Three weeks ago, at the Retro Rides Gathering, I got the chance to get behind the wheel in an NA model Mazda MX-5. Despite these things being around for over twenty years, I’d never previously considered even having a go in one, let alone buying one. Boy, have I been missing out! Thinking about it, there’s really little to have caused me to dismiss these cars for so long. A small, light weight, front engined rear wheel drive chassis with fully independent suspension, a lively little twin cam and nimble, responsive handling, all allied to Mazda reliability as well as a parts supply and aftermarket that’s second to none. And to fully ice the cake… it’s a rag top too, so perfect for summer. I guess it was just it’s girly looks and ‘hairdresser’ image that put me off. That, and for a long time they would have been simply out of my budget. Well that brief drive I took was a real eye opener as to what fun these things are, and the realisation that they are now pretty cheap too made me say to hell with the cars image! …I’m having one!
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My Laurel needed a tow bar. Okay, it didn’t need one but I figure being a decent sized motor with enough pulling power, it’d be handy for hauling other cars about when the occasion arises. But as tow bars are pig ugly things, it had to be built so it was out of sight when not in use. Easy enough… just tuck it up behind the rear valance and make the neck detachable right? Easy in theory so I set to work….
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As with most vehicles I get, priority number one is to get it shod with some decent wheels. Tasty rims maketh the car… even when it’s a slightly shabby Honda Acty. The Acty runs diddy little ten inch rims as standard and with an unusual 4×120 PCD, there’s little hope of finding anything decent to fit, especially keeping with the stock diameter. As I already had a set of 13″ SSR’s in the right pattern it was the next best solution but for it to look okay with the bigger wheels, a big slice needed to come out of the ride height. With a grinder, welder and a set of old JIC coil-over bodies from a 200SX, the job was completed in house on the front end, but the rear required some specialist assistance…
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AKA DubMania. Two shows in one. Bargain! Lots of rare and interesting machinery to be seen both modern and old. The attention to detail on some of the VW’s was unreal. We tagged along with the old Honda fans in our Honda TN Acty, which got us there and back without any hassle and on a pitifully small amount of fuel too. It was pretty leisurely though at about 60mph max! I think I’m going to have to tweak that little two pot a bit. Great fun though and it brought a smile to a few faces at the event. Huge thanks to first gen Civic nut Jay (that’s his Civic above) for organising our pitch, feeding the hungry with a winning BBQ and for generally being a top geezer all round. Full gallery of the show after the jump…
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If you like scrapyards, rusting wrecks and old abandoned cars and trucks then point your feed reader at Kusahiro Exploration. Unless you’re proficient in deciphering Japanese text, you won’t be able to read much but you’ll see plenty of great photos of abandoned old Japanese motors in occasionally quite picturesque settings. It’s also been updated virtually on a daily basis since June 2007 meaning there’s hundreds of old posts to wade through and plenty of rare and interesting cars to be found. Definitely one to watch!
I have previously mentioned the excellent magazine that the guys over at Japanese Nostalgic Car have put together. Well, it’s finally ready to roll and what’s more it’s available for international subscribers. At only $19.99 for a years subscription (that’s four issues) to readers here in the UK, it’s an absolute bargain! You pay that for a car magazine here anyway so what are you waiting for? Get on over to Japanese Nostalgic Car and subscribe today!
