Just for Fun

In article >,
MikemanX > wrote:

> The Jag is an XK120 roadster or OTS to the British.

I wish I still had my 1948 "Mark IV" (3.5L Saloon to the british).

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

Chris D'Agnolo > wrote:

> "Douglas Payne" > wrote in message
> ...
> > The process of grey importing is quite popular, there must be thousands,
> > perhaps even tens of thousands of Eunos Roasters and MX-5s here.
> >
> > --
> > Douglas
>
> Well, I had a decent guess anyway. Are you saying that all Enos Roadsters /
> MX-5's in the UK have come into the country this way or are you just saying
> that allot of them do this method?
> Thanks for the info also. Here in the US, we tend to get the engines (I
> think they are limited to 30k use in the domestic market?) and I think it's
> commonly referred to as a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market?) engine.
>
> Chris
> 99BBB

Mazda sold the MX 5 over here in the UK as an official model. However
the JDM cars had a much higher spec than the UK 'official' cars, which
for the NA range at least came without air-con, electric windows,
leather etc.

As Douglas said, personally importing a car from Japan to the UK isn't
too difficult, and there are lots of agents who will help you do it. The
JDM cars need very little work to get them road-legal over here, as
they're all right hand drive with headlamps that dip the correct way.
Probably the only major work is to convert the speedometer/oddomenter to
read in MPH which is done either via a converter in the cable to slow it
down a bit, or a new speedo face. In the UK speedos have to read in MPH
for the MoT (annual safety check) test.

I have a charmingly named JDM Eunos Roadster VR-Limited Combination-A,
which translates to a JDM-only Limited Edition that roughly equates to
the Merlot specials sold elsewhere. It has the Vin Rouge Mica paint,
cream leather seats with headrest speakers, air-con, leccy windows,
limited slip diff, Billstein shocks and a slightly lower back axle ratio
than the UK models. The UK official Merlot model had the same paint, but
grey leather seats, no air-con and hand-cranked windows.

I didn't import it myself, the previous (and only) UK owner imported it,
having bought it from a colleague when she returned to the UK having
spent a few years working in Japan.

There is still a market for NA and NB imports over here, but the numbers
of NAs available in Japan are decreasing and there are some rough cars
coming over now.

NCs will probably start coming over here soon, as the Japanese safety
tests kick in after (I think) three years and are incredibly tough to
get through, and it's easier to sell to an exporter and put the car
through one of the massive Japanese auction houses than get it through
the inspection, which requires everything to be up to factory spec with
no allowance for wear and tear.

You can get some huge low mileage bargains via the grey import market in
the UK, but it's definitely buyer beware, as there have been many
reports of badly repaired insurance write-offs coming into the UK, not
just MX5s but many other models. The Mitsubitsi Shogun/Pajero is another
very popular JDM import over here, I reckon that there are as many JDM
versions of those on the roads here as there are official Mitsu. cars.
Again, the JDM cars are higher specced than the UK models, and are
usually around 2/3 of the price of a comparable UK model, even after
shipping and import costs.


--
So many cats
So few recipes

Chris wrote:
> What is it you miss so much about the NA? I loved mine but I
> love the 99 even more. I don't think there's much of a chance
> that I'd go back to the NA on my next one, even though I'm
> still tempted every time I see a good, low mileage Black and
> Tan and I truly love the Merlot '95 M Edition. I guess the main
> thing I miss from the NA is the seats! They were just
> outstanding as far as bolstering was concerned and I really
> liked the headrest speakers. A good set could give you a little
> bass bump thru the whole seat (a little!). I guess the other
> thing I miss would be the BBS 'lace' wheels! I'd love to see
> Mazda hook up with BBS again and do a similar set in 17" ,
> super light of course!

Definitely the seats! The ones in the '04 are like surfboards
stuck in the cockpit - the backs sit up waaay too high, and
there's no headrest speakers. Plus the seats in the '90 were
perfectly shaped to *my* seat after 12 years of ownership. ;-)
I'm semi-actively looking for a set of black cloth NA seats to
swap for the NB seats. The NB seats do have more side-to-side
support but they are just not as comfortable.

I miss the pop-up headlights too - there was just something
special and different about them that the '04 misses out on. And
the '04 can't wink! <g>

Iva & Vixen
2004 Classic Red
No more winkin' Miata

"Rob" > wrote in message
oo.co.uk...
> You can get some huge low mileage bargains via the grey import market in
> the UK, but it's definitely buyer beware, as there have been many
> reports of badly repaired insurance write-offs coming into the UK, not
> just MX5s but many other models. The Mitsubitsi Shogun/Pajero is another
> very popular JDM import over here, I reckon that there are as many JDM
> versions of those on the roads here as there are official Mitsu. cars.
> Again, the JDM cars are higher specced than the UK models, and are
> usually around 2/3 of the price of a comparable UK model, even after
> shipping and import costs.
>
>
> --
> So many cats
> So few recipes

Now that I know all about the grey market cars, I want to learn about the
cats and the recipes ;-)
Chris
99BBB

"MikemanX" > wrote in message
...
>
> The Jag is an XK120 roadster or OTS to the British.
>
> --
> Mike (the lurker)

Mike, did you see the Top Gear episode with the XK120, the Vincent Black
Shadow and a steam engine train? Greatly entertaining as I'm sure the car is
;-)

Chris
99BBB

"Lanny Chambers" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> MikemanX > wrote:
>
>> The Jag is an XK120 roadster or OTS to the British.
>
> I wish I still had my 1948 "Mark IV" (3.5L Saloon to the british).
>
> --
> Lanny Chambers
> St. Louis, MO
> '94C

Pictures? Pictures?
cd

"Iva" > wrote in message
...
>
> Definitely the seats! The ones in the '04 are like surfboards stuck in
> the cockpit - the backs sit up waaay too high, and there's no headrest
> speakers. Plus the seats in the '90 were perfectly shaped to *my* seat
> after 12 years of ownership. ;-) I'm semi-actively looking for a set of
> black cloth NA seats to swap for the NB seats. The NB seats do have more
> side-to-side support but they are just not as comfortable.
>
> I miss the pop-up headlights too - there was just something special and
> different about them that the '04 misses out on. And the '04 can't wink!
> <g>
>
> Iva & Vixen
> 2004 Classic Red
> No more winkin' Miata

Well, we agree on the seats! The 99's are decently shaped (bolster wise) but
the bolsters are far too wimpy, folding right over in serious cornering!
Fabric is FAR better looking IMHO than the NA fabric which tends to look old
worn and faded after the 2nd week of use. My seats are basically black also
and I can pretty easily clean them up to look as good as new. All Miata
seats seem to lack lumbar support.

The NA seats do transfer into the NB but keep in mind the seatbelt
attachments are different. IIRC you'll need to scavenge the hardware for you
current seats. At least that's how it was with my 99. The reason I didn't go
thru with the switch out (which I desperately wanted to) was because the NA
seats were in MORE conflict with my roll bar than my 99 seats and I need
every inch I can get on the tilt back.

Pop up headlights I can do with or with out, they do give the car the
'vintage' look while I think the NB still looks much more contemporary.

Later,
Chris
99BBB
>
>

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
>
> "Douglas Payne" > wrote in message
> ...
>> The process of grey importing is quite popular, there must be
>> thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of Eunos Roasters and MX-5s
>> here.
>>
>> --
>> Douglas
>
> Well, I had a decent guess anyway. Are you saying that all Enos
> Roadsters / MX-5's in the UK have come into the country this way or are
> you just saying that allot of them do this method?

Yes, Mazda sold lots and lots of MX-5s in the UK officially too.

> Thanks for the info also. Here in the US, we tend to get the engines (I
> think they are limited to 30k use in the domestic market?) and I think
> it's commonly referred to as a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market?) engine.

JDM is a term used here too.

I believe that it's pretty difficult to get a whole JDM car road legal
in the US, so I guess people just resort to importing bits of them. (c:

In the UK, it's not usually the engine of an MX-5 that gives out, more
usually the body rusts to the point where it becomes uneconomical to
repair to yearly inspection (MOT) standard, I haven't heard much of a
market for JDM engines here.

--
Douglas

Douglas Payne wrote:
> Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
>>
>> "Douglas Payne" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> The process of grey importing is quite popular, there must be
>>> thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of Eunos Roasters and MX-5s
>>> here.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Douglas
>>
>> Well, I had a decent guess anyway. Are you saying that all Enos
>> Roadsters / MX-5's in the UK have come into the country this way or
>> are you just saying that allot of them do this method?
>
> Yes, Mazda sold lots and lots of MX-5s in the UK officially too.
>
>> Thanks for the info also. Here in the US, we tend to get the engines
>> (I think they are limited to 30k use in the domestic market?) and I
>> think it's commonly referred to as a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market?)
>> engine.
>
> JDM is a term used here too.
>
> I believe that it's pretty difficult to get a whole JDM car road legal
> in the US, so I guess people just resort to importing bits of them. (c:
>
> In the UK, it's not usually the engine of an MX-5 that gives out, more
> usually the body rusts to the point where it becomes uneconomical to
> repair to yearly inspection (MOT) standard, I haven't heard much of a
> market for JDM engines here.

I am selling a "M" edition wheel on Feebay and received a question on it
from a Miata owner in the UK who just bought a Japanese import. He said
that the alloys on these cars are typically trashed. Is this true, and
if so, any idea why?

On a side note, if anyone knows the part number for the factory alloys
that came with the 1996 "M" edition and the 1997 STO, that would be
helpful to him.

Thanks,

Pat

In article >,
"Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote:

> > I wish I still had my 1948 "Mark IV" (3.5L Saloon to the british).
>
> Pictures? Pictures?

Alas, I have no photos of my car. Search for "jaguar mark iv" at
http://images.google.com

Mine was a black 1948 saloon (sedan), with LHD and red leather. The 1947
was identical, but later cars were not Mark IVs and their photos are
misidentified.

Ah, Trafficators! P-100s! Mechanical brakes!

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C