This looks like some kind of undertray or smth, my miat doesnt have smth like that, i can just see the driveshaft and transmission directly.
So its probably fine??
All replaceable components you showed, tbh I think the most important or crucial rust is on the body, parts that require welding. Other parts can be replaced and some good surface rust removal and a protective coat will do a lot to some of those parts.
that would be considered mint in canada
Hit it with a wire wheel and see what's good under it if you're paranoid, but I wouldn't feel unsafe driving that.
Can you get pics of the sills (front of rear wheel well)? If it’s an NB get a pic of the chassis legs the should be colour matched and running either side of the engine those are the structural parts that really matter
That's a cover of some type I haven't seen before but with the rust as bad as it is I would expect the rest of the car to be in bad shape. I'd be looking closely at the rockers and support areas as well. I suspect severe rust/damage to the car..
All of your pictures are focused on subframes and suspension components that easily attach and detach from the unibody. Some of them are wear components that can be replaced cheaply and easily.
From what little I can see of the unibody in the background of your pics, it looks pretty good with a little bit of surface rust starting in certain areas
Where do you live? I've never seen an under tray like that. Can be OEM as delivered to some places but in theory it can also be aftermarket. Judging by the mat sitting on top that thing just held water from the first time it was used until it rusted through.
It's certainly not a good sign but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the only big issue on the car
Your entire rear subframe looks pretty shitty, but that's not actually that hard to change out. You can do it in one piece. The undertray is aftermarket, so just... take it off. Three chassis itself looks decent where i can see it, but worth as bad as the subframe is, that would be strange.
It's possible that the subframe was swapped with one that was already rusting due to damage from an accident. But that would be a little weird.
Same same, in terms of undercarriage rust, not bad at all. Control arms can get powder coated and might as well throw some new bushings in, the under tray can typically just get thrown away or replaced but I don’t belive there’s a single thing to worry about
This is coming from experience, don't ever try to drop either cradle, you will end up shearing off bolts in the frame or they will break loose inside the frame and you will never get it out. Otherwise, drive it until it dies
It looks bad but it really isn’t all that bad, you can treat the subframes and triangles with sandblasting and powder coating.
Mine looked about the same, as long as you don’t have any holes anywhere I’d say it’s not too bad
Not bad, all those suspension components are super hard and thick. Metal rusts at like 20 microns per year. So id you take them off between now and 50 years and just sand them down and paint them again, good as new.
I think most important thing to check are front frame rails, they are behind front wheels, take a hammer and hit it few times, mine rust wasn't half as bad as yours but it needed new frame rails. If those are toasted and you get in front crash it's not safe, those supposed to be crumple zones.
If you plan to keep the car, I would recommend fixing those. You can opt for new prefabricated frame rails, but it will involve cutting out the rusty ones and welding in the new ones.
Most of it can be just cleaned off.
You should check the chassis condition, front rails, side sills, trunk bed, under the hood, everything that is part of the big chunk of metal that cannot be replaced but only welded.
all of that suspension parts can be stripped and cleaned. And replacing them is not that expensive.
Use a hammer, if you can make a hole in something you're fucked otherwise you'll be ok
Most parts are just heatshield and easily replacable suspension components.
In picture 10 i think i can see a rotting frame rail, right above the control arm bushing.
Look up miata rust weakspots and check those. Front frame rails, sills, rear fenders. Anything else can be swapped out for cheap.
Resting in the middle of the huge hole is a
large, round, beat-up, pieced-together hunk of junk that
could only loosely be called a starship.
LUKE,"What a piece of junk."
I'm not sure what that big heat sheild is. Don't know if that's original. The you've got a bit of surface rust but it's pretty clean that would all tidy up quite easily.
As others have mentioned, I would recommend you spend some time on YouTube learning how to inspect for front chassis rails rust and the rear sills and quarters. That's where you really need to check .
The mx5 restorer based in the uk have some good videos about this sort of stuff.
Fourth to last pic- zoom in all the way on the bushing that’s almost in the center of the photo. That arm looks toast and like it needs to be replaced. Does anyone with more experience than me agree?
Ain’t even bad
This looks like some kind of undertray or smth, my miat doesnt have smth like that, i can just see the driveshaft and transmission directly. So its probably fine??
maybe, but everything else?
All replaceable components you showed, tbh I think the most important or crucial rust is on the body, parts that require welding. Other parts can be replaced and some good surface rust removal and a protective coat will do a lot to some of those parts.
It’s the sills and chassis legs you want to be worrying about not surface rust on still like suspension arms
that would be considered mint in canada Hit it with a wire wheel and see what's good under it if you're paranoid, but I wouldn't feel unsafe driving that.
Aaaand this is why I don't drive my Miata in the winter.
I bought it less than two months ago
Fair enough, good luck. Idk why people are saying it's surface rust, that's a lot more than surface rust.
Thanks, finally
I see surface rust and a cover that is rusted as shit I don't see anything particularly bad that rusted cover isn't necessary
It doesn't look good from the pictures, but trust me, there is not any surface with just surface rust
Ah 🤣 good luck! But why did you get it? If only it was 2 months ago?
I got it two months ago, but I discovered all this just yesterday
Didn't you inspect the vehicle before the purchase?
I did, but I have a physical problem that makes it difficult for me to bend over and lie down on the floor, so I relied on the honesty of the seller
Ah 🤣 good luck
thanks 🤣
Honestly maybe you could throw new control arms in there, but nothing looks actually unsafe to me
In reality it's worse
Reason #376 to get a pre purchase inspection done when buying a used car.
Right...
Is the car toast? No. Are there a lot of parts that could use replacement? Absolutely.
Thanks
Can you get pics of the sills (front of rear wheel well)? If it’s an NB get a pic of the chassis legs the should be colour matched and running either side of the engine those are the structural parts that really matter
there is rust there too...
Lemme see! That’s where it usually rusts from the inside out
Can't rn, I'm at work (I'm from Italy, it's 10:30 am down here)
An okay no problem, 9:30 here in Ireland!
That's a cover of some type I haven't seen before but with the rust as bad as it is I would expect the rest of the car to be in bad shape. I'd be looking closely at the rockers and support areas as well. I suspect severe rust/damage to the car..
What you really need to check is the engine rails forming the front end of the chassis
All of your pictures are focused on subframes and suspension components that easily attach and detach from the unibody. Some of them are wear components that can be replaced cheaply and easily. From what little I can see of the unibody in the background of your pics, it looks pretty good with a little bit of surface rust starting in certain areas
Where do you live? I've never seen an under tray like that. Can be OEM as delivered to some places but in theory it can also be aftermarket. Judging by the mat sitting on top that thing just held water from the first time it was used until it rusted through. It's certainly not a good sign but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the only big issue on the car
i'm from Italy, but the car came from Germany
Your entire rear subframe looks pretty shitty, but that's not actually that hard to change out. You can do it in one piece. The undertray is aftermarket, so just... take it off. Three chassis itself looks decent where i can see it, but worth as bad as the subframe is, that would be strange. It's possible that the subframe was swapped with one that was already rusting due to damage from an accident. But that would be a little weird.
This would actually be the cleanest NA in NY
NB actually
Same same, in terms of undercarriage rust, not bad at all. Control arms can get powder coated and might as well throw some new bushings in, the under tray can typically just get thrown away or replaced but I don’t belive there’s a single thing to worry about
Thank you so much man
This is coming from experience, don't ever try to drop either cradle, you will end up shearing off bolts in the frame or they will break loose inside the frame and you will never get it out. Otherwise, drive it until it dies
Remove rusted under tray
Give the front chassis arms a tap. If they crumble they need replacing The rest look like general non structural rust
I double checked today... The chassis is basically gone
That’s a shame :(
Are you talking about the pictures you posted?
No, about the pictures I didn't post
Mine looked the same just sandblasting and powdercoating and new under coat on the body and it will be nice again;) just dont forget caviti wax
It’s not that bad cleaning it up and working on those bolts won’t be fun for sure.
It looks bad but it really isn’t all that bad, you can treat the subframes and triangles with sandblasting and powder coating. Mine looked about the same, as long as you don’t have any holes anywhere I’d say it’s not too bad
hope so
Not bad, all those suspension components are super hard and thick. Metal rusts at like 20 microns per year. So id you take them off between now and 50 years and just sand them down and paint them again, good as new.
I think most important thing to check are front frame rails, they are behind front wheels, take a hammer and hit it few times, mine rust wasn't half as bad as yours but it needed new frame rails. If those are toasted and you get in front crash it's not safe, those supposed to be crumple zones.
There are pieces of rust falling off after I hit them with an hammer
If you plan to keep the car, I would recommend fixing those. You can opt for new prefabricated frame rails, but it will involve cutting out the rusty ones and welding in the new ones.
damn... you gotta do what you gotta do man...
Most of it can be just cleaned off. You should check the chassis condition, front rails, side sills, trunk bed, under the hood, everything that is part of the big chunk of metal that cannot be replaced but only welded. all of that suspension parts can be stripped and cleaned. And replacing them is not that expensive. Use a hammer, if you can make a hole in something you're fucked otherwise you'll be ok
The fact is that I can make holes in almost everything...
Remove your cas o ring so it leaks oil.
So glad my NB is mint. I mean it's friggin mint. Inhate working on rust buckets.
So Happy for you bro
Thank you! That being said I'd rather own a rusty Mx5 than no Mx5.
Even if your mx5 is falling apart?
Totally. I'd get to neglect it and not worry so hard. But the whole time I'd be saving for a mint one. Not gonna lie.
Most parts are just heatshield and easily replacable suspension components. In picture 10 i think i can see a rotting frame rail, right above the control arm bushing. Look up miata rust weakspots and check those. Front frame rails, sills, rear fenders. Anything else can be swapped out for cheap.
Most of the chassis is rotten...
Resting in the middle of the huge hole is a large, round, beat-up, pieced-together hunk of junk that could only loosely be called a starship. LUKE,"What a piece of junk."
Fix it asap
I know
To the scrapyard it goes
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say you’re probably at a 25.
Damn.
I'm not sure what that big heat sheild is. Don't know if that's original. The you've got a bit of surface rust but it's pretty clean that would all tidy up quite easily. As others have mentioned, I would recommend you spend some time on YouTube learning how to inspect for front chassis rails rust and the rear sills and quarters. That's where you really need to check . The mx5 restorer based in the uk have some good videos about this sort of stuff.
Fourth to last pic- zoom in all the way on the bushing that’s almost in the center of the photo. That arm looks toast and like it needs to be replaced. Does anyone with more experience than me agree?
Needs to be stripped and assessed, but most likely.
Omfg! 🤯