to make do with a Peugeot 309 GTi for a while; ultimately forgettable, so after 6 months, I was hankering after a change. Then I happened upon a 1992 silver stone Eunos Roadster, fresh off the boat from Japan, and being utterly mint condition.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...al/oldsaz3.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...al/oldsaz1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...cial/03_03.jpg
Being a bit green in all things Roadster (prior to 1997, the MX5 didn't even register with me as a car), it took me a while cotton on to the fact that this innocuous looking Roadster was very nicely specified with 15" Watanabes, RS8R 4-2-1 header, Fujitsubo FGK exhaust and a Mmm's K&N intake.
I gradually got more an more involved with the MX5 scene, eventually running the MX5 Owners Cub in Northern Ireland. I didn't do a whole lot with this car, except add an aluminium Carbing style bar (which can just about be seen in the photo below), and strip the Wats, repaint them black with a polished lip, because thats what everyone else was doing at the time.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...illenOct99.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...l/stylebar.jpg
http://www.mx5ireland.com/gallery/misc_old/m05.jpg
But, then, in April 2000, disaster struck. At a MX5 meet, car thieves took my car, raced it, and torched it. We found it, 30 minutes later.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...hednburned.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ednburned4.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ednburned3.jpg
The insurance company gave me a generous settlement, and 6 weeks to find another MX5. And so the hunt began.
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2000.
I found a suitable replacement, with insurance settlement money left over to boot. Minuses; the roof needed replacing, over-sized 17" wheels had been fitted, and the car lowered without changing the shocks (so a -35mm spring turned into a 50mm drop). Pluses; low mileage, Tanabe 4-2-1 header, Remus exhaust, HKS intake. I only had a week to enjoy before flying to LA for a business trip, to spend the left over lolly on a rare Type IV Stylebar from Racing Beat (made for a RHD, returned unsold from their Japan distributor, they just asked me to make them an offer, which I did; $100, whereupon they promptly threw into the deal free hats, and shirts, and a cool factory tour. Nice guys), new hood and strut brace from Duetto (entertaining weirdo ran that place), and bits and pieces from BrainStorm. British Airways raised their eyebrows when I checked all that stuff onto my flight.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...l/DSCN1305.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ecial/saz1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ingBeatbar.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ial/Remus1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n.../SoSengine.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ial/SoSHKS.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...barcloseup.jpg
Then I took it to the Isle of Man on a magical trip organised by the MX5 Owners Club for the Millenium; as part of the trip, the TT Circuit was closed to traffic, and we were waved through by the police to go and enjoy ourselves. Plus I lot my trackday virginity on Jurby, in a car that I had only been driving for 2 weeks.....
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...andsetoff2.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ybattle2-1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ecial/saz8.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n.../ttcircuit.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...al/3amigos.jpg
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After getting back from the IOM, I was determined to do something about the handling; lowering springs, stock shocks, heavy wide wheels = heavy steering, crashy ride and aquaplaning.
First thing was to change the wheels for a set of 14" magnesium wheels; this was back in the days when these were just a cheap used wheel, and I really only intended them as a temporary wheel, until I got something better. But I liked the look of them.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...town2000-1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...stown20002.jpg
I then also added matching front and rear lip spoilers.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...pecial/SoS.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ecial/SoS2.jpg
The dead shocks and springs were thrown out for a set of S-Special Bilsteins and Racing Beat springs.
(years after original fitment)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...5-04-03059.jpg
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2001.
Stripes from Kevin Morrison.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...Whitehead2.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ndMagee3-1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...al/SoSArds.jpg
Then I fitted some gauges in the radio surround, to replace an untidy cubby hole.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...4-09-11013.jpg
Factory knee pad fitted to the speaker cover.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...redaw20017.jpg
A trip to Ka Yu, and I scored an ARC intake; the seller had no idea what it was, he thought I was interested in the AFM attached. A bit dented, but a bargain at $30.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...akeChamber.jpg
Towards the end of the year, and I still wasn't happy about the handling. A Mazda dealer was closing down at Christmas, so the parts manager there, as a final parting shot, got me a set of 15" NB wheels at cost price. Another bargain.
I also went mad, and splashed out on a KG Works stop lamp cover.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...Worksbrake.jpg
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2002. My thoughts were turning to hillclimbs and sprints, after getting bored of a year of trackdays. So I sought out and fitted a 6-point Carbing rollbar.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...l/carbing1.jpg
It needed holes drilling in the floor behind the seats, and cutting back of the shelf, and drilling the monocoque.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...5-04-03065.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...5-04-03067.jpg
This type of rollbar robbed quite a bit of seat travel; the side bars worsened this. Also, it was pretty lethal when it came to proximity to the head.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...l/rollbar1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...al/sidebar.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...4-09-11030.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...09-11014-1.jpg
A TRS 6-point harness was also added, with the shoulder straps mounted direct to the body
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...l/IMGP1454.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...eboltsboot.jpg
I wanted a bit more cold air to the engine; in 2001, vented headlamp covers were in short supply in the UK, so I made one from a spare headlamp lid and a Rover Metro bonnet vent. This idea was later copied (and improved upon) by others.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n.../headlamp3.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n.../headlamp4.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...adlampvent.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ampvent3-1.jpg
It was functional.
To sort out the lethal rollbar, besides padding, I wanted a lower seat. Autolinkuk sent me a couple over to choose from. I opted for the tatty looking Ligier G-Hold; held me in superbly, plus was mounted very low on a Bride subframe.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ksprint9-1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...sprint11-1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...atsseat009.jpg
My first event, issued a number 26 for the season.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...acenumbers.jpg
My first event was the Cultra Hillclimb, which lays claim, along with some others, to be the oldest car race in the world.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ecial/saz4.jpg
Later on in the year, a bit of bling, and a bit of functionality.
A Knight Sports anodized billet oil cap
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...4-09-12016.jpg
Okuyama-Carbing triangulated brace made for RS Aizawa; purchased mainly to firm up the brakes.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...4-11-07123.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...4-11-07124.jpg
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2003. Bit of a quiet year;new job in a different country.
Really, all that happened is that the car clocked up a huge mileage, and it gotten partly destriped; I had gotten bored of stripes, and started to peel them off, only to find, to my horror, the amount of fade that had happened to the bumpers. Not ready for a respray, so the stripes became a stripe.
A day at Silverstone
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ecial/saz6.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ecial/saz9.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...irksprint2.jpg
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2004. The car was now looking very tired; I had clocked up 80k miles in 4 years, and that involved some hard driving. So it went in for a respray. Came back looking fantastic.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...4-09-12076.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...4-09-12077.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...wilightsaz.jpg
This car's days of motorsport were over.
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Nice build so far. Sucks about your first one though.
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2006.
I wanted a GHO1001 bumper, then I found MX5Roadsters was importing a batch via RS Aizawa. Order was placed.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...II/gho1001.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...IM0002mn06.jpg
MX5Roadsters also arranged for it to be painted in Montego Blue. The batch was great. I decided against paying for the Mazda-specific Cibie spots (£400 a set!), opting to try and locally source suitable lamps. My first Wipac lamps were a bit undersized compared to the pukka item,
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/IMGP1038.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/IMGP1040.jpg
After a few months, disaster with the GHO bumper.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/IMGP1078.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/IMGP1082.jpg
These bumpers are very bottom heavy, and, unlike the factory version, GHO does not supply extra bracing. It was decided that as the cracking was deep and on both sides, the bumper was beyond repair. A stronger and lighter replica was made in Kevlar/carbon fibre.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/IM000303.jpg
Also added were Apex'i shocks and matched springs.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...20II/Apexi.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...0II/a3_1_b.jpg
A tan factory hod was fitted:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMGP1044-2.jpg
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2008.
Upgraded the suspension to Performance5 Puredrives; these combined an adjustable Protec Aluminium shock with bespoke pigtail springs, and NB tops.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...P1020692-1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...P1020697-1.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/P1020696.jpg
The year ended with an engine out of a RS-Limited being fitted to replace the embarrassing smoking motor.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...gine2008-1.jpg
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2009.
Time to respray the car. The metalwork, after 220,000 kms (in 2005, it had 90,000 kms), was looking tired; scratches, dings, and a rust hole on the rear sill. The Kevlar/carbon fibre bumper; battered. Plus to cap it all, a blow out nicely chewed up a wheel arch.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/P1040671.jpg
During the respray, took the opportunity to get a rare Rod Millen boot spoiler fitted.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/P1050166.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...I/P1060045.jpg
A Nardi Classico also replaced the factory Momo steering wheel
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...ngwheel014.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...eringwheel.jpg
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