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Post by s70mev on Apr 6, 2014 0:02:58 GMT
So, after a gruelling time of it with my build, it has taken me time to get round to sitting down and writing a build thread. Having had some time this week to make some real progress, I have become fired up enough about the whole build to get on with writing this build blog so here it goes....
It all began when my friend obtained some free tickets to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The festival was in the height of summer, and this last summer that we had was a real goodun weather-wise. The festival was absolutely incredible - I was bowled over by the site, the atmosphere, the range of stands, products, cars etc. I then stumble across Road Track Race's stand where I met Paul and Harry. Before meeting them, the Sonic 7 jumped out at me from yards away. I couldn't help myself but go and have a look. Being of the taller build, I got in it for size and I actually fitted! I loved the more modern take on the Lotus 7/Caterham look at which point I knew that MEV was what I wanted to be looking at. The modern powerplant of the focus was of great appeal to me also. I have owned an ST170 focus before and really enjoyed my ownership of it. Having had a good old chat, I learned that it would be possible to use the ST170 as a donor car in the Sonic, at which point I really was hooked. Not long after, I payed a visit to RTR in Nottingham where I got to have a spin in the Sonic 7, followed by a spin in the Mevabusa. The Mevabusa was just nuts! The sonic felt very tame by comparison, but having weighed up the fact that the Sonic would be a more comfortable kit car to tour in and could achieve the same thrill seeking performance were I to supercharge the ST170 lump, I stuck to my guns with the Sonic. Shortly after my visit to RTR, I phoned through and ordered my kit for it to be ready in October. My subsequent posts will bring everything up to the present day with photos accompanying it.
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Post by s70mev on Apr 6, 2014 0:18:53 GMT
After placing my order for the kit, I started sorting out a workshop space. I bought myself a 5 x 4 marquee from a marquee distributor in Germany that boasted of structural rigidity strong enough to hang yourself from. I bought it thinking that it would be a good bet through the winter months. It arrived, again on a sunny day, at which point I assembled it and at the time it seemed a very good marquee. Little did I know at this stage that in the long run, it would be the marquee braving the weather we had over winter that would be the biggest and most traumatic problem of the whole kit car project! Anyway, the marquee at this stage was set and ready...
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Post by s70mev on Apr 6, 2014 0:25:09 GMT
So the day arrived; 5th October 2014. The night before, I went and hired the complete opposite to what I was about to build (an extra LWB Mercedes Sprinter Van)! I had it for the weekend. On Saturday 5th, I made my journey to Nottingham and collected the kit from RTR. In addition to the kit, Harry tempted me with a double hoop roll bar in the same powder coat colour as my chassis and wishbones, which I bought as that was an obvious necessity in the long run. Harry also tried to tempt me with some front wings which at that stage I declined as my budget was spreading thin and I was still yet to find and buy a donor car! It isn't an optional extra that I've ruled out completely in the long run as I can foresee wings and spoilers as being quite a practical option, particularly if I end up hooning a supercharged ST170 engined vehicle with such little weight around a track! With Castle Coombe a mere stones throw away on a nice day, I can foresee this eventuality as being quite likely. Anyway, I digress... My kit was all there with each component bubble wrapped and ready for me to load onto the van. I had my friend with me who has been present from the very start of the proceedings and is assisting with each stage of the build. We asked a few questions as we loaded and ticked off each component - too few questions were asked by us with hindsight, but there you go. Having never done one of these before, it was very difficult to know what to ask! Once all was packed up, off we headed back to Cheltenham to load the parts into my workshop (the marquee). Photos of the collection weekend to follow...
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Post by mawdo81 on Apr 6, 2014 5:36:43 GMT
Great start, I look forward to hearing about the battles of tent v weather! What questions did you ask and which do you wish you'd asked?
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Post by s70mev on Apr 6, 2014 15:53:02 GMT
The tent and the weather, particularly following the winter we've just had makes for an interesting story - it's a miracle that it's still here! Re questions I wished I'd asked, well where do I begin?! The questions I asked seem so basic now that I have had it all out in front of me for sometime. My questions when I was there consisted of things like whether I could use the pedal box off the donor car (I could but it would require substantial modification - I bought the Wilwood in the end a few weeks later). I also asked about hub carriers and which bits I'd need; again, elementary questions with hindsight after looking at the components supplied and the components from the donor car. The questions I really wished I'd asked are mainly orientated around body panel fitment and trimming etc. Most of this last week has been spent working on getting that right. I was hopeful that the build manual would provide sufficient info at the time, but there is little to no info on this. I would have asked questions about castor angle too; you will most likely see this post appear on my thread shortly - it's a head scratcher that's for sure. I didn't ask about it at the time as the issue had not arose at that stage, nor was I aware of what issues would arise at this stage. I could list much more that I could have asked but I'd be here all day...
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Post by s70mev on Apr 6, 2014 16:22:03 GMT
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Post by skyrangerman on Apr 6, 2014 19:27:03 GMT
Good Luck with your build mate, you chose the best colour anyway, same as mine!!!, I too have the tank in the front. I am awaiting a date for IVA. Please fire away with any questions, all the people on here are only too pleased to help others and grow the mev community.
Cheers Jonathan.
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Post by s70mev on Apr 6, 2014 22:44:57 GMT
Cheers! Yeh, definitely the best colour... I'm gradually bringing this build thread up to date. It's been going well this week - body panels trimmed and trial fitted - I'm now managing to get all suspension fitted with body panels in place. It's taken some considerable doing! I will drop the questions on my thread as and when.
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Post by s70mev on Apr 6, 2014 22:46:40 GMT
Oh and good luck with the IVA, I'm terrified yet excited about that day coming
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MevST
Full
Road Warrior
Posts: 367
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Post by MevST on Apr 7, 2014 17:49:05 GMT
Good luck mate! Plenty of grazed knuckles and swearing to come... Fire away with any Q's if/when you have them think I've been through almost every conceivable ST170 based issue  Are you using a donor car to strip down or have you get the donor bits you need? Ade |
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Post by drbrian on Apr 16, 2014 2:52:28 GMT
Look at my Thread there is a lot good info for getting started.
If your sonic is anything like mine you will need to inspect a lot of parts, and maybe get some replacements.
Look at my thread to see what needs to be fixed.
Thanks
Brian
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Post by howard on Jun 19, 2014 18:27:02 GMT
Hi James. Building an st170 based sonic like yourself
how did you get on with the exhaust manifold the std one does not go in and hits the bulk head
im assuming you have to fit the 2.0 zetec which looks narrower
just wondering how you got around the challenge
howard
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