Mx-5 Donor - SSC

[spud69]

Fellow forum members may remember that Saturn was putting together a Roadster based on the Mazda Rx-8 Rotary Wankel engine, well that car was just about a rolling chassis but over the xmas break i had a chance to have a good think about what is best for the Haynes Roadster and fellow builders. As a result of this i have decided that the Rotary Wankel based car was a bit of a fantasy, although it will happen at some point, it was not the best way forward for Saturn and the Roadster as a whole. To cut it short the way onward is a Mazda MX-5 based roadster, which we are well on the way to now having a rolling chassis. The donor car has been acquired, stripped and parts waiting to all go in.

The car will be based on an Mx-5 used as the sole donor with all similar parts used as with the Sierra, the only exception being the Rear Uprights which can also be used from the Mx-5. The build will be blogged on the Saturn Site, along with the build for the 2 Saturn Roadsters, in conjunction with TeamTrain Ltd in Newcastle, which will be raced on the Northern Race Series Cup first race being in April at Croft - transfer of all running gear from Ginetta G20 to Roadster starts this weekend with a lot of help and work from Flyerncle / Paul.

The body work will be re-worked for the Mx-5 build with the wider and longer scooped bonnet, similar to the Westfield V8 bonnet mentioned a couple of days ago. This will allow the engine to be raised slightly which will allow the sump to be un-modified. Once a rolling chassis is built the full build, in a similar format to the Chris Gibbs's, will be put up in pdf format on the Saturn site so that other builders may use to build their own chassis, wishbones, chassis plates and also a build guide to accompany it. The pdf's will contain all measurements and plans for amateur build as the Haynes book.

Of course, the full Saturn range will be extended to include all relevant parts for the roadster based on the Mx-5 donor, as will the pre-cut chassis packs be available from HandyAndy. Although builders will have full access to plans in order to build their own from scratch should they wish. Hopefully this will keep the full self build concept alive following the slow demise of the Sierra as a donor. I know that some other builders have started or are having thoughts about the Mx5 donor route but it is mainly intended to be a way of standardising the roadster with a change of donor while making available all the build info to other builders to make the transition as smooth as possible and help with the longevity of a fantastic car.

All the Best....Andrew

[twinturbo]

That sounds good Andy,

Widening the donor base is going to be key for the survival of the self/kit car industry in general but especially sierra based cars .

I have had a sly look at one or two mx's on ebay now and again whilst thinking about future ideas.

TT

[les g]

thats bloody great news Andy.
now for next trick can you do the same again with a BMW donor
many thanx les g

[skov]

Excellent news, I've been trying to decide whether to go the tried and trusted Sierra route, or somehow bodge an MX5 in myself, and this may well tip the balance in the MX5's favour

[HandyAndy]

Originally Posted by les g

thats bloody great news Andy.
now for next trick can you do the same again with a BMW donor
many thanx les g

He,s not stripping my Beemer down to use as the test bed

Indeed it is a fantastic step forward to widen the Donor base for the Roadster,
I,ve seen the work & hours Andy ( Spud) has put into this new project & its looking great, Nice one Andy

cheers
andy

[Airhead]

That's a fantastic idea, using an MX5 donor; why hasn't anyone thought of that before!

M

[Big Vern]

Fantastic news as it'll save me doing the donkey work now


BV.

[Davey]

Excellent news Andy. Trouble is I know where there is a K plate MX and its probably going to be cheap, hmmmmm .

D.

[spud69]

Originally Posted by Davey

Excellent news Andy. Trouble is I know where there is a K plate MX and its probably going to be cheap, hmmmmm .

D.

There are thousands of Mx-5's available, a quick search on E-Bay shows this and at a good price. When you strip down the car its quite amazing how many similarities there are between that and the roadster. Probably why the Mx-5 gets so much praise for its superior handling. It's the obvious donor choice.

Andrew

[Enoch]

I think this is pure genius I had a look on ebay and saw there were about 2 suitable Sierra donors and hundreds of MX5's. I understand they have great engines and boxes in them so if it can be made to work then this absolutely has to be a winner. Given the quality of Andy's stuff this has to be good news for the roadster. I wish you the very best with this venture which I am sure will be up to your usual high standards and sure as hell makes sense from a commercial point of view.
Bloody good stuff, I say
Dave.