Lastsoul
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2,180
- Location
- Finland
- Car(s)
- MX5, 406 Coup?, 106 Rallye, Porsche 924, X300 Six
Yeah, I don't have any imagination. 
Edit: Proofpic coming right after I visit the garage with camera, probably sunday evening. Before that frankiess can compare the 406 to the one I've had in Finnish meets.
Nose cone has been repainted, I guess during that process the reflectors went missing. I'm searching for cheap replacements.
For a long time I've wanted to have something pure and fun to drive. On the other hand I want something comfortable for longer trips, which I can also use in any kind of weather (that means -20?C, or salt water flooding on the streets).
The 406 has proven to be surprisingly unfrench, and for a long time it didn't need anything else than normal service and gas despite passing the 300 000 km mark almost year ago. This summer it had french-mode on for a month, during which it managed to snap two springs. One from front suspension, another from valvetrain. The latter was a bit pain in the as, but at least I now know how to rebuild a DOHC head. Luckily after that month it forget its french roots and I decided to save money and keep it as a daily driver, so I could buy something fun for a project car.
I've got the missing mirror, but it needs a new rod for the balljoint.
Last summer I went to test drive NA MX-5 just to see why everybody has one. I really liked the pure, honest driving experience, but the normal asking price of 5500 euros for 1.6 NAs was way out of my league. Luckily I moved to Germany for a one year to study automotive engineering as an exchange student, and that also meant I could find a much cheaper MX-5.
The one I found is not a perfect example, but it was excatly what I was looking for. It has lots of small dents, some scratches and a little bit of surface rust on the sills and subframes. The paintwork on the hardtop is also very worn, but the seals are in good condition so it doesn't leak. I don't care about the dents that much and the rust I can fix myself. I wanted a car with a straight body and healthy engine, and so far the '93 1.6 with about 160 000 km has proven to be just that. The price was also quite affordable because of all the dents and some missing parts.
I also love the basic specs of the car: power windows and power steering. I'd like to try an example without power steering, but so far I don't regret getting one with it.
I don't know what to do with the space for radio. Maybe some additional gauges?
It took a couple of weeks to get the car registered, because the dealer selling the car lied about the MOT and at that point I didn't know how many papers you get from the MOT (or T?V to be more precise), so I thought everything was okay. In the end it needed just new rear brake pads and handbrake adjustment so it wasn't a total disaster. Now of course I'm demanding some money back from the dealer. Anyway, I've learnt the German inspection and registration process quite well, which might be useful in the future.
Changing the brake pads and checking the fluids.
Hopefully during the winter I can save enough money to buy the necessary anti-gay bar before spring, so I can do couple of trips to the Nordschleife. In any case I'm not going to drive the car on a track without a roll bar.
This shows the painwork on the hardtop quite well. Behind is the old french workhose.
Also on the to-do list is an LSD and some proper tires to replace the Driftinental M+S rubber from 1997. They're quite fun on damp roundabouts actually. Stock suspension is also quite worn, but I'll probably drive next summer with it. Then back in Finland during the winter I can take the subframes out, sandblast them and change the bushes to polyurethane ones and also install some new springs and adjustable shocks. And new wheels. And front lip. And maybe a turbo? So buying a cheap project car is probably not that cheap after all.
Edit: just noticed that three of the first four threads where about MX-5 when I posted this. Oh man...
Edit: Proofpic coming right after I visit the garage with camera, probably sunday evening. Before that frankiess can compare the 406 to the one I've had in Finnish meets.
Nose cone has been repainted, I guess during that process the reflectors went missing. I'm searching for cheap replacements.
For a long time I've wanted to have something pure and fun to drive. On the other hand I want something comfortable for longer trips, which I can also use in any kind of weather (that means -20?C, or salt water flooding on the streets).
The 406 has proven to be surprisingly unfrench, and for a long time it didn't need anything else than normal service and gas despite passing the 300 000 km mark almost year ago. This summer it had french-mode on for a month, during which it managed to snap two springs. One from front suspension, another from valvetrain. The latter was a bit pain in the as, but at least I now know how to rebuild a DOHC head. Luckily after that month it forget its french roots and I decided to save money and keep it as a daily driver, so I could buy something fun for a project car.
I've got the missing mirror, but it needs a new rod for the balljoint.
Last summer I went to test drive NA MX-5 just to see why everybody has one. I really liked the pure, honest driving experience, but the normal asking price of 5500 euros for 1.6 NAs was way out of my league. Luckily I moved to Germany for a one year to study automotive engineering as an exchange student, and that also meant I could find a much cheaper MX-5.
The one I found is not a perfect example, but it was excatly what I was looking for. It has lots of small dents, some scratches and a little bit of surface rust on the sills and subframes. The paintwork on the hardtop is also very worn, but the seals are in good condition so it doesn't leak. I don't care about the dents that much and the rust I can fix myself. I wanted a car with a straight body and healthy engine, and so far the '93 1.6 with about 160 000 km has proven to be just that. The price was also quite affordable because of all the dents and some missing parts.
I also love the basic specs of the car: power windows and power steering. I'd like to try an example without power steering, but so far I don't regret getting one with it.
I don't know what to do with the space for radio. Maybe some additional gauges?
It took a couple of weeks to get the car registered, because the dealer selling the car lied about the MOT and at that point I didn't know how many papers you get from the MOT (or T?V to be more precise), so I thought everything was okay. In the end it needed just new rear brake pads and handbrake adjustment so it wasn't a total disaster. Now of course I'm demanding some money back from the dealer. Anyway, I've learnt the German inspection and registration process quite well, which might be useful in the future.
Changing the brake pads and checking the fluids.
Hopefully during the winter I can save enough money to buy the necessary anti-gay bar before spring, so I can do couple of trips to the Nordschleife. In any case I'm not going to drive the car on a track without a roll bar.
This shows the painwork on the hardtop quite well. Behind is the old french workhose.
Also on the to-do list is an LSD and some proper tires to replace the Driftinental M+S rubber from 1997. They're quite fun on damp roundabouts actually. Stock suspension is also quite worn, but I'll probably drive next summer with it. Then back in Finland during the winter I can take the subframes out, sandblast them and change the bushes to polyurethane ones and also install some new springs and adjustable shocks. And new wheels. And front lip. And maybe a turbo? So buying a cheap project car is probably not that cheap after all.
Edit: just noticed that three of the first four threads where about MX-5 when I posted this. Oh man...
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