Thinking of building a Haynes Roadster

[Nick DV]

The trouble with building these is that the initial build flies by, but then when a the little 'fiddly' bits come along to get it IVA ready, then time goes by slowly! Found this with mine, when SVA went to IVA (aka 'licence to print money') and I couldn't be arsed!

Got rid of all road stuff and make a track toy

Hayabusa powered Dax, but NEVER again

 

[johnik]

built and owned 3 so far, it is a lot of work and a whole heap of money for a car that will probably get used a couple of weekends a year, lots of info on the home of locost (locostbuilders.co.uk) for a ready made chassis / kit i would recomend "GBS zero", go to a couple of car meets get a ride / sit before you commit, it,s no wonder so many never get finnished.
sorry to be so nagative thats just the way i see it.

 

[8ob]

built and owned 3 so far, it is a lot of work and a whole heap of money for a car that will probably get used a couple of weekends a year, lots of info on the home of locost (locostbuilders.co.uk) for a ready made chassis / kit i would recomend "GBS zero", go to a couple of car meets get a ride / sit before you commit, it,s no wonder so many never get finnished.
sorry to be so nagative thats just the way i see it.

Sound advice, tried a Westfield and my fat **** wouldn't fit in the seats, a mate built an Seight Westfield rover V8 wide bodied thing which was better but the engine is mounted so high you could feel it pull the car about,that also had quite a dramatic suspension failure so I thought sod it I will build my own. Hence the ford V8 pushed right back and dry sumped.

Bob

 

[mtt.tr]

I think my dad built the chassis in 2 weekends had it mostly assembled in about 2 months of weekends.

He even made the glass fibre moulds for the nose cone and arches then made those

It didnt take long he did find the suspension geometry wrong in the book but that was an old copy. I want him to complete it but he gave up when my younger brother was adopted. Shame its to a good standard, i might pursued him yet

 

[Wightsparks]

A lot is changed in the SSC plans to accommodate the MX5 running gear.
I would build the basis of the frame and then finished with all the main components mocked up in place.

The Haynes way seems to be build the frame in its entirety and then drop the engine and bits in.

SSC Plans ?
MX5 is definitely the way to go, right now it is the ideal donor - cheap to buy and great prices for used parts. I deliberately spent a little more on the donor to get a Mk2.5 as the parts prices jump from the Mk2 and it has the most powerful stock engine. Lovely to strip down as 95% of the top can be removed with a 10mm socket. I expect the car prices to start climbing soon though.

 

[MattH]

SSC Plans ?
MX5 is definitely the way to go, right now it is the ideal donor - cheap to buy and great prices for used parts. I deliberately spent a little more on the donor to get a Mk2.5 as the parts prices jump from the Mk2 and it has the most powerful stock engine. Lovely to strip down as 95% of the top can be removed with a 10mm socket. I expect the car prices to start climbing soon though.

Saturn Sports Cars. Now out of business but they put out a full manual on all the modifications to the Haynes to accommodate the MX5 bits including all the geometry changes.

 

[MattH]

built and owned 3 so far, it is a lot of work and a whole heap of money for a car that will probably get used a couple of weekends a year, lots of info on the home of locost (locostbuilders.co.uk) for a ready made chassis / kit i would recomend "GBS zero", go to a couple of car meets get a ride / sit before you commit, it,s no wonder so many never get finnished.
sorry to be so nagative thats just the way i see it.

I've sat in a Locost so I know I fit (although I would just mod the chassis design to accomodate me if required).

As I've said this is more about the build for me. If all I wanted was a small sporty car then I would go out and buy one.

I'm amazed at the amount of people that have built these cars in one form or another that are trying to put me off this build!
If I get part way through and stop enjoying it so what? I've wasted some time and a bit of money. I don't drink and I don't smoke, I don't spend loads of money on Golf club membership and I don't buy fishing rods that cost £1K.
No one would blink an eye at these "normal" expenditures.

I'm generally more capable than most being able to Tig weld, Fabricate, precision engineer and work with electrics and electronics.
I have ample space, tooling and money.

If I can gain two HP Master Accredited Systems Engineer qualifications, each of which require the sitting and passing of 11 200 question proctored exams, then I can surely revise the requirements for an IVA test and with zero pressure get my creation through that (after as many attempts as I require).

Yes, I understand this will be a big project. It's building a car from scratch.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@MattH .
Go for it.
My post was a guide.
You will. Enjoy it.

 

[Wightsparks]

Thanks, not seen that manual.

For some quick gratification and practice have you considered building a kart? I quite fancy a quick build of one of The Edge ones as they come with laser cutting plans https://theedgeproducts.com/collections/the-fun-kart-iii or take a look at their free plans for what's involved https://theedgeproducts.com/pages/raven-plans . I know I probably do not have the patience for a a full car build and I like the idea of plans today, cutting steel tomorrow - Though of course what I really want is a more road friendly version of their X2

I think often the issue is that it costs peanuts and it's quick to build the frame and throw in a stock engine - but that's only 20% of the build, the rest of it is much less visible progress and there is a lot of sunk costs - until it is built and IVA'd it is worth 1/4 of not much despite costing thousands! This creates a monster in the garage that can become a chore as the dream of actually using the car becomes a bit of a nightmare.

 

[Cobbler]

Matt, I haven’t read all the posts yet, but if you want an MX5 doner car, my son has a scrap mk2 one going spare. When we spoke about it the other day, he was going to ring up the breakers & get it collected. It’s complete apart from the wheels, but he has some if required, seats, they were nice leather ones & I’ve got them in mine & the instruments. The car is at Malmsbury, so not too far away. I think I’ve still got your number somewhere , so can give you a ring if your interested.

 

[MattH]

Thanks, not seen that manual.

For some quick gratification and practice have you considered building a kart? I quite fancy a quick build of one of The Edge ones as they come with laser cutting plans https://theedgeproducts.com/collections/the-fun-kart-iii or take a look at their free plans for what's involved https://theedgeproducts.com/pages/raven-plans . I know I probably do not have the patience for a a full car build and I like the idea of plans today, cutting steel tomorrow - Though of course what I really want is a more road friendly version of their X2

I think often the issue is that it costs peanuts and it's quick to build the frame and throw in a stock engine - but that's only 20% of the build, the rest of it is much less visible progress and there is a lot of sunk costs - until it is built and IVA'd it is worth 1/4 of not much despite costing thousands! This creates a monster in the garage that can become a chore as the dream of actually using the car becomes a bit of a nightmare.

I've thought about a kart in years gone by but what do you do with it once built. I've given serious consideration to a Honda Pilot type buggy as well, maybe with a Smart car engine and subframe.
But you can't go on the roads with either of these and you can't track them.

As i've already said, if the IVA became a major sticking point then I would just build the car for the track. Castle combe is just up the road and is always a good day.

 

[MattH]

Matt, I haven’t read all the posts yet, but if you want an MX5 doner car, my son has a scrap mk2 one going spare. When we spoke about it the other day, he was going to ring up the breakers & get it collected. It’s complete apart from the wheels, but he has some if required, seats, they were nice leather ones & I’ve got them in mine & the instruments. The car is at Malmsbury, so not too far away. I think I’ve still got your number somewhere , so can give you a ring if your interested.

Deffo interested Cobbler.

 

[armalites]

@MattH is in a better position than most in that he has the space, the tools and a business where he can fit bits in during work.

Peoples opinions intrigue me and it just shows we are all different. I totally see building it as a big part of the journey, it can end up costing way more than buying a car but that's clearly not what it's all about. Some people won't undertand why someone would spend £6k building a car from scratch over 4 years for fun yet they'll go on a £5K holiday every year where all you end up with is some fun memories and very little achievement/developement(I know not everyone holidays like that but a huge portion of people do). I know a holiday would involve the whole family but making a build about money is a sure fire way for it to not be enjoyable.

In the old days a kit car was cheap way to use the rotten old vehicle you couldn't afford to replace.

I've never been through an IVA but I agree that you shouldn't go there assuming you'll fail. If they fail you they should be able to clearly show you where you've gone wrong and demonstrate why which tie uo with something mentioned in the IVA manual. From all the stuff I've read it seem many failures are for silly stuff that got overlooked.

 

[arther dailey]

MattH, get on and enjoy, you are only here one time and as I used to get told your dead for a very long time ! crack on, look forward to seeing the build posts.

 

[Wightsparks]

I've thought about a kart in years gone by but what do you do with it once built.

Same as with a car - get bored and flog it 'cos it's finished!

 

[8ob]

The word "kit car" doesn't apply any more, cars built these days are hand built specials and some cost tens of thousands to build. Daytona Coupe is a good example, you can buy four second-hand Porsche`s for the same money one of these hand built cars cost to build, I know which I would sooner have .

1149 × 766

 

[MattH]

Thanks for the encouraging words guys.

 

[stuvy]

@MattH what about a rage buggy or similar style? There road legal

 

[mtt.tr]

@MattH what about a rage buggy or similar style? There road legal

Horrible things

 

[MattH]

@MattH what about a rage buggy or similar style? There road legal

They look fun but I don't want to be messing around with rotten shells etc.
That's just going to end up as more work.

I'm also a RWD oversteer sort of guy rather than a mud plugger.