For the first time in my life, I didn't need a practical car for daily transport. The only limiting factor was my tiny budget, so a mk1 Mazda MX-5 seemed like an obvious choice.

I've always wanted an MX-5, ever since I had a quick drive in a friend's car and discovered how much fun a little rear-wheel drive car could be. That 12-minute blast is one of my favourite driving memories, and that's entirely down to the car.

Fast forward a few years and I find myself looking for a weekend car, and the urge to own an MX-5 was too much to resist. There seemed to be almost infinite choice, given how many variants Mazda made - until I tried to find one that didn't have any rust.

These cars are 20 years old now, and most have a tendency towards the dreaded tinworm. I looked at quite a few cars in my local area, and even dispatched Drive Cult's Chris Ratcliff to look at one in his neck of the woods that seemed to be a good deal. Unfortunately, every single car I looked at had succumbed to rust, in varying degrees. I'm not good at fixing cars, so I needed a car that would need nothing doing other than filling with fuel and changing the oil when needed.

All I needed to do is keep an eye on the Pistonheads classifieds and the 'For Sale' threads in the MX-5 forums on the internet, and doubtless a rust-free car would turn up in the fullness of time. Unfortunately, when it comes to cars I am Mr Impatient; once I've made the decision to buy a particular model all I can think about is driving it, and waiting for the 'right' example to come along is the last thing on my mind. It's something that's led me to buy less-than-perfect motors in the past.

However, this time there would be no compromises. FInally, after a couple of weeks of trawling the classifieds, fruitless emails and telephone calls to unresponsive sellers, I spotted a potential candidate. A 1991 mk1 Eunos Roadster, in British Racing Green, and best of all, with a matching hardtop.

I knew I was onto a winner when the owner greeted me by handing me a torch with the words, 'Feel free to check the sills and the underside for rust'. The car was absolutely mint and I bought it on the spot, without even quibbling on the price. I know, I know, but I am British! At least I didn't buy the first car I saw this time...

Amusingly, having bought my first soft-top car, it rained constantly for the next week, so the chances of a top-down drive were few and far between! However, that wasn't such a bad thing. The mk1 MX-5 is wonderful in many ways, but it does suffer from scuttle shake. It's not Saab Convertible-bad, but it's enough to be distracting on the worst of the UK's lumpen B-roads. Thankfully, the hardtop makes a big difference to the stiffness of the car, so I think that other than during the summer, I'll keep the hardtop on more or less all the time.

My original intention was to buy a car that I could slowly modify for track use, giving me a good platform to learn to be a better driver on track without spending too much money. I'm not so sure that's what I want to do now, though. The car is in such good condition and is so original that I'm worried I'll spoil both the looks and the handling if I start lowering the ride height, fitting a rollcage and so on.

That said, I will definitely be making a few changes. Firstly, the tyres: four different makes does not make for predictable roadholding! As someone remarked recently, with a different tyre brand on each corner, I'm driving a one-man tyre group test! They need to be changed for some slightly more premium rubber, but since the car is rolling on standard 14" wheels, decent tyres are hard to come by. Continental PremiumContacts are the best I've found so far in the skinny 185/60/14 size that the MX-5 takes, so a set of those will be fitted shortly.

Beyond that, I'm undecided as to how to proceed. Standard or modified?
 

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