Advice for newbie

[pnn1976]

I have recently become interested in the whole kit car scene and am loving the rocket.
I have little mechanical knowledge but would love to build a car myself.
RTR have said that it is relatively straight forward to build but looking at threads on here it seems almost everything needs a mod.
Not keen on the donor car route due to space and mess . Is it possible to source all new parts for a build. Budget is not a priority. Ease of build is.Would all new parts make it easier.

Sorry if this all seems a bit obvious but I am new to this.

Phil

[juddyjuddster]

Hi Phil, good to have you on board.

I have had my Rocket since early November and I would say in physical work terms I am about 1/4 of the way through the build that said I am am about 1/2 way in the planing. So far I can say that the build has been enjoyable with very little to get me vexed. I would say that building a car such as this is a good blend between mental preparation and physical work. I find I need to plan out how to do a job such as the steering column, parts needed buying , measuring and machining then all fitted up. I think every owner has tackled this part of the build differently as there as yet is not a off the shelf system to buy. I enjoy this part of the build as you do gain immense satisfaction from solving how to produce a functional part. There are loads of examples of similar tasks on the build such as pullies to replace the power steering pump which again aren't hard to do but do take a little time to get your head around. I have built a few cars before and this is a feature on most kit cars and to be honest if it was just bolting bits together it might not be as interesting. The great thing is the forum is there to help even when you think you know how to do it but just want a little re-assurance from other builders.

I am sure the good guys at RTR are going to offer more and more parts to make the build life easier and I am sure if you were stuck they could make anything for you.

As for the donor car I bought a off the road car but there was allot more work in stripping the parts than I had thought, on the plus side I do have all the parts I need and a few more beside. I sold most of the unwanted parts and in total the donor cost around £300. I would say get the parts bought in to save the space and time and try to work out if there is a fellow Rocket / Sonic near you for advice, help etc.

So I say go for it buy one and get stuck in

Cheers Ian

[mattsmev]

Hi Phil

Welcome to the forum. My Rocket has been on the road for about 10 months and I have loved every hour of building and driving it. It took me about 4 months to build including the SVA test (now IVA obviously) although this required lots of dedication and patience from my family to get it done before the test price went up.

This forum is a very helpful resource as are MEV and RTR, all my dealings have been a pleasure.

All new parts is a good way forward, but don't discount buying a Focus Wright Off. It's not that difficult to strip down and will make the engine-ECU-Ignition key matching a lot easier.

My car is about as standard as it comes - no fancy mods, the engine is completely standard and I find it's great just as it is. Don't worry about the modifications people are doing, thats just to express there own mark on the car.

It's also good to visit the shows to talk to owners, every now and again you get a sensible comment.

Take the plunge

You won't regret it

Mattsmev

[subevil]

Hi Phil

Agree with with matt, Electrical labeling and parts orientation would have been much easier with a focus to look at, we bought st170 conversion kit

[r16]

hey mate,

i have a rocket and due to a baby and work commitments i have spent almost 2 years building it. I did it the way you are thinking, i got my engine, gearbox ecu and loom on a pallet because i didn't have space for a donor focus. it will cost more if you bye all the bits as you go along rather than get a donor but if cost isn't to much of a worry then thats fine.
its not a straight forward 'just bolt it together' like others have said... the steering column needs to be extended etc but this is part of the fun, and to be honest the forum has over 100 members now and every single one would be more than happy to help with any problems or questions you might have.
if your local im happy to help you weld up the colum extention for the steering and any other welding related things for that matter (i have a mig welder and love wleding lol)

hope that helps alittle,

regards, Phil

[dinosaurjuice]

things to keep the build simple:
-1.6 engine and gearbox
-MEV loom
-MEV Exhaust
-MEV rollbar
-MEV powdercoationg
-Wilwood pedal box

things you can change to personalise your car without making too much work for yourself:

-wheels (loads of options)
-mirrors
-instruments - commonly the vapor unit, but plenty of fancier looking stylish ones available. time choosing the right stuff will be rewarded with a looking dashboard
-seats (loads of options)
-lights
-storage (cargo nets, boxes, roof rack)
- loads of other bits and pieces!

Get your deposit down and let the fun begin ;D

will

[Andy]

Hi phil welcome I have had my rocket almost a year now and the only regret was I didn't do it a few years sooner
go on get one
lego

[pnn1976]

Cheers for the advice guys.

Is the car based on the MK1 or MK2 focus or does it not matter.

If you get all the right parts are there any mods that need doing to the chassis or should it just all bolt together.

Still in the process of doing lots of research especially on the IVA.

[r16]

rear calipers need to be mk1 as the mk2 onwards are slightly bigger and have a different bolt pattern, other than that i don't think there are any changes from mk1 to mk2 apart from body pannels... (i think)
my car is a mix of mk1 and 2 parts and its gone together ok :-) lol
if you can come along to some or all of the kit car shows this year and have a chat with stuart on the mev stand and some of the mev owners in person, have a sit in one of the cars and see if you like it!

[mattsmev]

Re the rear calipers. I bought a Mk2 Focus with ABS. I assumed that would have rear disks, but it had drums - i should have checked but bought the car unseen. Any way, a set of rear calipers was £70 from a internat based scrap yard, so it was not the end of the world.

Mattsmev

[roadtrackrace]

Hi Phil,

We are currently readying our Gold and Black demo car for IVA and naturally will make sure that all results are detailed here.

If we do ultimately need to make mods to the kit to make it more IVA friendly then we will do exactly that.

Since we started manufacturing the kit we have received continuous feedback from our customers and we have used this information to allow the kit to evolve and ultimately become easier to build.

We're not perfect, but ultimately we will never leave a customer high and dry and with a combination of the generous support you will receive from the members here and technical support from both ourselves and MEV, I can assure you that you will have no big problems building your kit.

Please don't hesitate to visit us at HQ and see the kits in production.

RTR.

[pnn1976]

is it possible to get hold of a build disc to see what I am up against

[nigel]

Feb 3, 2010 22:06:40 GMT pnn1976 said:

is it possible to get hold of a build disc to see what I am up against

Just contact Stuart Mills via the link www.mevltd.co.uk/contact.html with your request.

Kind regard

nigel