Hello everybody

[beardydave]

Hi, my names Dave. I've been reading the forums for a couple of days looking for more "inspiration" regarding the use of an MX-5 donor.

I'm currently in the planning stages of a roadster build using a real mixture of donor bits. The original plan was to modify for a BMW diff and gearbox as I already have those (abandonned due to size, weight and the lack of a cheap limited slip option), which then changed to sticking as close to the Sierra plans as possible, and after reading all the info and seeing the Vodou VR5 chassis has changed to using an MX-5 base for reasons of availability of MX-5s and simpler build.

In fact, the only thing that's remained constant throughout the planning has been to use a Saab B234 turbo engine as the powerplant, coupled to a SaaBMW gearbox (a bmw box that's been modified with a Saab/GM bellhousing - very popular in Scandanavia for the big power RWD conversions and far stronger than the GM R28 box from an Omega).

All my planning is being done in 3D on Solidworks to try to minimise swearing time during the build, and so that I can get most of the custom parts laser cut for me as my sheet-metal skills aren't the best. I may or may not do the welding depending on how brave i'm feeling and how much a bought-in chassis and suspension set will cost.

The plan afterwards is to make as many of my 3D models available for general use as possible for others to plan their builds with. Estimated completion time is about 2 years at the moment.

Always open to comments or querys, as soon as i've got something physical to actually show i'll be starting a build thread too.