February - Mazda MX-5 Club of Victoria & Tasmania

grandfather?in some modern vehicles nowadays.Everything old is new again perhaps?The Sprite has a normal sized sparewheel, 13” diameter rim with fairlynarrow tyres. The tyres provide enoughgrip, but compared to the MX-5 the Spritefeels a little light in the rear end, perhapsa little twitchy at times, which is morethan likely due to the live rear axle andquarter elliptical springs. Adequate, butnot as sure-footed as the MX-5 with itsdouble wishbone suspension.The Sprite has a soft top like the MX-5,and also a tonneau which can be fittedto save erecting the soft top. Raising thesoft top is not like the 10-second job wehave with our MX-5s ... you have to erect asupport bar which runs behind the seats,then clip the rear of the top to the reardeck, then attach the eyelets along eachside and across the top of the wind shield.It takes about five minutes, which is fine,but it does mean planning ahead if yousee dark clouds in the sky. Word of mouthsays that the top is also not very weatherproof(not words to inspire confidence in aTasmanian!).CW does not have a conventionalwindscreen, as a previous owner removedthe windscreen (which is in the shed!)and fitted two small air shields whichgive the Sprite the feeling of a ’30s car,but don’t provide much protectionfrom the wind. Even on nice days thedriver does get a bit of a buffeting whendriving over 70 km/h, which can be abracing experience. We might have toget ourselves some driving goggles tokeep the wind out of our eyes. The Mk 2Sprite doesn’t have wind-up windows,instead having two aluminium frameswith perspex windows which slide toopen. These two frames are attached tothe car with two large bolts, which allowthe frames to be removed when required.It’s interesting to note that reports fromthe time say that when the Mk 3 cameout with wind-up windows, some Englishpurists felt it was no longer a propersports car.Finally, we will mention maintenance.Like all senior citizens, lots of thingsneed care and monitoring in the Sprite.Oil needs to be watched carefully, as theengine is pretty unforgiving when levelsare low. Under the bonnet, there is a lotmore space thanin the MX-5 andthe systemsare mucheasier to followvisually. There iscertainly a lotless electronicsunder there. Thecar has threefuses overall,which gives yousome idea ofhow simple theelectronics are.Our Sprite hasbeen resprayed at some point and has asmall amount of rust, which is on the ‘todo’ list for our repairs. The Sprite was notoriginally given modern rust proofingand English versions are very likely tohave mild to serious rust unless they havebeen restored or carefully maintained.Luckily our car was assembled in Australiaand hasn’t seen the same salted roads ashis English cousins.Currently, the engine and gearbox areout of CW as he was blowing some smokeand there was a small problem withthe exhaust manifold. We have decidedto take the block to a Mini specialist,perhaps to have it rebored if needed, butat least to look at the bottom end and thepistons/rings. The engine was relativelysimple to remove, though we don’t wantto suggest its an easy job – just straightforward.We also wanted to have a really good lookat the gearbox, as there is a tendency tojump out of first gear when revved. Wewill likely replace the clutch plate andlook at thrust bearings etc since it’s easyto do with the gearbox out of the car.CW is also having problems withoverheating, and so we will be checkingthe cooling system ... mainly things likethe cooling channels in the engine as theradiator doesn’t look too bad. We alsohave to change the steering boots andcheck the rack and pinion, as there isalso some wear in that area. And we willbe checking the brake lines and the reardrums as there is some errant fluid inthat area as well ...Living with a Sprite will be quite differentfrom the MX-5. The MX-5 is very mucha jump-in-and-go car, and over the fiveyears that Allan and I have each owned anNA we have had a few normal mechanicalissues – but nothing outstanding – and,considering its age, we have found theMX-5 to be a remarkably reliable car toAllan Pryer with “CW”ownand drive daily.The Sprite does seem to have more of amind of its own. You do need to warm upthe engine and give the carburettors timeto get working properly. The engine willwear more quickly – that’s just the waythey are – so we will be more mindful ofengine revs when driving, as well as theuse of the clutch and brakes. Given CW’sage, we will have to keep a close eye oneverything to do with the Sprite. However,having now pulled out the engine andgearbox, our general impression is thatwhile more ongoing maintenance willoccur than for our MX-5s, it is easier toaccess the motor and some tasks arevery doable for the amateur mechanic(with the right instruction manuals, anda friend at the end of the phone whenthings go wrong!).Overall, the Sprite does the same task asan MX-5. It’s a lot of fun to drive – justlooking at the car brings a smile to ourfaces every time, even if it’s a chuckleabout how small it looks compared to theMX-5 (comments from family and friendsabout pedal cars are still being bandiedabout).It’s a much simpler car mechanically anddriving it does make us feel connected tothe “glory days” of European light sportscars. The gauges are all cable-driven, sohave that old-fashioned doubt abouttheir accuracy which helps to create thefeeling of another time and place. It ismore work to drive the Sprite than theMX-5, the driver having to be more alertas the brakes are not quite as sharp as inits “grandson”. It’s not overpowered, soin a sense the challenge is about beingsmooth and accurate when the car isdriven on a winding road, timing thebraking and gear changes to keep theengine revving and the car under somekind of momentum. ■11