Tim & Joseph's Exocet

[tlight]

Well our project to build an Exocet has started with speed. Tuesday we (my 13yr old son & I) had a test drive with Stuart, Wednesday the kit was ordered, Friday bought a Cat D salvage Mk2 1.8 Euphonic from 2004. Are we the first to build off a Mk2 kit?

Colours we are planning will probably be;
Red powder coated chassis, structual parts & painted calipers.
White GRP.
Black wheels.

The garage is nearly clear (everything piece of junk is on e-bay or in the bin), just got the shelves to sort. Donor is being collected next Saturday (by then garage will be empty) and strip can commence. With luck we will have the strip complete, and be well on with detailing the power train in time for the kit delivery.

We have very few tools (general diy stuff), anyone suggest a good place to shop? Will initially need to buy a trolley jack, axle stands, socket set, torque wrench. We are located in Long Marston, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Tim

[ridgeback]

Hi boys,
With regards to tooling up here are 2 possibilities,
1: Go to your local Halfords and apply for a trade card,when I got mine no proof was needed that I worked in the trade. This card can then be used for up to 30% off purchases such as tools,oil and parts etc.
2: Ebay.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Ridgeback.

[squelch]

hi chaps
i think you mught be the first to use a mk2 although there are some differences between the mk1 and mk2 it shouldnt be much, infact i am using some mk2 parts on my build

on the tools front you could also try places like Machine Mart, Tool station and screwfix too
if Halfords have the offer on there 150piece socket set for around £100 its a very good well made set (cant believe i just said that about something from Halfords lol)

[nigel]

Great stuff and welcome on board. ;D

A MK 2 very nice I'd be interested to know how much you paid for a 2004 MK2 CatD ? and even more interested to know how much you make on selling all the bits ?

Just remember to get the V5c in your name, probably have to fill out a V62 application to the DVLA, can take a while, costs about £25 from memory.

nigel

[Tim Kerr]

try an internet company called Just Off Base. They are fantastic for all sealey stuff and do free delivery. Very handy when getting an engine crane shipped!

[tlight]

Thanks for the tool advice, making progress already got a trolley jack & a couple of axle stands. Should have the rest in time for the car strip commencing.
Can't wait to collect the donor car this weekend. On the purchase price front, the Mk2 was a 'xxx' more than the Mk1's, but its only got 14K miles on the clock & I 'could' make more on part sales... i'll let you know if we meet. BUT, for me the project is not about the £, but a learning curve with my lad (that gets completed) & a toy to have fun with at the end...

[Andy888]

Nice find!! Good luck with the strip/build!

[tlight]

After an 8am start, collecting driver (thanks Steve), collecting trailer (thanks John & Nikki), collecting the donor car & making the relevant returns, the MX-5 is now safely parked in the garage. Most of the garage clearance has been sold on e-bay today, and a small collection of tools is starting to collect

.

The most bizarre event of the day was to arrive at the M42 Total Appleby Magna Service Area to meet Matt at the gas pump where we were refueling, who was trailering a MEV Exocet chassis he was taking home !

[tlight]

So we started by stripping out the contents of the boot (looks like the previous owner has retained all the original equipment, which will look nice on ebay)



Followed by removal of the rear bumper...



At the end of day one we have removed, bagged & tagged every part missing, we are assuming we can sell everything...the car is considerably shorter than last night !



With Saturday & Sunday free next weekend, we plan to have the body split and starting to strip the chassis to detail...just ordered a set of red poly bushes...should complement the colour scheme nicely as well as the handling

[h5ngs]

Looking good, how much did the donor set you back, should be good for the car as the interior is nicer on those and a newer car means less rusty parts to work with.

[tlight]

Well day 2 over, car is nearly ready to split from chassis, just the interior trim to remove and crack those structural bolts.

.

Surplus parts are all being catalogued, labelled, bagged, photographed for sale, as we proceed.

Windbreaker electrical connection cover looks a bit delicate to remove.

Dashboard, with air bags could prove fun to remove, removed the first 8 bolts.

Does any one have ABS installed ?

[nigel]

Looks like your making a first class job of the strip down

I think you'll do well with the sale of bits (Check out www.mx5heaven.co.uk for a price guide)

If you can keep the ABS it'll be worth it (I would)

nigel (watching with great interest

[tlight]

Nigel,

Thanks for the sale tip.

I'm planning on keeping the ABS, will call Stuart Monday on mounting arrangement.

Joseph has found a guide on MX-5 OC Forum on removal of the centre console...lets hope we can get it out clean to maximise re-sale.

We're going for white fibre glass, am wondering about powder coating everything else red, with a few items in black (i.e pass over black box plastic parts)....?

Tim

[tlight]

Found this (11th October, 2010) for advice on stripping the dash board out on a Mk 1, with pictures.

mevexocet.wordpress.com/

As our is slightly different, I will post some pictures during strip.

[nigel]

Nov 28, 2010 9:52:48 GMT tlight said:

Found this (11th October, 2010) for advice on stripping the dash board out on a Mk 1, with pictures.

mevexocet.wordpress.com/

As our is slightly different, I will post some pictures during strip.

Good find, I like it when I see other peoples experiences and solutions being shared

Suggest all you 'Exocet Builders' check out the Documentation thread in the Technical Section, think you'll find all the info you could possibly need to strip and prep your Donor, regardless of which model donor your using.

(Wish the mgmt would do something like this for the Sonic/Rocket Donor ?)

nigel