Hi all, im new to the site.

Ive wanted to build a kit car for years, and now im finally getting to the stage where I can get the ball rolling.

Im hoping to start building my garage this summer so I wont be starting my kit build untill next year at the earliest.

After a lot of research, I think a MK Indy is what im after. The kit looks well, and is very keenly priced if you go for the basic option.

The idea of bike power is very appealing, for the noice, high rpm etc, but im thinking of going down the zetec route as I feel that would make the car more useable, and the build itself a bit cheaper.

After a lot of thought I wish to keep the zetec as standard, i.e standard induction system, standard ford ECU etc, as I feel that will make the initial build cheaper and easier, and leave me room to save for a future carb conversion once the car is on the road.

My birthday is coming up and ive dropped a few hints about the "build your own sportscar" book (haynes) to give me something to read in the meantime!

Any advice? as the indy seems very orientated towards the bike engine, would I be better looking elsewhere?

So to summarise, here are my requirements:

* Easy(ish) build for a newcomer with some mechanical experience

* Kit will work well with zetec power

* No need for chrome or fancy details, I want a stripped down race look, although ill be using it for the road

* Cheap build!

Thanks, Mike

[Edited on 22/6/07 by Mike400]

Indy is a fairly easy build and there's plenty of people who've finished them, so loads of adivice to be had 9though most se7ens are 95% the same anyway in terms of the problems you'll experience).

And there's nothing unuseable about bike power - you can easilt live without reverse gear and if you honestly can't, then you can get a reverse function anyway.

Don't forget there are plenty alternatives to the Indy too - MNR, Raw and Sylva riot are all worth a look if you want a proper racer feel.

Whatever you choose, there's always loads of advice on here.

Thanks for the fast reply!

I def want to go for a se7en style car.

The only thing putting me off bike power is the expense of a decent engine? you can pick up a mondeo with a reasonable zetec lump for little cash.

But then the more I think about it, the more I would prefer a bike engine, for the 6 speed sequential box, the noise and the lightweight.

The way I look at it, a kit is a car you build with your heart, so youd be selling yourself short if you didnt push for the spec you wanted.

But at the end of the day my wallet will more than likely dictate the powertrain, and a zetec even in standard tune would push any se7en along rightly

Keep your eye on ebay talk to all bike breakes in your area any 1000cc+ bike engine thats water cooled will fit and be faster than anything you have driven on the road before, go for a less popular engine but get all the running gear, you can pick up a pan 1100 engine with running gear for under £400 and thats over 100 bhp so you could have 200bhp/ton

see ebay Item number: 8077008966

and thats a dealer so my be cheaper private
look for ZZr11's, X1's CBR1100 things which were sports tourers !

[Edited on 22/6/07 by tomblyth]

Dont forget, with a bike engine you can drop in a low mileage unit complete with 6 speed sequentail g/box, on a cheap zetec engine, you could have a unit that has done over 100K miles, will need a clutch, clutch release bearing and RWD gearbox sourcing before you can fit it. Most people change the induction system as well so you are looking at £1000 for a carb system or £1500-2000 for a MBE/Emerald throttle body injection system

never thought of looking at less popular engines!

Another issue for me might be insurance though. Would a zetec kit be any cheaper to insure than a BEC (im getting with the lingo!) as im 23?

Good point on the induction, clutch etc.

So in a lot of ways a cheap zetec could be a false economy, although like ive mentioned if I was running a zetec it would be as standard till I could afford carbs etc.

Glad I signed up here! Ive a while to go before buying the kit, but best to get these things ironed out now!

I think you'll find difficulties getting the standard Zetec induction system to fit without modifying it substantially. The popular route at the moment seems to be fitting a set of bike carbs, which can be picked up cheaply, and using a Megajolt ignition set-up to control the sparks. Even this has costs associated as you'll need a custom inlet manifold to mout the bike carbs.

The long and short is that there are costs associated with whatever route you choose and there will always be some modifying to carry out. The good news is that most bits are readily available and the help you'll find on here is almost unbounded.

On the MK Indy, I have built one and I am very happy with the result. The best advice I can give is to visit the various manufacturers MK, MAC#1, MNR, Tiger etc and choose by your experiences. It's also worth considering the manufacturer nearest to you as you may need/want to visit a number of times during the buld.

Hi Mike, you're looking in the right place. The MK Indy isn't orientated to the bike engine. You can fit almost whatever engine you want. If you like the idea of fitting a bike engine, then go for it from the start, you'll be disappointed if you don't. You can save a few hundred pounds on stuff like wheels etc but make sure you get the bike engine you want.

Have a read of our build and rebuild diaries, it will give you some idea of how easily a bike engine MK goes together.

And lastly, welcome to the nuthouse.

Phil

The main problem for me is that I live in Northern Ireland, so if I need anything from the manufacturer, its not just a case of jumping in the car.

Its a big commitment for me, hence the need to start planning now - even transporting the kit over here is going to be a slight headache.

Its the same with all the other bits and peices most of you can buy on ebay and collect, so I need to source as much as possible locally.

So If I can spend the rest of the year sorting as much as possible before buying the kit, I should be able to get problems down to a minimum.

Its looking more and more like there wont be much price difference with a bike engine, which im secretly pleased about as thats what my heart wants in the car.

I have built 2 and they are easy to build.

quote:

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Originally posted by Hellfire
Have a read of our build and rebuild diaries, it will give you some idea of how easily a bike engine MK goes together.

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Mike, I believe MK's Irish agents were/are Kits n Klassics.

Might be worth looking them up and could save you unnecessary trips over the water.

Phil

quote:

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The only thing putting me off bike power is the expense of a decent engine? you can pick up a mondeo with a reasonable zetec lump for little cash.

But then the more I think about it, the more I would prefer a bike engine, for the 6 speed sequential box, the noise and the lightweight.

The way I look at it, a kit is a car you build with your heart, so youd be selling yourself short if you didnt push for the spec you wanted.

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10 mounths ago I was going for a Zetec as I know the engine well. I was steering clear of bike engines as I wasn't familiar with them. Then I had a ride in a BEC!

Plans changed within 5 mins'!!!

Adrian

quote:

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Originally posted by Hellfire
Mike, I believe MK's Irish agents were/are Kits n Klassics.

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6x2 ! Luxury!!

Bear in mind that if you'r tight for space and you have good self control, you can leave off most of the suspension wheels and wings until the last 5% of the build, put the chassis on stands or a trolley to get round it.
Good luck.
BEC, you know it makes sense

Yea the workshop is "cosy" lol

Thats 6 metres by 2 metres now!

The garage is going to be 3.1 Metres wide by 7 metres long. So while average sized, it should give me plenty of room to work round the car.

A zetec needn't be expensive - Megajolt and bike carbs is a fairly cheap solution.

Having said that I'd go for bike power if I didn't need reverse to get my car in and out of my garage / drive.

The Indy is dead easy to build.

Stu

quote:

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Originally posted by whitestu
Having said that I'd go for bike power if I didn't need reverse to get my car in and out of my garage / drive.

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If I could push mine out I would!

Having built the car in the garage, when the time came to get it down the drive I discovered it didn't really fit.

After loads of messing about with ramps over next doors step and lots of going backwards and forwards I finally got the car out.

I've chopped the gate post down and can now get the car out OK, but if I had to push, by the time I had got the car out it would be time to come home again!


Cheers

Stu

[Edited on 22/6/07 by whitestu]

Thankfully when my garage is finished, it will only be around 5 metres to the end of the driveway, which is 3.1 metres wide the whole way to the road.

Pushing it in or out should be dead on methinks

hi

a cost of a zetec over lets say a zx9r should have hardly any difference

I know which one Id have

I would agree that chassis looked poorly welded [my MK chassis looks really well welded].

On the bodywork front, I've only built and Indy, so don't have anything to compare it with. To me the bodywork seemed to go on quite easily.

Are the others much different?


I'm not trying to defend MK, and if I was building again I'd probably spend a bit more and get an MNR. However I'm very happy with mine for what it cost to build.

Stu

my mk chassis from april last year is also well welded hasn't fallen to bits on my test drives

Generally, MK's are excellent. Obviously they opened their legs and gave a big invitation for a kicking. They duely got a good hard firm kick in the bol!ocks with the posting that CAlvinX made - which, to be fair was maybe justified but ultimately will do MK a favour.

I bet every car from MK Sportscars will now be checked over and whoever welded that particular chassis severly reprimanded.

It's probably the best time to buy an MK!

Go for it - and good luck! Thanks for the compliment regarding the website... it took many, many hours of hard work! That's why I look SO old!

Steve



[Edited on 22-6-07 by Hellfire]

quote:

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Originally posted by Hellfire
Generally, MK's are excellent. Obviously they opened their legs and gave a big invitation for a kicking. They duely got a good hard firm kick in the bol!ocks with the posting that CAlvinX made - which, to be fair was maybe justified but ultimately will do MK a favour.

I bet every car from MK Sportscars will now be checked over and whoever welded that particular chassis severly reprimanded.

It's probably the best time to buy an MK!

Go for it - and good luck! Thanks for the compliment regarding the website... it took many, many hours of hard work! That's why I look SO old!

Steve



[Edited on 22-6-07 by Hellfire]

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whichever manafacturer you go with they will all cost around the same IN THE END

the problem is on the phone they tell you, you can build one of there cars for 5 grand and the other Manafacturer tells you the truth 8 grand (Im talking of a good spec car)

then you think youll go with the 5 grand car and it ends up costing 9k

I'll borrrow SWMBOs camera tomorrow and photograph the welds on mine (the chassis was delivered about 2/3 months ago).

Up to know other than lots of splatter I havn't noticed anything untoward, that is unless I don't know what I'm looking for

Overwhelmed by the amount of feedback im getting here, this is great!!!

Like I say itll be next year before I actually buy a kit. Im being realistic moneywise, but once I have the initial funds for the kit itself, I dont want to hang about - hence the early groundwork now.

After a lot of thought Ive decided on the engine. Price per grin seems to indicate a 2nd hand CBR 900 (fireblade) lump.

And I know ill def need a sierra donor.

Once the garage is built ill probably buy the sierra, strip it, and spend the rest of the year till I can afford the kit cleaning up all the donor bits, and **maybe** buy an engine if the garage doesnt go over-budget, although thats never going to be the case!!!!

A massive decider on the MK has been the fact that they have an irish dealer. Ill maybe persuade the wife a day out down south would be nice, and call in for a chat, you know, "since we are passing, darling....."

To be fair she is 100% about the kit, as long as it means I wont be buying a motorbike. I think she would much prefer a cobra style kit, but that isnt really my bag.

As for the weld situation, I think ill reserve judgement till I see a chassis for myself. If im happy with the irish dealer, and im ready to order, I think a cheap flight to the mainland for a look around MK wouldnt go amiss come the time. Just to be 110%.

quote:

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Originally posted by CaLviNxwell after seeing the "abortion" of a "show" car @ Newark, they are badly welded with Ill fitting bodywork but other than that they are ok, a better car is the GBS Zero7 with more value for money

For more info on the MK see HERE

The pictures and replies speak for themselves, also if it comes to light that any other kit makers standards are below what you pay your hard earned £££ I will point that out too, so as there is NO victimization or talk of favoritism.

[Edited on 22/6/07 by CaLviNx]

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bike engine kit
ebay Item number: 200124390261