Newbie with some noewbie questions

[mathew]

Good morning everyone,

Managed to get a few days off work so the hunt for the donor car has started this morning in full force!

Ive spotted one which comes with a nice few aftermarket bits (coilovers, exhaust, alloys) which would save me buying them at a later date but before i decide on the donor car ive got a few newbie questions

What would be the best size wheels to fit to the exocet? im thinking of fitting 16's, would 15's provide better handling or wouldnt there be much difference?

Next question is i have a numberplate on retention, when it comes to registering the exocet would i be able to use that numberplate or do the dvla choose one? my Plate is an M reg so understand the donor car would also be on an M plate to allow this.

3rd and final (for now ;D) question is what can be done to the engine to get power gains with out going down the route of forced induction? is it just restricted to the usual induction kit, de cat and exhaust mods?

At the moment im crunching some numbers and trying to avoid any unwanted expenses hence choosing a donor car with all the bits on it that i had planned to buy during the build.

Thanks
Mat

[lad]

Hi Mat,

We've just started too and there's another thread on here that discusses donors that we found really useful. It pointed us in the direction of a Mk2 because they have a bit more power and the bits sell better. Ours are selling pretty well but I know from past experience of breaking cars on ebay that a car with lots of aftermarket bits will always reap good rewards on parts sales even if you decide not to keep them for the exocet.

For power you can buy turbo or supercharger kits if you want to go beyond what you mentioned but our plan is to build it standard then complicate matters later as the build will be a big enough challenge.

Good luck.

Lad

[h5ngs]

The mx5 was designed with 14" wheels and mazda did a hell of a job with the handling, for a wheel size my personal preference is 7" wide by 15", put with the 32mm spacers used on the exocet this should improve handling, like i said its a personal thing but id go either 15 or 16 depends on what good deals you can get, also i find 15" tyres are cheaper due to being a common size (195/50/15 - plus i get loads free from work).

Unsure about the number plate i think the best option would be to register the car with the number plate which comes with your donor vehicle, then once its all complete transfer it over. This will probably save alot of hassel if anything goes wrong with registration.

There s few option power wise depending on what engine car you are buying, if you buy a 89-93 1.6 the have 116bhp, later than this it was reduced to 90bhp, the mk1 1.8's 130bhp and later ones had 140.

The 1.6 engine is more revvy and enjoyable to drive than 1.8 IMO but the 1.8 has more low end torque. Im building mine using a 1.6 116bhp as i think for a kit car using high rev's is all part of the fun driving it. The standard 1.6 engine was built running 10 degrees base timing, this was due to the fuel quality when first made, a common free modification is to adjust the timing to 14 degrees BTDC to give a little more low down power, after that a good exhaust manifold and system with a good air intake is about it unless you start stripping the engine for port and polishing but this then comes with costs. As far as im awake theres not much to do on the 1.8 engine apart from exhaust, intake etc...

Just as a note an unwanted expence maybe the registration fee's tax iva etc.... I was shocked when i seen someones post on here saying budget £1000 just for fee, iva is £500 and retest fee's are £90, then £200 registration and then when you look at car tax, insurance its something to think about.

Hope this helps

Craig.

[Deleted]

Chaps,
In regards to the reg, I stuck the donor registration on the car and was promptly issued a new registration plate based on the same year/letter. My advice would be get it on the road registered, and then apply the private number plate.
In regards to final costs, IVA is £450, rests are £90 a pop and then when you get to the DVLA they'll relieve you of about £180 odd for registration and 6 months tax. (My 91 eunos is £245 per year for road tax) and add in £150 ish insurance. And there's the near £1k extra I mentioned in another post.
Power mod wise, air filter, stainless 4-2-1 manifold, decat and back box on a 1.6 and it's pretty good fun.
About to build another, based on a 1.8 so I'll be able to make a good comparison.
Happy building.
Alex