It is always good to go for a drive no matter what weather is out there.

(With the exception of hail. We don’t do hail - Ed.)

This morning I decided to join two Roadsterlifers, Taz and Matt on their Brunch at Berry.

It was a late start so enough for me to get a good night sleep. :)

Matt and I arrived at the initial meeting point with plenty of time to take a few snaps while we wait for Taz.

It didn’t take long till Taz to arrive with “Black Betty” - his NA8 “S Special”, glamour shots of which can be seen in earlier posts on this very blog.

After a few more snaps and chit chat we were off to Stanwell Top Lookout in Sydney’s Royal National Park.

With the weather being drizzly and gloomy, the road was pretty much empty. A welcome change for a long-weekend, which usually finds the National Park packed with sightseeing traffic.

The usual rest spots near the end of the park were empty as well.

After a few snaps, we were off to Berry via Princess Highway.

Once we got to Berry, parking for both the NA’s was waiting.

We then polished off a brunch that was well worth the drive. Mine was Chorizo on Homemade Baked Beans and Poached egg ontop of Sourdough. After some more chit-chat, we made our separate ways.  

Taz and his wife took off to Kiama for fish and chips while Matt with his wife and I made our way to another local winding road called Jamberoo Rd (a favourite of ours).

We eventually parted ways at Albion Park as Matt headed up Macquarie Pass to the Highlands.

I, in the other hand, made my cautious drive through Wollongong and then back to the Royal National Park via Helensburg.

I decided to do a quick snap at Stanwell Tops Lookout before I head home for the day.

Weather or Not - this is Roadster Life.

A lovely addition to Guy’s NC. Rumour has it that more than just a front lip has been installed. Ride height, offset and tire tread seem to support this rumour. Can’t wait for more, Guy.

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Due to many reasons I have not been able to hit the race track for almost two years. When I committed to purchase the Roadster late last year it was done so with the aim to bring me back into the game, and ultimately compete in organised motor sport events.

Earlier this year when I finally took delivery of the car, I had decided that motor sport event would be a Bathurst event — the holy grail of Australian motor sport, like Silverstone is to Britain, but only more dangerous.

In the middle of this year, some where, I lost that ambition. Mostly the lack of track time was catching up with me and I found myself doing a lot more talking about my yester years that the future… and used the car as a parking ornament.

This changed last week. I continued where I left off. The last track to host my motor sport ambitions would be the one to kick start again. FWD to RWD, hatch back to purpose built sports car, driving aids and modern R&D to nothing… less is indeed more. In the 50 minutes of on track action I got my mojo back.

Do I continue with my Bathurst ambition? Maybe, I don’t know yet. But it’s no longer just talk. Thank you all who had faith in me, and who waited patiently for me to come out of my shell. I am driver. Again.

The first time on track in 36months. It felt good.

I’ve always wondered about MX-5s, what most peoples’ fascination was with them. It always struck me as a bit of a ladies car, ferrying them to their various beauty appointments during the day. But in hindsight it’s an altogether horribly inaccurate assumption of MX-5 owners. 

In truth MX-5 owners are a diverse group of people, from older gents to the young, funky and hip. Their interests are as diverse as their ages and yet there is one commonality, the Mazda MX-5.

“Why?”, I’ve often asked myself. And then it was all answered with this book. 

Mazda MX-5 Miata Roadster by Toshihiko Hirai, which detailed the history of the design and production of the MX-5 NA. I remember reading in amazement at the lengths the engineers went through to get the miracle combination of looks, lightweight, high chassis stiffness, amazing handling, high build quality and an affordable pricetag all in the one package. Most manufacturers have trouble ticking 3 of the boxes, but Mazda engineers had to fulfil all the requirements. 

From the micro-grams to be shaved off interior plastics to the minimal chassis flex without additional strut braces. This car was designed with a purpose in mind. 

On top of all this the car had to go in line with the mantra “Jinbai Ittai” 

You may think its nothing to write home about, but that book got me thinking about MX-5s in a positive light. It got me thinking this car is something special. It’s not just another tuner car, it’s a roadster with a purpose.

But of course, its all just theory with what you read in a book. Its not until you have driven an MX-5 do you truly understand what it feels like. 

And fortunately that experience opened up recently. When i was given the keys to a NA MX-5. Despite only going round the block in a sedate manner with the police riding shotgun, the amazing handling was starting to show with the precise steering as we turned calmly around corners.

I’m still not convinced of its practical nature for my needs at the moment. But as a driver’s car, it’s definitely one to look out for. 

So … does someone want to pass me the keys for a proper drive? :)

We’ve been holding onto this post for a while now. It’s a little bit special … just like the roadster it features. 

When asked to contribute to this blog I pondered how to begin my story, and like most writers I guess I need to start at the beginning.

I was born into a motoring family – my Grandfather was involved in the importation of one of Australia’s earliest cars, a De Dion Bouton, and my Dad ran one of Sydney’s first ‘Speed Equipment’ businesses, Hunter & Delbridge, where they designed and made their own mag wheels, extractor exhausts and disk brake conversions for the tuner cars of the 1960’s – early model Holdens, Falcons and the giant killing Minis. At the time he was preparing a Mini 850 that was driven by his brother Paul in Appendix J touring car races, maintaining a Brabham F1 car in the Tasman series, and building special cars for the car magazines of the day, Wheels and Sports Car World (including a series of articles on modifying a Vauxhall Viva for motor racing – the car was raced and destroyed by Bill Tuckey). Dad was also responsible for the first Corolla Sprinters sold by Bill Buckle Toyota – each one with modified cylinder head and extractor exhaust system from Dad’s workshop.

Visiting the workshop on Saturday mornings was like visiting Aladdin’s cave; you never knew what or who you would find there. Exotic cars, modified cars, hot rods, race cars and race drivers all found their way there. My fate was sealed really! I was taught to drive at age 11 in my newly acquired FJ Holden paddock basher, and by age 13 had devised a race track on the family farm and spent hours honing my driving skills and punishing the FJ around the sandy track, often with Dad’s participation to show us how slow we were!

Leaving school meant purchasing a road registered car, and the first candidate was a Morris 1100 for $400. This was duly resprayed and fitted with a 10 inch steering wheel, decent tyres and a Lynx air filter, so it looked and sounded coolish! A year later I replaced it with an 1100S, the sleeper of the Morris family as it had the 1275cc Cooper S engine, but with extra strengthening in the engine block to cater for the larger weight of the 1100 body. Most of these engines found their way into racing Minis, but mine stayed put and was tweaked to 1293cc, 11:1 compression and fitted with a wild Waggot cam, twin 1.5inch SUs and all the trick bits available. It was a fabulous weapon that was so much fun to drive, as nobody expected a Morris 1100 to perform, let alone win away from the lights! V8 Falcon drivers seemed particularly annoyed to be beaten by a Morris…

A succession of other cars followed, including two much loved Alfas, finally leading to my first (and last) new car purchase – a VX Commodore Berlina with the 5.7 GenIII  Chev engine. This was bought as a tow car for my race cars (I’ll tell their story another day) and was ideal for this purpose, as well as general hooning around. At the same time my younger brother David bought his first new car, a 2001 Mazda MX-5.

Dave thought it would be a good idea to swap cars for a day, so I spent a pleasant day tooling around in his car, top down of course. We both agreed that the Commodore’s grunt was probably more fun, but that wind-in-the-hair was fantastic. Perhaps if I had found some twisty roads that day I may have been converted earlier, but it was not yet to be.

A few months later Dave apparently went completely insane. He managed to trade his near new, next to no km MX-5 on a much higher mileage MX-5 SP, one that had been abused by countless journalists on road tests no less. He even parted with extra money to complete the deal! Madness we thought!

Skip forward to 2004. I was running around Wakefield on a private practice day in my race car, and Dave had come along in his SP. Towards the end of the day he suggested I take the SP for a lap or two. Bait taken. Around 15 laps later, with the brakes smoking and tyres starting to go off Dave was standing at the pit counter desperately trying to get me off the track before I wore his car out. I’m now hooked. There is no cure for this addiction, only more will do. I headed home, logged on to the MX-5 forum and started my search for an SP to call my own. Six months later my world was complete, I found the car I coveted in Canberra and signed on to the ‘roadster life’.

What is so special about these cars I hear you ask? I understand the question – I was the same when Dave bought his. Why pay good money for a backyard turbo converted hairdresser’s car? Even now I find it hard to describe what the driving experience is like. I guess the best explanation is that the SP puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, whatever the weather, traffic, or road is like, I’m smiling. It makes me happy, in a way no other car ever has (and I have owned and driven a lot of cars in the past 30 years). I can conceive of very few cars that would potentially give me any more satisfaction, and that list would be hideously expensive and even more impractical – think Porsche, Audi A8 etc. Supercars in other words.

The SP is capable of running high 13s on the quarter mile, is wickedly fast through corners and on the race track, yet is happy tooling along the M4 and Parramatta Road in peak hour traffic. Yes it has a crude engine management system, runs stupidly rich and has poor trailing throttle manners, but that is all forgiven every time you plant your right foot down and feel the thump in your back, or peel through a corner at impossible speed with your tyres firmly planted on mother earth.

There is more to this experience than speed and acceleration, however. Driving any roadster or convertible, however humble, is a joy. There is a liberating sense of freedom when you are exposed to the elements behind the wheel. The SP only serves to magnify that joy. I love driving on quiet roads late at night with a clear sky full of stars above and a bracing cold wind in my face; with the heater turned up and scarf and beanie to keep the cold at bay. I have said it many times to friends – this car is a keeper. I will have it until I am no longer able to enjoy it through age or infirmity. Yes, I am completely besotted with this car!

The unexpected bonus to enjoying my car was the community of people it opened up for me. I joinied the NSW MX-5 club and the related internet forums associated with the car. This was a revelation to me – I had long resisted the idea of joining car forums. The ones I had glanced at seemed to be full of opinionated bogans constantly arguing and sniping at their peers. The MX-5 fraternity seemed the polar opposite; they were warm and friendly and eager to help me get the most from my involvement. I’m happy to say I have made some very solid friendships along the way and enjoy socialising with these folk almost as much as I enjoy the driving. I have expanded this forum circle to include a variety of Japanese car owners and enthusiasts, and I am often tempted by a variety of interesting and desireable  cars, but should I ever succumb to that temptation, they will be in addition to, not as a replacement for my SP.

The roadster life is a rich life indeed.

If you have a Roadster story you want to share, click on the submit tab at the top of this page to contribute. In return we’ll send you a limited edition Roadster Life sticker as a way of thanking you for your support.