Well after buying my mk on evay for a project that needed £600 to finish i realised that 90% of the work needed doing again.
I sold the zetec motor and gearbox and all the other strange crap he chucked in on the deal.

once it turned up it was striped right down

Then i got my trestles mounted on some wheels then i left it un ateneded as it rolled into my crapy daily runner lol

My engine and gearbox choice was made

Engine in and centralized

That does not look like a mk chassis.

Good luck with the build, I also have this set up check out my build diary.

[Edited on 9/7/2014 by DRC INDY 7]

This is one of the very first model that was built and based on the idea of the ron chapman book. Its around a 1999 build but been sat for years.

Yea it does look like the mk locost chassis that Martin did.

So yours is a mk engineering chassis.

Have you a better picture of that transit drag link?

The inside looks like one of the ally adjusters which fail. Might be wrong but the gold anodising looks familiar.

Yep it's a light gold ally ajustor. I didn't like the look of it tbh and is down on my list of bits to replace.

Well a little update on the car.

Made some good progress the past few weeks. I decided to mount the mx5 handbrake in the passanger side tunnel as I think it will give the interior a more symmetrical look plus it gives me a nice clean centre console without any obstruction for my arm.

Your bonnet is going to be interesting !

Unfortunately I couldn't really sit the motor any higher. If ii had the bell housing would foul the tunnel. Am a stone mason by trade and create alot of one of shapes and carvings. So hopefully be able to put these skills to use

I have also had to relocate the alternator to the opposite side of the engine due to the stearing column. Ive cut up some brakets I had from a zetec conversation and the standard Nissan mounts.

I managed to get mine under the bonnet, but i have a sump protection now.

Afew more updates. I got thr manifold fitted with a new nissan multi layer gasket. Spent some time mocking up my dash board with the apexi avcr as my main dash.

another little update. The ive got my turbo in place but i had to rotate the intake housing to clear the engine mounts. Just waiting on some braided oil and water lines before I bolt it up properly.

another little update. The ive got my turbo in place but i had to rotate the intake housing to clear the engine mounts. Just waiting on some braided oil and water lines before I bolt it up properly.

I think you'll find the polo rad doesn't provide sufficient cooling once you get everything up and running.

This is a honda civic radiator. The one in the picture is just for mocking up. Once its finished I will replace it with the larger capacity ones on ebay. I am also looking into the idea of running a second radiator.

Ah i c. I run the Honda Civic alloy ones which is fine, the one above just looked a bit skinny that's all!

Its very very thin tbh. There on £20 brand new so not a problem when the fins get damaged

Any reason you've put the IC behind the radiator?

quote:

---

Originally posted by daveb666
Any reason you've put the IC behind the radiator?

---

Nope the intercooler will sit flat under the nose cone parallel like the bonnet. This keeps the pipe work short to. With some ducts cut into the nose cone.

I'd honestly look at placing the IC infront of the radiator, the pipes will still be a lot shorter than they are on the 200sx.

Mine fits (after we tweaked one of the pipe fittings)



PS. Don't think I'm slagging off the build because I'm not, I'm just passing on my experiences from doing my own.

Aside from being annoyed everytime you want to get to the area beneath the IC if you have it horizontally, it'll also suffer from bad heatsoak everytime you stop in traffic.

My IC is cold to the touch all the time because it's mounted at the front of the cone, and ducted at the sides as well.

[Edited on 7/11/14 by daveb666]

No worries on the coments I dont mind any constructive inputs at all.

Ive just ordered another intercooler simlar to yours where the outlets face directly back.

The diffence in your 1.8 to the 2.0 block is huge mine looks stuffed in.

They're a very very similiar size tbh mate - not sure what chassis your is but from looking at it it looks as though its 2" narrower than mine which does obviously make a fair difference.

With all the bits bolted on -

That is a nice looking package. I had a lot of trouble getting mine to fit under the nosecone, and should have bitten the bullet and had the IC pipes redone. With water spray, the intercooler in front was perfect for temps, even on the hottest of days.

Thanks for the imput guys.

Still making steady progress and finding little teathing problems along the way. I have got my pedal box in and my throttle cable system set up. But the amount of travel the pedal has only gives me 50% throttle so i need a new pully on the butterfly to give full throttle not a big job just need to find somthIng I can adapt for the job.

And looking into making my own side panels to for the body so spending sone time reading up on the fiberglass laying process and trying afew trial runs soon.

Thanks for the imput guys.

Still making steady progress and finding little teathing problems along the way. I have got my pedal box in and my throttle cable system set up. But the amount of travel the pedal has only gives me 50% throttle so i need a new pully on the butterfly to give full throttle not a big job just need to find somthIng I can adapt for the job.

And looking into making my own side panels to for the body so spending sone time reading up on the fiberglass laying process and trying afew trial runs soon.

mocked up a dashboard.

just got oil temp/pressure and water temp.

Progressing well

Where's the speedo etc?

The electronic box in the centre of the dash is a great bit of kit.
Its called an apexi AVCR it wires upto the ecu and will tell me boost presure, revs, speed and how much trottle you use.
I can also set it for high and low boost settings and install a scramble boost setting. There around £350-400 new but well worth the money

A little update for those intrested. I managed to get my welbro 255ltr per hour fuel pump mounted in the tank. I went down the route of buying oolne of car builders solutions fuel pump with a hanger included. I removed there basic pump and hacked it up and basicaly used it for just the electrical conection and the seal leading out of the tank. Routed the fuel pipes into there rough location through the car.

I dont really want to fix some things in position like the fuel lines just yet till i have everything like looms and brake lines routed to make sure nothing fouls.

I replaced the intercooler I purchased with a slightly different one that saves me having to fit two 90' elbows and lets me mount it easer in the nose cone.

I fitted the driver's seat on a set of runners. The pedal box was finally fitted afer a faulty master cylinder on the clutch leaked and ive now replaced that and bleed the clutch up. I am usIng a 6 puc padle clutch so its a prety strong pedal to press.

But am really happy with the seating position stearing and having the hand brake in the passanger side feels nice having the top of the tunnel free.

My replacement intercooler arived today after realising the lastone wasnt going to be a good fit.
This is for a mazda rx7 and the outlets face directly back. Once I put the nose cone in and shuffled it around it fitted well.
Unfortunately it had NO mounting points on it at all so I will have to have somone weld some lugs on as I dont have a ally welder set up.

While your at this stage of the rebuild you might want to consider raising the height of the top chasis rails to keep the lump beneath the bonnet line DRCIndy has this lump in his Indy and it fits snug under the Bonnet.

I believe your chasis is slightly narrower and possibly a little lower as the first MK chasis was designed around the Ron Champion book

I thought about raising the hole body. But am going to look at making a bonnet. As I want to sit low in the car and don'twant to raise the front nose and the dash as then it will end up to high for what I want in the end.

I thought about raising the hole body. But am going to look at making a bonnet. As I want to sit low in the car and don'twant to raise the front nose and the dash as then it will end up to high for what I want in the end.

Good progress mate, new cooler is a big improvement.

Nice project you have going on here. I have the same lump in my Luego. All fits under the "locost" GRP but the sump is VVV Low and ive already gone through 1 sump

Good tip about the apexi AVCR and the speedo... ive been using a bike speedo up till now. Might have to upgrade!!

Re your Intercooler. I went down the Chargecooler route with a rad in the back (Above the fuel tank) works really well. I used to have the chargecooler rad at the front but the engine kept overheating.

Good luck with the rest of the build, if you need any info just shout

Flan

Had loads of little bits turn up over Xmas. All the niggly bit's that i need for the turbo feeds and gaskets. Spent the day sorting out the loom and routing it through the car. Hopefully going to do one big order from car builders solutions for the likes of all the p clips and grubbins

he engine and starter loom striped down to the basics and emobliser remover

Well the past two weeks I've been picking little bits up I needed of eBay and Amazon.

I send my ecu and loom away to have the immobiliser removed and a few repairs done to the engine loom. I also had some relays missing and the ignition amplifier that where supplied and fitted.

Just now am going to concentrate on getting the motor to turn over and fire up. And to me that's a big milestone in the build.

But as the car sits everything needs finishing or starting all together. But once I have it fire up I can then work from the engine outwards.

But wiring is something I just can't get my head around. So I've invested in a few books and keep having a read up on the net and hopefully I can do it myself.

[Edited on 8/1/15 by mk85]

Popped to my local motor factors over the weekend and picked up my battery. Am using a type 054 normal found on the likes of a Nissan micra. It's a common swap on the Nissan s14 and ive used it previously. Only for the guy on the desk to bring me out something that you would use to start a diesel locomotive train.

Well after a little research on the starter wiring I had a little play round but am waiting on my battery terminals to turn up. I managed to give the starter a little crank over and ooooo it felt good.

The battery works out at £54 with the vat. It's pretty slim to helping save some wight

Spent some time sorting all the little out that have been turning up the past week.
As am running a mx5 handbrake leaver and seirra calipers I had to mix up a few bits.

Had a really good few days on the car now.I've managed to get the starter turning the engine over I was made up hearing it turn over its some of a big mile stone of the build to me. But still more to do before I will be happy to fire it up.

The intercooler will be ready this week after having some ally welding done for the mounting brackets.

I still have loads of bits on order am using a mix of eBay and Amazon and using the free postage and going as far as China for simple plugs and relays sure they take two week's but in the end an making good savings.

Good progress mate. Its an awesome feeling when it fires up for the first time. (Or not as it was in my case lol)

Well as our house has gone up for sale the miss's created a nice list of jobs to do. And I realised my younger brother was out of work so I've got him round to get those done while I do bits on the car. So I made some good progress today.

As I mentioned uryler on in the tread i purchased an APEXI AVCR. And I hadn't even checked if it worked after getting it for a bargain price. So here it is

As you can see i can have speed revs and the boost prssure

Master cylinder turned up so they where bolted into place to stop them getting damaged or lost

And then i put some panels on just to get a feel of it and an wheeled it out into the sun for a bit

Collecting my intercooler tomorrow night after work they have called to say they have it ready. But looking at things my bonet it going to take some fabrication to clear the rocker cover. I looked at raising the rest of the body work but then my nose cone won't sit flush at the bottom on the chassis. But i like the idea of getting creative with a bonnet. A few lumps and bumps will catch people's eye.

But i plan on a body for the iva and a body after the iva. As i don't want to paint or wrap the car and have to remove the iva mirrors and indicators ext and have holes in fresh body work. Again my dash will be a temporary dash then go to a post iva dash.

Had another good weekend on the car between jobs on the house. I started of with mountiung the intercooler i wanted it to sit just of the opening of the nose cone so out came the tape bits of wood and anything else close to hand. I was really pleased with the end result it sat nice and gave me enough room to put a rubber trim round the opening lip of the nose cone to give a nice seal.



[Edited on 25/1/15 by mk85]

I was hopeing to turn the engine with the in and see if i can get a spark. So i draned the old oil out and as i removed the sump plug it came out far to easy. After a closer look it looks like the magnetic plug was a cheapo and striped its thread. So to save any risk am going to order another sump in a week or two just down to the fact this past week has cost me a fortune on the house ready for it to go on the market and just need to let the bank settle down again. SO its just a minor setback but theres no rush and guess thats the problem with buying a second hand engine.

Have you got the wiring diagrams? Pretty simple to get running if you have the right bits. Halo and Nats stuff if it's from a s14a

Also, stick a wanted post on SXOC. You'll get a sump in no time

I sent my ecu and full loom away and had them chop out everything i didint need. Also removed all the of the nats and any need for the halo and key set up. Plus i had some damage to the loom around the ecu. His price was very fair and wasnt worth all the head scratching plus he supplied some missing ignition parts i needed.

quote:

---

Originally posted by FlansS14
Have you got the wiring diagrams? Pretty simple to get running if you have the right bits. Halo and Nats stuff if it's from a s14a

Also, stick a wanted post on SXOC. You'll get a sump in no time

---

Here's the controller that am using. You can see speed in kph rev and the boost from the turbo.

A little update for you all. I now have the motor turning over and plugs sparking. But still not firing up am sure its somthing simple but waiting to check afew things with some spare parts an picking up this weekend.

Also collecting some nice stainless steal interooler pipes so then thats the intake system finished.

Id love to start securing the fuel pipes and wiring loom but i plan to have it all working before securing it in place so ive been building up my supply of p clips and clamps from china. il have some fresh pics up this week.

Well it's been struggle the past week. I just can't start it up.

I have a spark and have even got a spare cam angle sensor and turned that buy hand to check the spark but this also lets my hear the injectors firing and clicking away. I've also got the fuel going to the fuel rail but still nut making it to the cylinders.

So I've got a friend coming over to check the wiring and mabie is that's the fault there.

Also have some new bits coming this week and I'll update with some new photos.

Well used finally managed to fire the engine up last night. It was a great feeling to have. We went over my wiring and double checked everything and it fired up. Also got one side of the intercooler plumbed in just waiting for the second pipe to arrive of friend In the post

Its a great feeling the first time it fires up.

Got my ecu mounted into the dash. Nice and secure and still plenty of room.

I've been spending some time sorting my engine loom out. I've managed to alter the loom on the inlet side that has the injectors throttling position sensor ect. So instead of running over the top of the inlet I have managed to run it under the inlet for a cleaner look.

I will be having the battery in the passenger foot well so I have run the loom over the scuttle panned and dropped in through using one of the original grommets from the Nissan car to help keep a nice clean look.

Again you may be able to see of the top of the gear box I've used some cable holders to keep the lambada sensor neatly held down.

It's things like this I want to keep on top of for when it comes to my IVA test.

I repaired the loom on my AVCR boost controller that I will also be using for my dashboard revs, boost and Speedo. I bought This for £40 with a damaged loom at a gamble and it paid of as it works now. Normally they go for no less than £175 at the very lowest.

Got the car down of the trestles and some Ford cosworth style wheels on for the Iva test

Well it's finally starting to feel like a car. I've got loads of little bits on order that are taking ages too arrive but as there coming from China and saving me up to 50% it adds up over the build.

Spent a few hours last night making a cork gasket for the fuel pump and getting the power cable neatly routed away towards the loom.

Well I picked some cheap side panels up of a local member on here and only to find they didn't fit like most parts I seam to pick up.

So time to cut stretch and make them fit.

First cut and not turning back

I removed the top lip so I could sit them down onto the top rails

Got the panels mounted into place and held in place so I can transfer them onto my glass table


[Edited on 15/3/15 by mk85]

Pulled the panel of my glass and checked it out. It's not a bad fit. Needs sanding and a skim of filler but should look fine once it's all mounted

Well its getting closer and closer to its first test drive soon. Finally sourced the part of the Nissan prop I need without being robbed as the parts prices seam to be at an all time high unfortunately.

Last weekend I have some vynal wrap turn up to try wrapping a panel and get a feel for how it works and if its something I would consider doing myself. I went for an arctic camo but when it turned up it was glossy and I was hoping for a Matt finish plus the camo blobs looked bigger than I expected. The panel wasn't on the car when I wrapped it plus it was a windy day and a few dust particals got under the wrap. But the outcome was good enough for me. I know when I come to do the car I can pull the garage door down and wet the floor and have the panels in a fixed position.

I finally got my banjo bolts and copper washers from China after a few week wait so the water lines where fitted on the turbo and got that finished of. Just a matter of working out he to and where to put the air filter now.

Well the car is on the move now. Unfortunately not under it own power but on the back of a truck to my new house. I managed to have it taken 208miles for £120. Had to wait a week or so to get it on a return load for that cost.

Had a good week on the electronics of the car sorting the lights with the help of a friend. I purchased the flasher relays from China for £2 each but only one turned up. So I popped to the local Euro parts and ended up paying £12.30 for the one. After getting home and plugging it in I found it to be a faulty part. So. Returned the flasher and had a right fiascos trying to get my money back. But more of the finest Chinese parts are in there way.

Wrll after a successful move the car is in the new garage 6 times the size of my single garage and no room not its with 4 motorbikes one ride on mower and several push bikes. So it's a serious sort out over the next few weeks.

Been a while since I updated my build but since I moved to my new house it's been non stop. I started a new job and after two weeks I was let go after the new boss thought I was going to be giving him all of my personal work leads. So I decided to do more work for myself so the car was side lined for a while.

But no it has working brakes (no handbrake yet) they still feel rather spongy. I have had the calipers of there mounts and had them at all angles while trying to get them to bleed. I used a draper vacume tool that pulls the fluid from the master cylinder to the calipers. But am half tempted to use the local quickfit as they have a system that pushes the fluid from the cylinder back.

I managed to sort a few teathing problems with the motor and got it idleing nicely now. Buy still seam to have a drain on the battery. Sometimes it's fine for days then I go to start it and it's dead.

I also fitted a set of 13x7 wheels all round with some sticky tyres. And the drive now compared to the build 16" wheels I had on there is unbelievable.

Luckily for me I live in a very quiet part of Wales and have a country road that leads to my house. I have roughly 100 metres of driveway at my house but that it only good enough to see if the car moves. So I've taken it for a few runs around my house. And I can genuinely say that once it starts to pull in second and third gear it's actually quite hard to process the speed.

Been a while since I updated my build but since I moved to my new house it's been non stop. I started a new job and after two weeks I was let go after the new boss thought I was going to be giving him all of my personal work leads. So I decided to do more work for myself so the car was side lined for a while.

But no it has working brakes (no handbrake yet) they still feel rather spongy. I have had the calipers of there mounts and had them at all angles while trying to get them to bleed. I used a draper vacume tool that pulls the fluid from the master cylinder to the calipers. But am half tempted to use the local quickfit as they have a system that pushes the fluid from the cylinder back.

I managed to sort a few teathing problems with the motor and got it idleing nicely now. Buy still seam to have a drain on the battery. Sometimes it's fine for days then I go to start it and it's dead.

I also fitted a set of 13x7 wheels all round with some sticky tyres. And the drive now compared to the build 16" wheels I had on there is unbelievable.

Luckily for me I live in a very quiet part of Wales and have a country road that leads to my house. I have roughly 100 metres of driveway at my house but that it only good enough to see if the car moves. So I've taken it for a few runs around my house. And I can genuinely say that once it starts to pull in second and third gear it's actually quite hard to process the speed.

I started to make my fiber glass dash this week. I used to ply wood as a mold. I stuck some foam on the rear to shape the bottom radius slightly bigger than the iva requirement just to be safe.

I covered the ply wood with a plastic bag so it was easily pulled apart.



Then i covered it with fiberglass giving it severl coats. But the last coat doesnt seamed to have gone of and is still tacky a week later so not to sure what to do now.

Make a test piece of under catalyzed resin and fiber, then make asmall batch of slightly catalyst rich and brush over.
That should work if the uncured resin is not too thick.
I´ve done this on small projects that are not loaded or required to last as long as a car needs to...
HTH
AA

Long time since I made an update but the car has moved on a lot but am just so stretched for time at the moment.

I've finally decided on a colour combo and it will he a mix of a Matt silver and carbon. I had to order lots of samples as they looked so much different in the flesh as to when they are on there website.

Also managed to find a nice Speedo for the dash the only down side is I need to mount the speed sensor onto the front wheel rim so need to look into that and see what's my best options.

This was my finished dash with my Speedo mounted.

Any pics mate

Also got a bracket made up to keep the radiator more secure

Should be able t see it I can

quote:

---

Originally posted by mk85
Also got a bracket made up to keep the radiator more secure

---

My carbon rear archers turned up and it seams a real shame that i have to cut holes in them for the rear lights

Can't you comply with regulations if you mount your lights on the rear panel instead?
HTH

Its still moving along slowly. Lots of new parts turning up as i find them on ebay.

But a new carbon aero screen has arived to go with the carbon touches i want on the car.

I spent afew hours the other night getting the hea dlights and indicators wired up. This took some research on wire gauges and relays ect but i finaly got there in the end just the rear lights to wire then i can start to fit and finish the body panels ready for wrapping.

Had a few good night's working on the car. I've managed to wire up the indicators and got them drilled out ready to fit.

My Speedo turned up the other week so I managed go fire that up. It works of a magnet sensor that I need to mount to the wheel. Once I make my front wing holders I will mount the sensor there. It looks a great bit of kit for the money.

I've had a delivery of all the little locks and catches that I want to use. Some came with paint damage I've emailed then but no reply after a week so a PayPal dispute it I order.

Had a great buy from eBay for the passenger seat just some little modifications to the mounts and that's ready for the passenger side. As I plan to use a foam seat kit to get myself sitting in as firmly as possible.

Well I've started the process of wrapping the body panels son I can fit some of the lights.

The dash was next but will need to be redone at some point as I made a small tear in the material just as I finished.

Fitted the carbon wind breaker

I drilled and set my dash out ready to be wrapped. I've got a water temp sensor to the left. The centre gauge is for the Speedo and mileage counter. It's a nifty but of kit that has lots of indicators built in for my headlights, indicators oil pressure and more.

The carbon wrap i had purchased for the dash wasn't as i liked so i ordered afew samples i decided on a new vynal. I even managed to do this in the living room with the wifes hairdrier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cut to size from the roll


peeled and placed onto the dash


Clocks and switches fitted

A little video of the clocks wired up
[IMG]http://i63.photobucket.com/al bums/h131/munroshaun/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/th_VID_20151224_164801_zpsmf35ri7f.mp4[/IMG]

just about have the dash ready to fix into position just a few little bits to sort before its fixed into place. Really made up with the finish and outcome. Overall it cost me roughly 25quid to make and wrap myself in a carbon finish wrap. I need to trim the excess vynal from the grey wrap and reheat one side as it has lifted slightly.


Tried the carpet i have chosen on the top tunnel and made up with the colour and feel of it.

better view of the dash

after trying a sitting in the car a few times and knowing how i like to drive i decided i wanted to bring the steering wheel closer to myself. I ordered some 15mm steel pole and started with the new column.

I had a snap of boss i wanted to use so i trimmed down the flange down to a 50mm radius. I welded a 50mm flange onto the steel rod for the quick release to bolt to.

Just waiting for some bearing to arrive so i can get this mounted.

Knowing the engine and how the like to kick some heat out once they have some energetic running I wrapped the down pipe in a heat proff wrap to help try keep the engine bay temps down.

Really liking the width and stance of how the car sits

Sounds like it is coming on a treat, do you have any upto date progress pictures.

The car is doing really well. The list is very short now. Basically it's just finishing touches to get it ready. I have just rebuilt a new steering column set up bringing the wheel much closer to me.

My job list is
repair the nose cone
Refit the steering column
Mount the body panels and wrap them as I go
Trim the interior
Make my foam seat
Plate up the tunnel
Make a boot lid for the rear tub
Make some brackets for the front arches

Managed to get a few hours in in the car last weekend. wrapped the drivers side panel and had a little look at the finish.

Looking good mate

It's coming together

I picked up some hallway mats from a local hardware home shop they where only a couple of pounds each and have a rubber bottom to them so with a little spray adhesive they will hold nicely in place

I got the dash lined up with my side panel's and really like the silver and carbon colour combo brakes the car up nicely

Hi mk85

Great build mate. Looking very nice. Going to be a quick one!!!

Quick question, what did you use for your boot panel pieces? Is it carbon dipped?

Thanks
Wolfie

Hi wolf1e what panel are you referring to. The panel behind the drivers seat is just covered in fabric

quote:

---

Originally posted by Wolf1e
Hi mk85

Great build mate. Looking very nice. Going to be a quick one!!!

Quick question, what did you use for your boot panel pieces? Is it carbon dipped?

Thanks
Wolfie

---

Hi mk85

The panel you used for the top panel where you mounted your fuel filler cap?

Regards
Wolfie

I purchased another nose cone with a slightly different shape to the one I had. I gave it a little clean up and started to wrap it in the vynal. After reading a review in the recent kit car magazine I followed there advice and have wrapped the nose in two sections. The bottom will be done in a separate section as to do it in one would over stretch the material

I've been really busy lately but managed to make some great progress on the car.
I've trimmed the whole drivers side with fabric and and mats in the floor. I went for a grey pattern as this over time will hide any dirt marks left behind

I folded some ally into a u shape as a protector for getting in and out of the car. I tapped the bolt holes to accept a threaded bolt neatly holding it all in place

Took it outside for a little look in the Sun light