Scumrun 2013 Preparations - Part 1 - A very adequate 'Plan B'

So on chatting with Kev (see previous post) it became clear that it would be a good idea to sort out a Plan B for this years rally. They guys are doing an awesome job on the bug and the last thing I'd want to do is apply any time pressure so I started the hunt for an adequate temporary Scumrun replacement.

I considered many vehicles, from falling in line with the crowd and choosing a BMW through to Imprezzas, various other Marques and some more obscure classical routes including a Rover 800 at one point.

But then I realised that with prep time rapidly diminishing I may be safer to 'stick to what I know' and so started the hunt for another MX5.

It turns out that fate was smiling on me...What I found with only 2 days delay was a beautiful 1994 Japanese Import 1.8 eunos roadster with only 60k on the clock! With a bit of dealing I managed to get it for the requisite £500 and while it wasnt in perfect condition, the engine (and I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me) sounds barely broken in.

Now finding this kind of motor for this kind of money is rare and so let me explain a bit about why...On tracking back through the recent history it can be summarised as follows...

Imported 2001 - 1 lady owner until summer 2012 - px'd into trader, sat for 6 months (getting a bit soggy in the process) trying to be sold at too high a price, passed on to smaller dealer to clear... - Team Bugsplat's new Scumrun Motor!

So basically all it needed was a couple of fuses and a good dry out...and it was a great car.

The challenge however is...great cars don't tend to stay great in my ownership for very long...

This was proven yet again the other day when forgetting about the ridiculous cold weather making the rear window plastic very brittle I managed to split it all the way across...break out the gaffer.

But with less than 6 weeks to go, we had our car, I sorted some tax (it had MOT left until after the rally) and It was ready to start the 'prep' proper for this years event.

Let the Scumrun Squadron Commence...