Ownership Verified: Ringmeet fashion accessory - MX-5 NB

Eye-Q

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Hamburg, Autobahnland
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Mazda MX-5 NB ringmeet fashion accessory
As some (most) of you already were aware of I received a fuel card from work "to alleviate the exploding fuel prices" (which I'm grateful for, most other employers say "deal with it") and it gets filled up with 50 Euros per month for six months. First world problem though, I don't own a car anymore and the fuel card is personalized so I can't do anything with it except forfeiting it or buying a car to literally burn money...

Ringmeet is coming up and I thought about attending, and as I get the fuel for free that helps a lot with deciding what to do... :mrgreen:

So I went and tapped the finalgear hivemind for a cheap and cheerful car and @public found one just 5 km away in the form of a 20 year old MX-5 NB with the "fashion bar" (which isn't a roll bar according to it's manual) for just 2k Euros. :mrgreen:

It has a smidge under 180k under it's belt and pretty major scratches on the left side from sideswiping another car while parking, but from the test drive it's a hoot to drive, and that's the main thing. :wub: The rocker panels have been welded so they're solid, the top has been dyed from grey to black. I even have finalgear license plate brackets so they'll be the first (and likely the only) modification to the car in my possession. I think I'll sell it again when the fuel card is empty, it would be stupid to keep it when it's standing around 99.9% of the time.

Yes, that is an Alfa Romeo Giulia in the background in the second picture, it's one of the Alfas of my landlord and it already stood there when I moved in almost six years ago. It hasn't been touched since then and slowly rusts into the ground... :-|

[edit 2022-07-17]
Uploaded a picture of the engine bay. :smile:
[/edit]

Mazda MX-5 NB 01.jpg
Mazda MX-5 NB 02.jpg
Mazda MX-5 NB 03.jpg

Mazda MX-5 Engine Bay.jpg

Mazda MX-5 NB 04.jpg
 
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A cheap MX-5! Who would've thought that'd be possible in 2022? :D

But seriously, nice car for €2,000. Original radio/stereo, even!
 
I envy that price. Holy crap man. The immigration office can't work fast enough.
 
Good thing @leviathan doesn't have his NC anymore, or else I would feel pressured to bring my ND just to have all generations present at Ringmeet. :D

Nice choice, have fun!
There's still a chance I could make it and ruin your fun. :p

Looks like a good buy for the price, I can't think of a better way to burn free fuel!
 
Quickly move the poor MX-5 away from the Alfas, or they might persuade it to start rusting! :p

Anyway, congrats on being a car owner again!
 
Did you take their offer of a fresh TÜV?
No, I didn't.
I envy that price. Holy crap man. The immigration office can't work fast enough.
If you want I can store it for you, my landlord doesn't mind another unregistered car in the driveway as it is unused anyway. 😉

Quickly move the poor MX-5 away from the Alfas, or they might persuade it to start rusting! :p
Too late, the left rear quarter and the power steering fluid reservoir clutch master cylinder started rusting already...
 
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Excellent, you got it! Looks like a good score for the money, definitely. It's even an NBFL (facelift) as it's a 2002!
 
Woot - an NB for that price... wow! Congratulations! Maybe I've overlooked it, but what engine is it? 1.6?
 
Yup, it's a 1.6 with a whopping 110 hp.
 
Today I gave the engine room a more thorough check-over and found a leaking hose to the windscreen washers. I put some shrink wrap on it so it doesn't leak so badly, but I'll replace the hose eventually, it's just 10 Euros anyway. Additionally, the cylinder head (or rather the space between the camshafts) was oily so I removed the spark plug leads and cleaned that portion of the cylinder head. The oil filler itself is clean and there was no sign of hastily removed oil spills around it so I guess it was just a spill from the last oil fill which hasn't been cleaned out from that space because it's awkward to get to.
My only slight worry is the very rusty clutch master cylinder, but new aftermarket ones can be had for as little as 35 Euros. I think I'll let a garage check if that is something to be worried and should be changed or if it's fine.

One more thing: does anyone know if the NBFL came with a strut brace as standard? Mine has one, but I have found pictures of NB engine rooms without one and I don't think anyone would remove a strut brace if it came as standard. The pictures of the NB engine bays without one might be from pre-facelifts and Mazda included one with the facelift or something, but I haven't found a source for my theory.
 
What are those wheels from? They look OEM from something, but I can't tell what specifically.
 
They have Mazda center caps so they should be Mazda OEM. The only other marking I found is JWL embossed which comes from “Japan Light Alloy Wheel” so that doesn't help.

Oh, I have found a video of someone installing a strut bar from a Turbo Miata in an MX-5 pre-facelift, my strut bar looks basically the same as the Turbo Miata strut bar:


View: https://youtu.be/rMcgDptdR5g?t=75
 
such a ringtool....








you not the car D:


edit. excellent choise of car either way
 
I think I found the strut bar, it indeed seems to be an OEM part: https://www.ebay.com/itm/234559735610

Mazda MX-5 Engine Bay.jpg

Mazda MX-5 Strut Bar Tower.jpg


And the very rusty clutch master cylinder - pretty odd since the brake master cylinder right next to it is pretty much rust free... :dunno:The leaky hose to the windscreen washers is right next to it with the leak very near the master cylinder so the water might have sprayed onto the master cylinder. The line seems to be made from stainless steel while the master cylinder itself isn't.

Mazda MX-5 Clutch Master Cylinder.jpg
 
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