Mev replicar
skydivepaul - 14/1/17 at 09:03 PM
After a great visit to the autosport show today I stopped for a look at the MeV stand admiring the replicar that was on display
After chatting to the very nice lady on the stand for a while and having a sit in the car I am starting to get the building bug!
The car fits the bill for me in many ways and I think I will soon be purchasing an mx5 donor car 😀
Has anyone on the forum built one of these or had any experianece with one?
On the donor question which would be the best mx5 donor model?
After an initial search online I saw a mk2.5 1.8 sport model
It looks like these have a 140hp engine , LSD, better brakes etc?
Cheers Paul
Ivan - 15/1/17 at 08:25 AM
It's a great looking car - hope you post your build on here.
Ugg10 - 15/1/17 at 08:46 AM
I think you are right about the donor, late mk2 with 1.8 and lsd, you may even get it with a 6 speed box. However I did wonder if a Lexus 2.0 straight
6 would fit or even a BMW straight 6 as that would be more fitting to the style of car.
skydivepaul - 15/1/17 at 09:09 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Ugg10
I think you are right about the donor, late mk2 with 1.8 and lsd, you may even get it with a 6 speed box. However I did wonder if a Lexus 2.0 straight
6 would fit or even a BMW straight 6 as that would be more fitting to the style of car.
Yes a straight 6 engine would definitely suit that car but for ease of build I will stick with the mazda engine.
Seen a few MK2 with 1.8 LSD and six speed box on ebay. decent ones are going for £1800
My theory is buy a decent model with good engine, brakes, suspension etc that I will run throughout this summer.
By running and using the car I can fettle engine, brakes, steering, suspension etc and carry out any work that will bring the car up to scratch.
That way when I start the build I am not having to fully refurb all the parts on the car as it will have already been done
That's the theory anyway
Ugg10 - 15/1/17 at 09:39 AM
Sounds like a plan to me, you could always add a turbo post IVA if you want a bit more grunt, many kits about.
I inquired about one of these a while ago and the possibility of adding a passenger side hump, seemed to be no problem.
I would suggest to spend a tank of petroleum visiting the factory to look at the real thing, get a test drive and discuss option.
skydivepaul - 15/1/17 at 09:55 AM
Yes, I was looking at the kit yesterday at the auto sports show and a had a good chat with them about it.
I am arranging to go to their workshop and have a test ride in the car, they are only around an hour away from me as well
Ugg10 - 15/1/17 at 09:58 AM
Some ideas for colours, wheels and trim on this thread.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=4&f=30&t=1264806&i=100
skydivepaul - 15/1/17 at 10:08 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Ugg10
Some ideas for colours, wheels and trim on this thread.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=4&f=30&t=1264806&i=100
cheers, some good inspiration there for a cold January morning 
Ugg10 - 15/1/17 at 10:41 AM
Also plenty of build blogs on the MEV forum if you have not found that yet -
http://mevowners.proboards.com/board/12/replicar
miskit - 15/1/17 at 10:42 AM
Having done this - I was going to build their Exocet but changed my mind - the other big advantage of the Mk2.5 is that you will get MUCH more money
back when you sell off the unwanted bits - take a look at things like headlights on the bay.
The good thing about the MEV products is that you buy/strip/prep the donor THEN pay out for the kit.
Good forum support too.
skydivepaul - 15/1/17 at 10:50 AM
quote:
Originally posted by miskit
Having done this - I was going to build their Exocet but changed my mind - the other big advantage of the Mk2.5 is that you will get MUCH more money
back when you sell off the unwanted bits - take a look at things like headlights on the bay.
The good thing about the MEV products is that you buy/strip/prep the donor THEN pay out for the kit.
Good forum support too.
Cheers thanks for the tip.
What kit did you go for?
miskit - 15/1/17 at 01:21 PM
I didn't in the end, I bought a Fugitive II Sandrail to re-build (a kit from the 1980's) - loved the look of it the moment I saw it.
It has a 90hp VW lump in it at the moment but will be mating the (146hp 
) MX5 engine to a VW Bus gearbox, converting the suspension to IRS and
generally improving things.
I did a lot of research on the donor and IMO it is worth waiting for a cosmetically damaged Mk 2.5 for around 1k-1.3K depending on mileage. If it has
leather seats and a hard top thats half of its cost covered! I was lucky and got an absolutely pristine one with high miles but you could not tell.
Only thing is don't drive it for more than a month or you wont want to break it and you'll have to buy another one 