Discussion
Bloody brilliant! What a superb build. It does not help my desire for one of these though.
Was over at Raptor Sports Cars in Athelstaneford at the beginning of December with the TVR Car Club, and I ALMOST ordered a chassis from them there and then (I do not currently have garage room which is what stopped me), and I keep looking at donor MX-5s but I am really liking the Jag V6 idea now..
From a cost perspective, if you do not mind me asking, what has it approximately cost? Raptor indicate that you can get one of their basic cars, using an MX-5 donor for around £10k, and I do like how they have started making their own chassis with some nice changes over the standard Caterham etc (chassis is about £1k).
Was over at Raptor Sports Cars in Athelstaneford at the beginning of December with the TVR Car Club, and I ALMOST ordered a chassis from them there and then (I do not currently have garage room which is what stopped me), and I keep looking at donor MX-5s but I am really liking the Jag V6 idea now..
From a cost perspective, if you do not mind me asking, what has it approximately cost? Raptor indicate that you can get one of their basic cars, using an MX-5 donor for around £10k, and I do like how they have started making their own chassis with some nice changes over the standard Caterham etc (chassis is about £1k).
sdh2903 said:
Megaflow said:
Great build and a great looking car.
Can I ask why the V6? It’s an unusual choice, but then again that maybe answers the why question.
Thank you. Well I like doing things the hard way! Can I ask why the V6? It’s an unusual choice, but then again that maybe answers the why question.
In all seriousness I wanted 200bhp. I think it's a sweet spot for one of these in road trim. In the more traditional choices that left c20xe, zetec or duratec. As the cheap crate zetecs have all but vanished it would have meant a rebuild and fettling. And after seeing a guy over on locostbuilders successfully fit the same engine in an mk indy and rave about it I was sold. Especially with the availability of the rocketeer adapters to get a decent box for peanuts as all the 4 cylinder options would have needed 1500 ish for a decent ratio type 9 too.
I really like the aj30 engine. It's torquey right through the range likes to rev and just pulls. 250ish bhp as standard without being tuned to death. Although it's not been without problems, I'll get to that in the next couple of updates as the car is currently about to get it's 3rd engine. Some my fault, some external suppliers fault.
How long have you been in the WSCC for? I was very active, under a different name until around 10 years ago, when the chairman changed to somebody I did not get along with, indeed most of the club didn’t at that time
Thanks for all the kind words
For my car to get to the point of being ready to IVA, fag packet scribbles suggest i was approaching 15k. That was with the cheaper part built kit to start with and being thrifty in places. Ive spent a bit more since too. But still considerably cheaper than westfield were selling a new zetec kit for.
Monsterlime said:
Bloody brilliant! What a superb build. It does not help my desire for one of these though.
Was over at Raptor Sports Cars in Athelstaneford at the beginning of December with the TVR Car Club, and I ALMOST ordered a chassis from them there and then (I do not currently have garage room which is what stopped me), and I keep looking at donor MX-5s but I am really liking the Jag V6 idea now..
From a cost perspective, if you do not mind me asking, what has it approximately cost? Raptor indicate that you can get one of their basic cars, using an MX-5 donor for around £10k, and I do like how they have started making their own chassis with some nice changes over the standard Caterham etc (chassis is about £1k).
Cost wise, you really can't beat an mx5 based kit for value, id suggest you would have to be very thrifty to get one on the road for 10k, but it can be done, i knew of a westfield mx5 build, prob 5 or so years ago where he managed to do it for 7-8k, but that was re-using as much as was possible from the donor, stripping donor wiring looms, instruments the lot. Don't forget IVA, first registration fee and 1st tax you are getting on for £1k alone.Was over at Raptor Sports Cars in Athelstaneford at the beginning of December with the TVR Car Club, and I ALMOST ordered a chassis from them there and then (I do not currently have garage room which is what stopped me), and I keep looking at donor MX-5s but I am really liking the Jag V6 idea now..
From a cost perspective, if you do not mind me asking, what has it approximately cost? Raptor indicate that you can get one of their basic cars, using an MX-5 donor for around £10k, and I do like how they have started making their own chassis with some nice changes over the standard Caterham etc (chassis is about £1k).
For my car to get to the point of being ready to IVA, fag packet scribbles suggest i was approaching 15k. That was with the cheaper part built kit to start with and being thrifty in places. Ive spent a bit more since too. But still considerably cheaper than westfield were selling a new zetec kit for.
Megaflow said:
Pretty much what I thought you’d say
How long have you been in the WSCC for? I was very active, under a different name until around 10 years ago, when the chairman changed to somebody I did not get along with, indeed most of the club didn’t at that time
Im no longer a member anymore, was between 2017 and 2022, I expressed an alternative opinion to one of the comittee on there when the factory administration was ongoing and it didnt go down well, rather than make any more fuss i just left. Its a great club with some fantastic people that know these things inside and out, but sadly the comittee that run it seems, from the outside anyway, very cliquey, same people recycled into different roles.How long have you been in the WSCC for? I was very active, under a different name until around 10 years ago, when the chairman changed to somebody I did not get along with, indeed most of the club didn’t at that time
into winter 2020 and not being able to sit on my hands, I embarked on a mini project to try and utilise 2 sets of triumph throttle bodies instead of the ford inlet. Its the 1 part of the car that i feels lacks character, the induction noise. These bodies are incredibly cheap, i think i paid under 50 quid for 2 sets. They are effectively just the butterflies, leaving the injectors in their stock locations.
Paul from mofast took on the design work and quickly had modelled up some adapters.
And i bought a cheap 3d printer to have a go at some prototyping.
once I knew theyd fit I swapped the filament to something that would take the heat.
Was at this point i started to look at the linkages, with the banks being offset its tricky. I ended up with a twin cable setup.
The cable setup did work to a fashion, however, the adjustment was a nightmare, breathing on one side knocked it out of sync, so decided this was a project that needed a little more thinking through to achieve reliability, so it was shelved for the time being.
Paul from mofast took on the design work and quickly had modelled up some adapters.
And i bought a cheap 3d printer to have a go at some prototyping.
once I knew theyd fit I swapped the filament to something that would take the heat.
Was at this point i started to look at the linkages, with the banks being offset its tricky. I ended up with a twin cable setup.
The cable setup did work to a fashion, however, the adjustment was a nightmare, breathing on one side knocked it out of sync, so decided this was a project that needed a little more thinking through to achieve reliability, so it was shelved for the time being.
Spring 21 was here, so after all the usual fiddling about it ended up back where it started, albeit with a new slightly smaller air filter.
then after a couple of runs out i noted a few dribbles of coolant on the garage floor, bugger it was the rad weeping. The manufacturer took it back and sent out a replacement FOC.
June saw the car on track for the first time at a club day at the Kames sprint circuit, nice little place, we had it to ourselves for the day so really relaxed day. Car felt great although the michelin ps3s did struggle after a few laps as it was a pretty abrasive surface.
Now remember the bit where I said about the oil usage, well, on the last run of the day I got a bit brave on the brakes, the oil pressure plummeted and the dash alarm was going nuts, it recovered but was lower than usual. I had a spare litre with me and that only just brought it up onto the dipstick. another litre needed on the way home. Balls. It was always a gamble engine.
With spring/summer here, the last thing i wanted is to be off the road whilst i made up my mind to rebuild or not, so a pal who uses this engine in his kit had a spare that he could sell me, this had a bit more history and had proof of lowish (80 odd thousand) miles. So i went for that. I also spoke to rocketeer about the oil surge issue and they had an updated sump baffle with gates in to prevent oil surge which was duly bought and fitted.
Old one out
'new' engine
A very quick spruce up.
Sump baffle
And back in and running fine
then after a couple of runs out i noted a few dribbles of coolant on the garage floor, bugger it was the rad weeping. The manufacturer took it back and sent out a replacement FOC.
June saw the car on track for the first time at a club day at the Kames sprint circuit, nice little place, we had it to ourselves for the day so really relaxed day. Car felt great although the michelin ps3s did struggle after a few laps as it was a pretty abrasive surface.
Now remember the bit where I said about the oil usage, well, on the last run of the day I got a bit brave on the brakes, the oil pressure plummeted and the dash alarm was going nuts, it recovered but was lower than usual. I had a spare litre with me and that only just brought it up onto the dipstick. another litre needed on the way home. Balls. It was always a gamble engine.
With spring/summer here, the last thing i wanted is to be off the road whilst i made up my mind to rebuild or not, so a pal who uses this engine in his kit had a spare that he could sell me, this had a bit more history and had proof of lowish (80 odd thousand) miles. So i went for that. I also spoke to rocketeer about the oil surge issue and they had an updated sump baffle with gates in to prevent oil surge which was duly bought and fitted.
Old one out
'new' engine
A very quick spruce up.
Sump baffle
And back in and running fine
Edited by sdh2903 on Thursday 19th January 19:18
sdh2903 said:
Im no longer a member anymore, was between 2017 and 2022, I expressed an alternative opinion to one of the comittee on there when the factory administration was ongoing and it didnt go down well, rather than make any more fuss i just left. Its a great club with some fantastic people that know these things inside and out, but sadly the comittee that run it seems, from the outside anyway, very cliquey, same people recycled into different roles.
So, nothing has changed since I left then!The chairman was a bell end of the highest order, how he got elected was always beyond me.
The car was approaching its 1st birthday so recieved a suitable gift of some nice carbon wings
And they obviously needed to be tested out with a run around Dumfries and galloway. I know everyone automatically goes for the highlands but there are some cracking roads in and around the borders area.
Now into winter 21/22
I had a decision to make regarding the original engine, the spare had been fine but was still a bit of an unknown, and was using a bit of oil too, not a lot at all but it was using. So with the capex approved i decided to take on my first engine rebuild.
On breaking down the engine found the bores were scored (common issue on early engines) and were going to need a +0.75mm overbore. Parts for rebuild bits from jaguar are eyewatering, but are much more plentiful and cheap in the states, specifically rock-auto, their service is fantastic. The shopping list consisted of
New +0.75 pistons and rings
Full top and bottom end gaskets/seals
New stem seals
New big end and main bearings
Forged rods, went for these as the engine power was still climbing at the 7000 rev soft cut, the rods are the limiting factor here, so the forged rods could take a lift in rev limit.
New genuine oem timing chain kit
Machine shop work consisted of
Block rebore and hone
Heads skim and valves recut if required and fit new stem seals
Bores
Bearings werent too bad, was expecting worse with the loss of oil pressure
Hope I can remember where all this goes
And they obviously needed to be tested out with a run around Dumfries and galloway. I know everyone automatically goes for the highlands but there are some cracking roads in and around the borders area.
Now into winter 21/22
I had a decision to make regarding the original engine, the spare had been fine but was still a bit of an unknown, and was using a bit of oil too, not a lot at all but it was using. So with the capex approved i decided to take on my first engine rebuild.
On breaking down the engine found the bores were scored (common issue on early engines) and were going to need a +0.75mm overbore. Parts for rebuild bits from jaguar are eyewatering, but are much more plentiful and cheap in the states, specifically rock-auto, their service is fantastic. The shopping list consisted of
New +0.75 pistons and rings
Full top and bottom end gaskets/seals
New stem seals
New big end and main bearings
Forged rods, went for these as the engine power was still climbing at the 7000 rev soft cut, the rods are the limiting factor here, so the forged rods could take a lift in rev limit.
New genuine oem timing chain kit
Machine shop work consisted of
Block rebore and hone
Heads skim and valves recut if required and fit new stem seals
Bores
Bearings werent too bad, was expecting worse with the loss of oil pressure
Hope I can remember where all this goes
sdh2903 said:
Hmmm earlier in this very enjoyable thread you postedsdh2903 said:
I'll get to that in the next couple of updates as the car is currently about to get it's 3rd engine. Some my fault, some external suppliers fault.
Now it all depends on how you count engines So first engine (unknown condition retired with an Oliver Reed thirst for oil) - can't see how that's your fault
Second engine 80K miles - modified sump to help with oil starvation on track
Is the rebuilt engine the third in which case all good but I have a feeling there is a twist you are going to reveal
B'stard Child said:
Now it all depends on how you count engines
So first engine (unknown condition retired with an Oliver Reed thirst for oil) - can't see how that's your fault
Second engine 80K miles - modified sump to help with oil starvation on track
Is the rebuilt engine the third in which case all good but I have a feeling there is a twist you are going to reveal
Very diligent reading sir So first engine (unknown condition retired with an Oliver Reed thirst for oil) - can't see how that's your fault
Second engine 80K miles - modified sump to help with oil starvation on track
Is the rebuilt engine the third in which case all good but I have a feeling there is a twist you are going to reveal
No there's a 3rd completely different engine involved. A couple of twists and much swearing to come yet
sdh2903 said:
B'stard Child said:
Now it all depends on how you count engines
So first engine (unknown condition retired with an Oliver Reed thirst for oil) - can't see how that's your fault
Second engine 80K miles - modified sump to help with oil starvation on track
Is the rebuilt engine the third in which case all good but I have a feeling there is a twist you are going to reveal
Very diligent reading sir So first engine (unknown condition retired with an Oliver Reed thirst for oil) - can't see how that's your fault
Second engine 80K miles - modified sump to help with oil starvation on track
Is the rebuilt engine the third in which case all good but I have a feeling there is a twist you are going to reveal
No there's a 3rd completely different engine involved. A couple of twists and much swearing to come yet
Original one developed a thirst for oil after a manual conversion and some enthusiastic track work as well as hard road miles
Threw a secondhand lump in it which turned out to be a bit of a dog (understatement of the year but I only Paid £100 for it)
Decided to rebuild the original myself - with some machining work carried out by a local engine shop - first ever car engine rebuild (it's only nuts and bolts right - I had rebuilt a few motorcycle engines in the past)
I subsequently found the machinist didn't do a very good job and clearances were a bit tight for a track engine - after a 1000 miles running in on the road I picked up a couple of big end shell trashed the crank and a couple of rods - I tore all the best bits out of the car and scrapped the shell
I rebuilt it again - this time with ported head, re-profiiled cams (and eventually triple 40 sidedrafts) and it ended up in my Monza GSE as a performance upgrade - then at the end of the running in period on the first track day I did with it it spun another shell due to a non functioning oil cooler and as it was already on max undersize shells I had to find another crank on std size to use - I broke 3 other engines before I found a std size crank and rebuilt it with motorsports shells.
Still got that engine - it's done a lot of road and track miles (it rev'd happily to 8000 rpm) and it's over due a rebuild again - it will get another crank but I will increase the displacement and stop searching for peak power at higher rpms and go for fat torque and 6500 rpm limit
So like I said it depends on how you count engines
Winter 21/22, so some other planned improvements were needing sorted.
First thing was the fuel level sender, this had driven me nuts since day one, the readings were all over the place, you'd get random low level warnings and the next second it'd be half full. I ended up just working on the premise that a tank was a safe 200 mile range (of road use). The sensor was a VDO dip tube, invstigating why it was crap revealed its because its effectively a single wire sender with it earthing through the tank, which subsequently earths to the chassis. The AIM dash is incredibly sensitive to electrical noise, and so the earth through the chassis rather than a dedicated earth back to the dash was messing with its head. So the sender unit was replaced with one for a boat that had a dedicated ground rather than through its body, a cheap fix and one that works!
Another fuel related issue was filling it up, with the filler on the back panel it was a pig to fill, constantly shutting it off the pump and sploshing out of the back. I had swayed between putting the filler on the top panel during build but ended up with it in the standard location. So removed the filler cap and the riv nuts and 3d printed a blank filler piece which was bonded in.
And then covered with a new badge, you can actually see here the spilling of fuel during filling had cracked the fog light housing. Filler fitted up top, and 100% easier to fill up now. Anooyed as its a bit of a bodge, but it needed sorting.
Ive never really been a fan of the rear light pods carbon effect finish, so these were removed and painted gloss black.
And then as im a right wheel slut, a new style of TD prorace wheels were on offer at the factory in a decent offset which meany i could lose the big spacers off the back.
First thing was the fuel level sender, this had driven me nuts since day one, the readings were all over the place, you'd get random low level warnings and the next second it'd be half full. I ended up just working on the premise that a tank was a safe 200 mile range (of road use). The sensor was a VDO dip tube, invstigating why it was crap revealed its because its effectively a single wire sender with it earthing through the tank, which subsequently earths to the chassis. The AIM dash is incredibly sensitive to electrical noise, and so the earth through the chassis rather than a dedicated earth back to the dash was messing with its head. So the sender unit was replaced with one for a boat that had a dedicated ground rather than through its body, a cheap fix and one that works!
Another fuel related issue was filling it up, with the filler on the back panel it was a pig to fill, constantly shutting it off the pump and sploshing out of the back. I had swayed between putting the filler on the top panel during build but ended up with it in the standard location. So removed the filler cap and the riv nuts and 3d printed a blank filler piece which was bonded in.
And then covered with a new badge, you can actually see here the spilling of fuel during filling had cracked the fog light housing. Filler fitted up top, and 100% easier to fill up now. Anooyed as its a bit of a bodge, but it needed sorting.
Ive never really been a fan of the rear light pods carbon effect finish, so these were removed and painted gloss black.
And then as im a right wheel slut, a new style of TD prorace wheels were on offer at the factory in a decent offset which meany i could lose the big spacers off the back.
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