Mazda MX-5 MkII
Andy is compelled to discover what ownership of a modern classic sports car is like and falls for a Mazda MX-5 MkII
2000 MAZDA MX-5 1.8
You know how you sit with the laptop and ‘just out of curiosity’ look at what’s around for sale? I did just that in lockdown recently and followed through… again. Since ending seven years of ownership of a Porsche 914, I have wondered about experiencing some other iconic sports cars. I’d looked at a few options, including the Fiat Barchetta, MGF, Alfa Romeo Spider and Honda CRX Del Sol, but discounted the latter and MX-5s for their propensity towards rotting from the inside out.
But wait, what’s that?
An MX-5 NB 1.8 manual, one owner, fully-documented 75,000 miles, original body and paint and totally original specification – and just ten miles away.
I was the first to view and it got even better as I walked around it. Original hard-top. Original Sony radio/cassette player. Hand-written history that included oil changes every 3000 miles. Concours engine bay. Factory-spec Yokohama Advan tyres. And panels that were all the same shade of Mercury Silver.
I’m on a steep learning curve with the modern classic MX-5. I always preferred the MkI, with its pop-up headlights and thought the MkII something of an ugly duckling. And yet the early NB had the same chassis with a supposedly better cylinder head and cams on the 1.8, but still had nothing too much in the way of frills. Just thrills.
It was growing on me. I checked all the places that you are meant to check. Zero rust and previous repairs to the sills and arches. Mint front chassis legs (from what anyone can see) and clear rain channels. It had been garaged for all of its life and left with the hard-top fitted outdoors.
I found two dents that should be easy to remove and a little touchedin mark on the boot lid. Even the headlights showed no sign of the usual fogging. The only modification from stock is the addition of what seems to be an MX-5 accessory boot luggage rack.
It was one of those cars that you just can’t turn down. So I bought it – and thus bought in to the MX-5 experience. In my head I was ‘saving it’ – from what, I don’t know, but it sounded better when I justified the purchase of yet another car when I got home. Deal done.
Now, there needs to be some commitment on space with any purchase. I have one garage and a Volkswagen Iltis with a new top and doors, but which is still very porous in design. The MX-5 is also very challenging when mixed with water, so I was forced to swap the Iltis for the MX-5. The latter got the garage and the VW took the ‘spare room’ at the front of the house under a cover.
I will need the spring weather to go through the areas that need conserving. The aim is to clear any road grime from under the arches and protect where needed. I’m also going to look at removing those dents in the better weather – otherwise the body is flawless.
I did drive it before the salt hit the roads and my only concern was a slightly stiff gear selection. I need to find a suitable example with which to compare it but I’m not too concerned. The engine is spot on and pulls enthusiastically and it steers just as it should. I could have bought an early NB for a grand and driven the life out of it, but this car offers an insight into what it would have been like to own a stock MX-5 off the forecourt in March 2000.
Fewer early NBs seem to be around these days compared to the Mk2.5 because many have served their time and are now providing parts. The trick will be to maintain this as a rare rust-free example while still enjoying driving it on a regular basis.
But then, that’s forever the dilemma, isn’t it?
OWNED SINCE September 2020 FIRST REPORT TOTAL MILEAGE 76,655 miles LATEST COSTS £Nil