Dave

Yeah, will give the calipers and slide pins a good look over. She had just had new rear calipers fitted before i bought her so these should hopefully be ok.

Only real way to tell mate is getting them side by side so you can see what are (if any) the difference. You can swap the rails if need be, and also should be able to swap the seat bases over if required. If none of these look like they will allow you to fit them, then the last thing you can do is remove the seat cover and foam base, and fit to your civic seats. Doing it that way though is very time consuming and fiddly as I retrimmed the seats in my civic MA8 with OEM leather from Honda (new old stock). I think the reason the definitive answer is quite elusive is that there are variations in the seats depending on year etc for both Honda and Rover/MG. Some civic mb (rear) seats don't fit in other civic mb's, all down to year of manufacture. Might be an idea to post up on the MGZS forum or MG Owners club forum too, as someone there may have done the opposite and fitted civic seats to their MGZS. Let us know how you get on mate.

Another box arrived for Mindy today, again from MX5Parts! New brakes Looking at her current discs, the fronts look to be quite new, so will still change them but keep the old ones as spare. The rears are also in pretty decent shape, no lips on the discs, so once I get em off will decide if these too can maybe be kept as spares. Could probably have got away with just ordering the pads front and rear, but thought I was always going to replace all thius for new stuff during the resto so might aswell just get them and fit them now. Least I know then it's been done, and also will feel better knowing that if Gayle's out in Mindy on her own, the brakes are all safe. Expecting the pads to be utterly gubbed going by the noise they were making! Once these are all fitted, going to put her in to get the brake fluid flushed and renewed, plus a service including all fluids changed.

That looks amazing!!!! Such a rare kit too!

Well. She's got her full new set of Goodyear efficentGrip tyres fitted (more bloody money but got a cracking deal on them so couldn't say no!)..........and along with the new suspension....omg! So much more planted through the corners!! Still to get the geometry done but already transformed! Hoping the geometry set up solves the really (and I mean REALLY) crashy/vibrating ride she has. The cornering is great, but the ride still isn't!  Anyhoo, seems Mindy is on a mission to have my account constantly overdrawn! Went to pick Gayle up from work yesterday, and on way home, bloody brake pads went! So ordered up a new front and rear brake disc/brake pad package from MX5Parts today. My bank manager must be having me right now, but hey ho, it's only money! Lol

Veee have vays of making you shine! Looking sweet mate. Is it a DA one?

Well, everyone knows how I love miniatures so after seeing the 1:18 scale models from Gates posted by another member, I decided to go looking for one! Had been told that these were expensive, and cheapest ones I could find were over the £100 mark. Then this one popped up, but had no box (not an issue for me as all my models come out of the box and go on display shelves) but in mint condition. Looked at the price, it had just been listed minutes before.........at £40! Jumped on it there and then! So it arrived today, and have to say description was bang on, not a single mark or scratch on it. Had to make up some of Mindy's plates in 1:18 scale (would be rude not to! lol) Hope you like! Oh, and the only pic I have of the new suspension so far! lol. Unfortunately, it also shows how untidy she is underneath, but everything is solid, only surface rust. Will be tackling this as soon as I'm well enough!

Whooosh. Mmmmmmmm.........turbo!

So, got her back, new suspension fitted and they didn't have any probs with the fitting. Just had her out for a proper wee blast as didn't have time yesterday............and bloody hell, what a difference! The massive vibration through the car when going over even the slightest bump is gone. There is still a little vibration, also noticed this at high speed on the motorway, so assuming the wheels deffo need balanced plus a 4 wheel alignment still need done. But cornering, my god she's so much better! Could feel myself trusting her more and more with every corner. She's just so much more controlled. Now she doesn't bounce on the osr, which used to throw her out in corners. So much more fun to drive, but also so much nicer to drive normally. Ordered up 4 new Goodyear efficient grip tyres for her (got a bargain on blackcircles, 4 fully fitted for £214 as they had a discount sale on) so these getting fitted on Thursday. Will then get her booked in for the geometry set up. Got a pic of underneath with new shock/spring fitted but it's on my phone so will upload it later. Not much to see really, just a nice shiney shock bump stop and spring. Lol

Will see if I can find it mate.

Yes mate, Honda even made a specific one for the civic MA/MB's. I had one on my MB6. Come to think of it, it may still be lying behind the shed at the bottom of the garden, I'll have a look and see if it's there. If it is, I'm not sure if it will be complete as I can't remember all the bits I took off when we removed it from Ruby, but maybe there's info available online? I assume that the likes of Witter will make one to fit the Civic too. They deffo can have one mate.

Seriously? Wow mate, that's been in there as long as I can remember! Always draws my attention. Didn't realize it was a one owner from new car either, makes it even rarer! Need to pop down sometime mate, we could take a wee run down there again to see it. The Jowett van had memories for Gayle as her first husband was a Jowett (and that was obviously Gayles previous married name). His great grandad founded the Jowett car company! They went bust due to Mr Henry Ford buying the supply place they got a lot of their mechanical parts from........then refusing to sell them the parts they needed to build the cars! Think the car industry was pretty cut throat back then!

Nice find!! I just bought a whole load of original Mk1 Mazda MX5 brochures for Mindy. Love looking through them, even got the accessory brochures and the price list for 1997......which is the year mine was registered! Will look nice at any car shows, will have the brochures on display on the dashboard. Picked up an original owners handbook for her too as that was missing.

Regarding lowering, from cars I've been in that are using just lowering springs, the ride is really harsh due to the springs needing to be a lot stiffer as the car has less damping room available. Decent coilovers will give you the drop in height, and can be set up to your taste. Don't be fooled though, even these will still be stuffed than normal, but a lot more compliant. Stay well away from cheaper eBay specials, they won't last long and give an unbearable ride, very crashy and way to stiff. For a decent set, look to spend around £600-£700

Soooooo looking forward to it mate!

Yeah, remember the Imps well, another uncle of mine had one. Remember when I was about 7yrs old, he was visiting and had the rear tailgate open. Asked me to close it as he carried something into the house and I pulled down on the tailgate and something went bang! Bloody pooped myself! Turns out you are supposed to lift it first which disengages it and then close it (much the same as the old 3 piece wardrobes we used to get in the 70's. The top cupboard doors on them worked the same way). He was ok about it and laughed it off. I was devastated I'd broke a car!! lol The wee Mini is a cracker Gerry. I've always loved the original Mini, had one years ago which I got for the grand price of £50 + a Ghetto blaster! It had 7 months MOT (which turned out to be a very, very dodgy MOT!) but had an engine fault so didn't run. Got it running though, and it had had a replacement engine, so no longer a 950 but a 1275GT engine fitted. It was all done up to the nines.......British racing green with the white roof and white bonnet stripes, big spot lights, red Cobra bucket seats, twin centre exit Peco exhaust, Mamba alloys (which I found out later were bloody rare at the time!). Looked really cool, but I soon found out it was rotten beyond repair with rust. There is a long long story involved with that car and it's MOT which I'll post up some time! Ended up scrapping it

Garage asked me to bring the car down first so they can check her over to see if new bolts etc are going to be needed, and to see how much rust on the old kit they would be facing. This would also give me the chance to have a look while she's up on the ramp. Looks like the shocks,/bolts will come off ok after some heat. On inspection, osr shock is completely gone, no damping at all. OSF shock is leaking like crazy, and not much damping going on. They also suspect that's where the knocking noise is coming from, although will know for sure once they get stuck in. NSF shock is a bit weak, NSR shock and spring have both been replaced. No wonder her handling is all over the place! They had me in the garage to have a good nosey underneath as you can't really tell much when viewing the car in the streets when buying it. Guys at garage even agree she is surprisingly very solid underneath. The wishbones look crap with all the underseal that's been slapped on them flaking off, but these will also be getting replaced as we go along. Underseal on floor etc looks untidy/old and needs wire brushed off and redone, but she looks really solid! Very happy and very relieved, as checking the underneath on any car is tricky, but on these it's even harder and also more crucial as they do rot like hell. Glad to see wee do appear to have bought a really good one on that front! So, she's booked in for Monday to get all her new suspension fitted! So looking forward to it! Martyn my friend at the garage also recommended a place not too far away from here to get the geometry set up done so will get that booked asap too. Next month, funds allowing, will get new tyres all round and new brake pads front and rear. Getting her booked into there to get all her fluids changed too, along with all filters and spark plugs/leads. Took her for a wee celebration run seeing as the sun was out! Love this wee car!

So, update time! Decided on plan B as the chosen plan of attack! Ordered her brand new shocks, springs and bump stops from MX5Heaven and it was delivered yesterday. Kit looks decent, and the reviews were all highly recommending it. Plan B involves my local garage fitting the kit as I have no patience any more and just want it done!!! Can't wait until I've recovered!!

Those wheels will look so much better on her mate, Yes, the SR MB1 is a very rare car now. I would even say that the MA civics now are probably rarer than a vtis or at the same level.

Correcto mundo Gerry. It's a Hillman Husky to be exact, which equates to an Imp van. Stunning condition this one and first one I've seen. Seen plenty of Imps (always had a soft spot for a metallic jade green Imp Californian) but never the van/estate.

Yeah, my bro had a 3 door Volvo 343 years ago......mind you it was a but of a shed that had been doctored (bodged) up to look good before he bought it. Pretty quick wee car though!! I always fancied a 340 GLT, or any of the GLT Volvos. Nice cars!

Photos from our wee trip to Myreton Motor museum in Mindy our MX5. We decided on a nice run to Dunbar via the coast road, so taking in Longniddry, Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick then Dunbar. This is a tiny wee museum based in East Lothian just outside Aberlady. The building(s) are basically in the middle of nowhere, but it is sign posted well! Lots of classic cars in various states of repair, some wearing original patina, some restored or part restored. Also lots and lots of interesting stuff including a history on Jim Clark. Also motorbikes, memorobilia and anything car related. Great wee place and well worth a look. Entry is just £7 for adults so quite reasonable, and you can be in there as long as you like. Excuse the photos, just took them with my phone! Customized 1980's Fiat X/19. The paintwork on this is amazing, multicoloured metal flake! Old Citroen is in beautiful condition. As was this wee beauty! Only done 1800 miles if I remember rightly! Always been a sucker for old Fords! Love this, so cool! And this wee pair were in stunning condition! Amazing how small both of these are compared to their modern counterparts. My favourite Rolls Royce, the Silver Shadow (series 2 I think?) Mini Innocenti replica Jowett Bradford van. I knew Jowett made the Jupiter and Javellin, but never knew they made a van. Unusual and very nice condition. Sunbeam Rapier. I used to love the shape of these when I was little, my uncle had one in metallic turquoise. Was a stunning car back then! Got a thing for old Humbers like this too.........look so much like a 57 Chevy or 57 Plymouth Volvo 340, used to be such a common sight on our roads. This ones a nice 1 owner low miler. Then on to upstairs! Lots of memorabellia, bicycles, pedal cars, toys, petrol ration books and so much more! Bugatti pedal car!! Would have loved this when I was a kid! Although I did have a Mini pedal car which was really cool! And Mindy, sitting relaxing in the sun before the second part of our run.

3k does seem steep mate. Might be worth sending a pm to some of the members who are building track cars

Keep us updated as you go along mate with loads of photos! I've even been thinking about Ruby again lol, another civic M I totally miss! Just something about these cars eh!

Deffo still a lot of love for the Civic M's mate! Think this time of year (over christmas/new year and then with it being winter) is usually quiet around most forums. Come spring time these civics will be making there appearances! I think also a lot of the civicM's are now into modern classic car territory, so a lot are not on the road all year round. I've still got the aerodeck (will always have DD, never ever going to be sold) but due to my health at the moment (had a heart attack in January this year) might be a wee while before I can get to work on her. Your MA is looking sweet! Reminds me of wee blue Betty, my first ever Civic M! Still miss that wee car even now!