Introduction

[themaninthesuitcase]

Hi everyone

Thought I'd say hello before I start asking to many stupid questions!

I am currently contemplating a roadster build, the book only came yesterday and I have already read the 1st third so that's a good sign, I'm a slow reader unfortunately I'm sure most of you could knock this out in an evening. I have also read a large portion of the Ron Chapman book as I found a copy that fell of the back of the internet.

Time for a bit of background.

Currently I am "finishing" (I'm sure you all know how long that takes) a mini clubman estate that I bought in 2006 and was promptly written off when a Micra used me as brakes. After a few periods of inactivity due to stupid things (a stuck steering column cost me 6 months of "sod it") I am hoping to have the car ready to attend a few shows this year, and possibly try some drag races with it's mighty 42 Hp 998 engine.

Kit car wise I have wanted to build one for years now but various things have stopped me, usually cost, which is where the Roadster comes in. The closest I have come was I visited the manufacturer of the Mini Marcos. The cost and the fact of it being a simple re body job put me off. The car would still be a mini but with better aero and cost in the region of £6-7k once IVA'd.

Having watched most the is born series' (and various other car build shows) and combined with my 2 minis I have owned I have seem how simple cars really are to build so the concept of the roadster is not such a daunting challenge. I already own 90% of the tooling required and have the space once the minis moved out the way.

I am hoping to get the book read by the end of the week, and have been reading a lot of this forum for over a week now. Once the books done I am hoping to start buffing up on my welding skills by trying some of the sub structures such as the Front frame and possibly a wishbone or 2 until I have completed the mini.

If any ones interested this is my work space, it's a bit more cluttered than that now as I have an engine crane and various other bits I seem to have collected from god knows where!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/themaninthesuitcase/Mini/DSC00001.jpg

Should be coming to Stonleigh so will keep an eye out for some roadsters.

[Bonzo]

A very warm welcome to the forum :cool:

I must say, the clubman is looking rather fetching :) ( Bit of a closet classic mini fan )

You'll find all the help & advice that you could ever need on here, just ask away.

If you manage to get to Stoneleigh, I am sure that you will meet up with a fair few of us ;)

Good luck with yor build if you decide to go ahead :)

[Tilly819]

well first off welcome to the forum

secondly the mini looks great love the colour. you look like you have a good garage set up there with lots of nice tools.

stoneligh is definetly worth going to. i hope to take mine provided i can get it IVA's in time and there will be a few others hopefully.

Were abouts are you based out of intrest.
and all the best off luck, any problems just post it and it will get answered
also what engine are you thinking of using? i think it is inportant to make this descision quite eirley on the design?

Chears
tilly

[themaninthesuitcase]

Engine wise I am currently thinking 1.8/2.0 Pinto assuming I can get a suitable donor.

Reason being this means I can get an age related plate and once the power isn't enough it means I have the option of tuning it, unlike the CVH, rather than just going "well time for a fire breathing zetec on TBs and management then...wonder if a turbo would fit...", which of course end up backwards in a hedge/tree/lamp post.

[mark]

Welcome to the forum :)

Its a fair point you make about using a pinto as regards to future tuning, as you rightly say tuning a cvh isnt really worthwhile

I had the same plan but couldnt find a pinto engined car anywhere, lots of engines out there but not attached to sierras to get your age related plate

So in the end i went cvh and im running it on bike carbs and then going zetec later on. Im sure there will be some decent pinto engined sierras out there somewhere, but good look finding one :D it took me 3 months to find a decent cvh

You wont regret starting a roadster build, but you will get annoyed when you wake up at three in the morning thinking about it :eek: :D

[spud69]

Welcome to the forum,

Mark is spot on with summing up the engine choice the main benefit with the CVH is availability and it's a much more straight forward exchange for a Zetec in the future - you will want more power.

Garage looks great, larger than mine for my build, you will certainly spend lots of happy hours in there and also some very frustrating ones but it certainly is worth it.

Would be good to see you at Stoneleigh

All the best......AndrewH

[twinturbo]

Welcome,

Funny you should mention Mark Evans "xx is born"

We ( my self and my 5yr old ) discovered these on Quest TV before christmas starting with catching the last few helicopter shows.

We then watched all the rest of them, including the Racecar is borne. My boy was very interested in all but especialy that one.

It rekindled my interest in 7's and I have started making a concerted effort to actualy get one built this time. So I am ammassing parts with the view to me and the lad starting the build at the end of the summer ( I have 2 sierras projects and a MK1 project on the go at the moment and one of the Sierras HAS to be finished for the summer!!!! )

Welcome!!!

TT

[HandyAndy]

Hi, & welcome to the forum,

your comments regarding costs played a major part in my decision to build a car, I chose the Roadster as it allows the build costs to be spread over however long it takes, so was easier to justify to my wife :o :D

Good luck in your future build, this is a great forum with very helpful fellow builders who all help eachother get thru the many area,s of a build.

cheers
andy:)

[themaninthesuitcase]

yes I feel the strongest part of a Haynes build is the ability to spread the cost, no several thousand pound initial outlay! I will probably also look at buying in pre cut tubing kits as required to avoid having to buy the tools to cut them accurately enough. Same for the more complex shaped plates. The advantage here is I can buy as much or as little s I can afford but still keep moving forward, even if its a case of only fitting a few small chassis plates etc.

I will take not of the lack of Pinto donors, seems they have all been cubed or parted out already. Is there a donor guide anywhere? Things too look out for parts/spec wise etc. I know there's 2 sizes of rear drums and then rear discs on some. Also is there a preferred FD as I understand this varied too. I would really prefer a 5 speed box too is this a CVH engined car only item also?

[HandyAndy]

If your intial plan is not to go the "one donor car" route then there will be alot of searching for all the parts that you will need, I myself chose the single donor route, admittedly its only a cvh engine but i got the whole donor car for £150 taxed & tested , so when you add up the cost of buying individual components it was worth me having the donor car complete, there are alot of parts used from the donor plus it made feel confident in the engine as i drove it 200 miles before stripping the car.

As for final drive most cars have the 5 speed box with a 3.92 diff, tho some folk use the MT75 box that comes with their donor ( usually found on the 2.0ltr "twinky" motor of the 2.0 DOHC Sierra), all of which will fit into the Roadster chassis with a slightly different transmission tunnel.

I,m not suggesting that you "HAVE" to have a full donor , there are merits of both options ( available space to strip a donor or not) etc but i personally found it easier for me .

Most folk have sourced parts from Sierra,s of 1988 to 1993 vintage, generally the running gear of cars from the 1.6 thru to the 2.0ltr & even the 2.8 versions will work with the build instructions of the Roadster.

cheers
andy

[themaninthesuitcase]

Not so much a case of multi donors, more a case of targeted selection but if it's a case of you take what you can get then so long as it's at least a 1.8 I'll just have to accept that.

[twinturbo]

I already have a selection of parts and am just collecting the bits I don't have. I have been running sierras for the best part of 16 years and have a selection of bits and bobs hanging arround.

The CVH is a good starter option, especialy for getting past the IVA.

TT