Well, where do I start?
I have been wanting an NA MX5 for some years ever since I saw a subtley modded example back in 1997 where I worked at Patrick Autocare during Uni holidays.
Sometimes customer cars that weren't new and off the ships/trucks would arrive that needed private freight elsewhere.
That's where I saw it, a clean NA8 in silver with a subtle vent in the bonnet...I admired the details such as the hardtop catches and the door handles, the simple dash layout and the purposeful nature of the car sitting on BBS wheels.
One day, I needed one for the weekend...
Car's have come and gone, Mitsu Starion, AE82 Twincam corolla, AE86 4AGZE, AW11 MR2, Nissan 350z plus a couple of bikes, Honda VTR250 and '06 Yamaha R6...
But I always still had the lingering 'need' for an NA...
Having decided I wanted one and currently living in the UK, plenty of imports were available...this is where I noticed all the various models, V Special, S and R limited, S Special etc. etc...
So the search began, but it had to be Bleck...
After test driving a few in the UK and considering importing a JDM import model with all the fruit back into Oz on my return, a move to Germany came on the horizon...only LHD basic versions there...so not ideal...
What to do?
Hmm I am going on holidays to Oz of course...
Hire car a waste of money?
Sure...
I don't need no steenkin' hire car!!
Day 1: Taz arrives in country, finds an internet connection, hits up carsales..
Day 2: Find a tasty NA6 in white with a few mods...Test drive, hmmm a bit rough, no aircon...
Day 3: Decide to look at another car, hmmm it's a JDM personal import...S Special...in Bleck! Tee up a test drive that evening...
After a test drive, it was apparent to me this was the best MX5 i've driven thus far so I had to have it...
Instead of going for a cheapie that needed a fair bit of work and offload it shortly later when I leave in Jan, I decided on getting a better model and after a drive I knew I wanted to keep the thing!!!
Somehow I managed to convince the wife this was a good idea.
With the foresight of bringing a wad of cash, I bargained and saw the price fall...
I had borrowed my mum's car to get there, so I left it where it stood near the sellers house and hightailed it to a meet with some car minded friends. The reaction was gold!
Specs are:
1994 Eunos Roadster 'S Special'
This is a limited edition model, i've read somewhere there are only 500, but not sure if this is per year they released them or in total.
Apart from the normal JDM Roadster bits here are some distinguishing features of the 'S Special':
* Bilstein Shocks,
* LSD (Possibly Viscous)
* Thicker sway bars,
* Front shock tower brace
* BBS alloys (14", they were 15" in 1995)
* Nardi leather steering wheel and gear knob
* Mazda Sensory surround sound stereo (MSSS)
This particular car has A/C and power steering and is a private import brought in by an Australian teaching English in Japan. He sold it to Chris from Oatley, the previous owner who had it for 4 years. Another real estate agent! (my 350z was owned by a real estate agent before me).
Mods: The car was stock except for...
*Cusco offset number plate bracket (expertly modified by Bab's to suit the NSW plates)
The sticker on the back says "MORITA Car Retail"
Original Floor Mats
Roadster sill plates found on JDM models.
It still has the Mazda emergency road flare that sits in the holder in the passenger side footwell...
Last edited by Taz_; 16-12-09 at 10:04 AM.
Day 4 in Oz:
Drove it to Bab's house after meeting up with Reggie, we gave it a wash and a polish (Thanks guys + Will/Cappucino for helping) and Kelv did his magic...
Enough of my jibba jabba
So here's the beast...(Thanks for the pics Kelv/EGGBOX...)
Day 5: I had picked up Babs' Nardi Deep corn that used to be in the Hako briefly when I was there the previous day, so after the Skyline show n Shine we headed back to his place where Reggie and Bab's expertly installed the new tiller.
After some time getting off a wheel that had sat in place since leaving the factory in 1994, it was out with the old...(Will keep the original on hand for the sake of completeness later)
In with the new...
Unfortunately the car had developed a habit of creeping up past the halfway mark on the temp gauge after 20mins of driving, only turning the heater on could sort it...
Baking in the sun with the heater on was never my idea of fun...
Only one thing to do...
Day 6:
What is missing in this pic?...
Out comes the radiator...This was a relatively easy job once you take off the undertray.
A quick trip to the radiator specialist revealed that it was blocked by more than a third. Since the plastic tank top was going to go eventually I had them source and fit a new top tank since they already had the newly cleaned up core with them.
2 hours later and it's ready to install!
After flushing out what was mainly just plain water and some crud the freshened up item was refitted.
Filled it up with Castrol Radicool premix and all systems were go....
Day 7: Drive it...
Some of the horses that got away since 1994...
Jinba-ittai
Down to Burragorang Valley, south past Camden near the Oaks, a bit of a benchmark route...
Bring on Wakefield...
Hey Taz, if you need someone to look after the car when you're gone...
Impressions:
I am very happy with the way this thing handles, the Bilstein's are doing their job and the chassis is great.
The throttle response is excellent and the 1.8 gives me plenty of torque on initial acceleration and mid corner. The car's balance is fantastic. It feels like an old friend, and fit's like a glove. A very driver centric car, excellent feedback and steering weight along with a communicative chassis.
I've driven some quick and exotic cars, owned some decent ones but this car is the definition of FUN.
I've driven this route a few times including on my motorbike, and I must say I left with a grin!!
What's next?
Plans are to enjoy it while I am here in Sydney till early Jan,
Take it to Wakefield on Saturday and have a good time learning the car.
Store it for a while, repeat when i'm back in 9-12months.
Then when I move back to Sydney in March 2011, it's go time.
This will involve wheels (a folder full of images has been collected in anticipation) and a bit of a light tune for now.
Aim to keep it relatively stock mechanical wise for the short term and keep it NA.
If all works out with the eventual move back home and a new house purchase i'd like to keep this little beast for the long term. There's something special about it!
Nice man
Lol your near me for when you went on your drive
You legend! I like your style Taz.
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So nice! in a rare black as well.
looks really nice man
welcome to the obsession lol
That's the greatest story ever! Brilliant colour choice too.
><
what year/model AW11 MR2 did you have? how did you find it compared to the mx5?
ive driven a few mx5's before, but never had a chance to really drive one 'properly'...
I had a late 87 with the factory bodykit in the dark blue metallic colour. It had some different wheels, exhaust + extractors and pod filter.Originally Posted by RdS
The AW11 is a great little car and excellent value for money. The sound and rev happy nature of the motor is pretty sweet.
Handling wise, the MR2 will tend to understeer and then get composed depending on corner entry, then it will hold before letting go. It's not as hard as people make out once you are used to this happening. It does tend to want to pendulum flick as if it's rocking on the front axle axis or something.
The MX5 feels very light and nimble like the AW11 MR2, but it is much easier to exploit the handling. It has this real 'chuckable' nature.
They are both great cars, and have their own winning qualities. The convertible factor is great in the MX5, it's as close to riding a motorcycle you can get with a helmet on!
Do I think the MX5 is worth more than twice what I paid for my AW11? Sure.
It's just that bit better in every way.
The great bits I remember from my AW11 contributed to me buying something smaller, lighter and more nimble to have fun in compared to some of my previous cars like the Z.
PS. Here's my AW11...
Started off like this when I bought it...
Painted the wheels so it wasn't so ricey
Fitted the JDM tail lights
Last edited by Taz_; 17-12-09 at 10:13 AM.
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