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THE HISTORY OF OUR Eunos mk1 VIW 4757
We will try, in this section, to give a potted history of the car we are entering in the 2015 Scottish Lowland Speed Championship, in the A9 Class, (Scottish MX5 register). The car is a Mazda Eunos mk1 1.6ltr, reg VIW 4757, Japanese Market spec Grey Import. According to its' VIN suffix it was built sometime between 1st June 1989 and 31st August 1993. After much research we can say it rolled off the assembly line in August 1990, though we are trying to confirm the precise date with Mazda in Japan. The car was subsequently imported into the UK and first registered on 1st November 1999.
WE TAKE OWNERSHIP
The date is Sunday August 3rd 2014, Danny and I drive to Rochdale, Lancashire, cash in pocket to purchase what is set to become our obsession. Danny drives back to Scotland in the Eunos in torrential rain and finds the bucket seats so narrow that he can only suffer stints of between forty-five minutes to an hour maximum. Still, we manage and decide that the first modification is new (wider) seats and four-point harnesses.
THE DREADNOUGHT TRACK NIGHT
SEATS AND HARNESSES ARE FITTED AT DREADNOUGHT GARAGE
25th August 2014 the car is given to the expert care of Paul Luti at the Dreadnought Garage, Callander and the new FIA regulation seats (Corbeau Forza Sport) and (Luke) four-point harnesses are fitted. Below they are modelled by Jan.
THE BLOWN RADIATOR AND THE "FRIED RINGS"
The first outing for the car was at Knockhill Circuit at the Dreadnought Garage Track Night. The car went well and almost held its' own against some serious opposition (Mitsubishi Evo 8 in full group 4 rally spec, Lotus Elise and a couple of super quick Westfields to mention a few. After two hours tag-teaming between Jim and Danny the chequered flag was waved on the session we made our way to the paddock. We noticed what looked like spilled coffee near the car but as all appeared OK on the instruments we drove the car home.
BRAKES AND OTHER UPGRADES TO MEET A9 SPEC.
We upgraded the braking system by firstly fitting stainless steel braided flexibles and upgrading the discs to EBC slotted and drilled and the pads to EBC "Green Stuff". Other modifications we have conducted to meet the A9 spec are mainly cosmetic. The car was stripped by a previous owner as a track-day car, so we have had to source most of the interior trim and fittings to bring it back to "road going" guise.
The spilled coffee was actually coolant leaking from the radiator, which continued to weep from an embeded stone, until during the car's next outing failed catastrophically, causing the engine to overheat. After cooling down we checked the compression, (after freeing the HT lead which had melted due to the excessive heat), which was only 25psi, showing that the piston rings, and probably the piston bores were shot and decided the best course of action was to procure a new engine. From that day forward Jim was forced to wear the tee-shirt of shame.
The new engine came from AutolinkUK in Hampshire and is a Mazda B6 mk2.5 1.6 ltr modified to fit in the mk1 engine bay, (the picture below shows it in the donor car which was being broken for spares). Also notice the HKS "Super Power Flow" air intake system, a major bonus with this unit.
PREVIOUS RACING PEDIGREE
The car has mainly been used as a track-night ride by at least the last two owners. Below we see it in anger at Pembrey Circuit, Wales.
PREVIOUS OWNERS' STORY
For those who would like to read the account of the build of the car posted by Dan#47 on MX5 Nutz on 23rd January 2013, click on the link on the photo above.
