NC MX5

[The Bogan]

1 hour ago, soviet_merlin said:

Oh wow, it's easy to forget how cheap these can be. Probably the cheapest way to travel. Though people in cars here tend to be morons and I would not feel very safe.

Were scooters ever big in Australia? It used to be the thing growing up in Europe ~20 years ago. 50/70/125ccm Peugeot or Yamaha and some others. Utterly obnoxious Polini race exhausts. Kick stands that slant as much as possible. So loud. So much noise for really not moving very fast at all. But it felt cool at the time.

Not sure where I'm going with this, but there is an aftermarket for mopeds! Though I'd have pictured you more for a Goldwing kind of guy after growing out of the Harley.

I've owned a few scooters over the years, a Vespa PX oil burner was my first scooter, followed by a few others, including a little 50cc BeeWee that I used as a barracks bike, and I've had a blast on all of them, they really are the cheapest for of city/suburb transport around

The only issue with scooters in Australia is lots of people look down on them due to their size,  maybe they need a big bike to make up for something else where they are lacking, unlike Europe and Asia where every man an their dog owns one, and now that filtering is legal in NSW, local traffic is never a issue

Not to say I haven't owned my share of big cc bikes over the years, but they were for more blasting through the hills or Hwy riding where it needed to sit on Hwy speeds

Safety wise, I ride like everyone is always trying to kill me, everyone is running a red, or running stop/give way signs, or generally asleep at the wheel, which most people are duringtheir commute, I also ride really safe, and give myself, and everyone else enough room in case I need to pull some hasty evasive actions, I've done a few rider training days over the years, which has come in handy on more than a few occasions 

As for mods, there's nothing really, and yes your right about aftermarket exhaust, all you get is loud and obnoxious noises from them, like every 250-300 cc you hear with a aftermarket muffler, in saying this I did put a rear muffler from a 125 Aprilla on one of my old 125 scooters, it was horrendous and no amount of full face helmet and ear plugs would dampen that noise

As for coming from the Harley, and what a overpriced POS that was, I no longer do big rides as my poor old busted joints ache after about 1/2 an hour of riding, long cruises are so much more enjoyable now in a car, so a big bike would be pointless 

 

[Milkmun]

Definitely needs a hard top

[The Bogan]

8 hours ago, Milkmun said:

Definitely needs a hard top

That would be my Shoei helmet

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

I like this page, better than that silly turbo kit

 

https://v8roadsters.com/product-category/engine-conversions/engine-conversion-lsx/engine-conversion-lsx-nc/

 

[The Bogan]

9 minutes ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

I like this page, better than that silly turbo kit

 

https://v8roadsters.com/product-category/engine-conversions/engine-conversion-lsx/engine-conversion-lsx-nc/

 

Great if:

1. You had all of the money for everything else that is required 

2. Lived in a country where you could actually do this and drive it legally on the road

Sadly, neither applies to me

As for the turbo, I am having second thoughts, mainly for engineering/registration legality reasons and insurance 

Not saying I've finished doing stupid things that I probably should do to the MX5, but boost, and V8 engine swaps isn't on the cards

Strange, but true 

[Kinkstaah]

Excuse me, but 2) does apply

1) Would also apply if you consider how much is spent in the alternatives.

Also there's the option of 3), buy one pre-built that you can put your family in (it's me, it's my car)

 

That said, I went on a ~500km drive the other day. I didn't use anything more adventurous than 3rd/4th gear at about ~3000RPM and 50% throttle and I was going as fast as anyone has any sense doing on a public road, with enough grip to the point where I didn't want to go any faster. I was obviously under the limit of the current car etc etc.

MX5 with 2.5 N/A to achieve the same speed would be more fun for any road scenario.

Maybe consider cams. I wouldn't boost it. The use case is just not there and it won't actually make the car more enjoyable unless you really do plan on wringing gears from 1st to 3rd (at least) at 100% WOT on a public road to 150+kmh.

[The Bogan]

43 minutes ago, Kinkstaah said:

Excuse me, but 2) does apply

1) Would also apply if you consider how much is spent in the alternatives.

Also there's the option of 3), buy one pre-built that you can put your family in (it's me, it's my car)

 

That said, I went on a ~500km drive the other day. I didn't use anything more adventurous than 3rd/4th gear at about ~3000RPM and 50% throttle and I was going as fast as anyone has any sense doing on a public road, with enough grip to the point where I didn't want to go any faster. I was obviously under the limit of the current car etc etc.

MX5 with 2.5 N/A to achieve the same speed would be more fun for any road scenario.

Maybe consider cams. I wouldn't boost it. The use case is just not there and it won't actually make the car more enjoyable unless you really do plan on wringing gears from 1st to 3rd (at least) at 100% WOT on a public road to 150+kmh.

2 does "sort of" applies, maybe......but looking at what parts would be needed for the swap to get engineered, registered, and insured, and basically that's everything under the car, the modifications the make it legal would be problematic and horrendously expensive, all for a street car that just cruises around and hits a few twisty roads on the weekends

Also, from looking at the NSW rules and Regs, with all modifications that is required just to make the car safe and not twist itself to pieces, and then actually get registered for street use, may still be impossible nowadays

As for 1, when you add in a fresh engine, fresh transmission, rear cradle and diff, tailshaft, suspension, brakes, cooling, and all the other fabrication required, your probably looking at up to $100k to do it right, all for a 20 year old MX5 that is over engineered and you would never be able to actually use the power it has on the street, much like your beastie, which I love, but you actually track that thing and can use all of its powers in anger, in a safe environment 

Hell, the old Bogan Cruise Ship had more power than I could use on the street, and in hindsight, I went a bit silly on that thing, it didn't really need the 500hp it had for what I actually used the car for, it was fun, but basically unusable on the street if you value your licence 

As for cams, yeah, I'll probably book it in for them to get installed and tuned soonish, like next month after MX5 Mania are back at work....... and yes, I've already sent a email to bin the turbo quote and quote instead to install cams and a new Fluidampr balancer that will suit the 2.5 better than the OEM 2.0 balancer that is swapped over for the 2.5 install, as the balancer needs to get pulled to time the cams it's a while your in there sort of thing

I did think a bit about flex fuel for a laugh, but being na, and no where really around locally anymore to get E85, I've binned that idea, so no sweet sweet corn smells are set for the car

I wish E85 was more of a standard fuel, it's better for the environment, better for tuning, plus that sweet sweet smell we all love

As for fitting in the family, that's not needed, as everyone in the family already owns a car that can seat 5 humans comfortably enough, the MX5 is "my toy"

As for buying a car that is already built, nah, I would rather pick and choose my parts, I enjoy the process, and in the big picture, the additional cost is well worth the enjoyment, and the occasional frustration, I get out of doing it, albeit with other people spinning the spanners, and me, just paying the invoice 🤣

[Milkmun]

NoS, 2 of the big ones.

[GTSBoy]

31 minutes ago, Milkmun said:

NoS, 2 of the big ones.

You know, that is exactly the thing that I was thinking a coupe of hours ago. I even had a plan for a meme, involving one big one, another big one, and the Old El Paso girl saying "¿por que no los dos?"

[Milkmun]

El paso girl is a bloody good meme.

But really, NoS.

[Komdotkom]

You could have a chat to these guys and empty your bank account, I like their de-stroked 2.5 combo.

https://esslingeracing.com/mazda-4-v-per-cylinder-4-cyl-engines/mzr-2-5l

 

 

[Duncan]

Good news mate, plenty of spares available

5:40

 

[MBS206]

On 1/25/2025 at 4:15 PM, Duncan said:

Good news mate, plenty of spares available

5:40

 

Looks like all those cheap spares can be accounted to the blue guy on row 3 on the inside... Looked like he gave the one in front a helping hand sideways, and someone did it to the pink MX5 too

[The Bogan]

Picked up a new OEM boot seal for the MX5 today as the old one got ripped a bit by me being a idiot by seeing if I could fit a large metal tool box in it, it didn't fit, and ripped the seal with the corner of the tool box

I am still waiting on time to get the cams and new balancer installed, as well as the repairs to the boot

Time will not be an issue soon though

[soviet_merlin]

A Brumby would probably fit a big metal toolbox in the back... this is how it begins  

[The Bogan]

48 minutes ago, soviet_merlin said:

A Brumby would probably fit a big metal toolbox in the back... this is how it begins  

Brumbys with good shells are bloody expensive, I've looked at 2 "cheaper" cars, and walked away from both,  plus after some research spare parts are fairly sparce

I'm starting to think that I missed the boat on finding a clean one that is straight (ish) and without alot rust

I'm starting to think about a old Hilux as panels and other parts are much more available as they sold tens of thousands of them

I use to be indecisive but now I'm not sure

[MBS206]

20 hours ago, The Bogan said:

Brumbys with good shells are bloody expensive, I've looked at 2 "cheaper" cars, and walked away from both,  plus after some research spare parts are fairly sparce

I'm starting to think that I missed the boat on finding a clean one that is straight (ish) and without alot rust

I'm starting to think about a old Hilux as panels and other parts are much more available as they sold tens of thousands of them

I use to be indecisive but now I'm not sure

You should totally get a Brumby, and then come pick up the Subaru Liberty GTB I have here.

EJ25 Turbo, 6 speed manual from the sti (just no dccd), and the good rear diff.

Drop all that into a Brumby and go have fun!

[The Bogan]

1 hour ago, MBS206 said:

You should totally get a Brumby, and then come pick up the Subaru Liberty GTB I have here.

EJ25 Turbo, 6 speed manual from the sti (just no dccd), and the good rear diff.

Drop all that into a Brumby and go have fun!

Engines and drivelines are not war stoppers for me mate, busted arse bodies and un-obtainium parts and panels are though

Both cheap Brumbies I looked at had trashed tubs and a fair bit of rust

[GTSBoy]

One of those Proton utes then. with an Evo motor in it.

Gowahn!

[The Bogan]

Ok, still waiting for a date to get the cams installed on the MX5, why so long, because MX5 Mania has received a few new sets of different cams with different specs for the MZR and are currently trialling them, and working out what is best for 2.5 "powers" with stock internals, in the end if I go bigger than the Kelford stage 1 cams I'll need to look at the valve springs 

Hopefully I'll get the news on them next week

As for the boot of the car getting fixed, I hopefully pick it up early next week, I was sweating on picking it up yesterday but, meh, it was not to be, so ne weekend cruising for me