Having sold my Indy I've been wondering about buying an affordable useable classic for around £ 1.5k

I started off looking at Capris, Chevettes and Mantas but many available in that bracket seem to need a fair bit of work. Thats something I'm not adverse to after a while but would like to just be able to drive the car for a while and work on it if and when I wanted to make improvements.

Theres a Morris Minor for sale a couple of streets away for £ 1k. It's sound, just slightly scruffy round the edges. lots going for it including very low insurance, zero rated road tax, would open the door to classic car shows etc. Ive had classics before (albeit all rather faster) and Ive always liked the shape and the simplicity.

But then, unbidden, I suddenly rememberd the part stripped MX5 I bought as a donor a couple of years ago l when i was intending to scratch build a Haynes roadster. This sorry looking thing arrived on a trailer minus it's wings, bonnet, doors, boot, nosecone, lights and hood - yet it started first time, the engine ran like a dream and the gearchange was amongst the smoothest. Having now failed to get that thought out of my head it s of course got me wondering if an MX5 could save me from moggy minor land.

What sort of condition early MX5 would i be able to pick up for the money, are the early ones old enough to be insured cheaply as classics yet, etc.

I would go for a £700 car with the intention of using the rest to fix the sills and arches. For your sort of money, you're likely to get a car that will need it's sills doing anyway, or even worse one that has been badly repaired, looks nice enough to sell well but then leave you with a huge bill next year.

My donor was bought cheap, and it looked absolutely mint, almost too good to break. But as I opened it up I realised that it would never get back on the road without major work, and I was doing the right thing by rescuing the usable parts and binning the rest.

If I was going to consider a slightly more practical sports car that was still a 'project', I'd put one at the top of the list.

They are cheap as chips at the moment, I just sold a mk1 gleneagles 42k miles, I had just done the sills properly and I could only get £1200 for it, so they are about but you will have to search one out, look out for rusty sills and general rust on the mk1 and on the mk2 it's sills again and front chassis legs, they are fun though I still have one

I picked up my 1800 MX5 from this very forum for a third of that

Loads about, great fun, and lots of tuning potential. Watch out for rot, sills and rain channels are the most susceptible.

is it better than a 7? no, but its a decent alternative.

Yours really looks in excellent nick. They do seem to be amazing value at the moment

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Originally posted by Not Anumber
Yours really looks in excellent nick. They do seem to be amazing value at the moment

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We paid £620 for one in October. Lots of decent history, sills had a proper repair.
Some new pads at the front, discs all round, oil change and better headlight bulbs cost well under £100. Did a good wood classic track day, and it was brilliant. Could be better with a decent set of matching springs and shocks! Car was faultless, and was on track twice as much as any other car.
They really are excellent value, and what they lack in ultimate performance, they make up for in being usable every day. The lady wife seems to have taken possession as her runabout.
We added it to our classics policy for £100 a year. It had to be 20 years old to qualify, other brokers may vary.

We just bought one too as the Locost is not going to get finished before the summer.

£400.

We've had to do a fair amount of bits and pieces on it including a inner & outer O/S/R arch and some joker as put some pretty dodgy plates on the sills before. It was a bit pink as well (should be red). It's a Greg UK car so it's 24 years old.

But....

It's cracking fun, has 158k miles on it and drives wonderfully. No weird knocks or bangs, engine is lovely and crisp and now i have advanced the timing to 14deg it pulls ok too. Not that quick but just brilliant for the money. Had the top down for almost 2 weeks now!

Needs a LSD and for that reason (and general condition of UK cars - grot) i'd be looking for an imported Eunos.

Also looking at turbo kits.... and engine mounts for the Locost!

one of the best places to look for one would be http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?act=idx

i am on my 2nd one,mine is rust free and cost me £500 with MOT so they are affordable.
as above,rust is the killer,rear sills on the MK1,chassis legs on the MK2 onwards.
imports are the same apart from rear number plate shape and they normally had lots of extras,they cost the same to insure and are less likley to have terminal rust.
do some reading before you start looking for one,get a good one and you will be like a dog with 2 dicks,s

Just a thought, that chap I bought ours from has another, a import V spec. If your interested pm me and I'll pass on the details. It was a bit more than we wanted to pay for a cheap runaround but has all the trimmings. Located in mid kent.

Good advice about the mx5 nutz forum. Loads of info on there.

I'm selling mine on piston heads blue one in Oxfordshire but not cheap but no rust or rot anywhere ....selling because I don't use it enough.4k in 41/2 years...

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Originally posted by theconrodkid

do some reading before you start looking for one,get a good one and you will be like a dog with 2 dicks,s

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quote:Originally posted by theconrodkid

do some reading before you start looking for one,get a good one and you will be like a dog with 2 dicks,s



Buy one with a supercharger or turbo fitted and you'll be like a dog with three dicks - ask me how I know!

Cheers, Pewe10

or get Claire to slip a V6 under the bonnet

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or get Claire to slip a V6 under the bonnet

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Never realised we had so many coiffeurs on here

Ive gone the other way with an Mgtf.

I think it may get turned into a Terrapin or traded for an mx5. Just as rusty.

Threadjack - friend of mine just had his Mk2 MOT failed on pretty much all of the suspension arms having excessive corrosion (I'm not convinced, would have to have a look). Anyone know of cheap sources, seeing as you all seem to have plenty of experience with rotten cars?

for parts,try "junk yard dog" on here http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?act=idx

he is always breaking the poor things

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Originally posted by Norfolkluegojnr
I picked up my 1800 MX5 from this very forum for a third of that

Loads about, great fun, and lots of tuning potential. Watch out for rot, sills and rain channels are the most susceptible.

is it better than a 7? no, but its a decent alternative.

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I've had my 1990 1.6 Eunos for 2 years. Great handling and plenty fast enough for road use. I bought it on a whim even though I considered them a hairdresser's car. It's best money I've ever spent on a car and I use it all the time except for work. Mine is insured on a limited mileage policy same as my Locost, but unlike the Locost I don't need to worry if it is going to rain.
The MX5 is probably the best "British" sportscar ever.


[img]
Eunos [/img]

David

I bought a 1.8 mk1 about 4 years ago to do winter trackdays with instead of using my R1 engined Indy. Loved it so much that I sold the Indy eight months later. Benefits include: a quick easy to use roof, windscreen, radio when you want to pootle, lockable boot, more space, excellent handling, you can buy cheap parts/spare that you know will fit first time with oem quality, you don't come back to it only to find people sitting in/on it and now that it's supercharged has the performance. The only downside I see is that to anyone who hasn't tried one is that they're considered hairdressers cars, that said sevens are a bit mid life crisis aren't they? not saying that's a bad thing just saying

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Originally posted by BigFaceDave

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Originally posted by Norfolkluegojnr
I picked up my 1800 MX5 from this very forum for a third of that

Loads about, great fun, and lots of tuning potential. Watch out for rot, sills and rain channels are the most susceptible.

is it better than a 7? no, but its a decent alternative.

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CORR! That looks like a cracker

I used to have one just like that!

So much fun infact im looking for another one! Still cant believe how much fun can be had for so little money hence im looking for another

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quote:

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Originally posted by Norfolkluegojnr

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Originally posted by BigFaceDave

quote:

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Originally posted by Norfolkluegojnr
I picked up my 1800 MX5 from this very forum for a third of that

Loads about, great fun, and lots of tuning potential. Watch out for rot, sills and rain channels are the most susceptible.

is it better than a 7? no, but its a decent alternative.

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CORR! That looks like a cracker

I used to have one just like that!

So much fun infact im looking for another one! Still cant believe how much fun can be had for so little money hence im looking for another

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Hi Dave! Yep, it's still going strong

Got the squealing sorted but was a sod to get the alternator loose. I think hulk himself tightened it.....

Much progress on the cosworth?

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An 'interesting' one for just your budget;

http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=142704

But there seems to be a steady stream of cars over there.