That was dreadful !

[2boxerdogs]

I know my Merc is  19 years old, but I don't think I would change it for anything newer & after that experience in the MGB all thoughts of getting an older classic have completely been banished from my mind, it meets all of my needs powerful ,comfortable , and for a V8 is not bad on fuel at all & cost me after selling my Omega £4,500 is totally immaculate plus makes me smile every time I drive it.😀

[Andy B]

Not many would keep up on the thirties behind my Smart Roadster ..... all 700cc & 80 bhp. Sticks to the road like the proverbial to a blanket. I've upset various 'fast' cars when I've caught them up again at the next bend ..... obviously they leave me behind on the long straights.   

twisties ...... auto correct on my phone 

[TheBoy]

MX5 is a hoot to drive, and quite nice in a tail out scenario.  And its all low speed fun as well .

It lacks power (big time), and obviously has an image problem, but that doesn't make it boring.


Not tried a new one, but suspect the weight has ballooned and the power sapped, which would be a crying shame.  Esp as all the old ones have rusted away.

Early MR2s are almost as much fun

[VXL V6]

The first two MX5's (pop up headlights and the facelifted one) are great little cars

[deviator]

MX5 is a hoot to drive, and quite nice in a tail out scenario.  And its all low speed fun as well .

It lacks power (big time), and obviously has an image problem, but that doesn't make it boring.


Not tried a new one, but suspect the weight has ballooned and the power sapped, which would be a crying shame.  Esp as all the old ones have rusted away.

Early MR2s are almost as much fun

I've not driven a mk4 in anger yet, but with regards to the mk3 2.0. They are slightly heavier, only slightly, but the standard power has been increased. It's very noticable. They still handle amazingly, especially the one I drove as I'd done Bilstein shocks, Einbach springs and full Powerflex kit to it. Granted, it is far too 'jiggly' for me and finds bumps in an otherwise smooth looking road. The visability in the mk3 in reduced, but this is standard for any newer car pretty much. The build quality has vastly inproved too. No longer do you get that noisy from the plastics in the interior.

For me it's a great car with pretty solid improvements in all areas, however, for the reason it is so good, it's bad. What I mean by that is that the imperfections/differences in the mk1 make the car have more of a personality.

With regards the power of the older ones. See my above comment Z32SE (Signum) is going in one of my Mk1's. So many people turbo these. The power increase is good, but the internals don't like it. Everyone I have spoken to about turbo/sc a mk1 says, 'don't daily it', it's too tempremental. I don't want to spend my time chasing the next weakest link and I love the torgue the v6 gives. The reason I'm going with the VX V6 instead of say the Jag one (as seen in the commercially available v6 conversion kit) is because I know these engines, so I have the tools and experience.

[aaronjb]

Mk4 MX5, at least in 2.0 guise, feels like it is back to the Mk1 - feels lighter than the Mk3 (I've not tried one with the big foldy hard roof, that might feel heavier) and was a lot of fun to drive.. felt like it was lacking about 50hp (the Mazda rep didn't appreciate me saying that on their launch experience day ), but so did the Mk1.

MR2 Roadster is another great little car that has the hairdresser image - less forgiving to drive with the weight hanging over the arse end, and much like the MX5 feels like it's lacking 50hp, but nothing that can't be sorted by strapping a snail on to it. I still miss that car sometimes..

[Kevin Wood]

I wasn't so keen on the Mk3 when we first got it, preferring the Mk2, but it has grown on me.

If you think the TC on the Omega is intrusive, the Mk3 is something to behold. It gives me slaps on the wrist all the time when I'm not even trying to misbehave. Just as well there's an off button.

The Mk3, in 2.0 form, at least, has a very welcome increase in grunt. In fact, the engine is so much better in every way. Much more refined, a much nicer noise, much more willing to rev and bearable on long motorway runs.

Yes, the chassis could handle a bit more grunt, but having to keep it on the boil, and being able to wring every last BHP out of it without the chassis becoming unstuck is part of the appeal for me.

Must blag a drive in a Mk4 some time, although it would be in 124 Spider form for me, as I find the Mazda version a complete minger and the 124 is 

[Viral_Jim]

With regards the power of the older ones. See my above comment Z32SE (Signum) is going in one of my Mk1's. So many people turbo these. The power increase is good, but the internals don't like it. Everyone I have spoken to about turbo/sc a mk1 says, 'don't daily it', it's too tempremental. I don't want to spend my time chasing the next weakest link and I love the torgue the v6 gives. The reason I'm going with the VX V6 instead of say the Jag one (as seen in the commercially available v6 conversion kit) is because I know these engines, so I have the tools and experience.

There's a kit available from Rocketeer that is designed to get the 3.0V6 from the jaguar X & S-types into the MX-5 - really nice product but leaves you with a car that you couldn't rell on without taking a massive hit on.

[deviator]

With regards the power of the older ones. See my above comment Z32SE (Signum) is going in one of my Mk1's. So many people turbo these. The power increase is good, but the internals don't like it. Everyone I have spoken to about turbo/sc a mk1 says, 'don't daily it', it's too tempremental. I don't want to spend my time chasing the next weakest link and I love the torgue the v6 gives. The reason I'm going with the VX V6 instead of say the Jag one (as seen in the commercially available v6 conversion kit) is because I know these engines, so I have the tools and experience.

There's a kit available from Rocketeer that is designed to get the 3.0V6 from the jaguar X & S-types into the MX-5 - really nice product but leaves you with a car that you couldn't rell on without taking a massive hit on.

I'm aware of the kits, but £6-7k for the kit, plus the MX5, plus Jag doner car makes this really expensive. At best, it would be about £8k, I could buy a lot of car for that money. The idea behind this is I've never done a proper engine conversion and as I've just passed a big birthday, this is my reward, I'm looking forward to the puzzles and learning to weld. Luckily I've got a great support network of forums (such as this one) and mates who can weld and teach me.

[Doctor Gollum]

I often wondered if the V6 from the MX3 could be persuaded to fit...

[Mr Gav]

I would also wonder if adding a bigger lump to the MX5 would spoil it`s handling a bit as you will be adding a few Kg`s to the front of the car.

[deviator]

I would also wonder if adding a bigger lump to the MX5 would spoil it`s handling a bit as you will be adding a few Kg`s to the front of the car.

There is not much difference in weight as the MX5 engine is heavy to start with.

[Viral_Jim]

I would also wonder if adding a bigger lump to the MX5 would spoil it`s handling a bit as you will be adding a few Kg`s to the front of the car.

There is not much difference in weight as the MX5 engine is heavy to start with.

According to the internets, the 1.6 is 120kg including most ancilliaries, flywheel etc. Due to the all ali construction, the AJ-V6 is 105kg without the anciliaries but including flywheel. So basically very little in it, bit more water in the rad etc but probably less than 10kgs in it overall. Plus I'd wager the centre of gravity on the v6 is lower - its a very low profile engine.

I'd guess the 3.2 weighs a bit more, but probably not a huge amount in it.

[Mr Gav]

Sounds like it`s not a bad idea then, I was assuming that the V6 would be a fair bit heavier.

[Viral_Jim]

Just been on the rocketeer website. The full kit is an eyewatering £6500. 

But, the "expert kit" of a custom sub-frame, flywheel and adapter plate plus ali sump doesn't look bad at £1200. TBH I could forgo the carbon fibre inlet manifolds and the extra 10-20bhp over the jag's standard 220 ish.

I suspect in an MX5, 220bhp is probably just about enough