Thread: Timattalon's MX5 woes

It took a while, but as an update, I appreciated all the ideas around insitu repairs, but decided that if I was keeping the car, I want to do the job properly, and if I was selling it , then a bodge repair is not fair to the new owner either...

I decided to keep the car- I do really enjoy driving it.

I pulled the old motor out and replaced it with a mates donor motor from a wreck he wanted the gearbox from. (Another 89 NA...) The new motor has 150k on it before a bus redesigned the front from the radiator forwards......- motor was unscathed.

New motor runs well- did a few other bits while in there that you would do replacing the motor- new waterpump, clutch, seals etc....

Old motor is on a shelf and when I get around to it, I will either sell it as is (runs well apart from needing the crank to be fixed but this is not a big job now the motor is out) or I will use it as a learning experience and pull the crank / big ends and sort it myself.

There is a few other things that I will do too- I used my original injectors as he ones in the donor motor had sat so long that they are now blocked. This will likely get done if the car starts to show signs of engine trouble in the future but I am not expecting that anytime soon.

It runs a treat and I am back to using it as my daily commter to work as well - thats 30km each way each afternoon to work and each morning on the way home....And atthe right time of year...Top down under the stars is fun...

Now all I need to do is learn how to do a proper respray.....

Jegs.com can supply a nice ford Motorsport alloy 302 that will have you grinning for the rest of your driving days

Life’s worth living

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

Jegs.com can supply a nice ford Motorsport alloy 302 that will have you grinning for the rest of your driving days

Life’s worth living

Theres a couple of motors I have had in the past that I would think woould be very fun in the wee car...

1st is the 1.8l V6 out of the Mazda Presso which is a FWD coupe version of the RWD MX5 . It is a very responsive motor and very revvy. It was great in the preso but unfortunately we got the last presso made that week on Friday 5 min before knock off and anything that could go wrong did....We traded it at the dealership where we got it and I was up front when I traded it that it was a lemon of a car- great fun when it worked but unreliable as hell....and you know what- He gave us nearly what we paid for it as a trade in as a way of apologising....

Another motor I would love to try would be the V6 in the Diamante I already have....3.5l ....but those engines would probably require a lot more work in upgrades to everything else to handle the power and weight increase....(brakes, suspension, Diff, gearbx etc.....)

could always save the planet and put an electric motor in it.... that crank damage is usually from a loose crank pulley or worn key...

Originally Posted by blip

could always save the planet and put an electric motor in it.... that crank damage is usually from a loose crank pulley or worn key...

Bolt had worked loose so quite correct there...Electric would be borderline criminal in these.....

Another powerplant option would be a 2.8L V8 Hyuabussa. My old boss is a motorhead and got the guys to build one during a quiet spell. It was before I started working there so I never found out what happened to it, I've heard of other people doing similar projects.

Yep some amazing 2 part epoxies available nowadays ,some claims to be stronger than metal
If u gonna keep it and wanna throw $$ at it go with new motor, alternatively bog it up , see how long it lasts u might be surprised

We use a 2

2 part epoxy from wurth
Been keeping a 300 bar compressor final pressure piston face working
We got the spare now but the boys on the boat wanna see how long it can last , been over 12 months