225 replies to this topic

[james_ly]

Wish mine was like that, good work!

[gaffer1986]

I sold this car in Nov 2020 to a guy in Southampton, just been reminiscing through my old posts and realised that I didn't post my progress after 2018 so I'll finish it now so future owners have a detailed view of it's history July 2016 - Nov 2020.

 

Nothing much was done to it in 2019 other than basic maintenance, tyres, etc. It was used probably once a week on average and only did one track day in February 2019. I think it was 2019 that the aux belt became many small bits of aux belt so I replaced the tensioner for good measure. I guess it wasn't designed to be used at close to 7800rpm, the belt wasn't old.

 

Here are some photos of the work I did in 2020: https://photos.app.g...DMKd7tEus4tMaZ7

 

Beginning of 2020 it needed a new battery after a cold night and that small thing kicked me back into action on it.

 

I then replaced the front seal that goes around the front window and part of the doors (tubby seal) with new old stock to stop the roof leaking. I also replaced the throttle cable as that had started to get a bit sticky again, I think from being constantly left out in the rain.

 

I restored the head lights as I did on my previous VX220, I was really pleased with how they came up, although a lot of work.

 

I had the funds and a plan to get Rallysport Automotive (a garage near me I trust) to do a complete restoration of the suspension but lock down was on the horizon and then it came putting me out of work as I'm a driving instructor. Luckily driving instructing isn't my sole source of income but I still had a lot more time on my hands than I'm used to so I thought I'd give the work a go myself.

 

March - July 2020

I did a complete nut and bolt restoration of the suspension with all new bushes and ball joints. Used electrolysis to remove the rust, painted all the steel parts and replaced all the wheel bearings and fitted new road brakes - I have to say the road brakes where better overall on the road for me than the track pads - I will definitely be swapping between track and road from now on. I also fitted the spit fire toe links and replaced the inner ns cv boot for good measure as it is a weak point. I replaced the steering gaiters too and replaced the abs anti vibration mounts as they were very bad. The coil overs where replaced with standard refurbished Bilstein units.

 

But whilst I was there I changed the clutch, I used an OEM LUK unit with a new concentric slave cylinder, I replaced the shims that connect the subframe to the chassis (spit fire shims) - they weren't too bad, everything seemed straight. I replaced both side engine mounts, painted the subframe to rollover bar struts and fitted a new cam chain with pulleys, tensioner etc. Nearly every nut and bolt I removed was replaced. I also removed the front and rear engine mount poly sleeves which was something I wished I'd done earlier because it solved many of my resonance issues. I also replaced the header tank as it's cheap.

 

The front clam had some stress cracks and other defects so I sent that off the be restored with the original V grill being fitted. I said to the paint shop owner, don't quote me, just take your time and make it strong and right. £1500 not including VAT later I think maybe I shouldn't have said that, although he did a good job. He said it took a long time to sand out the stone chips but to be fair to him, he spent the best part of a week on it. That includes the front bonnet and metal grills. I also replace the toe eye bracket with a proper stainless steel VX220 one because it had an Elise bracket that wasn't going to work with my V grill.

 

New hydraulic oil lifters where fitted by Type 116 motorsport in Yorkshire September 2020 after a tapping sound from the cams. I highly recommend Type 116, he had a lot of patience and treats the car gently and with care.

Edited by gaffer1986, 25 February 2021 - 11:32 AM.

[gaffer1986]

If I would have kept the car the next thing would have been to finish the paint work, fit a better b-sting DAB aerial and maybe a more powerful heater, even though mine wasn't too bad - it wasn't great either. Oh, and I would have maybe tried to loosen the gear change a bit as the stick was slow to self centre - I think due to the Elise motorsport cables as my previous VX220 didn't have this problem.

 

Many people want to know why cars get sold especially when so much time and money and has been spent. It was a combination of many things. I think it was partly because I felt guilty whenever I was working on the car as I know I could have used the time to make money instead of spend it. Although, I don't regret what I achieved and I learnt a lot.

 

Mostly it was because it was becoming clear that a VX220 wasn't the car for me anymore. Me and my other half like to have long weekends which can be many hours away by car. I don't want to take the daily because I want my sports car when I get to the good roads but I don't want to take my sports car because no matter how hard I try it sucks on long journeys. It was too loud and there was no way of fitting cruise control which I struggle without on a 6 hour plus drive. So it's a catch 22 situation. People would almost take offence when I mentioned cruise control in such a car but you need to get to the good roads and the track before you can enjoy the car, Essex isn't exactly famed for it's amazing roads. I'm sure my car got louder over my ownership or I could just be getting older. Using noise cancelling headphones on a road trip with my other half was not my idea of fun. The final straw was when I picked my friend up for a quick nandos, I ended sitting at 55mph on the dual carriageway just so I could hear him. I said to him I'm getting fed up, I need a car I can have fun with but allows me to cruise for the boring bits too. He strongly agreed but his opinion didn't count as he was never a fan of the car - he has had a 350Z for about 11 years now so I guess light a nimble isn't his priority.

 

So I looked into an Elise 1.6 and a newish Elise S thinking it's got cruise, it's cheap as it doesn't lose money and it will still be fun. But I also stopped by my local Mazda dealer out of curiosity to have a look at the new MX5s. There was a white one which I shrugged off immediately because it was white but it kept catching my eye and the more I looked at it the more I liked it. It turned out to be a 100th anniversary edition with only 100 coming to the UK. The dark red, white, silver and black colour combination was really drawing me in and I couldn't stop looking at it. I was thinking - no way I'm buying this, it's £30,000 and I'd lose half in 3 years easy. I test drove a 1.5, there was no 2.0 184s to drive but I was impressed with how fun the 1.5 was. Didn't sleep for a week, so I went in and bought it and I absolutely love it. Then there was no choice, I had to sell the VX220 as I couldn't keep both.

 

The VX220 is definitely the faster and more capable car. It deals with minor road imperfections better than the MX5 - although the MX5 is better when you hit a big dip. The main thing that's better about the VX220 is the chassis, really makes a difference going from a tub to a monocoque, even with bracing you can feel a slight disconnection between the front and the rear of the car, you especially notice it when you've done about 26,000 miles in two different VX220s over about 5 years. What's interesting is I never notice the difference as much when going from monocoque to tub, the improvement is less noticeable than the downgrade. It reminds me of when 1080P HD film was new, it was better but I didn't realise how much better until I tried to watch a DVD again. But overall I am enjoying it more, it's more than enough fun on the good roads, I was lucky enough to do a 1650 mile road trip to and around Scotland before lock down, it has one of the best front ends of any car I've driven, understeer is not an issue and the rear is quite a lot more loose than I'm used to, with the LSD it's quite enjoyable.

 

I would still have the VX220 though if I could have both. I think Mazda's 2.0 184ps forged engine would be great in the VX220, it's like my old ITB engine for character and revs but is more refined and will be more reliable long term I'm sure.

 

Here is a link to my MX5 album on google photos: https://photos.app.g...uPzu7HnNwWrYHM9

[Sutol]

Thanks for taking the trouble for the update👍 The MX5 has been around for a long time and although it's put on the pounds (money and weight) it's still a great car. A limited edition may hold the value a little better than one that's not, like the VXR.

[hairy]

Great write up - thanks!

[gaffer1986]

I think the latest MX5 is a similar weight to the original. But it's hard to compare weights as everyone quotes different figures - DIN, kerb, dry and the definition of kerb has changed at least once.


What you will be surprised by is the latest mk4 MX5 was actually cheaper than the original. When it went on sale in 1990 it's starting price was £14,250 which is the equivalent of £29,200 in 2015 when you consider inflation. The mk4 MX5 which went on sale in 2015 had a starting price of £18,495 which is considerably cheaper than the original. Nearly half price.

The reason why the price has gone up so much in the last 3 years is because of the EUs CO2 based fines for new cars. It's done on weight and CO2 and lighter cars are being penalised more than heavier cars even if they have the same CO2 figures. All cars have gone up considerably since 2017 to try and price us out of petrol and diesel and into electric.