longsh07 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) I had a 106 GTi as a second car which I had been building up to use as a track car. Due to a slight fire (its French, what did you expect) I have decided its time to part and get something less French, and by less French I mean Japanese. So I went out and brought a hair dressers car but its really impressed me so far! Let me introduce you to my new toy, 04 Euphonic MX-5. Advert Photo Update photo She's not fast, but she sure as hell sticks to the road. Good fun for a B road blast on a sunny day.Its a 1.8 with a 5 speed box and an LSD. Also has the bigger brakes (270/276mm) but the rear pads seem to be slightly different from the sports MX5's pads.Plan is to track her as well as to give my Zed a rest over winter. Got a TR Lane roll bar on order and had some some service bits (oil/filters/brake pads) delivered already. ------------------------------------- Change Log June 14 - Attempted to fit EBC Greenstuff rear pads only to discover the rear piston rubbers were mangled. July 14 - Fitted reconditioned rear callipers, replaced section of front to rear brake hard line, new front brake slider pins, rubber boots and retaining bolts, braided brake lines and finally fitted EBC Greenstuff pads all round. Also replaced the air intake filter and heaedunit. Aug 14 - TR Lane GPV roll bar fitted. Fresh oil and oil filter. Brought clear (the tinted light smoke) side reflectors and indicators. Fitted LED bulbs (including converting reflectors to side markers) and chrome covered front/rear indicator bulbs. Sept 14 - Rota Grid-V alloys (15x7 ET20) with Michelin Pilot Sport 3's (195/50/15) Oct 14 - Replaced electric aerial and base with manual base and stubby aerial. Also painted some of the tyre lettering. Sprayed the air vent surrounds purple. Sprayed rear tow hook purple and fitted. Nov 14 - Changed the registration and sprayed grill. Dec 14 - Fitted Xenon effect low/high beam bulbs Mar 15 - Sprayed more interior parts purple. Sprayed and fitted purple front tow hook (removed baby teeth). Fitted fire extinguisher. Fitted cold air feed. Had Cobra exhaust fitted by Japex in Kings Langley. Apr -15 - Sprayed windscreen surround and wing mirrors matt black (Foliatec spray film - Its basically plasti dip). Sprayed door cars purple. Replaced broken Sony 170W 2 way speakers with a set of Pioneer 230W 2 way speakers. IL Motorsport pedal covers. June 15 - Reupholstered passenger seat in black leather, resprayed purple interior bits a different shade of purple (same as tow hooks and cold air intake), changed washer jets to fan style Ford jets. Future Plans Roddisons brake pads and new OE discs Sport seats (Recaro Speed) Track day tyres (Federal 595RSR / Toyo R888) Coilovers (Meister-R Zeta-S 6/5 kg/mm, BC Racing BR Series 6/5 kg/mm, Gaz Gold 400/300lbs) Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's (15x7 ET23) If I need a new clutch - Exedy stage 1 clutch and lightweight flywheel. ------------------------------------- Oh and for those who are interested, I did fix the 106. £6 sensor and it was up and running again. Sold it on to someone else wanting it as a track project so it went to a good home Edited June 29, 2015 by longsh07 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthwash Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) Your pistonheads link takes us to your account/advert admin page, I think? Edited June 6, 2014 by mouthwash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) LOL ill fix it. Good spot, not sure if you could make any changes though. Edited June 6, 2014 by longsh07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 We look after a few MX5s, great track toy, do let us know if we can help with parts in the future... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gudzy Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 MX5Nutz and MX5OC are two sites to check out if you haven't already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 We look after a few MX5s, great track toy, do let us know if we can help with parts in the future... Good to know, im sure ill be in touch MX5Nutz and MX5OC are two sites to check out if you haven't already. Signed up for the first, did make an intro post but got like 1 reply from another newbie. Will try MX5OC as well at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'm not really sure what this thread is about..!! (apart from a MX5 and a £995 Pergeot 106 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Going to make it a build thread for my MX5 Will. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Should be a great fun rwd track day toy. Not really a fan of these but I've heard that they can be very capable and just good old fashioned fun on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) Should be a great fun rwd track day toy. Not really a fan of these but I've heard that they can be very capable and just good old fashioned fun on track. I've been pretty impressed so far I must admit. Not been on track but it take take some of the tight corners near me at the same speed if not faster than my Zed. Edited June 7, 2014 by longsh07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Going to make it a build thread for my MX5 Will. OK nice one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmck13 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I had this model a few years ago as a second car, I think they are great, tested by time, with no bad habits, not fast but leaves many others behind when they hit the bends. Recommended for people on a limited budget who can't make their mind up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 (edited) Thought I'd have a crack at changing the rear pads as they were the only advisory on the last MOT. Nice simple brakes made the job quite easy but as usual, these jobs throw up something else that needs doing... Passenger side came out nice and easy, small split in the piston rubber. Nothing serious but need to address it at some point. Filled it with grease for now. Greenstuff pads. These get a lot of mixed reviews so I decided to try them for myself and make up my own mind. Then round to the drivers side and... Great. Piston is getting sticky and you can see the state of the rubber. I'm not happy leaving it and would be concerned about it on a track day.Not going to muck about learning how to rebuild the calliper myself so I've ordered a set of professionally reconditioned callipers, one for each side. Also a good excuse to fit braided lines while the brakes are off. Edited June 8, 2014 by longsh07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 ^^ That's a bummer but you'll be better off in the long run with the reconditioned calipers & braided lines. I used to run EBC green stuff pads on a Rover 214si that I tracked and they worked well on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 ^^ That's a bummer but you'll be better off in the long run with the reconditioned calipers & braided lines. I used to run EBC green stuff pads on a Rover 214si that I tracked and they worked well on it. That's what I figured. Its only going to take one bit of crap to get in behind the rubber and jam the brake on/off. Also good to know about the pads, they've got to be better than the worn out old ones either way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 ^^ That's a bummer but you'll be better off in the long run with the reconditioned calipers & braided lines. I used to run EBC green stuff pads on a Rover 214si that I tracked and they worked well on it. That's what I figured. Its only going to take one bit of crap to get in behind the rubber and jam the brake on/off. Also good to know about the pads, they've got to be better than the worn out old ones either way Well the pads definitely worked better for me than the standard 1992 Rover OEM pads. Although after one particularly exuberant track session around Castle Combe the front where smoking a bit when I went it to the pits. Probably more due to the heat the discs where giving off though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 These goodies arrived today. Only a minor improvement over this 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Looks like some good bits there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Update time: Had some issues with the brake fitting. Fronts - Pads went on OK however the torque setting for the slider pin bolt I found online were massively wrong. Not sure if I stripped the thread or it had been done before but ended up replacing the slider pins, bolts and rubber boots just to be safe. Braided lines went on a treat. Rears - Fitted the new calipers, pads and braided lines no problem however the little steel distribution block was leaking brake fluid... Ended up replacing a section of the factory pipe with copper nickel pipe and sticking on a new union however it was still leaking!! Ended up going back to MX5parts and they sent me a new block. Didn't take a photo but looking at the two blocks side by side the leaky one had a smaller hole in the threaded ports than the new one so I can only assume the one I got couldn't pass enough fluid through it (might have been the block for the smaller brakes) and so it was leaking out the weakest seal. Either way, replaced the block and no more leaks New caliper, pads and brake lines. That little block is the old leaky one. Close up with the new pipe fitted Pipe run and join On another note I also replaced the air filter and fitted a Pioneer AppRadio2 Lightning connector in arm rest storage box Next on the list - Roll bar and oil + filter change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) Aug 14 Update time - Got some clear reflectors which I decided to tint in a light smoke colour. Really pleased with these, just need a HID kit now to get rid of the yellow dipped beam. Roll bar fitting, step 1, remove speaker wind blocker Step 2, remove trim, parcel shelf and carpet Step 3, hack about 4" off the parcel shelf mounting points on the seatbelt towers and neaten up the mess you've made. Step 4, figure out what spacers are required to close the gap between the roll bar and the towers then drill the holes Step 5, bolt seatbelt tower bolts back in place, mark locations to drill, jack up rear, remove wheels and arch lines, drill out hole to 10mm Step 6, Fit spacers, bolt through seatbelt towers, bolt through floor pan and fit reinforcing plates on rear mounting points, paint to prevent rust. Step 7, trim parcel shelf, sound deadening and carpet then refit everything Edited September 4, 2014 by longsh07 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Good job on the roll cage and the smoked side lights do look really good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Good job on the roll cage and the smoked side lights do look really good. Thanks chap, really pleased with how close to body colour they are. One of the other options was to just paint the originals body colour but thought a little bit of extra light wouldn't do any harm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Just in case you ever start looking at changing the engine. Take a look what's possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Impressive to actually see it in the car! Id only ever seen this video of a V8 MX5 before 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 you definitely did the right thing by getting new pistons and rubbers. You could've pushed out the piston and given the corrosion some wet and dry action but that's not always the best idea as crap can get in to the imperfect areas that have been rubbed down new rubbers or not. They would've ended up sticking again at some point. Good call, and at least you don't have to worry about it now you're going to track it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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