This is a second Roadster J Ltd 2 I have owned. There were 800 made for sale in Japan late ’93 and early ’94. Both my cars have been early ’94 cars .. 300 between the chassis numbers. The first one died (and was resurrected later by someone using a burnt out UK body shell) when I was being stupid in an overtaking move; the front wing scraped the entire side length of a Landrover Discovery coming the other way which then hooked it’s rear wheel into the front of my drivers door; the door won (just .. after heavy penalties to the body shell i.e. twisted) and the back axle of the Discovery was ripped off. Subsequently the driver lost control and it rolled around the front driver’s wheel (read into this that top heavy 4x4 with soft suspension and slow steering are not clever). Anyway no one was hurt and the law got interested .. more censure for questionable driving .. as I said I am not proud about what I did but at least no one was hurt and I have modified overtaking to line of sight only no supposed ‘clear by timing’ manoeuvres learnt from well known roads.

The first car was bought from South Ireland in an Auction. This was slightly surreal experience .. having got the flight and taxi to the auction house you are presented with 35 Roadsters and a total of over 300 cars, most of them exotic things that you did not even know existed. Having selected a car (well there was only one yellow Roadster!) you spend a couple of hours examining all the exotics and the dross; there really are some very wrecked cars sent over including some that obviously got bent on the journey, very messy but most are fixable, whether or not they are economic or not is another question; no if done properly, yes if done by a little dealer’s friendly back street paint shop. By this time even a petrol head gets bored .. then the auction that was to start at 9.30am starts.. Irish times .. 11.30am! A couple of cheap cars go through that are tempting on their own .. then some expensive ones for seemingly no good reason .. then they refuse the price on some at reserve prices that are too high .. all normal auction stuff… and the odd special to get everyone worked up … like Skylines with all the HKS bits you could find and Sunny GtiRs .. and early Imprezas turbos with no big spotlights at the front, totally like a standard car .. but with Prodrive bits. Finally my car gets there .. and basically it is me an one other bloke in a war of nerves; I won but at what could be said a high price (typical bad thing to do … buy a wanted unique car in an auction).. I suspect the other bidder was a private UK individual .. there were maybe 10-15% of us there. I went back 2 weeks later and drove the car home .. the Irish AA provide insurance and temporary plates .. the auction house arrange these but tell you the insurance lasts a week .. got home and read the policy .. 24 hours cover; typical .. don’t trust the blarney /salesmen .. they tell you what you want to hear every time over there! The car had a lot of bits in it; custom interior which removed the central console, Panasport 15"x6" wheels with 195/50-15 Pirelli P5000 tyres (rims very messed up and required total reconditioning; they actually stick out beyond the tyre wall so any tall kurbs will damage the alloy spokes badly), a Mazdaspeed exhaust with manifold that costs about £1500 in Japan, front strut brace, high flow air filter, replacement spark plugs and leads, racing black mirrors, manual windows (original is electric) and Bilstein shock absorbers (far too hard), and a blue soft top. The car had been hit on drivers front quarter as a new front wing and bumper had been fitted and the 4 wheel alignment was out with uneven tyre wear (I knew this when I bought it). So refurbished the alloys and touched up the paint work (a long black rubber streak all the way down the passenger side; mostly just removable rubber). Then convert to UK spec (US speedo and UK fog light with custom warning light built into a standard Mazda switch) and get 4 wheel alignment done; when I bought the car it had 15 psi in the tyres to give a comfortable ride on Bilsteins, at proper pressures you could then slide the rear on every round about and throttle steer .. great fun but worrying for dark rainy nights. I got 4 wheel alignment done but the specialist Porsche dealer got the toe in and toe out the wrong way around, so I did it myself with tape measures, vernier calipers and spirit levels. So a nice unique car at the end of it with under 18,000 miles on the clock when bought.

Back to my current car…

I spent the next 3 winter months looking for another car all over the UK using Autotrader etc online… and did 3 trips from Aberdeen to Southern England (some 2,500 miles) with an 18 foot car trailer looking at cars;

First one was an SAS soldier in Hereford; he omitted to tell me 480 miles earlier that the local Ford dealer had rebuilt the front end with added dust in the paint work after he had stuffed it into a bollard .. oh and I had to tell him it was a 1.8 not a 1.6 .. and it had the wrong seats with evidence of wheel arch extension being removed .. offered him a cheeky amount ..glad he ignored it!

Second one was an import/Integrale dealer near Pershore down by Worcester .. he offered to pay my fuel costs if the car had been resprayed in any way! Walked into show room .. found it had been completely resprayed in 20 seconds .. and damage repaired in a couple of places… walked out with a cheque that did not bounce (very surprised later at this!) for fuel costs 10 minutes later and two days of my life for nothing.

Third car was a double trip… had to finish rebuilding the car trailer before I left on Saturday (it started the day with no top deck and no lights!) .. I had a bite to eat before my brother’s house South of Cambridge ..and the cylinder head gasket on my 190k miles (then.. sold later at 205k miles) Citreon BX tow car went at the Little Chef.. I knew it was weak but had been ignoring it so it developed real signs of the leak; previous efforts to repair had been thwarted by lack of evidence.. anyway .. filled up with water the next day and got to Banbury via M25 without stopping .. saw the car there; dirty inside and out, cat duff, rear window split, tyres bald, wheels scuffed, paint all right but several resprayed panels but no evidence of major accident work …. But cheap so I made an offer .. accepted but had to see the other car (double trip) .. so dropped off trailer .. drove to Milton Keynes .. saw next one; resprayed with yellow 16" wheels, RB front cover spoiler, rear spoiler (big no no to me!), custom gauges/interior dash, RB CAI .. personal import by Japanese gentleman .. but ugg.. the paint was actually flaking off on your hand! So back to Banbury .. why have the English lost the art of overtaking on trunk roads … eventually me (1.9 diesel with 2.5 cylinders due to cylinder head gasket) and an XJ6 linked up …. He was trying to keep up with me! Got to Banbury (3^rd refill of water!) and loaded up the trailer; the car was a personal import from a British Airways cabin crew man – he imported a new car every 6-7 months and sold them on (after doing no servicing work etc…). Started up the road at 3.30 pm with duff cylinder gasket + car on trailer .. thinking well .. I will have to get the AA out after 60-70 miles… but with an eye on the temperature lights and the water level gauge light … refilled every 120 to 75 miles with water .. but kept on pulling .. the trick was to keep the engine revs high .. when you slowed down for roadworks all the water spewed out. So I get nearer home .. but find 4" of snow so I decide to drop the new car off, leave the trailer and tow car in town and drive home with the expensive one …. My second experience of MX5s in snow … with slick 195 racing tyres .. spent an hour at midnight on Sunday (work on Monday morning) trying to get up the first 500 yard hill .. tried two hills in all directions (fast, slow, forwards, backwards and sideways).. no go .. so back to the tow car.. and exchange all my worthful possessions (like the turbo kit) into the tow car … this car with a trailer and duff cylinder head sails through the 4" snow and parks the trailer in the 6" of snow at the back of my house no problems, and then into the garage for repairs. The next morning the girlfriend dropped me off at the Roadster … again thwarted by a 1 in 100 slope of ice that any other car sailed up .. why are these car so bleeding awful in the snow! The Roadster had to stay at work for the next 4 days until the snowplough had cleared a fully tarmac path.. so ..so started the Yellow Peril 3’s life with me. (YP1= Yellow Lancia Fulvia .. only other car I had crashed, YP2= see top of page..)

… now I could start to play;

Well first thing is to get legal and water-tight so managed to get some Mud+Snow part worn tyres in a higher aspect ratio (taller tyre so better ground clearance; 195/60-15) (set of 4 for £60) and then fit them for £30 .. cheaper than losing your license and I hoped to have some insurance for snowy days! I then started to think about the tyres I had taken off .. they were Dunlop Formula R which were so sticky that on a freezing day the fronts would still complain about full lock due to sticking to the road .. I should have kept them for track days! Next bit was a glass rear window kit from Matt Clark so that the car would be dry; I fitted the thinner unheated version which actually has the Citroen symbol on it (ex 2CV) which appeals as this is the Eunos symbol upside down (they were sold side by side in Japan and the owners manual actually has Citroen symbols on it). I knew the car was a sunny day only car and the thinner glass makes it easier to man handle when erecting the roof (and off course it is the low weight high performance option which costs less… appealing to me!).

The suspension was then upgraded by parts; the anti-rollbars really are a good idea if you do nothing else, then the springs and shock absorbers; these had to be done twice as I discovered the shock absorber gaiter/bump stops were wrecked after 4 years. The suspension work meant that 4 wheel alignment had to be done. I had already bought my turbo kit and clutch but the clutch needs 500 miles running in.. so it had to go in first for this; a good excuse to drive the car! Having done this I could not resist fitting the turbo .. I had to get a 1.8 cat as early Roadsters have 1.6 ones = 2" gap… but I knew the cat was duff so had ordered a high performance one anyway. First drive was in the dark down a narrow country road .. it was like some computer game .. with the insane acceleration, little yellow car and wheezing and popping due to the BOV being open to atmosphere. I had been researching wheels and tyres for all the time I had been looking for cars … now I had power I needed traction .. of course I lost the unique socket for the locking wheel nuts when trying the turbo out .. I thought up a way to get them off with no damage after walking the 2 miles I had driven .. of course about 4 weeks latter my neighbour gives it back to me having picked it up the morning after! About 2 weeks after the turbo went in I went on a trip to Skye with the local MX5 club, great time had .. and on the way back I was hanging back but the others were getting ahead (restraint on speeds with me!) .. so I had to catch up .. on a nice long straight hill somewhere out the back of the Highlands of Scotland.. got to the limit of the power up hill (I had power restriction in my tuning programme because I still had the original exhaust) …. So I lifted off the throttle after peak power (6,200 rpm odd) rapidly … thinking over-run will slow me down nicely. However there was a flawed con-rod that objected to this .. it broke, punched holes in the engine and sump which threw oil all over the hot exhaust… result one large blue smoke and some odd noises. So the AA are called to recover me. I found another engine next week and went down on Friday night to London way .. Aberdeen 5.15pm out of work, Milton Keynes in bed by 12.30am with time for coffee at Corley services. The next day I picked out an engine .. into back of trusty Citroen for home by 7pm (with time for IKEA to keep the girlfriend happy!). A post mortem had been carried out by then on the old engine … and nearly had the new one in by the end of Sunday (well I did some cleaning and beautifying first). I then got a custom stainless steel exhaust made as I wanted to put my spare wheel under the car but have a 2.5" bore exhaust; no one makes such a beast but I found someone to make one in a day. The engine/turbo/ECU needed some tuning then; another good excuse for sunny day drives including one up the Lecht ski area with 5 bags of cement on board… So now I have a nice little TVR/M3 chaser with a boot and electrics that work and no blue badge for somewhat less .. and the best sport is baiting motorbikes .. you have no chance once they realise what you are up to (well over 400cc anyway) but it is entertaining for them to experience someone 6" from their rear wheel for once (my golden rule is normally to let motorbikes past as I prefer to have them somewhere where I can see them! .. this is after just about to time an overtaking when one goes past my right ear way faster .. but he had not been there 15 seconds earlier) .. so read on for the current spec;

1839cc UK engine with EGR removed, some inlet/exhaust port matching but no internal mods,

Dealer Alternative FM2 turbocharger kit (Flying Miata)

Extended reach NGK spark plugs, 8.5mm Magnecore spark plug leads, 323 turbo PCV, FM radiator (stock overheats at 140mph in about 30 seconds), water wetter and 25% anti-freeze (better cooling) with distilled water, Later 3 wire coil pack fitted with rev counter driver

Water injection by Aquamist with fully programmable controller; set for 11 psi actuation using ABS windscreen reservoir; still playing with this..

Dealer Alternative FM high flow 2.5" catalytic converter

Custom 2.5" 314 stainless fabricated exhaust allowing spare wheel under the car

Dealer Alternative Kevlar clutch with resurfaced clutch (required for Kevlar clutch)

Synthetic Redline gearbox oil

Synthetic Redline diff oil (in stock Torsen I LSD)

AVO adjustable shock absorbers set for 307mm ride height all around (Konis not good for this much power squat)

Dealer Alternative FM springs (25mm lower, progressive, about 25% uprated)

Jackson Racing adjustable anti-rollbars set in mid positions

4 wheel alignment 0.5 degree front camber, 1 rear, neutral front toe, stock rear toe in, castor back to 4 degrees from maximum after tyre wear.

16"x7"-38mm offset Lenso VPD wheels; only 6.5kg each (light) with

Goodyear F1 215/40-16 tyres (total package = 15kg verus 13.6kg for OE) Toyo T1S on rear after Norway

FM big brakes at front with mod to take pins not split pins, SS hoses all around, ABS pressure reducing valve (increases rear weighting), EBC Greenstuff pads at rear, Lucas Girling Dot 5.5 brake fluid

Aluminium front strut brace, Berkeley rear brace bar, Front lower lip spoiler, Mk2 roof with glass rear window , Spare wheel under the car, KG works TSI

no central console – Japanese aftermarket central panel, relocated electric windows controls (323), CAI clock and boost gauge aluminum & leather gear stick and hand brake, Momo aluminium gear knob, Polished aluminium Momo steering wheel, Aluminium inside door pulls, US speedo, Oil pressure in psi, UK dash fog light warning, genuine fog light switch,. Eunos rear screen saver, Leather seat kit with foam removed to better support but then raised at front for leg support, removed remote boot opener

Alpine CDA7842R CD/radio with custom surround, Genesis 100 50W RMS (very conservative!!) amp in tunnel beside fuel tank, Dynaudio 6.5" 2 way 100W RMS speakers, Dynamat in the doors, rewire in high grade wires, opened up and replaced door speaker grills

Clifford 50X alarm with Swiss central locking (after Maplin died!), remote boot release and remote head lights, turbo timer

High level brake/fog light with switch over relay for use in fog, Lucas replacement headlights, seat belt buzzer turned into lights on buzzer, High capacity sealed lead acid battery

1.8 engine, Sunburst yellow with black windscreen pillars (’92 1.6 JLtd1 does not have this), Red Roadster symbol at back (as 1.8 do), SS scuff plates, Aluminium door speaker grills, high level brake light, air conditioning, electric windows, rear mud flaps, electric mirrors, 2 part seats (some 1.8 Roadsters still have 1 part seats), LSD, limited edition of 800 cars spring of ’94

..on a track an STI was just and no more pulling away from me .. but a regular Impreza turbo was easy meat for me. The Sti and the 240hp TVR Chimmera (4 litre) – same speed (except he span 3 times!) were my benchmarks for performance .. I was on par and this puts me in the 215 bhp/ton area .. not sure what fuel the STI was running!

Impreza turbo about 215 bhp/1270 = 169 bhp/ton
2 dr STI = 276/1250 = 220 bhp/ton (guess the wt .. plus better aerodynamics)
or on regular fuel = 254/1250 = 203 bhp/ton
TVR = 240/1120 = 214 bhp/ton (older car .. current 4 litre = 260bhp)
FM2 = 1120kg (a/c etc, UK car is 1070kg) should be 215 bhp/ton => 240 bhp

.. This car is now in storage in the UK while I work abroad in Dubai, UAE .. I hope to build a second car based on a white Miata imported from the US..