help what to do

[kitch]

hi all

i am going to buy the book and build my own locost but was just wondering if i could use the mazda mx5 for the donar car because in the advert for the book it says sierra!
i`m new to this so any advice would be appreciated.

many thanks kitch

[MarkB]

Go down the Mazda route it makes for a better handling car all round. www.vodouautokits.co.uk have CAD drawings for nowt all you have to do is sign up and download them and you are away....:)

[MarkB]

Oh and the panels were made to fit around the Mazda motor etc

[Not Anumber]

It sounds like we are pretty much at the same stage with regard to choices.
I have 99% decided to take the MX5 route rather than using a Sierra donor. My for and against list looks like this so far:

The points against first:
MX5 more expensive donor vehicle than Sierra
Not as heavilly covered in Chris Gibbs' book
More people have built Sierra based Haynes cars


The points for:
Better handling.
More compact and solid mechanical.s
MX5 conceived as a sports car from the outset.
Sierras dissapearing, will be classic status soon.
Donors often have acceptable alloys which can be reused.
All donors fuel injected.
Most donors had ABS.
Some had a limited slip diff.
Wiring loom can be reused.
Seats can be reused.
Can use MX5 uprights, saves fabricating.

I then loked again at the 'against' list and thought:

Unused bits from MX 5 donor should be easier to sell/ get more money back.
Supplementary build information for using MX5 donor is freely available from both Vodou and Saturn.
More people are starting to build MX5 based cars.
A new edition of the Haynes book is planned using an MX5 donor.

Most Locost's were Cortina/ Mk2 Escort based following the original Ron Champion book before Chris Gibbs developed the Haynes variant to use Sierra parts instead. It seems part of a natural progression to use more modern donors and the MX5 is becoming the donor of choice now for many.

I'm currently looking for a suitable MX5 donor- I thought of going for a damaged repairable but i'm not sure how that might affect / limit the registration options. (can anyone advise):confused: .

I also need to decide whether to buy a chassis from the Talon / Vodou combination or the Saturn / HandyAndy combination. They all seem very competant engineers.

Chris

[kitch]

which book will you be buying to do this build?

[brainbug007]

Personally I'd still buy the haynes book if you decide to take the mx5 route. There's still alot of really information on how to do things that aren't donor specific and are more about the roadster rather than where some of your bits came from. Really you'd only be changing a small part of othe overall car by using an mx5 instead of a sierra donor in my opinion.

[Not Anumber]

which book will you be buying to do this build?
As Brainbug007 says definitely buy the Chris Gibbs book. "Build your own Sports Car on a Budget' ISBN 978 1 84425 391 3. I got mine from Amazon but you can also order from Haynes.co.uk or local bookshops. Supplement this with the MX5 specific stuff from Saturn and Vodou. Get a couple of highlighter pens and post-it notes, make notes and cross references in the margins.

If you want to see how it all started get the original Ron Champion book. "Build your own Sports car for as little as £ 250" (always a bit hopefull that pricepoint even at the time). Published by Haynes ISBN 1 85960 636 9. A while since it was printed but can still be found easilly 2nd hand.

I also bought a book called 'How to build a cheap sportscar' by Keith Tanner, an interesting read but i promptly sold it again as I just didnt find it as comprehensive as Chris Gibbs' book.

[kitch]

Thank you all, ordered the Chris Gibbs book and down loaded mx5 plans from Saturn. Got some land rover wheels and tyres to sell on eBay so when they go that money will be put to starting my project. Can't wait.:D

[Cyberbeej]

I'm currently looking for a suitable MX5 donor- I thought of going for a damaged repairable but i'm not sure how that might affect / limit the registration options. (can anyone advise):confused: .


Chris

I can't see many problems with using a damaged vehicle as a doner for the build, the only point i can think of would be that you will not be able to obtain the V5 if it is a registered Cat C or D since the only way to get the V5 is after the VIC check once the vehicle has been repaired.

This may cause a problem in age of engine identification or filling in the IVA form.

Someone else will be better to advise on the IVA bit since i haven't got to that stage yet.

[davidimurray]

The points for:
Better handling.
More compact and solid mechanical.s
MX5 conceived as a sports car from the outset.
Sierras dissapearing, will be classic status soon.
Donors often have acceptable alloys which can be reused.
All donors fuel injected.
Most donors had ABS.
Some had a limited slip diff.
Wiring loom can be reused.
Seats can be reused.
Can use MX5 uprights, saves fabricating.



I think you can be objective when looking at the points above -
Yes the MX5 was designed as a sports car but in the roadster it is a totally different application - different vehicel, different weight, different CoG, different geometry so I don't think that is strictly fair to compare it with a sierra based car.
Fuel injected - likely to require cat which can be difficult to package and to get to 'light' correctly for emissions testing. also can be more difficult to tune/setup due to ECU - i'm not sure what the MX5 setup is.
ABS - you won't be wanting this on a roadster!
Sierra wiring loom can be reused - no different to the MX5 one really.

Having said all that I would go for an MX5 build if I started afresh simply due to the availability of donor cars.

[robo]

I reckon both the sierra and mazda have good and bad points but the platform of either is a good foundation if you want something a bit special.. Both of the above would make a decent daily driver but with the amount of engine choice out there who could not resist the urge to mix and match to the point of not needing the donor in the first place.

Bob

[PorkChop]

Fuel injected - likely to require cat which can be difficult to package and to get to 'light' correctly for emissions testing. also can be more difficult to tune/setup due to ECU - i'm not sure what the MX5 setup is.

You will only need a cat if your engine is from 1995 on (August or September 1995 IIRC, but not 100% sure). That means all the 1.6 'short nose' crank lumps and early 1.8s would not need a cat. There is plenty of tuning knowledge and several options wrt ECU choice and set-up if you do modify the lump.

When I was searching for a donor, I found that the price difference on the open market between a Sierra and a MX-5/Eunos Roadster was negligible.

Lots of the unusable parts on a MX-5 can be sold for good money if they are in good enough condition, especially if you buy one with a hard top or if it has certain JDM parts fitted. The standard MX-5 alloys are also very light weight; you would have to spend a lot of money on getting lighter aftermarket alloys.