Post by mathew on Apr 8, 2012 12:08:07 GMT
Ok, decided its finally time to document my build in the form of a thread so here goes.....
Late August 2011 - after many years of umming and ahhring about building a kit car i finally decided on the Exocet. I originally wanted a 7 clone but had found myself going back to the MEV site more often than not (mainly for the Rocket) until i accidentally stumbled across the Exocet. I, like many others, instantly thought no way can a car be built so easily for so little cost but the more i read into it the more believable it all became. Add to that the proven MX5 handling and the community behind both all things MX5 and Exocet i was sold, the Exocet would be my build of choice!
Early September 2011 - After a few nights scouring the classifieds on Pistonheads i found the perfect donor for the perfect price at a nearly perfect distance from my house. A few phone calls, emails and 48hrs later and i was the proud owner of a 1.8 Eunos V-Spec for the more than reasonable price of £900.
This was used by the previous ower as a weekend/track car and as a result came with some tasty extras in the shape of a hard dog roll bar, P5 Puredrive coilovers and Helix uprated clutch as well as more history than you can shake an MX5 shaped stick at. Perfect!
I must admit that on the way home i was having second thoughts about stripping it as it just seemed too good a car for it but forced myself not to get too attached to the green beast. So the following morning without any hesitation or second thoughts it went to its final resting place, my garage and the stripping began!
Things slowed down a bit here as i was working away quite a bit but over the following months i had it stripped and parts refurbed. Below are some of the highlights of the stripping.
After knocking two holes in my garage wall to support the RSJ to clamp the hoist to i discovered i had made a school boy error......the RSJ was about a meter short to span the gap! so i knocked up a supporting frame made from some buckets, concrete and 4x4 timbers i had laying around. it worked a treat and the body came off without any issue
The next school boy error i made was not to support the subframes which in turn dropped to the floor. This was bit of an issue as there was an MX5 shaped shell hanging over it making access to do anything a bit iffy if not very safely. After a bit of head scratching the father and i got the chassis out from underneath allowing us to lower the shell back down and store it out of the way
Tucked up nice and cosy
The following week the shell left me on the back of a van/pick up. It was quite a sad sight
On the plus side i got £80 in return for it, an old radiator and the RSJ. Happy days! The cost of the donor was made back with ease especially from the roll bar which ended up going for £260! iirc.
November/December - mainly spent refurbing the parts and deciding on when to order the kit. I thought it would be wise for me to see how the refurbing process went before ordering the kit.
Here's what i had to work with. Not in a too bad a condition.
Suspension arms getting stripped with the use of a wire wheel attachment on a 4inch grinder. Before and after pic
I decided to use hammer rite direct to rust spray. If i was to do it again id use the brush on stuff as the spray was pretty runny and the coverage was not very good, i think i done about 6-7 coats on them.
The subframes i used the hammered effect hammer rite direct to rust brush on paint. Im not to keen on the finnish (the hammered effect) but it does a good job of hiding any imperfections.
Next up was the suspension itself.
I was in two minds wether to get a new shiny set of shocks and springs but then decided to clean them up as the P5 Puredrive seems a really good set up so i could well have been sacrificing handling for looks. After a good scrub i was more than happy how the came up
It was around this point my phone met a very sugary death in my cup of tea and as a result i lost quite a lot of pictures of the refurbed bits and pieces. But on a high note i had almost finished the refurbing so placed my order for the Exocet kit a day before the xmas holidays started.
Mid Jan - Confirmation that my kit was ready! A few days later my father and i were doing our best white van men impressions in the hired transit and set off for MEV HQ.
Upon arrival i finally got to see a completed Exocet and must say it looks even better in the flesh/metal than in any pic i had seen. I especially liked the colour scheme on Julie's car, it worked very well.
The van was loaded and back home we went.
With it being dark and hammering down with rain and having rubbish lighting in the garage we arrived home and i decided to temporarily store the kit in the house. One of the joys of living on your own is you can store anything anywhere! Waking up in the morning and being confronted with this sight never failed to put a childish grin on my face ;D
This reminds me of how xmas morning in the living room looked like when i was a kid!
The actual build then began during the last week of Jan. Pretty uneventful regarding the cutting and fitting of the floor apart from breaking 3 handheld riveters which seems to be common with the rivets that are supplied. I ended up using slightly smaller rivets which seem to hold the floor in place just as well.
Mandatory flooring pic below
Brake and fuel lines went in without any hassle. I opted for renewing both fuel and brake lines with goodyear and copper lines respectively.
It was then onto fitting the chassis. Bit of a fiddle but with the help of a 2meter length of metal rod to act as a lever it finally slotted into place.
I decided to go for something different than the seats MEV supply as i wanted something a bit more body hugging. Ebay, once again, came to the rescue. I had read a lot of negative things about the company that supplies the seats ranging from poor quality to long postage times but going on my experience i cant say a bad word against them. Took 2 days to arrive and for the money i cant fault them.
Im going to be keeping the 15" wheels (minus The Stig centre stickers!) but was thinking of adding a pinstripe around the outer lip, orange maybe, something to be in complete contrast to the car. Still undecided on that though.
Next on my list was to fit the radiator. I knocked up some brackets that fix at the same location of the fan fixings and held at the front with some self tappers.
Top brackets
I then moved onto the pedals. There was a lot of playing about with washers and the like but got them in a position i was happy with for the time being knowing that il be doing the final adjustments when the seats go in. It was the same scenario with the steering although i cut the hole in the bulkhead larger to give me more movement.
Next up were the dreaded electrics!
I had labelled up most of it and had a few issues when it came to reconnecting everything. turned the key and nothing! turns out the battery was dead so borrowed one from a local auto electrics but even this didnt cure the problem. At this point i had given up on the electrics and had arranged for the professionals to come in and sort it out. They werent able to come out for a few days so in the meantime i was googling to my hearts content car electrics then found a video on youtube (rickyhaha iirc) of a chap with the same problem with his and the cause was an aftermarket alarm.
Mine had an aftermarket alarm and immobiliser fitted and i had a feeling this was the cause of mine not starting. So back onto google i went and tracked down instructions on how to remove an alarm. Armed with some insulation tape and snips i went at the loom with avengence! Found the parts of the loom where the alarm disected it so a bit of snipping here and there i was convinced i had it sorted. Laid it all back out onto the car, connected what needed to be connected and fired here up. This time it was trying to start but would not catch. Turns out i had the fuel pipes fitted the wrong way around. Fitted them the correct way and once again went to turn the key and...........started first time! Such a relief!
Then i had the task of finalising the fitting of the electrics which was such a ball ache. Lots of trial and error but got there in the end. Knocked up a little tray out of some home made brackets, some plastic channel and an offcut of the aluminium sheet to hide it all away neatly.
Still got the wiring to final fix in the engine bay but will do this when im installing the lighting
It still starts fine with most of it fixed down but ive noticed one p-clip thats holding the brake pipe near the brake servo sparks upon start up. Ive been informed that this may just be a case of not enough earths at the engine area, ive still got a few to fix down so will hopefully be sorted then.
I couldnt help but trial fit the body panels a bit prematurely
As you'll notice ive gone for the square/race type arches
Fitted the drivers seat to do final adhustments to the pedals and steering. These are fixed to the original MX5 runners and are bloody comfy!
Ive got a sheet of carbon vinyl that il be using to wrap the centre tunnel and the vertical aluminium plates on the bulkhead and depending on how confident i get with it il also be wrapping the dial cluster plastic surround thing. Im also awaiting delivery of some of that metal effect rubber matting (in black) for the floor and the kickplates/footrests.
That pretty much brings it up to where i am at the moment with it. I'm looking to get it finished within the next 2 months but it depends a lot on work as i tend to be away for a few weeks on end at a time.
Late August 2011 - after many years of umming and ahhring about building a kit car i finally decided on the Exocet. I originally wanted a 7 clone but had found myself going back to the MEV site more often than not (mainly for the Rocket) until i accidentally stumbled across the Exocet. I, like many others, instantly thought no way can a car be built so easily for so little cost but the more i read into it the more believable it all became. Add to that the proven MX5 handling and the community behind both all things MX5 and Exocet i was sold, the Exocet would be my build of choice!
Early September 2011 - After a few nights scouring the classifieds on Pistonheads i found the perfect donor for the perfect price at a nearly perfect distance from my house. A few phone calls, emails and 48hrs later and i was the proud owner of a 1.8 Eunos V-Spec for the more than reasonable price of £900.
This was used by the previous ower as a weekend/track car and as a result came with some tasty extras in the shape of a hard dog roll bar, P5 Puredrive coilovers and Helix uprated clutch as well as more history than you can shake an MX5 shaped stick at. Perfect!
I must admit that on the way home i was having second thoughts about stripping it as it just seemed too good a car for it but forced myself not to get too attached to the green beast. So the following morning without any hesitation or second thoughts it went to its final resting place, my garage and the stripping began!
Things slowed down a bit here as i was working away quite a bit but over the following months i had it stripped and parts refurbed. Below are some of the highlights of the stripping.
After knocking two holes in my garage wall to support the RSJ to clamp the hoist to i discovered i had made a school boy error......the RSJ was about a meter short to span the gap! so i knocked up a supporting frame made from some buckets, concrete and 4x4 timbers i had laying around. it worked a treat and the body came off without any issue
The next school boy error i made was not to support the subframes which in turn dropped to the floor. This was bit of an issue as there was an MX5 shaped shell hanging over it making access to do anything a bit iffy if not very safely. After a bit of head scratching the father and i got the chassis out from underneath allowing us to lower the shell back down and store it out of the way
Tucked up nice and cosy
The following week the shell left me on the back of a van/pick up. It was quite a sad sight
On the plus side i got £80 in return for it, an old radiator and the RSJ. Happy days! The cost of the donor was made back with ease especially from the roll bar which ended up going for £260! iirc.
November/December - mainly spent refurbing the parts and deciding on when to order the kit. I thought it would be wise for me to see how the refurbing process went before ordering the kit.
Here's what i had to work with. Not in a too bad a condition.
Suspension arms getting stripped with the use of a wire wheel attachment on a 4inch grinder. Before and after pic
I decided to use hammer rite direct to rust spray. If i was to do it again id use the brush on stuff as the spray was pretty runny and the coverage was not very good, i think i done about 6-7 coats on them.
The subframes i used the hammered effect hammer rite direct to rust brush on paint. Im not to keen on the finnish (the hammered effect) but it does a good job of hiding any imperfections.
Next up was the suspension itself.
I was in two minds wether to get a new shiny set of shocks and springs but then decided to clean them up as the P5 Puredrive seems a really good set up so i could well have been sacrificing handling for looks. After a good scrub i was more than happy how the came up
It was around this point my phone met a very sugary death in my cup of tea and as a result i lost quite a lot of pictures of the refurbed bits and pieces. But on a high note i had almost finished the refurbing so placed my order for the Exocet kit a day before the xmas holidays started.
Mid Jan - Confirmation that my kit was ready! A few days later my father and i were doing our best white van men impressions in the hired transit and set off for MEV HQ.
Upon arrival i finally got to see a completed Exocet and must say it looks even better in the flesh/metal than in any pic i had seen. I especially liked the colour scheme on Julie's car, it worked very well.
The van was loaded and back home we went.
With it being dark and hammering down with rain and having rubbish lighting in the garage we arrived home and i decided to temporarily store the kit in the house. One of the joys of living on your own is you can store anything anywhere! Waking up in the morning and being confronted with this sight never failed to put a childish grin on my face ;D
This reminds me of how xmas morning in the living room looked like when i was a kid!
The actual build then began during the last week of Jan. Pretty uneventful regarding the cutting and fitting of the floor apart from breaking 3 handheld riveters which seems to be common with the rivets that are supplied. I ended up using slightly smaller rivets which seem to hold the floor in place just as well.
Mandatory flooring pic below
Brake and fuel lines went in without any hassle. I opted for renewing both fuel and brake lines with goodyear and copper lines respectively.
It was then onto fitting the chassis. Bit of a fiddle but with the help of a 2meter length of metal rod to act as a lever it finally slotted into place.
I decided to go for something different than the seats MEV supply as i wanted something a bit more body hugging. Ebay, once again, came to the rescue. I had read a lot of negative things about the company that supplies the seats ranging from poor quality to long postage times but going on my experience i cant say a bad word against them. Took 2 days to arrive and for the money i cant fault them.
Im going to be keeping the 15" wheels (minus The Stig centre stickers!) but was thinking of adding a pinstripe around the outer lip, orange maybe, something to be in complete contrast to the car. Still undecided on that though.
Next on my list was to fit the radiator. I knocked up some brackets that fix at the same location of the fan fixings and held at the front with some self tappers.
Top brackets
I then moved onto the pedals. There was a lot of playing about with washers and the like but got them in a position i was happy with for the time being knowing that il be doing the final adjustments when the seats go in. It was the same scenario with the steering although i cut the hole in the bulkhead larger to give me more movement.
Next up were the dreaded electrics!
I had labelled up most of it and had a few issues when it came to reconnecting everything. turned the key and nothing! turns out the battery was dead so borrowed one from a local auto electrics but even this didnt cure the problem. At this point i had given up on the electrics and had arranged for the professionals to come in and sort it out. They werent able to come out for a few days so in the meantime i was googling to my hearts content car electrics then found a video on youtube (rickyhaha iirc) of a chap with the same problem with his and the cause was an aftermarket alarm.
Mine had an aftermarket alarm and immobiliser fitted and i had a feeling this was the cause of mine not starting. So back onto google i went and tracked down instructions on how to remove an alarm. Armed with some insulation tape and snips i went at the loom with avengence! Found the parts of the loom where the alarm disected it so a bit of snipping here and there i was convinced i had it sorted. Laid it all back out onto the car, connected what needed to be connected and fired here up. This time it was trying to start but would not catch. Turns out i had the fuel pipes fitted the wrong way around. Fitted them the correct way and once again went to turn the key and...........started first time! Such a relief!
Then i had the task of finalising the fitting of the electrics which was such a ball ache. Lots of trial and error but got there in the end. Knocked up a little tray out of some home made brackets, some plastic channel and an offcut of the aluminium sheet to hide it all away neatly.
Still got the wiring to final fix in the engine bay but will do this when im installing the lighting
It still starts fine with most of it fixed down but ive noticed one p-clip thats holding the brake pipe near the brake servo sparks upon start up. Ive been informed that this may just be a case of not enough earths at the engine area, ive still got a few to fix down so will hopefully be sorted then.
I couldnt help but trial fit the body panels a bit prematurely
As you'll notice ive gone for the square/race type arches
Fitted the drivers seat to do final adhustments to the pedals and steering. These are fixed to the original MX5 runners and are bloody comfy!
Ive got a sheet of carbon vinyl that il be using to wrap the centre tunnel and the vertical aluminium plates on the bulkhead and depending on how confident i get with it il also be wrapping the dial cluster plastic surround thing. Im also awaiting delivery of some of that metal effect rubber matting (in black) for the floor and the kickplates/footrests.
That pretty much brings it up to where i am at the moment with it. I'm looking to get it finished within the next 2 months but it depends a lot on work as i tend to be away for a few weeks on end at a time.
