Jambon's 95 Eunos Roadster S-Special Type ii
Aug 24, 2018 20:21:56 GMT
onepaintedman, wannabe, and 1 more like this
Post by jambon on Aug 24, 2018 20:21:56 GMT
Just cross-posting from MX5Cashews... Since that site went down recently, possibly like a lot of people I've discovered how nice it is here. So here we go.
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17 July 2017
After a change in circumstances I sold my Kawasaki Ninja and was on the hunt for something with 4 wheels and again Japanese. Considered quite a few old Hondas but in the end the price and grin factor of the MX-5 Mk1 won me over. And the pop-up headlights of course.
Current plan for the car is to generally tidy it up and once that is done then look at handling upgrades. Pretty chuffed I found the exact model and colour I was looking for after reading about the minutiae of the various models/editions. Apologies in advance as it's not going to be the most exciting thread but just want to end up with a fairly original and solid car that's well maintained and handles on rails if possible.
Thought I'd list the starting mods here mainly for my own benefit
- Apexi Induction Kit
- MX-5 Parts stainless catback exhaust
- Fog light removed and wired into rear reverse light using original Mazda dash switch
- Braided brake lines all corners
- Thicker H&R anti roll bars front and rear
- KYB shocks front and rear
- Jackson Racing HT leads
- Team dynamics pro race lightweight 1.2 alloys 15"
- Performance Kumho Ecsta tyres
- Timing mod for 14°
- Pioneer head unit & JVC door speakers
- Slotted discs all round
- Nardi steering wheel
30 July 2017
Had a bit of spare time this weekend so set about cleaning up the previously painted rocker cover and removing the 2 'baby teeth' from the rear. Did attempt to remove the front tow hook but it's beaten me - for now.
Pretty happy with the rocker cover, amazing how much of a difference it can make to the engine bay. Feeling quite motivated to clean up the engine bay and replacing anything that needs attention a long the way.
The air con has long given up the ghost so thinking about removing this to free up some space and possibly make cooling better(?).
05 August 2017
Not a great deal of progress on the Eunos today but did get around to improving the visibility out of the cloudy rear window. Brasso was pretty effective but found it's best to go easy being quite abrasive stuff - you've been warned!
Slowly tidying up the engine bay a bit more but still want to remove the air con when I'm feeling brave but my next priority is addressing some rust on the passenger door before it gets worse.
15 August 2017
I was expecting it to take a lot longer but yesterday found a Montego Blue hardtop with heated rear screen, luckily all clips and pig tail cable were included too.
17 August 2017
Was investigating how easy it is to remove the interior side panels to replace or cut holes to use the hardtop side clamps and discovered this...
Feeling a bit deflated as it's not just surface rust and looks to be quite severe in some areas. Will investigate properly at the weekend but not looking forward to it!
29 August 2017
After investigating the rust wasn't too bad, little did I know the panels could be replaced without any cutting :thumb-up:
I haven't yet fitted the shiny new panels as I want to replace this part too around the rear of the petrol tank but not sure what's it's called - any suggestions very welcome!
Interior side panels cut too and side clamps for the hard top fitted.
03 September 2017
On Friday the postman turned up with the bits I needed to 'delete' the air conditioning. I read a lot of people say it's a 2 hour job - but don't mind admitting it took me all day.
The most exciting bit was finding out if there was any gas left in the system - which thankfully there wasn't.
Having smallish hands helped too which meant I could get access to the condenser through the engine bay. Can't believe how much everything weighed, especially the compressor! Just come back from a tentative test drive and everything seems okay, although measuring the deflection of the new power steering belt was tricky, but hopefully I've got it about right. Oh and obligatory sunny photo after a blast up the A10 to Cambridge yesterday.
17 September 2017
This weekend has mainly been about rust and following the OEM+ theme... I swapped the 330 Deep Corn wheel for a 350 Nardi Gara. I think it makes the interior look a bit more cohesive plus I can now see fuel level and engine temperature!
Thinking jobs on the horizon will be:
- Fast5 alu radiator and water hoses (didn't realise mine isn't supposed to be brown!)
- Cam sensor O ring
- Relay and dash switch to wire up the heated rear window
- Removing the immobiliser
24 September 2017
More tidying up this weekend
Post wash pre-wax trying to hide from the sun
09 October 2017
This weekend's job was flushing the old coolant and fitting the Fast5 radiator/Stoney Racing silicone hoses. Physically I'm broken after spending 2 days under the car, but everything seems to have gone well.
I didn't replace the IACV breather hose as couldn't see how this was possible without taking the engine out. The heater hose behind the crank angle sensor was 'challenging'.
Had to modify one of the fans due to the thicker rad but everything works and now have more confidence in the car for road trips/track come the spring. In the long term might go with slimmer fans as they're now pretty much touching the anti roll bar.
Did reattempt to remove the offside front tow hook as I had the access, but the captive nut in the chassis seems to have broken free... so when trying to unscrew the bolt, the 'captive' nut just spins with the bolt.
You win again baby tooth! Pleased with this weekend's progress and thinking I'll save my money for coilovers come the new year.
Next I'd like to get the heated rear window working and remove the front of the car to repair some rust, but that might be beyond my capabilities.
22 October 2017
5 attempts, several broken drill bits, front of the car removed, strategic angle grinder purchase... and the last tow hook is finally off
As expected almost every bolt to remove the front of the car was rounded in the process or needed to be drilled out, don't know how I've lived without these.
^ The MeisterR coilover fund has also started don't worry
25 October 2017
No new progress just washed the car and took 2 okay photos. Front is coming along but do need to get the holes filled, remove water from o/s front indicator and a grill(e).
07 November 2017
After a few attempts to remove the moisture from the offside indicator it just came back. In the end I just bought a new unit as it was cheap enough
After changing the coolant and the auxiliary pipes I was still getting a leak from behind the rad. I presumed this was an over tightened pipe that had split as nothing was loose.
After investigating, it turns out there's a hole in the thermostat housing itself. Knowing that in order to remove the thermostat housing the cambelt needs to come off, I'm now thinking
this is going to be an expensive job as getting quotes for cambelt, waterpump & thermostat housing change. If I've missed anything obvious here please do let me know!
29 November 2017
Got the car back from a local garage, which touch wood, should finish the major service for a good few miles. Just been for a long overdue drive and forgot how much I've missed it. Now the car is back I've started to look at getting the heated rear window working as it's getting colder. I've installed the dash switch, relay and 10A fuse in the boot but can't get the thing to come on. The switch itself illuminates when the car lights go on, but the HRW icon on the instrument panel itself doesn't light up grrr.
Work done:
- Gates powergrip timing belt kit
- Waterpump
- Thermostat housing
- Crank oil seal
- Cam oil seals
- Rocker cover gasket
New dipstick
Think the diff oil was in need of a change then
![]()
CAS O-ring changed for peace of mind, suspect it was done when the 14 degree timing mod happened prior to my ownership but now I know.
Being so fiddly I accidentally moved the 'shoulders' so had to remove the rocker and CAS cap.
After two days of frozen fingers the MeisterR CRD coilovers are in! Only issues were trying to separate one top ball joint, but after getting the correct tool it took all of 2 minutes.
Also when using the tool it slightly damaged the castle nut which is why I suspect the ball joint itself it just spinning in it's housing when trying to thread the nut on.
As I haven't been able to torque one top ball joint that meant no test drive. For now...
08 January 2018
Forgot to say added new drop links for the front, rears will be swapped soon. I can confirm also the car does have up-rated anti-roll bars front and back too which is nice to confirm.
Not quite as much progress today but new pedal covers, every little helps.
15 January 2018
18 January 2018
01 March 2018
Lack of garage means progress has slowed down a little what with the cold and wanting to use the car everyday. Things that have been done since last update:
- All alloys properly cleaned
- Gearbox 'top end' rebuild with Beatrush brass shifter bushing (didn't want to go the short shifter route)
- Gearbox oil change
- OEM handbrake cover and and suede shifter gaiter
- Roddisons magical mystery brake pads all 4 corners
- Put polyurethane bushes on the rear drop links
- Skidnation delrin door bushes
- New rubber covers for the upper ball joints as they were cracked
- And a track day!
The track day was a success and loads of fun despite coming home a bit early due to snow. The course had changed slightly from the last time I was there on the bike so did take a few laps to unlearn and relearn.
The car performed faultlessly and watching the temperature gauge never moved from dead centre, makes fitting the new rad and hoses all worth it.
After a few laps we turned the damping adjustment on the coilovers to fully hard, which made a big difference. Full hard on the road isn’t a great experience but dare I say it on the track could have probably been even firmer.
The difference between max hard/soft was night and day, seems like just the right amount of compromise for me personally.
No doubt the best part of the car was the handling, the coilovers, bigger anti roll bars, polyurethane droplinks, various braces, and derlin door bushes (believe it or not) all felt awesome.
I expected the Kumho tyres to be the weak link but was impressed just how much grip they had for road tyres, especially being so cold.
The Roddisons brake pads were brilliant although need to slightly tighten the handbrake I think after fitting them. They feel like there’s less instant ‘bite’, but when you push hard on the brake they’re better with a bit more feedback.
Power on the other hand… Yeah the car doesn’t have much low end grunt and you really have to wring its neck to get any kind of performance. It felt fast but only overtook one car, a 944S which probably had a mechanical.
Overall really happy with the car and satisfying to see the upgrades so far being worth it.
24 August 2018
Where did 5 months go? I would have posted earlier but couldn't muster up the enthusiasm what with the forum being broken etc.
Anyway... as predicted not too much has happened:
- New fuel filter
- New Ford Maverick washer jets
- Sorted the scraping noise when turning the steeling wheel
- GC Fabrications roll bar
- Squidgy Robbins rain rail
//////////////////////////////////////////
17 July 2017
After a change in circumstances I sold my Kawasaki Ninja and was on the hunt for something with 4 wheels and again Japanese. Considered quite a few old Hondas but in the end the price and grin factor of the MX-5 Mk1 won me over. And the pop-up headlights of course.
Current plan for the car is to generally tidy it up and once that is done then look at handling upgrades. Pretty chuffed I found the exact model and colour I was looking for after reading about the minutiae of the various models/editions. Apologies in advance as it's not going to be the most exciting thread but just want to end up with a fairly original and solid car that's well maintained and handles on rails if possible.
Thought I'd list the starting mods here mainly for my own benefit
- Apexi Induction Kit
- MX-5 Parts stainless catback exhaust
- Fog light removed and wired into rear reverse light using original Mazda dash switch
- Braided brake lines all corners
- Thicker H&R anti roll bars front and rear
- KYB shocks front and rear
- Jackson Racing HT leads
- Team dynamics pro race lightweight 1.2 alloys 15"
- Performance Kumho Ecsta tyres
- Timing mod for 14°
- Pioneer head unit & JVC door speakers
- Slotted discs all round
- Nardi steering wheel
30 July 2017
Had a bit of spare time this weekend so set about cleaning up the previously painted rocker cover and removing the 2 'baby teeth' from the rear. Did attempt to remove the front tow hook but it's beaten me - for now.
Pretty happy with the rocker cover, amazing how much of a difference it can make to the engine bay. Feeling quite motivated to clean up the engine bay and replacing anything that needs attention a long the way.
The air con has long given up the ghost so thinking about removing this to free up some space and possibly make cooling better(?).
05 August 2017
Not a great deal of progress on the Eunos today but did get around to improving the visibility out of the cloudy rear window. Brasso was pretty effective but found it's best to go easy being quite abrasive stuff - you've been warned!
Slowly tidying up the engine bay a bit more but still want to remove the air con when I'm feeling brave but my next priority is addressing some rust on the passenger door before it gets worse.
15 August 2017
I was expecting it to take a lot longer but yesterday found a Montego Blue hardtop with heated rear screen, luckily all clips and pig tail cable were included too.
17 August 2017
Was investigating how easy it is to remove the interior side panels to replace or cut holes to use the hardtop side clamps and discovered this...
Feeling a bit deflated as it's not just surface rust and looks to be quite severe in some areas. Will investigate properly at the weekend but not looking forward to it!
29 August 2017
After investigating the rust wasn't too bad, little did I know the panels could be replaced without any cutting :thumb-up:
I haven't yet fitted the shiny new panels as I want to replace this part too around the rear of the petrol tank but not sure what's it's called - any suggestions very welcome!
Interior side panels cut too and side clamps for the hard top fitted.
03 September 2017
On Friday the postman turned up with the bits I needed to 'delete' the air conditioning. I read a lot of people say it's a 2 hour job - but don't mind admitting it took me all day.
The most exciting bit was finding out if there was any gas left in the system - which thankfully there wasn't.
Having smallish hands helped too which meant I could get access to the condenser through the engine bay. Can't believe how much everything weighed, especially the compressor! Just come back from a tentative test drive and everything seems okay, although measuring the deflection of the new power steering belt was tricky, but hopefully I've got it about right. Oh and obligatory sunny photo after a blast up the A10 to Cambridge yesterday.
17 September 2017
This weekend has mainly been about rust and following the OEM+ theme... I swapped the 330 Deep Corn wheel for a 350 Nardi Gara. I think it makes the interior look a bit more cohesive plus I can now see fuel level and engine temperature!
Thinking jobs on the horizon will be:
- Fast5 alu radiator and water hoses (didn't realise mine isn't supposed to be brown!)
- Cam sensor O ring
- Relay and dash switch to wire up the heated rear window
- Removing the immobiliser
24 September 2017
More tidying up this weekend
Post wash pre-wax trying to hide from the sun
09 October 2017
This weekend's job was flushing the old coolant and fitting the Fast5 radiator/Stoney Racing silicone hoses. Physically I'm broken after spending 2 days under the car, but everything seems to have gone well.
I didn't replace the IACV breather hose as couldn't see how this was possible without taking the engine out. The heater hose behind the crank angle sensor was 'challenging'.
Had to modify one of the fans due to the thicker rad but everything works and now have more confidence in the car for road trips/track come the spring. In the long term might go with slimmer fans as they're now pretty much touching the anti roll bar.
Did reattempt to remove the offside front tow hook as I had the access, but the captive nut in the chassis seems to have broken free... so when trying to unscrew the bolt, the 'captive' nut just spins with the bolt.
You win again baby tooth! Pleased with this weekend's progress and thinking I'll save my money for coilovers come the new year.
Next I'd like to get the heated rear window working and remove the front of the car to repair some rust, but that might be beyond my capabilities.
22 October 2017
5 attempts, several broken drill bits, front of the car removed, strategic angle grinder purchase... and the last tow hook is finally off
As expected almost every bolt to remove the front of the car was rounded in the process or needed to be drilled out, don't know how I've lived without these.
^ The MeisterR coilover fund has also started don't worry
25 October 2017
No new progress just washed the car and took 2 okay photos. Front is coming along but do need to get the holes filled, remove water from o/s front indicator and a grill(e).
07 November 2017
After a few attempts to remove the moisture from the offside indicator it just came back. In the end I just bought a new unit as it was cheap enough
After changing the coolant and the auxiliary pipes I was still getting a leak from behind the rad. I presumed this was an over tightened pipe that had split as nothing was loose.
After investigating, it turns out there's a hole in the thermostat housing itself. Knowing that in order to remove the thermostat housing the cambelt needs to come off, I'm now thinking
this is going to be an expensive job as getting quotes for cambelt, waterpump & thermostat housing change. If I've missed anything obvious here please do let me know!
29 November 2017
Got the car back from a local garage, which touch wood, should finish the major service for a good few miles. Just been for a long overdue drive and forgot how much I've missed it. Now the car is back I've started to look at getting the heated rear window working as it's getting colder. I've installed the dash switch, relay and 10A fuse in the boot but can't get the thing to come on. The switch itself illuminates when the car lights go on, but the HRW icon on the instrument panel itself doesn't light up grrr.
Work done:
- Gates powergrip timing belt kit
- Waterpump
- Thermostat housing
- Crank oil seal
- Cam oil seals
- Rocker cover gasket
New dipstick
Think the diff oil was in need of a change then
CAS O-ring changed for peace of mind, suspect it was done when the 14 degree timing mod happened prior to my ownership but now I know.
Being so fiddly I accidentally moved the 'shoulders' so had to remove the rocker and CAS cap.
After two days of frozen fingers the MeisterR CRD coilovers are in! Only issues were trying to separate one top ball joint, but after getting the correct tool it took all of 2 minutes.
Also when using the tool it slightly damaged the castle nut which is why I suspect the ball joint itself it just spinning in it's housing when trying to thread the nut on.
As I haven't been able to torque one top ball joint that meant no test drive. For now...
08 January 2018
Forgot to say added new drop links for the front, rears will be swapped soon. I can confirm also the car does have up-rated anti-roll bars front and back too which is nice to confirm.
Not quite as much progress today but new pedal covers, every little helps.
15 January 2018
18 January 2018
01 March 2018
Lack of garage means progress has slowed down a little what with the cold and wanting to use the car everyday. Things that have been done since last update:
- All alloys properly cleaned
- Gearbox 'top end' rebuild with Beatrush brass shifter bushing (didn't want to go the short shifter route)
- Gearbox oil change
- OEM handbrake cover and and suede shifter gaiter
- Roddisons magical mystery brake pads all 4 corners
- Put polyurethane bushes on the rear drop links
- Skidnation delrin door bushes
- New rubber covers for the upper ball joints as they were cracked
- And a track day!
The track day was a success and loads of fun despite coming home a bit early due to snow. The course had changed slightly from the last time I was there on the bike so did take a few laps to unlearn and relearn.
The car performed faultlessly and watching the temperature gauge never moved from dead centre, makes fitting the new rad and hoses all worth it.
After a few laps we turned the damping adjustment on the coilovers to fully hard, which made a big difference. Full hard on the road isn’t a great experience but dare I say it on the track could have probably been even firmer.
The difference between max hard/soft was night and day, seems like just the right amount of compromise for me personally.
No doubt the best part of the car was the handling, the coilovers, bigger anti roll bars, polyurethane droplinks, various braces, and derlin door bushes (believe it or not) all felt awesome.
I expected the Kumho tyres to be the weak link but was impressed just how much grip they had for road tyres, especially being so cold.
The Roddisons brake pads were brilliant although need to slightly tighten the handbrake I think after fitting them. They feel like there’s less instant ‘bite’, but when you push hard on the brake they’re better with a bit more feedback.
Power on the other hand… Yeah the car doesn’t have much low end grunt and you really have to wring its neck to get any kind of performance. It felt fast but only overtook one car, a 944S which probably had a mechanical.
Overall really happy with the car and satisfying to see the upgrades so far being worth it.
24 August 2018
Where did 5 months go? I would have posted earlier but couldn't muster up the enthusiasm what with the forum being broken etc.
Anyway... as predicted not too much has happened:
- New fuel filter
- New Ford Maverick washer jets
- Sorted the scraping noise when turning the steeling wheel
- GC Fabrications roll bar
- Squidgy Robbins rain rail
le sigh