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Post by kevin1626 on Feb 20, 2016 19:50:19 GMT
Folks, I was asked to post my query on the forum. I'm interested in building my first kit car and like the look of the MEV Rocket/ Rocket 2. As I've not attempted something like this, I'd be keen to have a read through a build guide to see what's involved. Also, I'm keen to know if either of these kits are offered as a complete kit of parts to allow those of us with limited time, to still enjoy the assembly process with little need for fabrication of things or hunting for parts. I realise that part of the joy of building a car is doing just that - making pieces and hunting for parts. Sadly I'm stuck for time due to work travel. Also, in terms of the Rocket 2, is SVE the dealer for the kit? Thanks in advance for any help or information.
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Post by kevin1626 on Feb 20, 2016 20:07:57 GMT
I've answered my own question after finding Brimoto on the forum and a link to their site. I'll contact Brian and ask him my questions. Cheers
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Post by Froggy on Feb 20, 2016 20:18:06 GMT
Hi Kevin. Only MEV and BRIMOTO are official dealers of the rocket and rocket 2. If you check out the posts recently placed by the management this explains your question. The rocket 1 will still be available from Brimoto, and the rocket 2 will be unvailed by brimoto at Stoneleigh in may. Check out the brimoto website, they will be offering fully built and kit form too. Also, they are offering multiple engine choices so well worth looking into. What area do you live? There's bound to be someone close by as about 1000 kits have been sold. Good luck and post away for anymore info. Wayne-Sweetridescustoms.
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Post by kevin1626 on Feb 20, 2016 20:57:37 GMT
Thanks for the note. I should have spent more time researching the forum....... I'm in Northern Ireland, so have dropped a note to one of the guys on here, Tim, about his rocket build. I'm also looking at travel to Stoneleigh on the May weekend to see the Rocket in the flesh. I'll have to see if there's been past magazine features in CKC or the like. Keen to see one hill climbing as there's a second that I'm aware of in NI that is being campaigned in class 5 sprinting and hillclinbing. Thanks again for the guidance
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Post by mawdo81 on Feb 21, 2016 8:22:06 GMT
casesensitive is building an st170 based rocket south of the border but I forget actually where.
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Post by johnp on Feb 21, 2016 13:23:23 GMT
Dublin
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Post by casesensitive on Feb 22, 2016 0:26:45 GMT
Yep :-) I'm still alive, had limited time on the kit this year. Losing my garage shortly which has been a pain, but I'm all guns blazing building a much bigger one further away. But at least it's got a permanent home now. If you're about Dublin in July, the Classic and Kit Car Show in Terenure is good craic. I know that Geoff ecowindman has displayed his Exocet in the past, and if I can get it started by then I'll likely be exhibiting this year. Or just walking around otherwise
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Post by dgibson on Feb 22, 2016 13:49:31 GMT
I have not yet quite completed my Rocket with an SVT engine on the other side of the pond ( South Texas Rocket Build). There is a certain amount of small fabrication, most of which can be done with hand tools, although I did have to weld a few bits and pieces such as a Radiator Mount, Idler Pulley mount (although available from various sites) and some other bits and pieces to get the engine aligned to the rear suspension (Gearbox side engine mount) . If you have a friendly welding/fab shop near by, it is probably not too much work.
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Post by testarossa on Feb 22, 2016 21:40:17 GMT
Hello Kevin,
Did you also consider the MX5 based Exocet?
From what I have seen here, it is much easier to build and requires a lot less fabrication than the Rocket (just to be clear, I haven't built any kitcar either, so this is purely based on what I've seen and read here).
The Exocet is basically 'just' a body swap, replacing the stock Mazda body with a spaceframe chassis, but keeping pretty much the entire running gear of the original Mazda. This eliminates the necessity for a lot of custom fabrication, you don't need to lay any coolant pipes from front to back, you can use the stock exhaust manifold, you can use the complete fuel tank + fuel pomp, no engine mounting/alignment issues, no hassle with gear lever cables and so on. Also, there are less panels to be made and less rivets, furthermore the chassis is made from square tube, so panel fabricating and drilling holes is easier than with the Rocket.
Again, I haven't built any kitcar yet, so if I'm wrong here, please correct me. I'm only suggesting it because nobody else has and Kevin, like he said himself, hasn't done much reading here (yet).
I reckon when building an Exocet you would see a lot more overall progress which in my experience is important to get the motivation to keep going, especially when your weekly or monthly built time is limited.
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Post by kevin1626 on Feb 22, 2016 22:30:15 GMT
Thanks guys for all the comments. Much appreciated. Cheers
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Post by casesensitive on Feb 22, 2016 23:49:14 GMT
Did you also consider the MX5 based Exocet? From what I have seen here, it is much easier to build and requires a lot less fabrication than the Rocket (just to be clear, I haven't built any kitcar either, so this is purely based on what I've seen and read here). I'd say @testaossa is about right here, I reckon in order of difficulty it seems like it goes pretty much - MX-5 rebodies like the Exocet
- Rockets
- Bike-engined cars like the MEVabusa
I personally believe that that's also about the order of their atheistic beauty too. If I had the money and space, and permission from SWMBO, I'd build a MEVabusa-type car. They're like a mini Rocket!
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Post by carlyd on Feb 23, 2016 9:47:05 GMT
I am in the process of building a Rocket, in fact I think mine was the very last one out of RTR before they went under. No two rockets are the same and the level of customisation is completely up to you, mine is completely different as I have gone for the Honda H22a7 engine which has 220bhp as standard and the LSD gearbox. But.. when you go do the customisation route there are lots of knock on problems, for example by choosing the Honda power unit I had to buy custom drive shafts £180, custom gear cables £230 and all of my wiring is not documented as it is for the ford so I had to make my own wiring loom from scratch which takes a very long time and costs a lot of money. I have also gone for wider seats for comfort which means there was no room for the standard centre console so I had to custom make that, then there was no room for the radiator pipes as my centre console is smaller so I had to bin the radiator in the front and go for side pods with twin radiators in them which allowed me to move the fuel tank to the front. All of this customisation is great and I have really enjoyed the build as I have hand made as much as possible myself, but if I wanted a car on the road as quick as possible I would'nt have done all of the custom stuff. I think I read somewhere that a standard rocket takes approx 300 build hours?? I'm in to like 500+ and still not done. The build is not something that should be rushed, it's a very big part of owning a kit car so enjoy it.
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Post by casesensitive on Feb 23, 2016 16:54:03 GMT
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scar
Junior
Posts: 40
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Post by scar on Feb 25, 2016 8:15:10 GMT
Did you also consider the MX5 based Exocet? From what I have seen here, it is much easier to build and requires a lot less fabrication than the Rocket (just to be clear, I haven't built any kitcar either, so this is purely based on what I've seen and read here). I'd say @testaossa is about right here, I reckon in order of difficulty it seems like it goes pretty much - MX-5 rebodies like the Exocet
- Rockets
- Bike-engined cars like the MEVabusa
I personally believe that that's also about the order of their atheistic beauty too. If I had the money and space, and permission from SWMBO, I'd build a MEVabusa-type car. They're like a mini Rocket! Reverse order on aesthetics surely
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Post by mawdo81 on Feb 25, 2016 13:50:55 GMT
Aesthetics are purely personal, lets not worry about something that will never be agreed on!
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