Yet another one: 1993 Mazda MX-5

Magnet

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2005
Messages
3,030
Location
Perth, WA
Car(s)
BMW E46 328Ci
Well, seems to be a common car on these forums, but I went ahead and bought a weekend driver a week ago.

It's a 1993 Mazda MX-5 NA6. 170,000kms on the clock, and in pretty good shape.


https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/08/02/P1010093_1024x768_000.JPG
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/08/02/P1010094_1024x768_000.JPG
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/08/02/P1010095_1024x768.JPG


Still needs a bit of work to be done to it (fluids replaced, radiator replacement), before I can start playing with it properly. There also seemed to be water sloshing around which the previous owner claimed was the petrol tank, but turned out to be blocked drain points. Easily fixed.

It's a hoot to drive though :p. There is a reason why these are so popular
 
Ahh, congrats, my fave MX-5. Looks in good nick too. The more I look at these the more I get a severe DOWANT urge. Shame I needed something more practical.

I've had that water sloshing issue in my own car within days of getting it. Door drain holes on the drivers' side were clogged with build up from our horrible dirty post-drought rains.
 
I really like the MX-5 and yours is a great looking one. Congrats on your new fun car!
 
^ I can see your confusion, actually. He lives in Perth, Western Australia not Washington State, United States. :)
 
Yeah, we are often forgotten down here :p.

Just ordered a replacement radiator and hoses, so hopefully will arrive before the weekend.
 
Been doing some work on it these past few weeks to fix up a few issues. First one was the blown radiator, which you can see in this photo here.

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010096_1024x768.JPG

New and old radiators - new one is a 42mm Cooling Pro.

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010097_1024x768.JPG

New thermostat too

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010098_1024x768.JPG

Radiator in

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010099_1024x768.JPG

Finally, new hoses, and thermoswitch

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010120_1024x768.JPG

However, following this work, I noticed coolant pissing out of the crank seal, which indicates the water pump is on the way out, so I'm dropping it off to get a new water pump, timing belt and other bits. Finally it should be good as new.

I also did the oils (engine, gearbox and diff) and pulled the plugs. I did a compression test out of interest (and killed my battery in the process) and the cylinders range between 150-165psi. A new one should be around 190psi, but nothing I'm particularly worried about yet.

Next up, I noticed that the shift wasn't great, and there was a bit of heat coming through the console. I also saw the shifter boot was a bit stuffed.

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010113_1024x768.JPG

So out came the console

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010114_1024x768.JPG

And the dust cover

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010115_1024x768.JPG

And the shifter

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010116_1024x768.JPG

Horrid old parts and shiny new ones

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010117_1024x768.JPG

Shifter back in

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010118_1024x768.JPG

New and old boot

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010119_1024x768.JPG

All back together. Mmm smooth.

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/ma/magnet/2009/09/05/P1010122_1024x768.JPG
 
I wanna work on a car like this!! Cool that you're taking care of it.

Just looking at your pictures made me wanna take something apart and fix it. :D
 
Next up, I noticed that the shift wasn't great, and there was a bit of heat coming through the console. I also saw the shifter boot was a bit stuffed.

That is probably the biggest problem the Miata's have, most Miata's have torn shift boots but most owners don't replace them and in a year or two they will be torn again.
Did you add some new transmission oil to the shift turret while you had it apart?
 
Yeah, drained the old oil and put in some leftover Redline I had from the gearbox.

I've just got a remote keyless entry kit I'll be installing next. I've had a look at the car, and it appears that the car originally had a remote locking kit, but for some reason the actuator from the driver's side has been pulled out. The wires are still there. It also goes into an old alarm control box which is no longer hooked up. That's on it way out.

There's other work which I want to do to it (air intake, roll bar, shocks) but I want to drive it first!
 
Why is there an old cat fur lying on the dashboard?
 
It's a dash mat, supposed to protect plastic dashboards from splitting under our million degree sun. It does look like poo though.
 
It's looking good :)

I came so close to buying one of these before I bought Gerald the Herald. It would have been so much less painful if I had :lol:
 
So it now has a new water pump, timing belt and idlers, accessory belts and the rear brake callipers were pulled apart and cleaned up as they seemed to be grabbing a bit. Drives like a charm now.

I also spent the weekend installing a keyless entry kit into the car. I know it's only a two door convertible, but the lock on the driver's side was sticking a bit, and I'm a lazy git. It used to have an old alarm system in it, but for some reason the central locking on the drivers side was missing, and the one on the passenger side was completely seized. It looks like it had a hit in the driver's door at some stage in its life as the plastic weather protector was missing as well.

The driver's door handle stopped working too, which turned out to be a broken spring on the locking mechanism. A trip down to Bunnings sorted that out.

I hooked it all up, soldered a hole in my hand in the process (which didn't really hurt, luckily, as there is a nice charred mark there now), and now have a shiny set of flip keys.

It's been raining non stop here in Perth the past month or so, and I didn't really pay much attention until the fuses in the electric window motors kept blowing. I looked in the doors and there was water everywhere. It turns out the weatherstripping on the doors was so old and warped that there was a 5mm gap between the door and window for water to conveniently flow through. Currently there is duct tape across the windows until the new weatherstripping arrives.
 
Did you get that Leather Shift Boot from www.redlinegoods.com?

If so, that is where I got mine. Great quality.


BTW, great work on your car. Nice to see it in the hands of someone who is going to take care of it! :cool:

..
 
Did you get that Leather Shift Boot from www.redlinegoods.com?

If so, that is where I got mine. Great quality.


BTW, great work on your car. Nice to see it in the hands of someone who is going to take care of it! :cool:

..

That's where I got mine as well, good quality and I'm very happy with it.
 
No, I got mine from the UK. It was only $10, rather than $50, and the quality is great too. Couldn't be happier.
 
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