Mexy’s off to the Garage

Just a quick photo-less update. The repairs on the plastic windscreen were ‘ok’, i.e. they would have been waterproof over the winter, BUT, it just looked horrid, and as the stitching had rotted away, there was nothing for the new stitching to hang onto apart from the main hood material. After spending 3 hours stitching through vinyl, my thumbs turned to pin cushions, I shopped around and ‘allhoods’ in Romford were able to supply and fit a new tan vinyl roof in a day for £265, so bit the bullet and went for it. I was tempted to go for a black roof to match the paintwork, but having read around and seen all sorts of modifications on the many mx-5 forums, I decided that my ‘philosophy’ is to restore and upgrade, as opposed to the rip-out and replace. Tan might not be to everyone’s taste, but the faux-90’s glamour was part of the original charm that drew me in, so the tan stays!

 Today is a pretty big day, as I’ve dropped her off to Freelance Mazda in Chatham (they have a good reputation on the 5 forums) for a number of small jobs. New stereo, headrest speakers and door speakers purchased and ready for fitting, as well as a central locking kit. Also needs the electric windows looking at, as neither work, but hoping that the whirring motors can be brought back to life! Seatbelts also a bit loose for my liking. All pretty essential jobs to make her useable, secure and comfortable for the winter months. Going to miss her for the next 1-2 weeks!

 Reading around has got me a little worried about the rust on the sills however. Assumed this would be surface rust that I could just take back and waxoyl myself, but reading around, it could be the sills rusting from the inside out. I really, really, really hope not, but have asked the guys to give her a going over and let me know if there’s anything really horrendous before I spend any more dosh. Worst case, she’s rotten, I sell all the new parts back on ebay, and run her into the ground until MOT time next June.

 On a brighter note, enjoyed driving with the top down in between the torrential downpours at the weekend! I will update with photos of the work once returned and given a good clean.

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Replacing the Rear Plastic Windscreen on the Roadster, and other Updates

Before the exciting business of my amateur attempts to repair my plastic rear windscreen, I have happy tidings of our maiden jaunt from last Friday. We set off from Deal and drove to Kingsdown- becoming hopelessly lost down a track I’m unconvinced was ever meant for cars, and resulted in a good half a mile of reversing after an iron gate finally put us out of our ‘this-road-MUST-lead-to-SOMEWHERE’ delusion. So thank you, iron gate; without you we might still be driving through countryside and cattle, resolutely refusing to accept the inevitable truth. 

After that, we visited the Zetland Arms on the sea front, then back to Deal for some take away on the pier, all the while gazing at the Roadster, handsomely, delicately, proudly parked on the sea front. Tuesday saw another short jaunt down to Walmer Castle for an open air performance of Romeo and Juliet. Sunshine, picnic, blankets, folding IKEA chairs, Shakespeare and a Mazda Roadster with the top down. It was pure British joy. No pictures from either of these outings I’m afraid, but here’s one I took after I dropped my daughter off at pre-school (hence the child seat). Just thought she looked pretty, sitting there looking all shiny and Mazda-ey.

From here I went and picked up 3 bags of compost, which fit comfortably with the combination of boot and back shelf. Beauty AND practicality? Marvellous.

 Bit to do in the next week or so, so this will be a 2-parter. So strap yourself in for some truly amateurish attempts to replace the plastic rear windscreen on my Mazda Roadster!

 First and foremost, it has become obvious that the entire soft top needs replacing . Not only has the formerly-tanned roof faded to a sort-of dirty pink, I suspect that the constant up/down of the roof over the past 2 weeks, is probably the most it’s had to endure in some time. As a result, the stitching has rotted, and the bar above my head has detached from the soft top, making it a bit whistle-ey on the motorway. I’ve got a rather reasonable quote for a new tan vinyl soft top, with fitting, from a chap in Romford for £265. However, pennies looking to be a bit tight for the next… forever, so going for the mend-and-make-do approach, and hope that my ‘handywork’ can get me through until the spring, and probably go for it then. However, with the £23 for the beige dye (don’t get me started on that!), the £22 for the plastic screen, and a tenner on glue, the patch up job is adding up… If I have to invest in a cover for potential (almost guaranteed) leaks, looking at over £100 JUST to get through the winter. Oh well, live and learn, buy cheap, buy twice etc etc.

 Here’s a reminder of the screens condition:

This might not seem like a big deal, but using any tools on a car is a new experience for me, so I’m expecting a big round of cyber-applause for unscrewing this panel in order to remove the zipped panel out.

Thank you, thank you, you’re too kind. Anyway, here it is after I finally got the, ahem, ‘zip’ panel out, with help from my good pal, Stanley K Nife, (later to be assisted by his right-hand man ‘Arold Ite).

And here it is on the operating table:

You’ll notice the yellow-ey dye strip around the bottom. A foolish attempt to test the dye on a hidden part. I hate it, and I can see it! Eurgh! Toying with the idea of getting some masking tape, and making a more deliberate looking effort by concocting a two-tone top. Anyway, after removal, the stitching around the panel completely crumbled, so any hope of doing a delicate sewing job were dashed (didn’t really fancy that anyway to be honest!), so a complete removal of its innards was required. Here it is with the old plastic screen cut out, laid over the new plastic:

And the new screen (roughly) cut to size and glued on.

That’s as far as I got by 22:30 last night. I am as yet undecided whether to go for the glue (and probably silicone sealant) method to reattach the window, or whether it’ll be worth using the needle and thread for a more secure fit. I’ll decide when I’ve re-attached the panel later.

Apart from that, I plan to finally get around to polishing the leather this weekend, and going for another clean AND wax. I will, of course, post more pictures next week.

A bit of bling to finish the post off; here are the dust caps I fitted last week, which I really like.

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The Clean Up Continues!

My first port of call was the leather clean up and my home made concoction which, just to put you out of your suspense, had just the merest hint of ‘Moroccan Rose’ oil added to try and offset the arome de Sarsons. Here it is it all its glory:

The smell was far less offensive than I had imagined, and lifted a fair amount of grime, so I’m just awaiting delivery of the polish before I post up the before and after pictures of the seats. Won’t lie, I’m expecting big things.

Speaking of which, having cleaned the dash and doors on Monday, I was able to go around with the poundland spray to jazz it up a bit. Here she is before the clean up:

And after the clean and spray:

You’ll hopefully get a reasonable idea of how the carpet has come up as well from here. The ‘wet look’ might not be for everyone, but as a loyal V05 gel buyer in the late 80’s and early 90’s, it’s one I am incredibly comfortable with!

I understand that at this point, I’m running the risk of this descending into an incredibly dull car cleaning blog, so how about this for a bit of hardcore mechanical business: An oil leak!

Note: pound coin is to provide scale only. There is no magic money-making factory hiding under the bonnet that intermittently provides me with cash… unfortunately.

2 seperate days worth on view. Is this something to be concerned about immediately, or am I ok to keep it on the checklist for a month or so?

The next job, to get her ready for Friday’s birthday outing, will be to get started on cleaning the outside. As previously mentioned, the black paintwork has, understandably, faded over the past 22 years of her life, so I bought the T-Cut black-specific restorer/wax/etc pack to help. This was taken moments after I bought her:

Faded, but not unsalvageable, certainly until I’ve discovered whether confirmation of further investment of time and money has been provided by the nice welder, who’s agreed to lift her up and give her a look. Again, expecting big things from the black wax pack.

Next  job is cleaning the soft top, which, upon closer inspection, is really quite filthy; particularly around the lower edge where the run-off detritus has collected. Pictures to follow, you’ll be delighted to know.

My shiny dust caps have just arrived! Today is a good day.

To repeat my appeal from yesterday *** Appreciate this is potentially a fruitless request, but if there are any passionateMX-5 owners around the Deal/Walmer/Dover/Folkestone area who fancy walking me through a few basics, I’d love to have a chat! Or anybody who loves nothing more than sorting out crazy electrics?!?!***

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So I Bought a Roadster

Hello and welcome! For those who have stumbled here, or been polite enough to click on a link I’ve puked out onto a message board, I’ll spare you the long-winded introduction to how I’ve always loved the Mazda MX-5 (and its Japanese twin sister Eunos Roadster), how I never thought I’d ever own one, how I came to the decision to buy one, how I haven’t got a clue what I’ve let myself in for, and how I took a 5 hour train journey to a questionable second-hand car dealer beneath a flyover in Stockport to buy my first ever one, and how, despite its numerous issues, I fell madly in love.

Now that I’ve spared you all of that, let me tell you a little about my car.

The Basics

·         1992 K-reg 1.6L Mazda Eunos Roadster, imported from Japan in 2001

·         94,010 miles on the clock on the day I bought it

·         Black (slightly faded over the years), with tan leather seats and tan interior

·         Just passed its MOT with a couple of advisories- dust covers and very light brake rust.

Here she is after her 6.5 hour drive from Stockport to her new home on the Kent coast; where roads were laid, it would seem, in her honour:
 

As foolhardy as I may have come across to this point, I did at least do a lot of reading around the subject of buying a used Roadster, so knew to look for rust on the sills. It would appear that both sills have already been replaced, but this was on top of the new sill:

It’s not as bad as it looks, honest! It’s only about 15cmx10cm, and short of taking a screwdriver and getting all stabby, it feels rock solid under the bubbling. Same on this:

 

It’s flaked a little, but confident as I can be at this stage that it’s a wire brush and some hammerite away from being perfectly fine.

Putting my pessimist hat on, I’ve already sounded out a local welder (as soon as I mentioned MX-5, his immediate response was: ‘driver side sills?’. Think he knows what he’s talking about!) about lifting her up and checking out the underside in more detail. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

The engine is simply wonderful. Sounds great, she’s started first time every time I’ve fired her up so far, and the exhaust that the previous owner has put on makes her sound understatedly muscular. I did, however, find a puddle of about 6-8 drops of oil after she’d sat for 48 hours. Not a disaster, but on the ‘to do’ list.

 My overall impression of the car is that she was once well loved, but that the interest has waned in the past couple of years. There was a bit of mildew around the ‘Roadster’ badge, back lights are mismatched, soft top has faded, glove box sticky and dirty, leaf litter in the ‘shelf’ where windscreen wiper mechanism operates. It does however have a lovely set of alloys, a ‘professional’ brand after-market steering wheel, a ‘sparco’ gear stick, and chrome handbrake… although the fitting seems to have been a little rustic! Looks pretty nice like this:
 

But then… uh oh, what’s this?

Slides straight off, perished/sticky electrical tape holding a wooden splint as a ‘packer’. Failing miserably. Doesn’t affect its use, but indicative of someone who once had good intentions but couldn’t be bothered to nail down the detail!

The ELECTRICS!!!

At this point, I’d like to stress that I bought this car to DRIVE. The only music I’m really interested in listening to in the car is that of the engines sweet paean,  … which is just as well.

To say the electrics on this car are a ‘bit special’ is something of an understatement. The beautiful tan leather seats come fully equipped with speakers in the head rest, and both doors… none of which work, or have had their wiring shaken loose or rotted away. It has electric windows… neither of which work, although there sounds like a vain whirring effort of a long-dormant motor coming from the driver door when I flick the switch. Miraculously, the A/C has still got a bit of life in it. I think this picture probably gives the best indication of what I’m dealing with on the electrics front:

And a close-up of the situation:

Now, as I mentioned, I am pretty clueless on cars in general, but I’m going to guess that this is not where the battery was when it rolled off the production line??? Oh well, it adds to its charm.

The soft top is also pretty indicative of a car that’s been a little unloved for a while:

As you can see, the window’s been split and duck taped, and the once proud tan-coloured vinyl roof has faded to more of a ‘Englishmans-arm-above-t-shirt-sun-tan-line’. The rear plastic window zips out separately, so have ordered this for £22 including delivery in order to rectify:

Going to have to get a bit handy with the needle and thread, but it beats the £150ish that a replacement zipped panel costs.

Also, vinyl dye seems to be a bit of a rare commodity, so ended up ordering this from Germany for £23 including delivery:

I hope that I can restore the soft top for under £50, and get her closer to her rightful condition!

Next job is the leather seats. Appears as if it’s pretty easy to spend a tonne of money on a confusing array of different car products, so, drawing the line at the leather, I found a ‘money saving’ website that prescribes ¼ cup olive oil, ½ cup vinegar loaded into a spray bottle as a cheap alternative. Other similar ‘recipes’ suggest adding lemon juice or essential oil. Apparently the vinegar smell evaporates quickly, but although we live on the beautiful Kent coast, the ‘seaside chippy’ vibe is not what I’m after in Sexy Mexy (just putting it out there? Anyone???), so will probably go with a bit of the wife’s lavender bath oil. I will report back!

As far as the polish goes, put that leather cleaner saving to good use with this, for £17 including delivery:

Hoovered her out last night, and had a good scrub at the floor and rear shelf with carpet cleaner. Considering she’s 22 years old, it came up beautifully. Also spent a while with the anti-bacterial spray (it was beyond general ‘car cleaner’- it needed a lot of stickiness removing and pretty unhygienic) on the doors, dash, mid panel, and the mouldy moss that had accumulated around the ‘Roadster’ badge, as well as the gaps between the rear lights and bodywork, and on the inside of the boot and bonnet.

If I get time tonight, planning to do some DIY leather cleaning, and use the can of plastic shine stuff I got from poundland to put a bit of sparkle back in the dash. Before and after pictures to be provided with any luck.

It’s my birthday on Friday! (yaaaaay!), and haven’t yet taken my Wife out for a drive in the car. Nobody about to watch the kids since Mexy (better?) has been in our lives. That all changes Friday though, and my Mum is down for some babysitting action, so we’re going to drive off into the sunset with the top down (weather permitting!). I only mention this as I’m desperate to get as much done inside and out after work this week, to make her look as good as possible for our first drive together. Just ordered this today as well, and to speed things up, arranged to pick it up from the local Argos, £18 for the set:

Thursday night is going to be a very late one if everything arrives!

In an effort to smarten her up even further, bought some chrome dust caps for £2.95 delivered:

And of course, what is a bunch of Eunos Roadster keys, without a Eunos leather keyring? The answer you’re looking for is ‘NOTHING, it’s NOTHING without the keyring!  This one has actually arrived:

Appreciate this is potentially a fruitless request, but if there are any passionate MX-5 owners around the Deal/Walmer/Dover/Folkestone area who fancy walking me through a few basics, I’d love to have a chat! Or anybody who loves nothing more than sorting out crazy electrics?!?!