Stripping the MX5 Part 1: Body 

                                                                                                                      

Before I started taking everything apart I had to check that the engine was running smoothly; which only had about 79000 on the clock and had previously had a rebuild and had been modified several thousand miles before.

The car had been sitting for a while, so I changed the oil, filter, drained the fuel (as apparently fuel can go bad with time) and then gave the battery a quick charge. I put some fresh fuel in it, turned the key and away she went. It seemed to run really well. Satisfied that the core components were in working order I proceeded to strip the car down.  

I decided that a good place to start was the exterior, removing the damaged bodywork to fully assess the extent of the damage.

Starting from the back I removed the licence plate panel, which was twisted on the right side. The left side light unit was undamaged. Also I removed the rear plastic bumper, which was only slightly damaged with a small crack next to the tail pipe.








The rear driver side was smashed inwards shattering the rear D/S light unit and also shifting the battery inwards. I didn't realise at the time but the battery had a bulge in it from the impact, which I've now replaced obviously.



The most damaged part of the car was at the front on the driver side area (RHD). 

I removed both front wings on each sides, the bumper and then loosened both of the flip lights and the bonnet.

Most of the damage was cosmetic, with some damage to the monocoque chassis. The next step I decided to strip the interior.