It's not pretty but it's a decent project and it's a surprising amount of fun!
Going in for paint on the front end in a week or two thank god...
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JoeyD's MX5 NC Recaro
- Thread starter JoeyD
- Start date
Going in for paint on the front end in a week or two thank god...
That actually looks quite good I think, especially with the contrasting wheels. What has been done to the suspension to get that stance?
It's just on BC coilovers with the interior stripped. It's very light at the rear which makes for "interesting" handling... Might get a thread up at some point as I feel like compacts are just labelled as crap for having an old fashioned rear end. Thing is, nobody ever said the E30 M3, Z3M etc were bad handling cars and this is no different.
Yeah, I'd be interested to read a full thread mate, always looked at these with curiosity
_Tom
ClioSport Club Member
My mates got one with a 1jz motor in it. Goes well in corners and on straights lol
Fit's like a glove..
Yeah looks ideal! The engine is a smaller displacement than mine so not dissimilar at all. Shame mines RHD because bmw motors like boost... steering column ruins everything!
Before
And after. Winner! (kidneys on order!) Should be going through an MOT next week and then it's time for a trackday :smile:
I thought the same for a good few hours, seeing it all the same colour took some proper getting used to!
2.8 M52 out of a 328i. Would love to try a regular 318ti though, bet they're more than powerful enough for some cheap fun! They race them in the 'Compact Cup' looks like a right laugh!
Swift Sport
Yeah I'm subscribed to the Compact Cup via the BRSCC which is what got me looking at compacts, along with my mate Mark who competes in one. I think I've mentioned him to you via Instagram...
Attachments
Yes you did! I remember. Yeah looks like a proper fun championship!
So failed its MOT today, needs an exhaust and one of the headlights is from a LHD lol! No biggie, exhaust needed to go anyway and I wanted to swap the headlights for proper glass lense ones like you'd get on a coupe or saloon. Just a shame its so close to Christmas!
So failed its MOT today, needs an exhaust and one of the headlights is from a LHD lol! No biggie, exhaust needed to go anyway and I wanted to swap the headlights for proper glass lense ones like you'd get on a coupe or saloon. Just a shame its so close to Christmas!
@TomSx got anymore info on this or a build thread? Uses a BMW gearbox right? Just curious how its mated; adaptor plate or custom bellhousing...
So wee update on the compact, cba starting a thread.
As above failed MOT on emissions and a crusty exhaust, so took that off to have a look...
Nice and riggy. The 'cat' was just an imitation apparently! Weird.
I intended to just fit a complete coupe exhaust from a 328 with a bit of length taken out, but it was way more hassle than it was worth - the backbox is bloody massive!
So I stuck with the oem mid section and cats and just had a backbox made by JPexhausts in Macclesfield. Much better!
I'd butchered the rear panel trying to fit the other backbox so ordered a new one.
Note the new dealer plates too!
While it was off the road I decided to fit an LSD, I ideally wanted a clutch type, but there dont appear to be many E30 units for a reasonable price and they're probably all worn out by now anyway. So I found a medium case Z3 Torsen LSD (3.38:1 vs 3.45:1 previously on the car). Not quite as good as the clutch type for doing skids, but they don't wear out and it'll hopefully do for track use. I also fitted new, shorter driveshafts due to the larger case size. The old diff snapped the mounting tab on removal too, so I'm not going to bother with a polybush on the new one - clearly didnt like it!
I then set about removing all the old crap bonnet latches, they were corroded and only one actually worked! Fitted a set of aerocatches to just eliminate the problem altogether.
I also fitted new grills as I didnt have any whatsoever.
Another MOT advisory was that the passenger headlight was pointing the wrong way. It was actually from a left hand drive car, oddly. Kind of makes sense - the car has obviously been smashed and just cheaply repaired... nice. I took this opportunity to throw the compact-only plastic lense headlights out and swap them for proper glass lensed elipsoids. Just a small wiring loom change was needed for this.
And that pretty much brings it up to date. Passed MOT with no advisories thankfully, although now the gauge cluster has started playing up and a coolant pipe has started to buldge... always something!
So this is how it stands now
Really really hate that front bumper, it doesn't fit properly at all.. but it'll do for now. Needs new tyres and the brakes need seeing to also... it's been a bit of a bigger project than I originally thought TBH! Ah well...
Also if anyone knows of a set of those 16x8 E38 BBS's going cheap then I'd love them. They're really not cheap on ebay anymore annoyingly!
As above failed MOT on emissions and a crusty exhaust, so took that off to have a look...
Nice and riggy. The 'cat' was just an imitation apparently! Weird.
I intended to just fit a complete coupe exhaust from a 328 with a bit of length taken out, but it was way more hassle than it was worth - the backbox is bloody massive!
So I stuck with the oem mid section and cats and just had a backbox made by JPexhausts in Macclesfield. Much better!
I'd butchered the rear panel trying to fit the other backbox so ordered a new one.
Note the new dealer plates too!
While it was off the road I decided to fit an LSD, I ideally wanted a clutch type, but there dont appear to be many E30 units for a reasonable price and they're probably all worn out by now anyway. So I found a medium case Z3 Torsen LSD (3.38:1 vs 3.45:1 previously on the car). Not quite as good as the clutch type for doing skids, but they don't wear out and it'll hopefully do for track use. I also fitted new, shorter driveshafts due to the larger case size. The old diff snapped the mounting tab on removal too, so I'm not going to bother with a polybush on the new one - clearly didnt like it!
I then set about removing all the old crap bonnet latches, they were corroded and only one actually worked! Fitted a set of aerocatches to just eliminate the problem altogether.
I also fitted new grills as I didnt have any whatsoever.
Another MOT advisory was that the passenger headlight was pointing the wrong way. It was actually from a left hand drive car, oddly. Kind of makes sense - the car has obviously been smashed and just cheaply repaired... nice. I took this opportunity to throw the compact-only plastic lense headlights out and swap them for proper glass lensed elipsoids. Just a small wiring loom change was needed for this.
And that pretty much brings it up to date. Passed MOT with no advisories thankfully, although now the gauge cluster has started playing up and a coolant pipe has started to buldge... always something!
So this is how it stands now
Really really hate that front bumper, it doesn't fit properly at all.. but it'll do for now. Needs new tyres and the brakes need seeing to also... it's been a bit of a bigger project than I originally thought TBH! Ah well...
Also if anyone knows of a set of those 16x8 E38 BBS's going cheap then I'd love them. They're really not cheap on ebay anymore annoyingly!
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Not a Diesel!!!
ClioSport Club Member
LY Meg Cup-S + MX5
Really enjoyed reading through this thread.
Got the wife a mint/low miles 25th Anniversary last year. With a view to doing some BBR bits.
Probably start with the 180 kit (Manifold & Remap) for a bit more torque and noise.
See how it goes as manifold is first step on road to there new supercharger kit. Could easily drop £10k on it with charger/Ohlin's/brakes. Which would give a very special car but with no chance of recouping ££ so need to be sure its the route to go down.
Although upping power in stages every couple of years may keep the car interesting.
Got the wife a mint/low miles 25th Anniversary last year. With a view to doing some BBR bits.
Probably start with the 180 kit (Manifold & Remap) for a bit more torque and noise.
See how it goes as manifold is first step on road to there new supercharger kit. Could easily drop £10k on it with charger/Ohlin's/brakes. Which would give a very special car but with no chance of recouping ££ so need to be sure its the route to go down.
Although upping power in stages every couple of years may keep the car interesting.
Wow, 5 year thread bump
Well, the E36 ended up looking pretty good for a compact! It did a few trackdays
...before donating its engine & suspension to an E30
Then it sat for a while and got scrapped a couple of months ago
In summary, MX5 = good car, E36 = good car.
The end!
Well, the E36 ended up looking pretty good for a compact! It did a few trackdays
...before donating its engine & suspension to an E30
Then it sat for a while and got scrapped a couple of months ago
In summary, MX5 = good car, E36 = good car.
The end!
Not a Diesel!!!
ClioSport Club Member
LY Meg Cup-S + MX5
Interestingly my Neighbour s ( in there late 60's) just scrapped a yellow W Reg Compact they had since new.
My other Neighbour in there 80's has a E30 316 Auto in a brown/bronze that they have had since new.
And I complete your car ownership trilogy with my MX5.
My other Neighbour in there 80's has a E30 316 Auto in a brown/bronze that they have had since new.
And I complete your car ownership trilogy with my MX5.
Not a Diesel!!!
ClioSport Club Member
LY Meg Cup-S + MX5
I have this thing of buying cars for my wifes daily that I want to own. The MX5 is her daily. Although garaged most of the time & does 4-5k a year.
As such she is not big at revving cars. Her Fabia VRS from near 20 years ago was probably best fit.
But she likes the look bit so have managed to get her quite a few interesting cars. Last one was a STI Widetrack for 7 years so suffering the torque deficit. Thought about Fiesta ST etc but as I already have a Meg got the turbo hot hatch with practicality done.
I would love the 200 or the itb route. The sound is immense on the latter. But neither seem to offer much sub 4k over the manifold.
But forced induction with BBR seems to give a good spread of torque (although graphs for either seem to start at 3k) whilst maintaining a linear power delivery. Dont need to worry about track work & under bonnet temps.
Also live a a fairly poorly maintained road with a driveway that comes up a kerb before dropping down into it All ok if you roll along at 5mph & choose your line. Close call on std sporty cars grounding out. MX5 as is is std fairly tight on midpoint & exhaust tips (wheelbarrow handles).
Not a Diesel!!!
ClioSport Club Member
LY Meg Cup-S + MX5
Interestingly with Ohlin's I think BBR fit a custom spring and quote a 35mm drop. Whereas other suppliers quote a range with upper end of that 5-10mm drop. So pretty much zero. So get the benefit of improved damping/roll without the drop. Everything else seems to give you drop.
My Megane Cup-S on OEM Ohlins is high would say std Cup ride height.
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