1.6 or 1.8 MX5 donor?

[s6ggo]

Hi there,

I know there is probably plenty of this info around but looking for a quick answer.

Got the option of a 1600 mk2 mx5 as a donor for an Exocet. So I'm wondering what the usual preferences are for engine and whether I should wait out for an 1800?

Thanks,

Steve

[mikeeyboy]

I may be wrong on this but read up on Wikipedia. Some of the mk2 1.6 were very low power, circa 90bhp I think.

I'd say look for a mk2 1.8 or mk1 1.6.

[Toed64]

Some versions of the 1.8 can feel a little asthmatic, but they have more power, many slightly stronger components and they also have bigger brakes. The 1.6 MK1 seems to rev more freely and can be tweaked to produce almost as much power as a 1.8. Of course, if you plan to turbocharge or supercharge, it's probably less important. The UK 1.6 was detuned in the last couple of years of production, so should be avoided.

My one tip would be to make sure that the car is equipped with a limited slip differential. If you don't, you'll probably want to retro-fit a proper diff later. They are not nearly as good without a limited slip differential.

Good MK1s are getting expensive. They all rot really badly, so the difference between a premium car and a £200 scrapper is often only how recently it's been noshed up. Most of them are old and tired now.

I'd buy the lowest mileage MK2 1.8s I could find. They have bigger brakes than many of the others and they also have Torsen diffs.

The MK2s seem to rot worse than many of the MK1s, although it's often only the shell, not the subframes. Accident damaged cars are often excellent donors because it doesn't take much of a scrape to write off a car nowadays and you don't need the bodywork anyway.

[theancientone]

The Mk2.5 1.8 Sport (2001 -> 2005) makes a good donor. Biggest brakes, six speed 'box, LSD, cylinder head which flows air well for forced induction....and a chance for a bit of money back on the leather heated seats etc.
It's almost sad how many of them are turning up at auctions nowadays with impeccable service histories and no MOT due to rotten arches, sills and chassis rails.
A great source of kit car donors.

[s6ggo]

Hi guys,

Many thanks for the responses.

So that settles it, a mk2 1.8 is what I need. If I can find a rotten 2.5 with the 6spd box then ideal.

I'm very conscious of the time the build will take, so I don't want to take forever finding a donor, but I also want to make sure I get the right donor. And at the same time, not spend too much money on the donor itself.

It's a tough one but will just have to keep my eyes peeled.

Jun 3, 2017 22:14:18 GMT theancientone said:

The Mk2.5 1.8 Sport (2001 -> 2005) makes a good donor. Biggest brakes, six speed 'box, LSD, cylinder head which flows air well for forced induction....and a chance for a bit of money back on the leather heated seats etc.
It's almost sad how many of them are turning up at auctions nowadays with impeccable service histories and no MOT due to rotten arches, sills and chassis rails.
A great source of kit car donors.

What auctions should I be looking at for these? I've only been looking at eBay so far.

Thanks,

Steve

[theancientone]

As we speak there is a 2003 1.8 Nevada listed at British Car Auctions (BCA) Measham on 07.16.17.
It's got a warranted mileage of 57925 with TEN services, and five of the services being by a main dealer.
A quick look at its MOT history shows that it failed a test in April this year, and failed again in May because of excessively corroded chassis rails.
CAP 'below average' valuation is shown as £1000 but I can't see it making anywhere near that....it's not road legal.
There's also a 1999 Mk2 1.8 at BCA Blackbush with 79000 warranted miles and five services. MOT expires tomorrow!
There's a 2003 1.8 Sport at BCA Nottingham with 39903! warranted miles and FIFTEEN services (nine main dealer). But this has a year's MOT so it'll sell for more.
And others which I don't have time to list.

[gwnwar]

What are you Googling to find all the auction sites..

[theancientone]

"Car auctions UK" throws up BCA, Manheim and smaller operators.
s6ggo, if you live anywhere near Leeds, Preston, Brighouse or Manchester I'd be pleased to accompany you to a BCA auction, with whom I have an account.

[s6ggo]

Jun 5, 2017 8:35:01 GMT theancientone said:

"Car auctions UK" throws up BCA, Manheim and smaller operators.
s6ggo, if you live anywhere near Leeds, Preston, Brighouse or Manchester I'd be pleased to accompany you to a BCA auction, with whom I have an account.

Thanks for the offer, unfortunately I live near Lockerbie. However, I'd be more than happy to travel to any of those places if there are cars available, so I would very much appreciate that. Then I could pick your brain about the cars themselves. I'll be in touch 😃
The difficulty is finding an auction on an available day for me.

[slowgo]

Just an idea but I am on an "mx5 buy n sell" group on facebook and there are always cheap mx5's for sale, example was a 1.8 2002 last week with MOT for £300! You do have to act fast as they soon get snapped up.

[theancientone]

Yes, I'm on a similar if not the same Facebook group.
You really have to decide which donor you want.
We bought our Exocet ready built, and the builder had used a UK 1997 Mk1 1.6. I can't understand why anyone would go to all the trouble of building a kit car and use a 90bhp donor.
We transferred pretty much everything from our supercharged (but rusting) 2002 Mk2.5 1.8 Sport into the Exocet.
My feeling is that if you're going to go to all the trouble of building a car you might as well use the 'best' donor.
So if it were me I'd be keeping a close eye on the Facebook group (and the auctions) for a Mk2.5 1.8 Sport.... ideally without MOT and thereby cheap.
Of course, to do this you'll have to beg, steal or borrow a car transporting trailer and something with which to tow it.
Otherwise I'd watch for a Mk2.5 1.8 with an LSD (which some limited editions have) and be prepared to upgrade to 'Sport' brakes later.
And I'd be very keen for the donor to have a documented service history.
Not much point taking hours and hours to build a kit car with knackered mechanicals.

[gwnwar]

I wouldn't worry to much about sport brakes unless you are going to be racing the car.. OEM with a good set of pad will work just fine.. 6 speed is OK to have but another gear to go through.. A lot of people have changed out of 6 back to 5 speed.. Rust on running gear would be my worry point..

[theancientone]

Conventional wisdom is that the six speed 'box is stronger than the five speed. So it can be an asset, along with Sport brakes, if you're considering forced induction and track use.

[welshy1]

If going stupid power yes over 350bhp. The 6 speed is actually worse to use on track over the 5 speed box and tbh the cost of 5 speed box even if you do break one very uncommon you can buy one for under £50.