HFS's car thread | Nearly-5000-miles update

[Joey D]

Ah, thanks guys!

 

[homeforsummer]

Korea change​

So this is "mine" now. i30 N. The RF goes back in the next couple of weeks, so until it does the small overlap means I have four cars in my care.

Strange as it seems from someone who has owned two of the things and now "owned" another two with my job, I'm not really that into hot hatches. The new ones in particular are quite aggressive and goad you into driving aggressively, which isn't really "me" (I prefer smooth and effortless when it comes to newer performance cars), but there's no doubting that they can be a lot of fun, and this is right up there as one of the best. For those who don't know, it makes 271bhp, it's got a manual gearbox, it's front-drive, and it's got some pretty serious development behind it.

Very much looking forward to trackday season - my old Kia was capable of surprising some theoretically faster stuff with about 70bhp less and much less serious tyres and brakes...

 

[GDII]

Very cool. I just learnt about how awesome these little cars are.

The first one I ever saw actually was just down the road from me a few weeks back and the registration plate plus the colour (blue) made it stand out. I only saw the back of it but was enough to see it was a bit different to a normal i30.
However at the time I just dismissed it for a standard i30 with a body kit, some wheels and maybe suspension. Mainly due to the fact many manufactures or at least Japanese manufactures don't really do real performance versions of their cars anymore. This car however is a real performance version. Good to see someone doing something fun with their new cars.

It's funny I should say this about manufactures and performance versions. I am not someone they care about as I do not buy cars new from them. I can see why they don't tend to build these cars so much. Less of a demand for them from the people who actually buy new.

EDIT: Seems like you can't even buy an i30N in NZ yet. But I've seen a registered one here. I think the guy who had it works for a car dealer but I can't tell which one or if it's manufacture specific.

 

[eiriksmil]

Korea is cracking out loads of good stuff.. Buddy has a Kia Soul EV, apart from the paint (which is more closer to Mitsubishi than Audi) the build quality seems very good after 1 1/2 years and 30k+ miles. Excited to hear about how the i30N works out for you, looks aggressive enough for sure!

 

[Bram Turismo]

That thing packs a serious punch! Great stuff! 👍

Hyundai really is selling great cars at the moment. So is Kia for that matter. I took some time to view the Stinger GT and was properly turned on by the thing, especially considering what they used to bring out...

 

[homeforsummer]

Fleet update​

Haven't updated this in a while as I've been busy with other stuff, so it's about time for an update. First, the Korean:

Life is good so far. Can't say I've done anything truly fun with the car yet but the miles have been rolling along and the car's focus means you never really forget you're in something fun. That's usually a downfall of hot hatches for me - they can be a bit too normal in everyday driving - but this thing always bubbles under with a sense of purpose. Next, the French:

Passed its MOT the other week (for those outside of the UK: annual inspection) with no advisories. It's still due a spruce-up but early next month I'll be taking it to a journo car gathering where press vehicles are banned, which should be fun. Still needs engine mounts and probably an underbonnet tidy, and then I feel like taking it on a longer road trip. Lastly, the Japanese:

...which has been sitting in my garage for months now as I've been intermittently fighting with a seized shock tower nut, which needs to come off so I can fit a brace to help cure the car's wobbles. I've bought replacement nuts so I'll soon be taking the opportunity to drill the damn thing off. Once that's done I can move on to other things, like recharging the battery, fitting a cabin brace, greasing the slow power window mechanisms, and actually driving it with the roof off while the weather's good.

Still undecided on whether I want to sell it or not, a situation not helped by following dozens of people with amazing NAs on various social media channels. This car too needs a road trip, and then it probably will be sold to put a bit more cash in my pocket... until such time as I get bored and buy something else.

 

[homeforsummer]

Took the French one to a meet-up with a bunch of other journos and PRs yesterday, the only rule being that no press vehicles were allowed - very much a gathering of car folks rather than a corporate thing. Good turnout overall and some interesting cars. Ticked over 112k miles on the way back.

The Toyota is rather unusual. It packs a turbocharged MR2 engine in the back rather than the usual 1-litre 3cyl in the front...

Progress on the Japanese car is going very slowly indeed. Still attacking a seized top mount nut at the front, though "still" is more because I rarely seem to find the time to work on the car, and when I do my patience threshold with things going wrong is quite low. A new tungsten-carbide bit for my Dremel seems to be doing the job on the hardened nut though so once I have the patience I'll give it another go. In the meantime, swapped out the naff aftermarket front corner reflectors for proper amber ones.

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

Wait, someone privately owns the Aygo Crazy?! Thought for sure Toyota would've kept that for their heritage fleet.

 

[homeforsummer]

Wait, someone privately owns the Aygo Crazy?! Thought for sure Toyota would've kept that for their heritage fleet.

It's still part of the fleet - Toyota's PR turned up in it, in absence of having another car to go in.

 

[Joey D]

That Polestar Swedish Racing Green wagon

 

[homeforsummer]

That Polestar Swedish Racing Green wagon

Proper V60 Polestar I think. Not sure whether it's the 6cyl or 4cyl though as I didn't take a good look at it. Quite partial to the C43 next to it!

 

[Katiegan]

Who drew the short straw with the Ka?

 

[homeforsummer]

Who drew the short straw with the Ka?

The straw isn't as short as you'd expect - it's still on a four-figure mileage and it's spent its entire life garaged so it could be the only completely rust-free Ka in the entire country Will probably be worth a fortune one day looking at the way the prices of clean and original Fords go.

 

[Katiegan]

The straw isn't as short as you'd expect - it's still on a four-figure mileage and it's spent its entire life garaged so it could be the only completely rust-free Ka in the entire country Will probably be worth a fortune one day looking at the way the prices of clean and original Fords go.

Wow, that's actually quite impressive! Worth holding on to then.

 

[eiriksmil]

Regarding the nut:
If it's seized and you have rounded the head, you can try to hammer on a one size smaller bit. I have found that sometimes using an imperial sized bit can work, as sometimes they fall between the metric sizes. It has saved me on a few occasions. Also you could try to cut the nut and stud on the suspension off with an angle grinder, carefully obviously so you don't damage the shock tower. Don't set yourself, your car or your house on fire. The studs are usually pressed into the top mounts from below (like a wheel stud) so you most likely won't have to replace the top mount, only the stud and the nut.

 

[homeforsummer]

Regarding the nut:
If it's seized and you have rounded the head, you can try to hammer on a one size smaller bit. I have found that sometimes using an imperial sized bit can work, as sometimes they fall between the metric sizes. It has saved me on a few occasions. Also you could try to cut the nut and stud on the suspension off with an angle grinder, carefully obviously so you don't damage the shock tower. Don't set yourself, your car or your house on fire. The studs are usually pressed into the top mounts from below (like a wheel stud) so you most likely won't have to replace the top mount, only the stud and the nut.

@Famine has suggested some special nut removers that I'm going to try first. Otherwise I'll drill away what I can, which seems to be working so far but is slow progress because they're hardened nuts.

I want to avoid grinding the stud off too as it's part of the top mount with Mk1 MX-5s, so if the stud goes then I'll have to replace the entire top mount. It's not horrendously expensive to do so, but if I go down the coilover route then it's a waste of money buying a new top mount.

 

[Famine]

@Famine has suggested some special nut removers that I'm going to try first. Otherwise I'll drill away what I can, which seems to be working so far but is slow progress because they're hardened nuts.

I want to avoid grinding the stud off too as it's part of the top mount with Mk1 MX-5s, so if the stud goes then I'll have to replace the entire top mount. It's not horrendously expensive to do so, but if I go down the coilover route then it's a waste of money buying a new top mount.

I reviewed them for Workshop Magazine too If you're up here, call in and I'll give a lend.

Top mounts are buttons anyway.

 

[homeforsummer]

I reviewed them for Workshop Magazine too If you're up here, call in and I'll give a lend.

Top mounts are buttons anyway.

Aaaand as you've already seen on Twitter, it's off:

Took two of the sockets (the first one wasn't quite tight enough so just chewed some more bits off the nut) and a breaker bar and probably two minutes in all. Wish I'd done it sooner!

Should be able to make a bit more progress tomorrow - main reason for removing the nuts was to fit a Flyin' Miata brace bar. I'm under no illusions that it'll suddenly transform the feel of the car, but my Roadster came out of the factory with a brace and it's gone missing at some point, and the FM bar seems like a quality part so it's as good a replacement as any.

After that I need to recharge my battery again, make sure everything is in vague working order and then get the thing MOT'd so I can finally start driving it again. It's been way too long and I don't want to miss the entire summer...

 

[Ze Elephant]

Those sockets were life savers when I was working on tires in a service station. You don't need them often, but they sure do come in handy!

I'm looking forward to seeing the brace install and your Miata back out again!

 

[homeforsummer]

Bracing​

Finally fitted the FM brace bar:

If you ignore all the procrastination, being busy, and fighting with the seized nut, it was obviously quite a quick and easy process. Some extra time was added to tidy and paint the shock tower with the offending nut - it's not the prettiest of jobs, but it honestly doesn't look too bad and is now mostly covered by the tower for the brace anyway.

With my head in the engine bay so much over the last few months I've been drawing up a list of things I'd like to improve however:

• New HT leads. I don't think the current ones are causing any issues, but they do wear out and those ones have been on the car since prior to my ownership
• Tidy the intake manifold, cam cover and exhaust manifold heat shield, all of which are showing signs of oxidation (I've already made a start on the intake manifold which is why it looks much better than the cam cover in that pic)
  
• Replace a few rubber hoses and re-wrap some of the wires in something less crappy-looking than the plastic wrap currently used
• Clean the black plastic parts
• Replace as many fixings as I can with newer/shinier/less rusty ones
• Eventually replace the radiator. I've never had any overheating issues (even on trackdays, though the temperature does go up), but the current one is pretty tired now and a look through the grille suggests it's missing a lot of fins

While outside of the engine bay, imminent plans include:

• Fitting a cabin brace from a later car. This does require some removal and cutting of trim in an earlier car like mine, but it looks easy enough
• Remove, paint black, and refit the chrome aftermarket front grille that's found its way onto the car at some stage
• Refurb and repaint the towing eyes at the front too, which look pretty grim
• Refurb the wiper arms

And... err, drive it, after I've got it MOT'd. And hopefully before the summer ends.

 

[homeforsummer]

Bracing part deux: cabin brace has gone in. Pre-94 cars (I think) didn't come with one from the factory and aside from there being appropriate holes for it in the structure, fitting it otherwise involves removing a lot of trim, cutting some of it, and then reinstalling everything.

Pleased with the result though, at least visually. I've broken a couple of trim clips so there are some new ones on order, and I can't be bothered to fit the covers for the bolts on the bar as those also need trimming and I've had enough of cutting plastic for now, but as a factory brace from a later car it looks... well, factory.

As the car still isn't roadworthy it remains to be seen whether it and the FM front brace make any difference, but I figure it can't hurt (Mazda would've done it for a reason, right?), and even considering I had to buy new bolts/washers/nuts etc and buy the bar itself, it doesn't owe me too much.

 

[Moglet]

I'm liking the very subtle mods, it's good to see an NA that hasn't been absolutely annihilated with after market bits.

There's a company near me that I follow on Facebook and they sell MX-5 parts, this one caught my eye: https://bofiracing.co.uk/product/skidnation-butterfly-chassis-brace/ . I have no idea if it works but I thought it was an interesting idea.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'm liking the very subtle mods, it's good to see an NA that hasn't been absolutely annihilated with after market bits.

Thanks There's still some stuff I'd like to do to the car but I'd say most of it will be fairly subtle.

Next step, not mentioned on the list above but in the planning stage for probably two years now, is a pair of seats I've sourced from an Elise, which are lighter, stiffer and mounted lower than the regular seats. I'd like a pair of bullet mirrors too, and at some stage I'll probably swap out the wooden Nardi wheel again for a Momo Montecarlo or similar like my first MX-5.

My inspiration for the car comes mostly from the special M2 models, mainly the "Clubman" 1001 and "Street Competition" 1028:

​

Fairly understated styling with a few tweaks here and there, small engine and chassis improvements and stiffer structures. At the same time I don't want to change anything too drastically as clean, original S-Spec models like mine are few and far between. They turn up on eBay quite frequently but almost every single one is either miles away from originality or absolute sheds.

There's a company near me that I follow on Facebook and they sell MX-5 parts, this one caught my eye: https://bofiracing.co.uk/product/skidnation-butterfly-chassis-brace/ . I have no idea if it works but I thought it was an interesting idea.

They're apparently about as effective as such mods can get for MX-5s (Flyin' Miata came up with the idea years ago) but I'm trying to avoid one if only to avoid having to drill loads of holes into the underside of the car to fit it. If I keep the car long enough I'll probably go down the roll bar route and may go for low door bars too, as there are a few out there which supposedly make a decent difference to rigidity without needing to be a gymnast to navigate over. On the bracing front I'm also looking at a brace for the brake master cylinder which is said to improve brake feel.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I'm liking the very subtle mods, it's good to see an NA that hasn't been absolutely annihilated with after market bits.

There's a company near me that I follow on Facebook and they sell MX-5 parts, this one caught my eye: https://bofiracing.co.uk/product/skidnation-butterfly-chassis-brace/ . I have no idea if it works but I thought it was an interesting idea.

That was a lot cheaper than I expected...

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

HFS, have you considered getting a bikini top for your NA? I think they look pretty nice, though I'm not sure how practical one would be in the UK.

 

[homeforsummer]

HFS, have you considered getting a bikini top for your NA? I think they look pretty nice, though I'm not sure how practical one would be in the UK.

I've considered it, but there are a few things stopping me for the time being.

The first is that my car isn't always garaged, so I'd still need to swap it with the hardtop occasionally and as that's a two-person job and requires storing the hardtop, it's a bit of a faff.

The second is that I don't yet have a roll bar, and I'm guessing you need one for it to work.

The third is that none of the ones I've ever seen really actually look that good. I like the idea more than the execution of what's on the market. So far, the best interpretation I've seen was on the Miata Spyder concept, but looking at it I think there's some funny-business going on - up to and including a full solid roof under the canvas - because it looks way too smooth and well-integrated compared to the flimsy bits of canvas available on the aftermarket. Compare this:

...with this, which looks like someone's stretched a bin-liner over the top of the car. I know Project-G is one of the better ones too, but the aesthetic just doesn't work for me:

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Yeah, the Mazda ones definitely look better than the more DIY examples. I've been considering trying to make one for my 986 integrated with my factory roll hoops. My sewing skills are.....non-existent.

 

[homeforsummer]

Yeah, the Mazda ones definitely look better than the more DIY examples. I've been considering trying to make one for my 986 integrated with my factory roll hoops. My sewing skills are.....non-existent.

Good effort though. I'm slowly getting more confident with basic repair and maintenance tasks but the thought of sewing a new hood is something I'd not even entertain...

 

[Heldenzeit]

The bikini top aesthetic really depends on the roll bar height. To have a proper roll bar, the bikini top will sit higher and won't look as good. A shorter roll bar would make a bikini top look great, but useless as an actual safety device.

 

[homeforsummer]

Twilight​

Notice anything different?

Been a while since I updated this, and progress has been relatively slow. Spent some time painting fixings for the Lotus seats I wanted to install, and doing likewise with the wiper arms which is a job I've wanted to do for ages. And as you'll see above, I fitted a Jackson Racing intake, which I've had knocking around for a while but was arm-twisted into fitting because in doing other stuff under the bonnet I split the original intake flex hose.

However, it's all been somewhat in vain. As the title of this post suggests, I think I'm coming to the end of my tenure of this car.

I started it up today for the first time in ages, just to make sure everything I've fitted works. It does, but something I've done recently has obviously disagreed with the way the car runs, and as it starts to warm up, the idle starts to die. It's not an issue I had last time I fired it up so it's presumably related to the new intake. A look online suggests it could be any number of things, most of which are probably fairly simple to sort, but to be honest I can't be bothered any longer.

I've not driven the car since February, hiding it away from the bad weather we had at the start of the year to stop any more rust developing. I let the MOT lapse, so I've not been able to drive it since, and while it's given me time to work on the car I'm just generally losing patience with spending so much time on something I'm still taxing and insuring but unable to drive. I enjoy driving more than working on stuff and I've spent far too much time doing the latter on this car.

Running problems are just the last straw for me - it's yet more firefighting, and frankly I want my garage back for the Peugeot, which needs less doing to it (in terms of maintenance, and because I don't feel the need to modify it to make it better) and has better value prospects ahead of it.

So I think the plan now is to return everything to as factory-stock as possible (which means, off the top of my head: put the original steering wheel back on, buy a Nardi gearknob for it, put the passenger seat back in and keep the standard ones, buy a BBS centre cap to replace the missing one, find a factory yellow tower brace), spruce it up a bit, possibly get the small areas of rust repaired and then sell it ahead of next summer.

Some of the cost of the above will be offset by selling the Elise seats I bought for it, selling the current Nardi wooden wheel, and selling a few other associated odds and ends, but the end result should be among the nicer examples of its type I've seen offered for sale - most S-Specs are either far from original or pretty ropey. I'll probably get back what I paid for it four years ago, but I'll no way get back everything I've spent on it since. But such is life, and sometimes you just want to cut your losses and run.