Equinox Bodywork

[Jeff01]

A full bodywork set arrived from Equinox this morning. Easily the best mouldings I've seen and all carefully wrapped in cardboard and bubble wrap. Dave is very helpful and actually carries through on his promises - a bit of a novelty these days. My car is MX5 MK11 powered, actually Phil's prototype Mx5 chassis, and I am hoping that Dave will build a mould to fit that installation without the small modification currently needed . Would be good for most other twin cams too. I am pretty hard to please but Equinox have made me smile! (No, I am not in the pay of Equinox!)

[SeriesLandy]

Pics we need pics. It's not true unless there is evidence.
You seem to be cracking on with your build.

[Ben_Copeland]

Excellent. If you need any advice on fitting/cutting don't hesitate to ask!

[Ste W]

So what are the modifications needed to the bodywork? I'm fitting a mazda engine and box into a standard(ish) chassis and going to order my body next week from equinox

[Ben_Copeland]

I wasn't aware there were any tbh.

My Vauxhall twin cam fits in with loads of space, plus now fitted my turbo engine and there's still plenty of space.

It might be that the mx5 engine has a deep sump which should really be shortened anyway so the engine sits up high.

I cant really see any other reason?



Doesn't seem to large an engine.

[ayjay]

[Ben_Copeland]

Pah.. my turbo engine has much more in the engine bay !

[beardydave]

As will mine. I'm expecting my turbo to be sitting where that battery is!

Anyone have any problems with massive gearbox bellhousings?

My Saab sump could be shortened quite considerably (esp. if I dry sump it as planned), but the lowest part of the engine and gearbox is the bottom of the bellhousing, even vs an unmodified sump pan.

Anyone found a way around this?

I'd like to use standard bodywork but at the moment i'm having to add 50mm to the height of the scuttle and nosecone to lift the top of the bonnet up, and add a big bulge to the bonnet!

[Ben_Copeland]

What gearbox have you got on it?

[Jeff01]

I don't have access to a Mk1 engine but looking at pics. of both it does seem that the MK11 injection set-up is a bit more bulky. My engine has it's sump 40mm below the bottom chassis rail and sits further back in the chassis than standard, which also means that that the standard Mk11 exhaust manifold exits very close to the passenger footwell requiring some fancy pipework to get outside the chassis. Looking at the bonnet/nosecone combination last night, it does look as if a small bump will be needed. I am in the workshop later today and should be able to confirm go/no-go later. Pics. when I can get my ruddy camera to talk to the PC! Thanks Ben for your kind offer. On a more general note, I used Vauxhall engines in race cars for a while and memory suggests that they were a lot less bulky than the Mazda lump. The other thing is that I think most people are using the Mk1 engine as in the Saturn car,perhaps without clearance problems, and in some ways this engine would seem to be a better choice. For example, I am not using the OE ECU so a way has to be found to overcome the fact that the ECU controls the alternator in the MK11, although I believe I have solved that problem. I have a feeling that the MK11 MX5 is going to be the most popular donor for a variety of self build cars in future, primarily because they are well engineered, cheap, have bullet proof engines and the fact that they are already sports cars! Maybe when I get really bored I will set out with my tape measure and conduct a survey of all available twin cams engines! One last point is that all of our cars are different in some way, which is one of the principal reasons for doing what we do, and it follows that my engine might not fit under your bonnet..............etc. End of lecture.