In a couple of months I will have plenty of spare time on my hands and I have always liked the idea of a lowcost build, due to age I am not interested in building a high performance pocket rocket with all the latest goodies but a little mx5 as the donor seems to fit the bill. Thrift is the way forward so no fancy stuff, I am quite confident that I can weld up the chassis and I just want to build one as cheaply as I can.

Just one question......

How cheap can it be done?

Depends on how much MX5 you use and how many parts you buy in.

With an MX5 you stand a very good chance of getting the purchase price back if you buy well and sell all the bits you don't need on line. I made a profit with mine by buying a LTD edition model with Leather, body kit, hard top etc.

If you use the engine, box, loom, instruments, front rear hubs, brakes, hand brake, battery etc etc then a few hundred. Start buying instruments, 4 pot brakes, seats etc and it could end up 10k!

I think really if you make all the chassis, wishbones etc yourself. Buy the GRP body work and just refurb the standard parts with very few extras it should be on the road for under £5000. Don't forget you will have IVA cost plus a retest, transport, road tax etc at the end that suddenly blows your very careful budget.

I've built this for sub £5K with a 6cyl BMW engine and box.
I did get lucky with some parts and bought stuff over quite a long period, picking bits up when they came up at the right price.
Not sure about an MX5 build TBH.



[Edited on 3/4/17 by Nickp]

If you're on limited funds, it might be an idea to buy a pre built car that has an IVA. Then you can strip it back as far as you want, but without the costs of IVA etc.

Also, if your set on an MX5, then an Exocet might be worth a look.



[Edited on 3/4/17 by Banana]

You would be unlikely to do it for less than £1k, which would get you a slightly scruffy but solid mx5. That's the thrifty way of doing it imo, just buy and run an mx5.