MX-5 OC Forum

Is it just me but:

I enjoy part of the ownership of an older car is the fact that little things go wrong here or there and the fun in fixing them.

So far I have had:

Replacing seats

Broken lock spring

Seized caliper

Blocked drain holes

etc, etc...

Just found out I need to tinker with electric window cables, part of me is quite looking forward to it!

I agree, I actually look forward to solving problems and after many years (too many) of having company cars and just cars, having the MX5's is heaven. Between them I have done 7 calipers and all sorts of other jobs, and cant wait for the lighter evenings :)

Would agree with you there. For a long time I could never afford a new car so had to make do and mend with whatever second hand crate my budget would stretch to. I have always enjoyed tinkering with cars ever since I used to help my Dad maintain his cars as a lad and as a yoof it is of course obligatory to tinker/mod and fit lowering springs, big exhaust etc.

For the last 11 years I have had the "benefit" of owning a succession of brand new cars whch have been dealer maintained and usually swapped when the manufacturer's warranty ran out. All my tools were just sitting there doing nothing and maintenance was reduced to inflating the tyres and washing the car every week.

Shortly after acquiring my bus/rail season ticket for commuting we "downsized" to being a single car family again. I saved a huge amount of money but the opportunities for tinkering were reduced even further.

Last year the Financial Director gave the go-ahead to acquire a Roadster as a "project car" to get me and the lad off the internet and outside doing something constructive.

Reliable as the little Eunos is, I have still managed to spend over £400 on parts in a little over 6 months. I don't think ownership of a 17 year old car would have been financially viable for me if I was not prepared to take on a lot of the maintenance myself.

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i agree with all the aforementioned sentiments about "looking forward to fixing those little odds n sods". Its nice to look forward to that little job that needs doing on a Saturday morning.

i also particularly enjoy the little shiver of anticipation that always happens when i set off on, say, a 200 mile trip in my 20 year old motor.

in the old days, in an anglia or morris minor etc, a breakdown was expected & fixed by the roadside with lots of cursing followed by a pint in a local hostelery.

in the 5 i always arrive at the destination on time & intact, albeit with a huge grin & partially deaf from the exhaust, but just a tiney bit annoyed that nothing went wrong so i could get out the tool roll (which never ever comes out of the tunnel behind the spare wheel) & tinker with something under the bonnet or wherever.

Is that sad or what?           

sorry

dont know what all that rubbish is at the top of my reply.

I believe it is exactly because the car is so easy to work on (or indeed learn how to work on) that makes those little jobs so rewarding.

I can't imagine how many hundreds, ney thousands of pounds I've washed down the drain taking previous cars to the garage when I could have just bought a '5 years ago.

I have the diy skills of a walrus (not the teeth though ) yet have managed to do all bar some welding work myself to my little baby.

I don't like HAVING to work on a car, But I love the upgrading and tinkering.

These days, My most important criteria for a car is reliability (That even comes before it being fun to drive).

I can't afford more than one car on the road any more so my fun car has to also be my daily drive. If any car fails to fulfil it's primary function of being transport it's no longer a car, It's a liability.

I do like to modify my cars, But when it's the car that decides that It's time for me to get out my spanners, It winds me up.

Thank god that the '5's reliable AND fun.

Scotty B.

 I love doing work on my 5. ive done quite alot,

exhaust, induction, brakes, suspension, sill repair, full service.

But I HATE the bolts!!!!!!

I have spent hours swinging off of breaker bars to get some of the bolts to shift !

one of the reasons i bought my eunos was because i wanted to get a bit more mechanically sorted. i'm quite a practical guy but don't normally do cars - however the eunos has had me out most evenings tinkering, which is great...

Staying with Bafta cats original thread, I sat here trying to work out what I've done to the car because I wanted too and what I've done because I had too. I was quite suprised at the results:

Tinkering :

K&N Typhoon induction;  changed all the hoses; strut brace (front); strut brace (rear); uprated anti-roll bars; stripped/rebuilt all suspension; replaced springs with Spax 30mm lowering set; replaced shocks with KYB AGXs; replaced all bushes; undersealed (waxoiled) the entire underside and arches; changed exhaust: header, cat and back box; retro'd the interior (wood and chrome look), replaced original fabric seats for two-tone leather; fitted new stereo; fitted roll bar;

Poorly car :

Changed the cam-cover gasket (original leaking); replaced the battery; welding to offside sill;

So, 5 years on, have I finished? Hell no!!!

To do list :

New front bumper; new rear bumper; side skirts; fabricate aluminium under tray; fabricate rear diffuser; fabricate splitter; spoiler; supercharger...