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COMPLETE KIT CAR FEBRUARY 2020 – ISSUE 162

14-WEEK 427 WORKSHOP THE COBRA REPLICA THAT WENT FROM KIT TO COMPLETE IN NO TIME

 FORD ECOBOOST PROFILE  NOVA RESTORATION UPDATE  MIDAS Mk4 RESTOMOD  SUBARU AVANTE PROGRESS

#BuildDriveEnjoy

RoadRunner SR2  Fiero Euro 427  Austin-Healey LFTOVRS  Midas Mk4 restomod  Ford Ecoboost

DRIVEN: SECRET SR2 IS THE LOW-KEY ROADRUNNER SR2 WORTH SEEKING OUT?

NEW CARS

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale replica Revised Grinnall Scorpion Donkervoort D8 GTO-JD70

SHOWS

Heretics Kop Hill The Warren

On sale 3 January to 30 January Issue 162

FEBRUARY 2020

www.completekitcar.co.uk

The one-off made from theatre show and rock tour left-overs

£4.95

STAR CAR

2 February 2020

www.completekitcar.co.uk

COMMENT | W ELCOME

THE CKC TEAM Editor Adam Wilkins adam@performancepublishing.co.uk Editorial Assistant Jack Wood jack@performancepublishing.co.uk Roving Reporter Ian Stent ian@performancepublishing.co.uk Technical Editor John Dickens john@performancepublishing.co.uk Columnists Gary Axon, Richard Heseltine Contributors Jeroen Booij, James Horsley, Chris Pickering, Peter Rosenthal, Martin Scott Running Reporters John Clements, Trevor Crout, Rob Davenhall, Mark Davenport, Pete Dawson, Ross Maynard, Simon Skelding, Claire Spindloe, Andy Westgate Race Diarists Ollie Batten, Ian Chapman, John Pick, Alisdair Suttie Graphic Designer Sarah Scrimshaw sarah@performancepublishing.co.uk

WELCOME

I

’m writing this just before Christmas on something approaching the shortest day of the year. Many of the local roads are flooded, it’s dark by 4pm and I haven’t set eyes on my Sylva Riot for weeks. While not all kit car owners hibernate (our club pages in this month’s issue will attest to that), it’s not the best time of year to be a kit car enthusiast. Thank goodness, then, that this is also the month that our Events Diary (page 19) starts to fill up in earnest. Transposing the dates for 2020’s key events into my desk diary was enough to make the endless rain of the last few weeks seem like a distant memory.

The Stoneleigh show remains a must-see event for any kit car

enthusiast. OK, there might not be as many kit car manufacturers as there were in the 1980s and ’90s but, whichever way you cut it, it’s still the biggest gathering of kit cars anywhere in the world – nothing else comes close. Note that it’s on the Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend of May this year because the Bank Holiday is moving to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Organiser Grosvenor Shows is also putting on a kit car show at Newark this year, a venue that holds a special place in the hearts of many kit car owners.

As well as the headline kit car shows, there are plenty of other events to get along to in 2020. Our own track days at Llandow and Blyton Park give you a chance to put

/CKCMagazine @CKCMagazine @CKCMagazine

your car through its paces, as does KitFest with its Run What Ya Brung element on the Santa Pod dragstrip.

The London to Brighton Kit and Sports Car Run is another great excuse to get your car out, and there are of course numerous club events, manufacturer open days and other events throughout the year.

If, like me, you haven’t used your kit car for a few weeks, then spend the next couple of months making sure it’s ready for everything that the first year of the new decade has in store.

Adam Wilkins Editor @AdamWilkins_ adam@performancepublishing.co.uk

Proof Reader Andy Bliss Advertising Manager Karen O’Riordan T: 0330 1234 885 karen.ads@performancepublishing.co.uk Subscriptions manager Jessica Zwerdling-Wilkins T: 01476 978843 jessica@performancepublishing.co.uk Online Classifieds Sell Your Car Fast!

W: www.completekitcar.co.uk Editorial T: 01476 978843 adam@performancepublishing.co.uk Distribution Marketforce UK Ltd Newsstand Sales Imagine Magazine Sales And Marketing Ltd. E: david@imaginemag.net W: www.imaginemag.net Postal Address Performance Publishing Ltd, Unit 3 Site 4, Alma Park Road, Alma Park Industrial Estate, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 9SE. Complete Kit Car is published every four weeks by Performance Publishing Ltd. Sorry, but lack of time prevents us answering technical queries over the phone. We would much prefer you contact us by email or write, enclosing an SAE for a reply.

While every effort is made in compiling the editorial and accepting only bona fide advertisements in Complete Kit Car, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any effects arising therefrom. Freelance features and photographs are submitted at the owner’s risk and, whilst every care is taken, no responsibility for loss or damage can be taken by the publisher or their agents. Copyright Performance Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. ISSN 1754-1271 www.completekitcar.co.uk

003 Welcome.indd 3

MEET THE TEAM

ADAM WILKINS

JACK WOOD

RICHARD HESELTINE

JOHN DICKENS

Editor “It’s the way the SR2 delivers its performance that makes an impression” RoadRunner SR2, p32

Editorial Assistant “This Healey is a show car in every sense of the words!”

Austin-Healey LFTOVRS, p42

Columnist “Strictly speaking, the Dawson Special wasn’t a car” Retro Round-Up, p48

Technical Editor “Even the lightweight 1.0-litre three-cylinder can produce 175bhp” Ford Ecoboost, p70

February 2020 3

13/12/2019 11:41 am

38

32

FEATURES

REGULARS

32 ROADRUNNER SR2

7 NEWS

38 FIERO EURO 427

13 PRODUCTS

42 ONE-OFF AUSTIN-HEALEY SPRITE

14 CLUBS AND LIFESTYLE

48 RETRO ROUND-UP

17 LETTERS

EVENTS

27 HESELTINE: KITOLOGY

19 EVENTS DIARY

28 TALKING SHOP

21 HERETICS

80 CARS FOR SALE

23 KOP HILL

82 FINISH

25 THE WARREN

RoadRunner Racing keeps a low profile, so we thought it was time for a refresher on the SR2.

Mike Shepherd built his Cobra replica in 14 weeks; 30,000 miles later, it’s still going strong.

Have you ever seen anything like this Sprite based one-off ? It has a fascinating back story.

Richard Heseltine has been at the archives again. Here are more forgotten cars of the past.

48

All the latest goings-on from the kit car scene to kickstart 2020.

Beat the January blues with a little retail therapy... here’s the best of the new kit.

Winter doesn’t mean that all kit car activity comes to a halt. Here’s the latest action.

Got something to say about kit cars?

Here’s your opportunity.

Richard once had ambitions to be a racing driver, but wishes he’d started at the 750MC. In his latest Talking Shop interview, Jack catches up with Steve Hall of Hall’s Garage.

Find yourself a winter project or be ready for the spring with a new kit car.

Make sure you don’t miss an excuse for some kit car action with our 2020 events listing.

James Horsley got along to the final meeting of 2019 at Heritage Spares.

In its tenth year since rejuvenation, the Kop Hill hillclimb featured plenty of kit cars.

A round-up of all the stuff that doesn’t fit into the magazine anywhere else.

This growing Essex concours event wasn’t afraid to welcome kit cars.

42 28 4 February 2020

23 www.completekitcar.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2020 | CON T EN T S

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE COMPLETE KIT CAR DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR – JUST £45 FOR 13 ISSUES! WWW.COMPLETEKITCAR.CO.UK

WORKSHOP 58 READER’S BUILD: MIDAS MK4

See how one builder took a Midas Mk4 and restomodded to suit himself.

66 OUR CARS

The latest updates from inside the garage of James and Martin.

70 ENGINE PROFILE: FORD ECOBOOST Everything you need to know to buy, tune and maintain a Ford Ecoboost engine.

76 RUNNING REPORTS

66 70 76

The latest updates from our team of real-world kit car builders.

58

www.completekitcar.co.uk

February 2020 5

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3

NEWS ROUND-UP OF THE LATEST KIT CAR INDUSTRY NEWS

HOT NEW DONKERVOORT

D

utch manufacturer Donkervoort has long been renowned for its unusual variations on the sevenesque roadster theme, and its upcoming model, the JD70, could be its most extreme yet. Based on the existing D8 GTO, the halo edition was created to celebrate founder Joop Donkervoort’s 70th birthday.

With a body that consists of 95 percent carbonfibre and powered by a 415bhp 2.5-litre turbocharged Audi

Sport engine, the JD70 is capable of a top speed of nearly 170mph and a 0-62mph time of 2.8sec. Donkervoort also claims its new, more aerodynamic, body is capable of generating 50kg of downforce at the front and 80kg at the rear, which allows the JD70 to pull up to 2G in the corners.

The D8 GTO-JD70 is due to formally launch in the Spring and will retail from €163,638.36 before taxes, with production limited to just 70 cars.

W: www.donkervoort.com

A L S O T H I S M O N T H : G R I N N A L L U P DAT E ■ A L FA R E C R E AT I O N ■ M O T O R S P O R T www.completekitcar.co.uk

007 News.indd 7

February 2020 7

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NEWS & EVENTS

IAN STENT NEW YEAR, NEW CAR

IN BRIEF Keep up to date online between issues at www.completekitcar.co.uk or on our social media channels

/CKCMagazine

@CKCMagazine

8 February 2020

007 News.indd 8

@CKCMagazine

GRINNALL SCORPION FACELIFT After over a quarter of a century in continuous production, Grinnall Sportscars has unveiled a new look for its iconic Scorpion three-wheeler.

While its lineage is still visible, the new front grille and headlight

mounting positions, with smaller headlights, not only give the model a cleaner, more modern look but also improves the airflow over the radiator.

In addition, the updated Scorpion makes use of longer wishbones that

increase the track by a whole 120mm, giving the car greater stability and reduced body roll. Here’s hoping the update will see the Scorpion remain popular for years to come.

W: www.grinnallcars.com

MOTORSPORT RULE CHANGE Motorsport UK – previously known as the MSA – has announced there will be major rule changes to the licensing system in 2020, all of which will likely affect most competitors in a variety of different disciplines. Firstly, there will now be three licence classes: Race, Kart and RS (Rally Sport) and four categories going forwards: Clubman, Interclub, National and International.

Previously, club events such as autotesting were covered by just a club membership, but from this year all drivers, navigators and passengers over 18 (unless the event has an exemption certificate) will need a valid RS Clubman license – which is free to obtain from the website below.

At the time of publication there was no information on how the rule changes will effect overseas competitors, as currently the Clubman RS licence requires a UK address.

W: www.motorsportuk.org

Pic: Hunter Motorsport Media

My CC Cyclone is up for sale. After a somewhat pained trip to Spain in the summer, I’ve barely touched it. It needs some minor welding to the fuel tank and a new radiator and I suspect will swiftly be back to reasonable health, but my other half understandably lost patience with it and, if I’m honest, so have I. So my third Cyclone is up for grabs. If you are interested, please email me.

All of which obviously begs the question... what next? It’s a question I’ve been agonising over since pretty much the first weekend of our eventful two-week holiday! There are plenty of kit cars I’m extremely fond of, some of which I’ve owned before – I’m thinking GTM Coupé and Marlin Roadster. But the GTMs are now getting very long in the tooth, with Mini mechanicals that, while available, seem expensive. The Marlin... still has a soft spot in my heart, but I think not.

So what else? An early Ginetta G27 is a scratch I’ve yet to itch, while a GTM in either Libra or Spyder form has always appealed, if the gear linkage is sorted.

There must be others out there too, that I’ve just not considered but are worthy of attention. Ultimately, it would have to be an independent design, not a replica. I’m open to suggestions! And what about you?

If you had a budget of, say, £6000 what would be on your shortlist? Let us know the cars... and why.

750 MOTOR CLUB ANNOUNCES 2020 DATES The 750 Motor Club has announced its provisional racing calendar for 2020, which means we will soon be able to see kit cars battling it out on the race track once again. The first kit car related events will be the Locost and Sport Specials Championships which both

take place at Silverstone on 4/5 April.

The RGB Sports 1000 will take place the following weekend at Donington on 13 April and the newly added Ma7da Locost series will begin at Cadwell Park on 3 May. W: www.750mc.co.uk www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 11:46 am

DON’T MISS...

RACE RETRO Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.

21-23 February Plenty of classic motorsport heroes in action and on display at this established show.

RACEY RECREATION CLASSIC VEHICLE AND RESTORATION SHOW NEC, Birmingham, Midlands.

27-29 March Plenty of build inspiration to be seen at this show, as well as lots of projects going under the hammer.

GOODWOOD MEMBERS’ MEETING Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex.

28-29 March One of the best historic motorsport events of the year.

Full events listing and details on page 19

There’s been no shortage of classic replica news of late, with more and more manufacturers now looking beyond the typical Cobra and Ford GT40 for inspiration. The latest offering we’ve spotted comes from UK based Alfa Romeo restorer, Classic Alfa and is based on the lines of the impossibly rare – and expensive – Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.

More specifically the twin-headlight prototype that many feel is prettier than the production model.

Supplied as a body with components, Classic Alfa offers home builders three chassis options. The first being a body conversion for either the Lotus Elise S2 or Vauxhall VX220, the second a bespoke Chevron derived tubular chassis or finally one of the customer’s own design. Interested parties are advised to contact Richard Norris at Classic Alfa.

E: richard@classicalfa.com W: www.classicalfa.com

NEW VTEC CONVERSION RWD Motorsport has developed a rear-wheel-drive conversion kit for the popular Honda K20 and K24 VTEC engines as fitted to several of its Type-R performance models.

RWD’s new bellhousing allows the Honda range of engines to fit directly to a standard Ford Type-9 gearbox at either a straight-on position or the usual 15deg angle.

In addition, RWD can offer two different heavy duty clutches which fit the standard Honda flywheel, giving the choice of either a conventional organic clutch system or a high performance five-paddle solid centre cerametallic unit, which is capable of handling a not inconsiderable 280lb ft of torque.

W: www.rwdmotorsport.com

PRODUCT LIABILITY AND ROAD RISK INSURANCE COVER FOR MANUFACTURERS We’ve been contacted this month by Peter James Insurance. The company has recently received a number of enquiries from kit car manufacturers looking for road risk and product liability cover. “There seems to be a current shortage of capacity within the www.completekitcar.co.uk

007 News.indd 9

wider insurance industry relating to this cover,” said the company’s Greg Nock.

“As specialist brokers, we have in place schemes which give total coverage in this area.”

The company went on to explain that, no matter the size of the risk, Peter

James Insurance can offer product liability cover with no safety critical part exclusion, and it can also be extended to include sales to USA/ Canada if required – an option that many other brokers cannot offer.

Additionally, there are no minimum

premiums and customers can be assured that their business is protected.

For a quotation or advice, contact Greg Nock using the details below.

T: 0121 506 6021.

E: greg.nock@pdji.co.uk

February 2020 9

13/12/2019 11:46 am

Welcome to the Tifosi Family, Rana, SS and JEM Rana being the “Frogeye” Sprite that we all can associate with, the SS “Sebring Sprite” from the early ’60s with its association with John Sprinzle and its racing successes and finally our flagship car the JEM “Jacobs Evolution Midget”, a reincarnation of Dick Jacobs’ famous Midgets of which only three were produced again in the early ’60s, however our version has been updated for road use and refined for that aspect.

Morton, Near Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 0NS T. 01778 570286 steve@hallsgarage.co.uk

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jim@tigerracing.com February 2020 11

MAZDA MX-5 BASED KITS FROM £ 2599.99

Lightweight billet hub

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Siltech Racing is a family run business that specialise in Wide Track Front Suspension,Anti roll bars and Light weight aluminium billet uprights, tested to 10,000 kg!

Siltech Racing can also offer chassis repair on our jig, full set up and exciting new ranges for the future.

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Front and rear suspension designed to fit Westfield and Caterham, anti-roll bars, billet CNC uprights, drilled discs,full set-up and Westfield chassis repairs on our jig. Also suspension for Cobra, Tiger cars and Stylus cars.

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12 February 2020

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GEAR

THE LATEST USEFUL AND COOL STUFF FOR YOUR KIT CAR

ESSENTIALS

COOL CLOCK With the new 5-in-1 eGauge from Digital Speedos you can consolidate all your relevant running information into one gauge, making it ideal for freeing-up precious extra dash space on smaller cars.

Available with either a traditional white or black background, the 5.5in clock includes all the relevant senders including GPS readout for the speedometer which makes it ideal as a direct replacement for any preregistered kit car.

Price: £399.99 W: www.digital-speedos.co.uk

SEAL OF APPROVAL Want to use your car in the wet weather, but fear the dreaded damp? If so, you should consider resealing the interior of your car with a roll of butyl rubber putty from Woolies Trim. Available as either a 20mm or 50mm wide roll the non-shrink, stickable and waterproof material is simple to fit yourself and can be a cheap fix for a big problem exhibited by many older cars.

PROTECT YOUR KITS

Price: From £12 W: www.woolies-trim.co.uk

HOSE TIDY Hiding the unsightly ends of any hoses or piping in the engine bay of your car can be as easy as tightening a screw with Europa Spares’ new range of hose finishers.

Supplied with an anodised aluminium finish and stainless steel worm drive clamp, each can disguise the frayed ends found in many cars.

Price: £7.76 W: www.europaspares.com www.completekitcar.co.uk

013 Products.indd 13

HANDY WRENCH Car Builder Solutions has a new oil filter wrench in stock which, at under, £10 is well worth keeping around for the next time you decide to service your car at home.

With its self tightening mechanism, and rubber feet for added grip it should make removing even the most stubborn oil filters a breeze.

Price: £7.20 W: www.carbuilder.com

If you’re not one to tuck your sevenesque roadster away throughout the winter, you should at least consider protecting the lower extremities of your bodywork from the grit and grime on the roads this season.

With this set of easy-to-bend wheel-arch stone guards from Kit Car Direct protecting your arches couldn’t be easier. Being made of carbon weave means there’s no need to worry about colour matching.

Price: £119 W: www.kitcardirect.com

February 2020 13

13/12/2019 11:47 am

CLUBS

THE LATEST GOINGS-ON IN THE KIT CAR SCENE

The new Zero demonstrator proved to be quite a draw.

G

CHRISTMAS WITH GBS

reat British Sports Cars opened up its Ollerton factory doors for the final Cars and Coffee event of the decade last month. Once again, many kit and classic car owners from as far away as Greece braved the cold temperatures to enjoy the traditional winter barbecue ably helmed by German GBS distributor, Bernd.

As you can see, the car park remained full all day. As always, the invitation extended to cars not from the GBS stable, and the team used the event to raise money for its chosen charities. Dates for the next GBS events are to be announced soon.

W: www.greatbritishsportscars.co.uk

Seven inspired cars aplenty.

German BBQ is a yearly tradition.

Decorated Kit Spares showroom.

14 February 2020

014 Clubs.indd 14

The GBS car park stayed full all day.

Ferrari 328 GTO replica. www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 11:50 am

IN BRIEF

One of four Christmas dinners!

CLEES HILL TRIAL NEEDS YOU The Midland Automotive Club is looking for marshals to support its trial events in 2020, beginning with the Clees Hill Trial on 16 January.

So if you fancy starting your motorsport season early this year by witnessing various classic kit cars tackle treacherous mud and challenging gradients in picturesque surroundings, contact the club via the email below.

E: adrian.tpeake@tiscali.co.uk W: www.midlandautomotive club.co.uk

Tinsled up kit cars assembled in Chester.

Plaque raised £295 for charity.

NWKCOG CHRISTMAS FUN Not a club to waste the Christmas season, members of the North West Kit Car Owners’ Group used their kits throughout December to raise money through several themed events for its chosen charity, Claire House Children’s Hospice.

With its reach now spreading beyond the North West, the club took part in not one but four Christmas dinners

where it raffled off a commissioned club plaque to raise nearly £300 for the charity. In addition, several members dressed up as Santa and hit the streets of Chester with their kits and buckets, where they received quite a reaction from passers-by!

W: www.clairehouse.org.uk

50 YEARS OF THE SCAMP

The Scamp picnic is always a sight to behold.

Last year was one of celebrations for the Scamp Owners’ Club, as not only was 2019 the 50th year of the diminutive mud-plugging kit, it was also the 60th anniversary of its iconic Mini donor. This meant there was no shortage of social overlap between the kit car and classic Mini events throughout the year, which saw Scampers attend 14 national and international events in all.

As one of the more active singlemarque clubs, you can always guarantee a good selection of Scamps no matter the show, but none gathers more cars than the club’s national Scamp Picnic, which saw 29 cars head off-piste. Other highlights for club president Chris Westgate included www.completekitcar.co.uk

014 Clubs.indd 15

Happy Scampers.

Chris Westgate’s Mk1 Scamp.

Scamps are a common sight at both kit car and Mini events.

a crammed Stoneleigh stand, the International Mini Meet in Bristol, the London to Brighton, an Italian Job Run to Turin – which itself celebrated the 50th anniversary of its film inspiration – and the final Christmas meal that ended the decade. What a way to celebrate a classic kit car. Here’s to another 50 years of the Scamp.

The Italian Job Run looked fun.

February 2020 15

13/12/2019 11:50 am

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MAIL

SHARE YOUR KIT CAR OPINIONS

adam@performancepublishing.co.uk

LETTER OF THE MONTH

NOVA RESTORATION 1

SUZUKI MEMORIES

The story of Bob Golightly’s Suzuki Jimny conversion brought back some memories of my work on three Suzuki LJ80s. I bought a Suzuki LJ80 in the late 1970s. In fact, I was looking for a Mini Moke but I couldn’t find a decent or affordable one.

A friend from Antwerp thought he saw one outside a former BMC garage in St Niklaas.When I got there, it appeared to be a Suzuki LJ80. I didn’t know the model but I liked it and bought it.

At the time, I was not aware of kit cars. I had three LJ80s over 20 years, and as they rusted heavily I started to work on them. That’s how it began...

The chassis and the wheels of the LJ80 were exact copies of that of the Willys MB. There are GRP bodies and other parts for the LJ80 and SJ410 in Germany. You can also find several Willys CJ and a few MB replacement bodies, especially in the US.

Antoine Ryckman, Belgium

CORRECTION!

Thank you hugely for your crediting me with ownership of the Marlin Hunter in the Shepton Mallet show review ( January 2020 issue 161). I was there at the show, but the Hunter pictured belongs to Peter Licence.

It won ‘best in show’ on the Marlin Owners’ Club stand at Stoneleigh. My somewhat humbler Marlin Cabrio was a row behind Peter’s Hunter.

I just picked up a copy of of the January 2020 issue of Complete Kit Car. I was particularly interested in the Beetle based group test feature. Then I turned to page 20 and was delighted to see my yellow Nova featured in the Shepton Mallet article.

I was also slightly gutted that I wasn’t there when the photographer was.

Thanks for putting it in to print on its

first outing in my 12-year ownership.

I’ve attached a few photos of when I found it, so you can see how far it has come. The restoration took so long as, among other things, we had moved house, got flooded and rebuilt my workshop before getting it to be roadworthy. Still things to finish but I’m happy so far.

Rob, via email

EVERY ISSUE, LETTER OF THE MONTH WINS A COMPLETE KIT CAR MUG

Send us your thoughts and opinions on all things kit car related and if your letter makes it to this spot we’ll send you one of our range of Complete Kit Car mugs – perfect for a brew in the garage.

NOVA RESTORATION 2

I was gobsmacked to open my December 2019 copy of Complete Kit Car and find a photo of my Nova. It was included with the Letter of the Month from Mike Abel of Aberdeen. Mike gave me a copy of that photo and others when I bought the car from him way, way back in 1986.

I drove the car till 1991, during which time I modified the rear of the car, did some work on the engine and had it painted in metallic blue. Life took over and she sat outside for three years and then in my garage.

In 2016, I decided I had to either sell her or do a full body off restoration. The floorpans and front suspension beam were rotten and with the help of the guys and gals on the Euro Nova Forum (which your very own James Horsley is a member of ), I removed the body and started my restoration. The chassis and front suspension are now done and I’m working on the rear suspension. There’s a full thread of the restoration on the forum.

Alistair Clyne, Scotland

Bill Jackson, via email

www.completekitcar.co.uk

017 Letters.indd 17

February 2020 17

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DIARY

2020’s TOP EVENTS TO GET ALONG TO IN YOUR KIT CAR

London to Brighton Kit and Sports Car Run.

JANUARY 9-12 Autosport International NEC, Birmingham W: www.autosportinernational.com Annual motorsport event.

FEBRUARY 21-23 Race Retro Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire W: www.raceretro.com The historic motor show at Stoneleigh Park that attracts top cars as exhibits and has a live rally stage.

MARCH 28-29 Goodwood Members’ Meeting Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex W: www.goodwood.com One of the world’s best historic motorsport events – it’s Goodwood without the 1966 cut-off.

MAY 2-3 National Kit Car Motor Show Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire W: www.nationalkitcarshow.co.uk The big one! The world’s biggest kit car show is a must-attend event for any kit car fan. On the Saturday and Sunday in 2020 because of the change to the Bank Holiday. www.completekitcar.co.uk

Saturday 23 CKC/Omex Track Day Llandow, South Wales W: www.completekitcar.co.uk A terrific atmosphere at this kit car only track day that’s great for first-timers and the more experienced alike. Just £130 per car – or £110 if you’re a Complete Kit Car subscriber.

Sunday 31 London to Brighton Kit and Sports Car Run W: www.classicmotorevents.co.uk One of our highlights of the year – like a moving car show from the capital city to the seaside.

JUNE 19-21 KitFest Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire W: www.kitfest.co.uk The second year for KitFest, which runs alongside the Retro Show at Santa Pod. Take your car up the strip or just enjoy the show.

25-26 National Kit Car Festival Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground, Nottinghamshire E: grosvenorshows@btconnect.com A brand new kit car event! The return of the Newark kit car show from the organisers of Stoneleigh.

31 July to 2 August Silverstone Classic Silverstone Circuit W: www.silverstoneclassic.com Spectacular historic motorsport event with a terrifically inclusive atmosphere.

SEPTEMBER Sunday 6 Complete Kit Car Track Day Blyton Park, Lincolnshire W: www.completekitcar.co.uk A terrific atmosphere at this kit car

only track day that’s great for firsttimers and the more experienced alike.

Just £130 per car – or £110 if you’re a Complete Kit Car subscriber.

11-13 Goodwood Revival Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex W: www.goodwood.com Historic motorsport event with all the trimmings… including set dressing to make you feel you’ve stepped back to 1966 and earlier.

NOVEMBER 7-8 Classic Vehicle Restoration Show Bath and West Showground, Somerset W: www.cvrs.bristolclassic carshows.com A classic car show with a growing kit car element – there’s an entire hall for kit car clubs and manufacturers.

JULY 9-12 Goodwood Festival of Speed Goodwood House, West Sussex W: www.goodwood.com A huge extravaganza of racing cars, road cars and a motor show to boot.

Needs no introduction.

National Kit Car Motor Show, Stoneleigh Park.

February 2020 19

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OUT & ABOUT

COOL EVENING AIR Volkswagen specialist Heritage Parts Centre hosts monthly meets that attract their share of air-cooled kit cars.

Words and pictures: James Horsley

This daily driver Porsche Boxster was for sale at just £3000. James couldn’t help thinking it would make an ideal donor car.

All types of VW welcome at this meet. This SWB buggy wore very large rear wheels and tyres.

Heritage Parts Centre’s shop reception houses this impressive array of parts presented as a giant unstarted Airfix kit.

Why should I be there? Heritage Parts Centre (formerly known as VW Heritage) is one of the country’s leading Volkswagen parts suppliers, initially known for supporting the air-cooled community, but more recently growing the range to cover later Volkswagen cars and vans, and most recently Porsche parts.

For a number of years, the team has been running its own small evening meets through the summer season. These have grown significantly in recent times and are now well attended by all manner of German cars with the surrounding roads filled with attendees and their cars.

While the main attendees remain classic Beetles and their siblings, the kit scene is inevitably well represented as the humble Beetle formed the basis of many a kit. Porsche 356 replicas and beach buggies are usually found in attendance, and even the odd Nova. This meet also saw some competitively priced motors being moved on at the end of the show season – a well priced daily drive Porsche Boxster seemed perfect for a kit build! And if that wasn’t enough shopping, there was also an end-ofseason bargain shop selling end-of-line and return items.

If your next build has VW or Porsche origins, this is the place to go for sure. Meets typically resume in April.

This genuine Porsche 356 coupé oozed class.

Parts commonality meant it fitted in with the Volkswagens that were gathered.

Not everything was Volkswagen shaped! This Porsche 356 replica is a regular at Volkswagen shows in Sussex.

THE DETAILS

This short wheelbase buggy is a genuine Meyers Manx. It’s a local show regular and looks like a lot of fun. www.completekitcar.co.uk

What: Heritage Parts Centre Heretics Meets Where: Heritage Parts Centre, West Sussex When: Typically third Thursday evening of the month from spring to autumn W: www.heritagepartscentre.com

Volkswagens of every size and colour present.

Beetles are no longer seen as a cheap donor option but a true classic instead.

February 2020 21

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www.completekitcar.co.uk

OUT & ABOUT

TEN YEARS OF KOP HILL The resurrection of the historic Kop Hill hillclimb has proven a success as the event celebrates its ten-year anniversary.

Words and pictures: Gary Axon

Clan Crusader designed by ex-Lotus employees.

It used the Coventry Climax engine borrowed from a Hillman Imp.

Evolution of the Marcos marque... an Adams original lines up with a later Mantis.

Hot rods might sit on the opposite side of the selfbuild car scene to kit cars, but we can still appreciate the work that goes into something like this.

Why should I be there? The relaxed Kop Hill hillclimb, set in the scenic Chiltern Hills around Princes Risborough, celebrated its tenth anniversary with enough component cars and specials in attendance to shame many dedicated kit car shows.

Originally run as a hillclimb between 1910 to 1925, the decade-old revived Kop Hill attracted a wide variety of kits, including some regulars at the event, such as the sole Nota KM300 in the UK, plus a Fairthorpe Electron Minor, scarce 1980s neo-retro Desande Caprice and a handful of Suffolk SS100s.

These were joined by large displays by Marlin and Marcos owners’ clubs, the latter celebrating the marque’s 60th anniversary with an impressive row of 20-plus Marcos GTs and derivatives. In addition, individual kits at Kop Hill included an Imp-powered Ginetta G15 and Clan Crusader, a delightful Dunsmore, groovy Bugle buggy, an ASM Aston Martin DBR1 replica, Rickman Ranger, JZR three-wheeler, NG TD, Mini Jem, replica Cobras and Jaguar C and D-Types, Caterhams, plus a pair of Vincent Hurricanes.

Earlier kits included an immaculate Lotus Six and Seven, plus a new-to-us Ford Prefect-based Falcon Shells Mk1 in perfect condition. Although not a kit, a lovely Lola Mk1 caused many distractions, as did the once-celebrated ‘Revenge’ Ford Model T custom van from the mid-1970s, contrasting nicely with the many original mass-produced Model Ts in slow action at Kop Hill.

This JZR three-wheeler looked ace glinting in the sun with its protruding V-twin engine and wire wheels. Proportions are spot on.

Early Triumph based Marlin Roadster is basic – and no less appealing for it. It’s no wonder they were so popular from launch.

THE DETAILS Bugle is one of the more distinctively styled beach buggies. It looked particularly funky in this very 1970s shade of orange. www.completekitcar.co.uk

What: Kop Hill Climb Festival Where: Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire When: September W: www.kophillclimb.org.uk

Delightful Dunsmore has lots of great detailing to convince onlookers that it really does date from before the war.

February 2020 23

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OUT & ABOUT

KITS AT THE WARREN

There was no shortage of kit cars – in both replica and original design forms – in this growing concours d’elegance.

Words and pictures: Gary Axon

Tony Claydon’s Grand Finale is his ultimate interpretation of the Pontiac Fiero conversion he designed in the 1990s.

Ginetta G15 and Hillman Imp are linked by their common use of the Coventry Climax engine.

Mini based Broadspeed GT is a rarity, and has a value to match. We can’t help thinking it’s a prime candidate for a kit form replica.

Why should I be there? The one-day Warren Classic, held at the immaculate Warren Golf Club, near Maldon, Essex, unusually welcomes a handful of kit cars as part of its prestigious Concours d’Elegance, supported by other kits and specials spread across the event.

A pair of highly accurate Ford GT40 replicas – Belinda Wheelwright’s well-known Southern GT, plus Adam Stevens’ 1991 GTD – joined the Racing Sports Car Concours class, along with a thoughtfully modified GM LSR V8-powered 2007 Ultima Can-Am, plus Tony Claydon’s one-off Piper GT-R Le Mans competition replica.

Ex-racing driver and kit car maker Tony also entered his unique Pontiac Fiero-derived Candy Apply Grand Finale (as featured in the April 2019 issue) into another Sports Car class at the Warren too, the car generating strong interest from curious spectators trying to work out what it was.

Away from The Warren Concours, other GT40 replicas and Ultima models were on display in the classic car areas, along with a Westfield Eleven, a pleasing Scamp, a rare Mini-based Broadspeed GT coupé, and a lovely Ginetta G15, surrounded by donor Hillman Imps.

Various Caterhams and Cobra replicas were in evidence, as was a Le Mans/Tiger Jaguar D-Type, plus an unusual second-generation Toyota MR2 with an aggressive widened body kit that we had not seen before.

Graham Pascoe’s Ultima Can-Am has lots of bodywork mods, and was featured in full in our December 2016 issue.

Usually when we see a bodykitted Toyota MR2, it has been turned into a Ferrari lookalike – but not this time! All part of the variety on show.

THE DETAILS This olive green Scamp Mk1 was pleasing in its unpretentious function-over-form appearance.

Scamp continues to have a dedicated following. www.completekitcar.co.uk

What: The Warren Classic and Supercar Show Where: Maldon, Essex When: September W: www.warrenclassic.co.uk

The second Warren entry from kit car designer Tony Claydon was the Piper GT-R – which is currently for sale as an on-going project.

February 2020 25

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26 February 2020

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KITOLOGY | COMMENT

RACING AMBITION

I

What do you remember about 1994?

For Richard, there’s one memory that’s as clear as yesterday…

have never been what you might call sentimental, but I must admit to getting a bit wistful when I recently found the photo reproduced here. It was taken in 1994 when I was about to drive a racing car for the first time. It was cold, wet, and my on-track experience up to this point consisted of three kart thrashes. I retired from the first, got blacked-flagged from the second (it’s a long story…) and won the other. I did so against people twice my age and three times my weight. The point is, I was totally green but beyond excited. I had talent to spare, I reasoned, and I was about to broadcast this to the world.

I remember going to ‘race school’ like it was yesterday. I spent a week pounding around Donington Park, all the while wishing it would stop raining. I was wearing glasses and they kept misting up.

On learning this, the chief instructor – who wasn’t a nice man, to be honest – told me to remove them. Yeah, that helped… Anyway, I had a few lurid spins, got into a heated argument with a race mechanic who mistook me for someone else, watched in disbelief as a Japanese pupil connected with a wall at colossal speed, and…

Well, that was day one. At the end of the course, I took part in a race against other pupils and did quite well. So much so, I decided I had proved that I had what it took to be a racing driver.

I was wrong. I did two ‘proper’ races that same year in a singleseater. I was a rookie up against drivers who had been competing in one thing or other since they were embryos. Nevertheless, I didn’t disgrace myself, even if I failed to get a signature on my race license after my first outing because I had been ‘overly aggressive’.

I still maintain that it was a case of mistaken identity (see a theme developing here?). Anyway, the point is, my motorsport career lasted all of two weekends. Nevertheless, I was still paying for it years later.

www.completekitcar.co.uk

“‘I REMEMBER ‘RACE SCHOOL’ LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY” RICHARD HESELTINE Respected classic car journalist Richard Heseltine has been a major player at Classic & Sports Car and Motor Sport magazine before becoming a sought after freelance journalist. But he also happens to be one of the most knowledgeable kit car boffins you’ll ever come across.

The funny thing is, one of my race weekends coincided with the kit car show at Donington. I disappeared from the track to go and have a wander round. Within about two minutes of doing so, I felt decidedly self-conscious because I was wearing a flameproof romper suit and pixie boots. While this was perfectly acceptable in the pitlane – normal, even – it was rather less so in the show hall. Nevertheless, it was thanks to my conspicuous get-up that I attracted the attention of Jeremy Phillips of Sylva Autokits. He was a nice chap, that I do recall. An inquisitive one, too. He asked me how much I had spent to get this far in racing. I totted up the cost of attending the school, acquiring the fire-resistant onesie, the helmet, the boots, testing with a, cough, ‘proper’ team, insurance, paying for my first race and… My mood took a tumble in an instant; even more so after he pointed out that, for the same outlay, I would have been a long way down the road to doing a season’s club racing in one of his products in the 750 Motor Club’s kit car series.

I have never forgotten that. I remain a great admirer of this organisation which, more than any other, has done so much to promote low-cost racing. That, and instigate the kit-form track weapon as we know it. Looking back, I wish I had gone down this route myself. There’s still time, mind.

February 2020 27

Q&A

TIME FOR TEA WITH FIGURES IN THE KIT CAR INDUSTRY

Steve Hall (second from right) with the Hall’s Garage team.

The engine room is the oldest part of the workshop.

28 February 2020

028 Talking Shop.indd 28

BMC B-series engine in for work. www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 9:34 am

TALKING SHOP WITH…

HALL’S GARAGE We catch up with Steve Hall of Hall’s Garage and take a look behind the scenes of its 70-year-old workshop – there’s still lots going on with both the MG and Tifosi sides of the business.

Words and pictures: Jack Wood

W

ith over 70 years of car repair experience, and nearly 45 years specialising in all things MG, Hall’s Garage of Bourne, Lincolnshire, has long been established as a classic car restorer to watch. So when it took over the appropriate MG Midget based Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite replica producer Tifosi in 2013, we knew that the classic kit car brand was in safe hands. Since then, the company has evolved in line with the diminutive sports car’s rise in demand, and moved upmarket, introducing many updates to both the established Rana and SS kits, as well as the all new Jacobs Midget replica which made its debut last year.

With so much history within the walls of this family owned operation, and the promise of more to come, we decided it was high time we had a chat with helmsman Steve Hall and learn a little more about the business, kits and donor behind the Tifosi marque.

There’s plenty to look around at Hall’s Bourne base.

The MG work goes way back.

He then moved back to the Vale of Belvoir, where he became a test flight engineer on Lancasters and learnt all about sodium filled valves and such. When he left the RAF, he took his new-found skills and co-founded the Jubilee garage here in Bourne, with a guy called Dick Shelton. In 1948 he took the big plunge and bought the small holding that grew into what we have here. Part of the original building still exists as part of the engine shop now.

Anyway, he became renowned in the area and did some work for BRM at the time. The business kept expanding with the main workshop being added in 1953, and the bodyshop some time in the ’70s. All his five boys have been through the business, and being the youngest I am the one who stayed with it through thick and thin.

In the ’80s, we had the aftermath of the coal miners’ strikes and the big recession, and things were looking a bit grim. So I borrowed money on a house and bought the buildings from my father. At that time, I became quite well known within the MG Car Club – I used to autotest my MGB and got thinking.

I developed quite a customer base with the MG side of things and I knew that a village garage couldn’t survive as a village garage forever, so I decided to specialise. We began focusing more on MGBs, and MGs in general, and that has kept us busy for all these years, alongside the general garage and MoT work we do.

Cat’s eyes.

What’s the story with Tifosi?

Our association with Tifosi began many years ago after I read Kevin Moore’s advert in Safety Fast, the MG Car Club’s magazine. The first car I ever restored was a ‘Frogeye’ Sprite in the ’70s, so I had a bit of a soft spot for them. Anyway, I got chatting to Kevin, bought a couple of kits from him before he awarded me the agency for the Northern area, which was essentially everywhere from the bottom of Lincolnshire all the way to John O’ Groats I think

What’s the story behind Hall’s Garage?

My father Charlie founded the company back in 1948. He joined the RAF in the war and was first stationed in Tenby, Wales, where he worked on the Sunderland flying boats and their radial engines.

www.completekitcar.co.uk

028 Talking Shop.indd 29

[laughs]. We sold quite a few kits, and about seven years ago I got an email from Kevin to say he was considering selling the Tifosi brand, moulds and tooling. As I was his biggest customer, he wanted to know if I was interested. We struck a deal and that was that really.

The beauty of it to us is that the Rana was based on the Midget, and being MG restorers for all these years we’ve built a lot of Midgets. We know how to get the best from them and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Since taking over the project, we’ve introduced a new model and made a fair few improvements, and we’ll continue to do so.

How far have the Rana and SS evolved since 2013?

It’s not so much major things, more the little things that make a car more durable and/or safe. I was never happy having amber indicators on the Rana and the sidelights in the headlights, as really the side lights should be on the outermost point of the vehicle. It’s nothing that will fail an MoT or anything, but with the advent of these brilliant LED lights we were able to put in an amber flasher and white side light into the same unit.

Another quality-of-life improvement we made is the extra reinforcement for the B-posts, which keep the flex out when the doors are slammed. But the most recent thing we did on the Rana was create a new rear end that allows you to keep the Mk4 Midget roof assembly, so you no longer have to bother with assembling hood sticks in the rain.

The next job we want to do with the Sebring Sprite is alter where the door shutline goes into the roof to create more space and decent draft exclusion.

The thing with the Sebrings is that they were built to race, and that means the designers never had to worry about comfort. But we have customers who are going to use them as road cars, so realistically they will need some creature comforts.

February 2020 29

13/12/2019 9:34 am

Q&A

The Tifosi JEM was introduced in the autumn of 2019.

Is it difficult to work with an older donor?

Not really. We’ve been restoring them for so long now that we have the Midget sorted. All the panels are still available and, to a certain extent, repairing a bad one is no different to a good one, as there are certain panels that still need to be replaced to keep the residual strength in. And with Heritage shells selling for nearly £12,000, there’s now a lot of work we can do with the older shells for less money.

It’s funny, when I started specialising in MGs it was a ratio of about five Bs to every Midget.

We always used to joke that all Midgets were run by students on a shoestring, and that’s why until recently many were in a terrible state. But now it’s completely reversed and we probably do five Midgets to every B. We’ve built Midgets for 20-year-olds, and we’ve built them for 70-year-olds, there’s no rhyme or reason to the appeal. We’ll often get a younger customer in who likes the aesthetic and they can see that they’re fun, cheap to run and they realise that they can get a decent insurance quote on a classic car policy. One of the young lads in the workshop has an early Midget; he’s 25 and he loves it.

I’ve also never had any derogatory comments from the MG club about chopping them up and turning them into Sebring Sprites, so that must be good!

What’s the maddest Midget you’ve ever built?

We haven’t really made a mad Midget [laughs].

We’re pretty staid and old fashioned like that, but I feel the nicest thing we’ve done has got to be the Jacobs that’s in the showroom. So much time and effort went into making that happen and to see the 30 February 2020

028 Talking Shop.indd 30

finished article grow out of the seed of an idea was just amazing. I really enjoyed being involved with that project.

What’s the story behind the new Jacobs?

I saw a Jacobs Midget about 30 years ago and I always thought it had a nice look about it, and about two and a half years ago I said to Jason in our bodyshop that we were thinking of doing a replica.

The seed was sown and we slowly began to work at it, then we were given the opportunity to buy a part finished replica project. We went down to see it, and bought the lot which included a bodyshell, masses of drawings and a backbone.

We made the bucks for the front wings out of steel from a set of reasonable Midget wings, the only thing we bought in was the bonnet, which we’re not happy about so we’re going to modify steel bonnets instead. It’s still evolving.

We’ve made another customer car now which we built with period-correct sliding screens, instead of winding windows. We can do almost anything the customer asks, and we never stop learning.

Sometimes a customer will come in with an idea and you think that’ll never work, but then you sit down and think well actually there might be something in that.

How long have you been involved with classic motorsport?

A while. I started racing MGBs in about ’84, my original race car is still parked out there. Back then I raced with my nephew Peter who worked with me.

There are Spridgets hidden everywhere.

He was a brilliant driver. We raced the car together for a while until he built his own car, with which he won the MG Car Club BCV8 in class A, B and C. Sadly we lost him in 2000, the year we were going to go to Spa for the first time.

I promised his father that we would race at Spa, so I decided to look for an FIA car. I looked around and I couldn’t find anything, but remembered that we had a ’63 B shell out in the yard. It was in a right state, the chassis legs were full of silt! We had to start from the tunnel out, as that was the only datum point we had to work with.

In 2005, we finally got it ready to go to Spa with my brother and nephew. That was the beginning of our love affair with the track – it’s just an amazing circuit. I’ve done the six-hour three times now. Just try to imagine a grid of 113 classic race cars, you’re just coming out of the hairpin [La Source] to see GT40s going through Eau Rouge and after four laps, possibly five if you’re lucky, they start lapping you.

You just can’t imagine the feeling you get! www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 9:34 am

ARISTOCAT XK REPLICA

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February 2020 31

DR IV EN | ROADRUNNER SR2

UNDERGROUND In a crowded market sector, RoadRunner’s SR2 offers something of a left-field choice for those who make the effort to seek it out.We thought it was time to pay the company a visit.

Words and pictures: Adam Wilkins

32 February 2020

032 RoadRunner SR2.indd 32

www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 11:57 am

R

oadRunner Racing is something of an enigma in the crowded market sector for sevenesque roadsters.

Marketing efforts are kept to a minimum – you won’t often see the company at shows or promoting itself via advertising – because it’s run very much as an entertaining sideline to boss Mike Longtaff ’s mainstay business, a general garage workshop. Despite RoadRunner’s low-key nature, the SR2 is a well developed product and genuinely has something to offer in this hotly contested area of the market. The last time Complete Kit Car drove one of RoadRunner’s Mazda MX-5 based SR2s was way back in 2011, so we thought a refresher was overdue.

www.completekitcar.co.uk

032 RoadRunner SR2.indd 33

February 2020 33

13/12/2019 11:58 am

DR IV EN | ROADRUNNER SR2

Mazda MX-5 engine uses Canems ECU and Jenvey induction.

Throttle bodies part of demo’s high spec.

Inboard coil-over dampers are part of the SR2’s standard spec.

We covered much of RoadRunner’s history in our Talking Shop interview in our October 2019 issue. Suffice to say here that RoadRunner and its Mazda MX-5 based SR2 was a perfect fit for Mike as he already had plenty of experience with the donor via his other business before taking on the project. That was around a decade ago, and in the intervening time he and his team have been refining and developing the SR2 almost constantly.

The latest demonstrator is a car that Mike enjoys as much as possible. That may not sound like a noteworthy statement, but you’d be amazed how many people in the kit car business rarely find the time to drive their own products just for kicks.

Not Mike – he’ll find any excuse he can to take the long way home, which is why this car has been assembled to a specification that perfectly suits his requirements, heater and all.

Under the bonnet is a 1.8-litre MX-5 VVT breathing through Jenvey throttle bodies. RoadRunner works closely with ECU manufacturer Canems, and this car is fitted with its sequential engine management system that has extra facilities to work with a canbus system. Together with a bigger bore exhaust than standard, the engine produces 175bhp. Other features of the engine bay include an upgraded alloy radiator, and remote oil cooler and filter.

Floor mounted pedals are well spaced.

Wishbones and wing supports have been redesigned for greater strength.

The SR2’s suspension arrangement looks great and works well.

34 February 2020

032 RoadRunner SR2.indd 34

The demonstrator’s chassis is powdercoated gold to contrast with the blue bodywork, and that theme continues to the suspension components and other details such as the bonnet vent grilles. The bonnet itself features RoadRunner’s larger bulge because it clears the MX-5’s VVT components. It’s the same bonnet that can accommodate V8s, the Honda S2000 engine and the Ford Duratec.

The other thing you’ll notice on this car is the gold carbonfibre effect on the wings, dashboard and bootlid. It’s a hydrodipped finish, but it’s also an experiment that the RoadRunner team is not keen to repeat, so it’s likely to remain a one-off for this car.

The inboard suspension started out as an option, but is now part of the car’s standard specification. Since our last visit to RoadRunner, the front wishbones have been strengthened following feedback after lots of on-track miles, and the cycle wing brackets have also been made simpler and beefier. Out back, there are coil-over dampers again, and the MX-5’s Torson diff has been plated to cope with the extra power. As standard, the diff is deliberately weakened to make it sacrificial in the event of a crash, but it makes it unable to cope with too much extra power than standard.

There are a couple of MX-5 engine lessons that Mike has learned the hard way over the years which he’s happy to share.

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13/12/2019 11:58 am

“TRACK DAYS WERE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO ACCELERATE THE ROADRUNNER’S R&D” The first is that all Mk2 MX-5s and the last of the Mk1s came with an alternator that had no in-built regulator; instead, its output was controlled by the ECU. If you use an aftermarket ECU, you need to change the alternator to one with a regulator, otherwise the battery will be cooked.

The second lesson is a little more prosaic. “Our cam covers look really nice powdercoated,” says Mike. “Do not shotblast the cam covers before painting or powdercoating because shotblasting will get inside the cover and will definitely wreck the engine in ten or fifteen minutes of running. The aluminium stays in the nooks and is only released when the engine warms up. It’s like running an engine with grinding paste in it.” He found that out by doing it himself, and over the years has seen countless engines come into his workshop that have suffered the same fate. Mike recommends aquablasting, but says that even then it needs to be done carefully to prevent catastrophic damage. www.completekitcar.co.uk

032 RoadRunner SR2.indd 35

Back to the SR2. Although the car has a road bias, the interior features basic fibreglass seats. They’re RoadRunner’s optional wider items for greater comfort.

They are thinly padded, with the headrest pad now incorporated into the main piece of trim – they used to be separate, but would often fly out of the car at speed! The seats in the demonstrator may be replaced with upholstered perches to better suit the car’s road bias. This car’s primary street use is also the reason for the full windscreen (taken from a Westfield – RoadRunner doesn’t have its own offering), although it has an interchangeable scuttle with an aeroscreen that can be swapped in half an hour for occassional on-track outings.

There’s no doubting that, even with its bias towards street use, first impressions are that the SR2 demonstrator feels pretty hardcore. The lack of any interior trim, exposed chassis rails, stark carbonfibre effect dashboard and businesslike digital instrument pack leave you in no doubt

GRP seats are offered in two sizes. Padded seats also available.

The untrimmed interior is businesslike.

February 2020 35

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DR IV EN | ROADRUNNER SR2

ROADUNNER SR2 ENGINE AS TESTED: Mazda MX-5 1.8-litre VVT, Canems engine management, Jenvey throttle bodies. 175bhp.

ENGINE OPTIONS: Ford Duratec, Rover V8, Honda S2000, Mazda MX-5.

CHASSIS: Tubular steel spaceframe.

BODYWORK: GRP panels, full windscreen, optional diffuser.

SUSPENSION: Front – Inboard coil-over dampers, double wishbones. Rear – Coilover dampers, double wishbones.

STEERING: Rack and pinion.

BRAKES: Discs allround, HiSpec calipers.

PRICE: Kit price on application.

CONTACT: RoadRunner Racing, Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire.

E: roadrunnerracing@ hotmail.co.uk W: www.roadrunner racing.net

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032 RoadRunner SR2.indd 36

that this car’s main objective is to deliver thrills. The MX-5 engine settles into an easy idle – thank the Canems engine management for that – and sounds purposeful through the side exit exhaust that runs along the passenger side of the car. Sometimes MX-5 engines can sound a little docile, but that’s not the case here.

The hard-edged soundtrack becomes even more purposeful as the revs rise, and it always feels hungry to explore the VVT end of the rev range. It goes without saying that, with 175bhp at its disposal, the SR2 is quick, but the way it goes about delivering its performance is what really makes an impression; it’s agile, energetic and ever-willing.

The short, stubby gearlever makes the most of the inherited flick-flick gearchange, and swapping cogs is never anything less than an absolute joy. Heel and toeing is a doddle, too, the floor-mounted pedals being well spaced for the job. The downside of the pedal box is that, unlike with a pendulum set-up, you can’t leave your left foot underneath the pedals when it’s resting.

Consequently, you have to bend at the knee which quickly becomes uncomfortable.

The steering has a wonderful, consistent weight to it, and feeds back faithfully. You can really lean on the wide track front suspension in corners, and it seemingly follows any line you choose at brisk road speeds. The Toyo T1-R tyres have modest grip levels, so the back end can be brought into play before the speeds get to silly levels.

We briefly alluded earlier to the many track miles that the SR2 has racked up.

That’s because, early on in his ownership of

MX-5 gearchange is superb.

Digital dash features SR2 logo on start-up.

RoadRunner, Mike supplied an SR2 to a trackday organiser to hire out. If road going hire cars see some hard use, then track day equivalents accelerate that process, so it was an effective R&D process that accelarated many improvements into the SR2’s design.

From today’s evidence, it’s clear to see that it was a worthwhile process. It seems very well developed.

Because RoadRunner operates in a low-key way, huge volume sales are not its goal. “We’re not into building hundreds and hundreds of kits ever year,” says Mike, “so we don’t start off with a very basic chassis.

The kit we do comes with the chassis powdercoated, floors fitted, pedalbox, steering and suspension fitted. And it comes with all the body parts needed.” There’s a minimum specification that RoadRunner likes customer cars to achieve, so things like including powdercoating as standard mean that each SR2 is built to a certain level.

RoadRunner doesn’t publish its kit prices, instead asking potential customers to request an up to date pricelist at the time of their enquiry. The SR2 kit is intentionally not

offered in a basic budget form, and Mike reckons that a self-built car that matches the specification of the demonstrator would cost around £20,000 to assemble.

There are some big-ticket items included in that which you could do without – the dash is £600, the ECU £1500, the brakes £1200 and the wheels £2000. Knock out the trinkets and it’s possibe to build an SR2 from around £12,000. Mike is keen to point out that second-hand SR2s tend to hold their money well, and the factory has an established contact with a ready market for UK registered cars the Italy.

Another way in which RoadRunner differs from the norm is that it makes a bulk of chassis each winter that sees it through the following season, rather than manufacturing to order on an ad hoc basis. From the time of placing an order, it will take about 12 weeks for the kit to be delivered.

Given RoadRunner’s low-key marketing, it’s easy to see how the SR2 is often overlooked by those in the market for a sevenesque roadster. But it’s also one that’s well worth seeking out. www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 11:58 am

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E: roadrunnerracing@hotmail.co.uk

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February 2020 37

R E A DER’ S CA R | FIERO EURO 427

THOSE WHO WAIT

Mike Shepherd waited several decades before he got around to buying a Cobra kit – but he didn’t hang around building it, getting it on the road in just fourteen weeks.

Words and pictures: Adam Wilkins

M

ike Shepherd wasn’t too far into his driving career before the allure of a kit car won him over. His first car was a Mini, followed by a Mini van. But it was kit car racing at his local Oulton Park circuit that inspired him to get into the world of specialist cars, and he placed a wanted advert for either a Cox GTM or Davrian. At the age of 18, he was driving a GTM. “I was the proverbial boy racer,” he says. “The GTM was finished in white with an offset black stripe. I thought I was the bee’s knees.”

Kit car ownership didn’t get off to the most auspicious start.

Just ten miles after picking it up, it expired in a cloud of steam having overheated. The Stage 2 850cc A-series engine was discarded in favour of a 1275cc from a Cooper S which breathed through Weber twin 40 carburettors. It was Oulton Park again that inspired his next move. He was watching some club racing when he decided he could do better than what he was watching, and sold the GTM in favour of a Chevron Formula Ford. Four years of successful racing followed, before a Dutton Phaeton caught Mike’s eye. It was a race spec car, with a highly tuned 1600cc Ford Crossflow engine, no boot floor, a Formula Ford fuel tank and a rare hardtop. He used it on the road for a while, but it would be his last kit car until he was in his 40s.

Business life took over. Mike was reconditioning steering racks and making steering column couplings when he designed and patented the split CV gaitor. That was in 1986, and at first he was getting the gaitors made by a sub-contractor. He eventually brought manufacture in-house when he invested in an injection moulding machine, which opened up other markets. His company was making suspension bushes for black cabs and furniture components for Marks & Spencer and Ikea. It funded various hot road cars, including a Ford Escort Cosworth with nitrous and a Peugeot T16 replica that he built from a three-door 205.

38 February 2020

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February 2020 39

R E A DER’ S CA R | FIERO EURO 427

“THE CAR HAS COVERED 30,000 MILES, SO IT’S DEFINITELY SEEING THE USE IT DESERVES”

Interior trim one of the few areas of the build that Mike subbed out.

The 427’s dials have been changed a few times over the years.

Rover V8 engine came from a low mileage police van.

By the age of 47, Mike sold the company with the intention of retiring, but boredom soon drove him back to work. It was in the new business that he had time to build a kit car. “I had the machines in one unit with operators running them, and I could build the car next door,” he says. The idea of a Cobra replica had always appealed, and Mike got the green light from his wife for the project on the basis it would be an opportunity to teach their son Marc some hands-on skills.

Mike shopped around the Cobra market, narrowing down his shortlist to Dax, Pilgrim and the now-defunct Fiero Factory.

He chose the Euro 427 from Fiero largely because he gelled with boss Steve Briddon.

He’d arrived at the West Midlands factory with a trailer and wedge of cash and was ready to drive away with a kit... until Steve told him it would be a six-week wait for delivery. It didn’t take Mike long to persuade Steve to let him buy a show chassis that was in the workshop, and a trip around the corner to Fiero’s fibreglass supplier saw the bodywork loaded up too. With all the suspension components included in the deal, he had plenty to get stuck into when he got it all back to his unit.

“I couldn’t leave it alone,” he says, “and after 14 weeks it was through the SVA test.” The super-quick build would see Mike making almost weekly visits to Europa Spares for brightwork and other parts, while a longer jaunt to Hawk Cars in East Sussex saw a hardtop collected for what was intended to be a daily car.

Being such a swift build, there were very few areas of the process that stumped Mike or that he didn’t enjoy. Wiring was one,

where he kept blowing fuses while trying to mate the Ford switchgear to the loom. “In the end, I called Premier Wiring, and the advice they gave me really helped. It was simple from then on,” he says.

Highlights of the build included building up the rolling chassis, and getting the engine started for the first time. Mike had initially wanted to fit a Chevrolet V8, but the speed the build was progressing meant he didn’t have time to source one. “A local breaker said they had a really nice Rover V8, but it didn’t really appeal,” he says. He was soon won over by its condition, though, because it had led a pampered life. It had come from a police black meriah riot van, so had been maintained regardless of cost and covered very few miles as it had only seen service when there was a riot or other extreme occurrence. “I got it running before the body was even on, and phoned my wife, Linda, in excitement,” says Mike.

The engine had originally been fitted with SU carburettors, but Mike swapped them to the current Weber set-up. “It looks nicer and makes more power,” he says.

Another area of the build that Mike found satisfying was fitting the bodywork.

“Flatting the fibreglass took a long time,” he says, “but it was a good moment when it all came together.” There was also quite a lot of work involved in making the Hawk 289 hardtop fit the 427 body.

Not shy of attempting any aspect of the build, Mike painted the car himself.

Linda chose the colour and it was initially finished in burgundy. That colour lasted a few years, before Mike fancied a change and resprayed it Citroën Saxo VTR blue.

“We had a Saxo at the time, and I had

I BUILT THIS

Name: Mike Shepherd Occupation: Design engineer Age: 61 First car: Mini Lottery win car: Ascari A10 Best tool in your garage: Mig welder Best bargain in the build: Engine and box Fiero Euro 427 has been finished in three different colours over the years. Mike does his own paintwork.

40 February 2020

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some left-over paint after doing an accident repair.” The third paintjob was around seven years ago, when it was finished in the black you see here... and it’s highly likely that it will be painted again soon. “I like the idea of gunmetal grey, but there are a lot of Cobra replicas in that colour now so I’ll probably do it black again.”

Each new paintjob has also come with new interior trim. When the car changed from burgundy to blue, the grey upholstery was changed to black. Mike trimmed the seats, dashboard and door cards himself.

While it was an adequate job, he didn’t feel it lived up the other, more expensive Cobras when it was parked in the field at Stoneleigh.

He made new door cards and a dashboard again and had them professionally trimmed in the same grade of Connolly leather used

by Bentley. It was also at this stage the cockpit surround trim was added. Like the Hawk hardtop, this was another part Mike sourced from another manufacturer – in this case Dax – and modified to fit.

Similarly, when the hardtop was retired a Pilgrim Sumo hood was modified to fit.

“All the Cobra replicas are basically the same shape, so it wasn’t difficult to get it to fit,” says Mike.

And that’s not the only aspect of the car that has been altered over the years. The original Smiths dials were replaced with smoked lens dials, but they proved hard to see when it was sunny. “It was difficult www.completekitcar.co.uk

on the way to Le Mans, my passenger had to keep looking closely at the temperature gauge.” You’ll see in the photos that the most vital instruments have been replaced with conventional white-faced dials.

The original TSW alloys were replaced with Image split-rims when funds allowed, and the brakes have been upgraded to HiSpec four-pot billet calipers at the front.

One recurring problem was a clutch cable that was prone to snapping. “I’ve got through six of them, and in the end it put me off using the car,” says Mike. “You’d never know when it was going to fail and you’d have to get the car home with no clutch.” Because of the hassle, there were some years where the car only covered about 500 miles. He considered selling the car, but one last drive convinced him to keep it. To finally solve the problem, Mike bought a hydraulic clutch and floor-mounted Wilwood pedals from Demon Tweeks. In just half an hour, the car was converted.

With the car now reliable, Mike’s interest in driving it has been rekindled by the North West Kit Car Owners’ Group, who have regular outings and excuses for a drive.

In total, the car has covered 30,000 miles, so it’s definitely seeing the use it deserves.

Meanwhile, he has recently bought a second Cobra replica, a Classic Replicas Viper, as a winter project. Based on past performance, it’s unlikely to keep him occupied for the whole winter.

FIERO EURO 427

Classic Replicas Viper is a winter project.

USEFUL CONTACTS Brightwork: Europa Specialist Spares, Tutbury, Staffordshire.

T: 01283 815609.

E: info@europaspares.com W: www.europaspares.com Wheels: Image Wheels, Tipton, West Midlands. T: 0121 522 2442.

E: info@imagewheels.co.uk W: www.imagewheels.co.uk

ENGINE: 3.5-litre Rover V8, Weber carburettor.

GEARBOX: Rover 5-speed.

SUSPENSION: Front – Double wishbones, Ford Sierra lower stub axle, coil-over dampers. Rear – Complete Ford Sierra suspension including cross beam, coil-over dampers.

BRAKES: Discs allround.

WHEELS: Image split rim alloys.

INTERIOR: Magnolia leather trim, MotoLita steering wheel, carbonfibre effect centre console.

EXTERIOR: Black paintwork, over-riders, roll hoops, sidepipes.

Brakes: HiSpec Motorsport, Dartford, Kent.

T: 01322 286850.

E: sales@hispecmotorsport.co.uk W: www.hispecmotorsport.co.uk Hydraulic clutch: Demon Tweeks, Wrexham.

T: 01978 664555.

E: sales@demon-tweeks.com W: www.demon-tweeks.com

February 2020 41

R E A DER’S CAR | AUSTIN-HEALEY LFTOVRS

AMERICAN TASTES We take a look at an American Austin-Healey special that’s crammed with over twenty years of Broadway, live music and theme park history.

Words and pictures: Jack Wood

42 February 2020

www.completekitcar.co.uk

Not a lot of load space in this pick-up bed.

W

ho here doesn’t like a classic British sports car? They’ve been a part of the motoring landscape for well over a century now. It’s also a genre that, in our industry at least, shows very little sign of decline.

Ever since we, as a nation, arguably invented the idea of a production sporting car in 1911 with the now dowdy looking Vauxhall Prince Henry, the UK has assembled some of the greatest wind-in-thehair machines ever made. And soon after motoring established itself as the leisure pursuit of the early 20th century, we would continue to refine the formula.

But it wasn’t until after the Second World War that Britain really came into its own as a sports car superpower, with marques such as MG, Austin-Healey and Triumph producing well regarded and affordable race cars for the road. While the famed TFs, 3000s and TRs of that era conjure up images of British Racing Green (or Olde English White), B-road blasts and café culture to many of us, none of these models were actually built with English buyers in mind.

Instead most were borne out of the exportor-die mantra that saw the United Kingdom look to the booming American market to help rebuild its battle damaged economy in the decades that followed the war.

The late 1940s and ’50s saw countless manufacturers race for the custom of cash rich GIs, now back home with new-found European tastes and looking to race. The ’60s, however, would see even headier sales heights for British two-seaters with the introduction of a new kind of customer, the car obsessed baby boomer.

Sales of roadsters across the Pond just kept on climbing throughout the decade and by 1963 Austin-Healey was exporting 91.5 percent of its annual 3.0-litre production, www.completekitcar.co.uk

with most of that allocation heading straight to North America.

It was a love affair that showed little sign of slowing down by the ’70s, which meant both the rubber bumper MGs and roofed Triumph TR7 would be compromised in the name of federalisation, to keep the lucrative market open. Sadly, the compromised lines of the British Leyland era of sports cars, along with the crippling oil crisis of 1973, all but killed the market until Mazda revived the small roadster with its MX-5, nearly two decades later, in 1989.

Despite this sudden drop in demand for British two-seaters across the Pond, there’s no getting over the fact that millions of Anglo sports cars, which are now deemed icons over here, remain in the land of the free. A vast many languish in sunbaked, salt and rust-free surroundings.

It was this thought, seven years ago, that led ex-forecourt dealer Keith Toogood to set up Toogood Classics, a retirement business with which he could scour the 50 states in search of British gold. As he explains, “When I retired I just fancied going over there and playing with some British and American cars. I’ve since brought over some lovely toys, but nothing too fancy or expensive. I never buy for people, I buy what I fancy when I’m there... I’ll often pick a city, fly over and spend a few weeks knocking on people’s doors, meeting people and finding the sort of cars which aren’t strictly for sale yet. The trick, and fun of it, is to meet car people and spend the day with them, have lunch and get a feel for the car’s history.”

In the past seven years, Keith has repatriated many iconic British cars, and has found plenty of unbelievably original examples in the unlikeliest of places. His most ‘out there’ find, however, was discovered in the front of a second-hand pawn shop on a high street in Pheonix, Arizona. Seeing this miniature, sevenesque pick-up truck February 2020 43

R E A DER’S CAR | AUSTIN-HEALEY LFTOVRS

THE BUILD The show-biz materials behind the build.

ABOVE: Interior is only slightly more restrained.

RIGHT: Hotted up A-series is very loud.

BELOW RIGHT: Swan bonnet is as theatrical as the rest of the car.

44 February 2020

among the used furniture and instruments through the shop window he, unsurprisingly, had to find out more. The shopkeeper soon filled him in with the incredible details.

Built from an early Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite – known as the ‘Bugeye’ in the States – the car was the passion project of a Broadway set builder, who used what left-overs he could find from over two decades of set building to assemble this unusual roadster-cum-pick-up. Keith was instantly sold on the idea and, with room in his container for it, he was ready to hand over the dollars to buy it there and then.

But state law required the pawnshop to give a nine-month cooling down period to the previous owner, should they wish to buy it back. Keith waited several months for the phone call to say that it was available and, with no change of heart, he bit the bullet and brought the oddity home with him.

Seeing this car today, it’s hard not to be struck, as he was, by just how unusual this remixed ‘Frogeye’ is. It’s chromed to the teeth, louder than any muscle car I’ve ever heard and more than a little odd. I had to keep reminding myself underneath this is mostly a dainty little ’50s Sprite – a car that on this side of the Atlantic would be deemed far too rare, important and expensive to mess around with.

It’s a wonderfully abstract thing to behold, but the danger is that, with so much going on, it’s all too easy to miss the behind-thescenes aspects that truly make this BritishAmerican hybrid so special. www.completekitcar.co.uk

I FOUND THIS

Name: Keith Toogood Age: 66 Occupation: Retired car dealer First car: Bond Minicar Money no object car: Maserati Alfieri Best car you’ve owned: Maserati Cambiocorsa

Side exhaust pipe is very loud!

“IT’S LOUDER THAN ANY MUSCLE CAR I’VE HEARD AND MORE THAN A LITTLE ODD” Starting life as an engine-less prop in the 1978 Broadway production of They’re Playing Our Song starring Lucy Arnaz, it was very nearly thrown away when the production ended. But set constructor William H Leufkens had other ideas.

He decided to keep it, and from then on the Sprite lived in the far corner of his aircraft hangar stage workshop, waiting for more throwaway set pieces with which to amalgamate.

There were plenty of different parts left to find given that, when the car was originally modified for the stage, the team removed as much unnecessary weight as possible, so the stage hands could move it easily. This meant that the Sprite had little of its chassis, interior or mechanicals left to work with.

Like building a set, the Sprite would require a structure, a frame from which to attach William’s wild creations to. He found the perfect materials for this job in the aluminium tubing left over from the lighting trusses and stage his team constructed for a KISS world tour in the ’80s. His thinking was that if the tubing was strong enough to support a show as big as theirs, it would be more than strong enough to support the little two-seater. Well, no-seater as of yet... www.completekitcar.co.uk

The two tiny bucket seats would come much later from, of all places, a Swan Lake themed float used in the Disneyland, California, 45th anniversary parade. Moving beyond the seats and deeper into the interior, the firewall and floorpan were all fabricated from the Broadway set materials of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita show, and the seat spacers came from the dropping chandelier used every night in his Phantom Of The Opera musical – also on Broadway. This Healey is a show car in every sense of the words!

It isn’t entirely built from set pieces, however. There are a few touches taken from several jobs his team did for the Universal theme parks in Orlando, Florida. The bonnet vents and side panels all came from a Terminator themed experience, the pick-up bed is from Star Trek, and the headlights are from a pair of motorcycles used in a Rugrats children’s ride. It’s incredible that the builder found enough room in the tiny Sprite to fit all of his memorabilia. For instance, you’d never want to fit a new throttle cable, as that came from a ’90s Marlborough themed ride that toured the states. Even the seatbelts are from a float used in the Las Vegas Rio Casino’s sky parade. Everywhere you dig, there is a memento to find.

ABOVE: There’s no shortage of things to see on this car.

LEFT: No pick-up can be without a cab step.

BELOW LEFT: No guesses to where this car came from.

February 2020 45

R E A DER’S CAR | AUSTIN-HEALEY LFTOVRS

AUSTINHEALEY LFTOVRS ENGINE: Overbored 948cc BMC A-series.

GEARBOX: Close ratio 4-speed manual.

SUSPENSION: Front – independent single wishbone. Rear – leaf sprung live axle.

BRAKES: Drums allround.

WHEELS: Custom 15in wheels.

INTERIOR: Disney float seats, brushed aluminium dashboard and eagle print mirror.

EXTERIOR: Lotus Seven nose cone, custom chrome pick-up bed.

The mechanicals, however, are a little more down to earth, but that is to say no less personal to the builder’s story. As his passion for classic British sports cars clearly goes further back than the ’78 show where he first clapped eyes on the Sprite.

Included in the sale of the car to Keith was a folder documenting builder William’s time during the build and his automotive history prior to it. It turned out that his first British sports car, an MGA, was purchased new in 1961. He raced that car successfully against Lotuses, Alfa Romeos and Porsches in several clubman level racing series’ until 1964 – many of these victories are commemorated on the roll-over bar of the Healey. By the time he procured the Sprite body, his old MG had been hidden under a pile of rotten leaves on his father’s farm for the best part of two decades But despite its forlorn appearance, nearly everything remained solid underneath the shell, which meant it would go on to donate several components for the build, the biggest of which being the differential.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room under the bonnet to shoehorn the MG’s high compression competition B-series lump, so William found an appropriate

American style plate with British formatting.

46 February 2020

948cc engine to finetune in 2002 instead – the year it appears the car was completed.

Underneath, his attention to detail with the mechanicals appears to be no less impressive than that of the more superficial aspects of the build. It’s more period than you might expect as well. Rebuilt with bigger valves, polished headers, close-cut gears and twin carbs, you can be assured that this Healey remains more sports car than pick-up underneath.

Without knowing the effort that went into the build and its showbiz ingredients, it would be all too easy to dismiss what is known as LFTOVRS as American excess. It may be random by design, but it’s no worse for it. I really do like this car, admittedly partly because of just how mad it is as a window into the uniqueness of the US custom car scene, but mainly I enjoy it for its story. William clearly did too, spending over two decades crafting the car around his unusual life. Like many good tales, however, a few mysteries remain, the most puzzling of which being its Lotus Seven nose. But whatever the reason, I feel it fits with the pick ’n’ mix theme. This Healey truly is one of a kind.

If you’d like to own the LFTOVRS, it is now available for sale via Toogood Classics.

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Page 1

R ETRO ROU ND-UP | FROM THE ARCHIVE

KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ T H E LO R RY T H AT B E C A M E A C A R In our latest bi-monthly look at the old stuff, our man ponders a car that was actually a truck, an early Westfield, an accomplished track weapon and assorted specials.

Words: Richard Heseltine Pictures: Archive

Parked next to an MGB GT, the vastness of the Dawson Special is all too obvious.

It may not have been the most graceful of one-offs, but the mighty Dawson Special must be a candidate for the largest. Nothing about this machine was in the realm of the ordinary, not least the small matter of it being designed around its P100 headlights…

These items, which usually dominate the frontage of pre-war leviathans, appeared positively dainty here, but then, strictly speaking, this wasn’t a car. It was a commercial vehicle.

Project instigator, civil engineer William Dawson, dreamed up this remarkable machine in the mid-1970s after acquiring the headlights. He originally pictured something along the lines of a 1920s Bentley, but the design took on a life of its own after he acquired a standard Dodge 100 ‘Commando’ lorry chassis, complete with a 5.8-litre Perkins diesel engine. In 1976, he set to, moving the engine further back in the frame, while the steering arrangement was modified from a forward control truck arrangement to a conventional, more car-like set-up. Suspension was carried over from the donor lorry, although a few leaves were removed from the springs for this new application.

48 February 2020

The square-rigged body was constructed over a tubular steel skeletal structure, the coachwork comprising a mixture of aluminium sheet and vinylcovered ply. Glazing consisted of flat panes of glass, while the sparse cabin was home to MGB seats and Dodge instruments. The Special was completed in 1978, Dawson racking up around 14,000 miles over the next three years. In 1981, Chris Horton tested the behemoth for Kit Cars & Specials. He reported: ‘Although the actual power output of the engine at 120bhp seems low in relation to its capacity, it produces tremendous torque, and, with the aid of the standard gearbox and a ‘crawler’ first, it probably wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it would pull a house down. In fact, Perkins were most helpful when Mr Dawson told them of his plans, suggesting for example that he fitted a higher-capacity injection pump for improved power output… Maximum power is developed at a leisurely 2800rpm, so motorway cruising is quite a relaxed affair.’

He went on to add: ‘As might be expected, the steering is fairly heavy though, despite the size of

What it lacked in architectural grace, the Dawson Special more than made up for in heft.

the thing, it is very easy to park and place through gaps thanks to the visibility of the front nearside mudguard from the driving seat.’ As to what happened to the Dawson Special subsequently, we have no idea. It wasn’t the most inconspicuous of vehicles, so, if you know more, do please get in touch. www.completekitcar.co.uk

BACK TO THE FUTURA – RECALLING A STILLBORN SUPERCAR

The Futura prototype bore some resemblance to contemporary Italian exotica.

Despite much interest in the kit car press, the Futura remained only a prototype.

The early 1990s witnessed the emergence of the kit-form supercar. Some went on to enjoy moderate success, while others disappeared into the ether before the ink on the press release was dry. The Futura belonged in the latter camp.

Devised by Barry Higgins of Devilin Cars, the project grew out of his experience building Prova Countach clones. This brave new world was,

suspension assemblies, grilles, hinges, leather cabin trim and so on. Unveiled at the 1992 kit car show at Sandown Park, the Futura was marketed with a launch price of £6695 (around £14k in new money), not including VAT. Despite the likes of Which Kit? enthusing about its chances, the Futura failed to find favour. The Lancashire firm made no further cars after the initial prototype.

however, an original design, even if it clearly appropriated some styling cues from the Lamborghini Diablo and Cizeta V16T. Basis for the car was a semi-spaceframe chassis with 3.0-litre Renault V6 power. The glassfibre body was then bonded to the chassis, the original intention being to produce a comprehensive kit with the glass in situ, plus

ROLLING THUNDER – BILL COX’S HOMEBREWED V8 MONSTER

Bill Cox’s mighty WRC-Chevy heads Brabham and Alexis single-seaters at Mallory Park in April 1968.

Bill Cox was another inveterate car builder-cumracer who ploughed his own singular furrow. The WRC (William R Cox) was one of a series of specials built by the engineer dating back to 1951. The Northamptonshire man, who by day worked on earth-moving equipment, completed this robust device in 1961. It boasted a homemade spaceframe chassis, Jaguar XK140-derived suspension and a glassfibre body that appeared a little rough around the edges but muscular with it. The car underwent www.completekitcar.co.uk

continuous evolutions thereafter, mostly the substitution of ever more powerful American V8s.

By 1968, when this photo was taken, it was powered by a 283cu in (4.7-litre) Chevrolet unit and campaigned extensively in Formula Libre races.

Despite being up against purpose-built single-seaters, it didn’t disgrace itself, either.

Franklin D Woodcock wrote about the car in Specials magazine: ‘Its scruffy appearance belied its reliability which was due in part to the fact that Bill

never touched the mechanics as long as nothing went wrong. He told me once that he hadn’t changed the plugs for several years.’ As to what happened to the car subsequently, the vaguely Cobra-esque body was removed and a glassfibre and aluminium replica Ford Capri body substituted in 1969. Well, that and a 6.1-litre Chrysler bent eight, which in time made way for a 7.6-litre McLaren/Chevy Can-Am unit. This oddball contrivance became a mainstay of Special Saloons racing during the 1970s.

February 2020 49

R ETRO ROU ND-UP | FROM THE ARCHIVE

ALEXIS CORNER – THE MACGREGOR BROTHERS’ SPECIAL

The Alexis wasn’t pretty but it was well realised and used extensively in club level motorsport.

The 1950s specials boom saw a bewildering array of glassfibre bodyshells come to market, some selling in large numbers. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop enterprising enthusiasts from going their own way and building something unique. Ian and Donald McGregor had already fashioned an Austin Seven special dubbed ‘Dewdrop’ prior to creating this boxy device which was completed in 1954. Basis for the car was a 1936 Ford ‘light commercial’, complete with reconditioned 1172cc sidevalve four-banger. The van was stripped to its constituent parts, the chassis being lengthened by a 0.3 metres (1ft) for this new application.

The engine was also tuned by means of enlarged inlet ports, racing pistons, lightened flywheel and so on. So far, so ordinary, but the striking part of the build was the outer wrapper. The brothers intended using the car for competition, primarily in rallies and trials, and didn’t want a spindly body with cycle wings as with their Austin special. They had become inured of having mud and debris thrown in their faces whenever they headed off piste. Instead, they acquired four 1949-vintage Vauxhall front wings which were used on each corner. This rather dictated the outline, although plans to use a rectangular grille were abandoned after the first attempt. Apparently, it lent

the car a grisly appearance. Instead, a Morris Six item was incorporated along with a bonnet-sited ‘power bulge’. This, in turn, was garnished with chrome-plated vents. Remarkably, the car sat just 36in off the deck at the highest point of the bulkhead.

The car was dubbed ‘Alexis’. However, it was not related to the ‘other’ Alexis marque which made trials cars, single-seaters and the occasional road car. It was so-named in honour of the bicycles once manufactured in Scotland by the siblings’ great grandfather. And the cost of the build? All in, it set the brothers back £185 (around £5000 adjusted for inflation).

The Ford sidevalve four-banger was hotted-up.

Note aftermarket Dellow radiator.

The car’s outline was to some extent dictated by the use of Vauxhall front wings all-round.

50 February 2020

The cabin was basic with no more luxury than was strictly necessary. www.completekitcar.co.uk

BEYOND THE FRINGE – THE GIANT-SLAYING FLETCHER HORNET

To the victor go the spoils. Ian Fletcher racked up plenty of silverware in his Hornet.

The ‘Clubmans’ end of the kit car market has been saturated for as long as we can remember, but you could never accuse Ian Fletcher of chasing volume sales. The RAF man deliberately kept things low-key, work commencing on the Fletcher Hornet prototype in 1983. It followed prior builds of a Spartan and a Dutton Phaeton, the first car being built in its entirety in his garage in Norfolk. The completed Hornet broke cover at the 1987 kit car show at Newark where it was garlanded with the ‘Best Engineered Car’ prize.

Basis for the car was a homebrewed spaceframe chassis made of square-section steel tubing. This was then clad with aluminium panels. Only the bonnet and wings were made of glassfibre, one unusual aspect being the neat half-doors. Front suspension was by means of double wishbones with Triumph Herald/Spitfire uprights and brakes, plus Spax dampers. Bespoke wishbones and Fletcher-

made uprights were used at the rear, along with Sierra brakes, diff and (shortened) driveshafts. The original Ford Crossflow-powered prototype was then pressed into service in hillclimbing, Fletcher racking up four class titles into the early 1990s before he turned his attention to the 750MC Group K kit car race series. In 1991, he finished fourth in the championship and also claimed the Eigentech Trophy as the driver of the highest-placed roadgoing car. That same year also saw him deliver two body/chassis units to customers, with a fourth kit being produced a year later, with a Rover V8engined variant emerging in 1993.

The Hornet wasn’t exactly promoted, though, although Which Kit? did run a small item on the model that same year. It reported: ‘If you really insist on a well-proven alternative to a Westfield, Caterham or Dax Rush, then Ian will build you a body/chassis kit in his spare time. However,

don’t all rush in at once: he’s only intending to build one ‘production’ kit per year for the moment.

And he’d also appreciate if you could help out in some aspects of manufacturer. Sounds fair enough, under the circumstances… Dealing with Ian Fletcher, you won’t get the comprehensive build manual and full factory back-up system of the likes of Westfield, but you will experience unique involvement in the project, and a real personal service from the manufacturer.’

Several iterations appeared subsequently, some with fully-enveloped bodies. Ford Zetec and motorcycle engines were also used with great effect.

Mr Fletcher began building a Yamaha R1 powered Hornet a few years ago, but the project stalled when he decided to get his Spartan on the road – his first kit car, and one that he has owned since 1980. He still occassionally races a Hornet Mk2, while the Mk1 has recently been restored by its owner.

The Hornet in its natural habitat: on a track. More often than not, it was a threat for glory.

The car’s styling was sevenesque, but unusually it boasted neat half-doors.

The Hornet in action. Subsequent variants have stretched to motorcycle power.

www.completekitcar.co.uk

February 2020 51

R ETRO ROU ND-UP | FROM THE ARCHIVE

FROM LITTLE ACORNS – THE FIRST WESTFIELD ‘SEVEN’

The first Westfield Seven. It looked remarkably similar to a Series 1 Lotus Seven.

Westfield remains a giant of the kit car industry, its fame spreading far beyond the UK’s borders.

Nevertheless, the first of its ‘Clubmans’ cars was the antithesis of today’s roadsters, being very much a recreation of the Series 1 Lotus Seven. It was a sister model to the established Eleven, and a natural stablemate at that. More a lookalike than a pure replica per se, it nevertheless was a close physical facsimile of the original Lotus of which just 242 were made.

The Westfield Seven was conceived by Ian Gribbon, one of marque founder Chris Smith’s mechanics. The first car emerged in 1983, and featured BMC A-series power. Nevertheless, other units could be specified, with one early example boasting a very racy 1460cc SOHC Coventry Climax FWB four-banger. The Austin-

Healey Sprite or MG Midget served as a donor car, with running gear being transposed into a squaresection tubular spaceframe. Unlike its Lotus inspiration, there was also centreline framing around the transmission tunnel.

For £2750 in 1983 (around £9000 in new money) plus VAT, you received the aluminium-panelled, epoxy powdercoated chassis in grey or black finish, with aluminium body panels already fitted plus a scuttle, bonnet, self-coloured glassfibre wings and nose. The media was quick to heap praise on the newcomer, with Marcus Pye writing in Autosport in August 1983: ‘The Seven’s handling is remarkably neutral under normal driving conditions, although its tail can be hung out – easily balanced on the throttle – with brisk cornering. The brakes, from the ‘Spridget’, stop the

In profile, it appeared every bit as stark but attractive as its inspiration.

52 February 2020

featherweight Seven powerfully and progressively.’

Renowned historian Doug Nye tested a Climaxengined car in Classic & Sports Car in January 1984.

He wrote: ‘Finish is generally very good, though one or two ragged corners will have to be improved on the aluminium scuttle panelling, and the glassfibre wing mouldings showed minor imperfections…

Chris Smith has set out to bring this type of classical Lotus motoring within reach of Mr. Average, and is doing the job very well.’

Indeed he did. So much so, the Westfield soon morphed into something that bit closer, in looks at least, to the Series 3 Lotus Seven; the design latterly made under licence by Caterham which took a dim view and began legal proceedings. That, however, is a tale for a future issue.

The Seven’s cabin was typically basic. The centre tunnel was panelled, unlike in the Lotus. www.completekitcar.co.uk

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19/11/2019 11:52 am

WORKSHOP IN THIS MONTH’S COMPLETE KIT CAR MAGAZINE WORKSHOP...

70

66

58 MIDAS Mk4 RESTOMOD

See how one reader took a 1990s kit car and brought it up to date with a series of mods.

66 OUR CARS

James continues the Nova’s repairs while Martin is still busy with the Calvy Mitchel.

70 ENGINE PROFILE

How to get the best from buying, tuning and maintaining a Ford Ecoboost engine.

76 RUNNING REPORTS

76

www.completekitcar.co.uk

The latest updates from our team of kit car builders.

58

February 2020 57

READER’S BUILD

ROLLING RESTOMOD How far can you modify a kit car without taking it off the road? As Justin King’s Max Power-esque Midas Mk4 proves, quite far indeed.

Words: Jack Wood Pictures: Justin King and Jack Wood

MIDAS MK4 ENGINE: Rover Metro GTi 1.4 Rover K-series.

GEARBOX: 5-speed.

SUSPENSION: Front – sprung wishbone. Rear – sprung trailing arm.

BRAKES: Front – MGF calliper with Volkswagen Corrado G60 disc.

WHEELS AND TYRES: 15in customised Vauxhall Tigra alloy wheels.

INTERIOR: Midas and Metro interior with diamond cut red vinyl, bucket seats and touch screen infotainment system.

EXTERIOR: Custom lighting front and rear, Vauxhall Astra Mk5 grilles, Easywider arches and Ford Escort Cosworth front splitter.

Grubby engine bay hid a multitude of sins...

...but the engine block looked healthy.

The headgasket was replaced just in the nick of time.

Painted cam cover looks as new.

We really do like a restomod project here at Complete Kit Car. It’s easy to see the appeal of taking something that’s unusual, pre-built and registered and turning it into something completely different. While the established method is to tear apart an ageing kit and start from scratch, building the ultimate 21st century monster machine out of a pre-millennium classic needn’t be an all-or-nothing jump into the deep end of customisation. As Justin King’s revised daily driver Midas Mk4 proves, it’s also possible to build a multi-award winning show car on a rolling project basis, if you’re able to plan ahead.

Here’s how he did it.

It all began with a search for a suitable replacement for Justin’s daily commuter which, being a practical Quantum 2+2, left few kit car alternatives. However, with functionality and usability in all weathers high on his priority list, a Midas coupé with its hardtop made a lot of sense, and the last-in-the-line Mk4 – also known as the 2+2 and later Cortez – with its later Rover K-series powerplant and 5-speed gearbox proved ideal.

With only 20 believed to have been built, finding one would prove difficult for Justin.

With that in mind, the waiting game began with a wanted ad placed on the Midas Owners’ Club forum and ended months later with him picking up the first factory demonstrator. It’s the same car 58 February 2020

that ushered in the GTM-owned Midas age, and featured in countless magazines around its launch in 1995. Result! Well, not quite. After several years of being thrashed by development engineers, the press, potential customers – and following 15 more years on daily driver duty – it wasn’t in the best condition. And despite being sold with a valid MoT, Justin’s new car showed various signs of previous accident damage, neglect and plenty of bodged repairs. As he explains, “I bought it with my heart and not my head.”

On the one hand, being tatty meant he had little guilt when it came to modifying the historically important car, but on the other it meant he couldn’t trust his main mode of transport to get him to work every day – not ideal. With that nagging doubt in mind, Justin focussed on restoring the Midas before modifying it.

With poor earths and even poorer connections due to meagre insulation and the use of domestic chock blocks, the wiring was a major cause for concern and a potential fire risk. Justin wisely tackled the electrical issues early by first removing excess functions such as the rear wash-wipe from the loom, before soldering and double heatwrapping each connection and securing everything onto the bodywork. It was a much better solution than simply letting the loom rest on a rusty Hydragas unit – something which we will get onto

later. Justin then moved his attention to the earths, which appeared to have been placed completely at random and without logic. The only solution was to throw everything away and start from scratch. Justin rerouted everything, with quality wiring and created bus bars out of brass bolts which were riveted and silver soldered into place. This nicely future-proofed the electronics, which now not only worked as they should and looked much neater – which for Justin is often just as important.

The next job on the list was to tackle the Rover Metro GTi engine which, being a hard used and abused K-series powerplant, left the niggling fear of head gasket trouble to come. To ensure it wouldn’t become an issue in the future, a wider fanbelt from a 1.8-litre VVC engine was fitted alongside an uprated waterpump and a tougher multi-layer steel gasket, as used in the later Land Rover Freelander – an established fix for the issue.

It turned out that Justin’s timing couldn’t have been better, as the removed gasket exhibited early signs of delamination. To finish the job, he cleaned out the coolant tank by partly filling it with pasta twirls and bleach and shaking vigorously, which left it looking as new.

With the important little jobs now done, Justin had the usable canvas from which he could create his dream Cortez. www.completekitcar.co.uk

MIDAS Mk4

Refurbished wheels fill the arches nicely.

Redrilled PCDs and...

...spacers were needed to fit the wheels.

WHEELS

Justin soon found that the BMW Mini One was a close match to the Metro hub, as was the Mk1 Vauxhall Tigra which, with its centre cap, was perfect for hiding redrilled holes. To test the idea, Justin purchased one Vauxhall wheel from eBay to experiment with, and following a successful fit he purchased four more to be professionally redrilled.

Ian Jemison Engineering reduced the offset at the front and fitted custom spacers into the wheels which, due to the wider track at the front of the car, means the wheels are no longer interchangeable between front and rear. Justin made use of the extra room at the front by modifying a set of larger Volkswagen Corrado G60 brake discs to fit the PCD, improving the stopping power no end. With all four wheels fitted, Justin had completed the difficult task and all that was left to do was shotblast, paint and fit new tyres. Well, almost.

As the Tigra wheels still had the Vauxhall griffin on the centre caps, he chose to design and print his own updated Midas emblem design on a carbonfibre effect backdrop to finish off the job.

Even before taking delivery of the Midas, Justin decided that he wanted to fill out the arches with 15in wheels. As he explains, “I’d never seen a Metro GTi on anything bigger than 14in alloys, so I basically wanted to be the first.” Little did he know what a task that would become.

After hours of scouring the internet, Justin soon realised that the options available were particularly limited, as very few cars shared the same PCD pattern as the rare sporty Metro.

Turning to the forums, current Midas marque custodian Alistair Courtney suggested that, while he hadn’t seen any himself, he knew of owners using wheels from the MGF range. But despite the matching PCDs, the offsets were completely wrong for the car. After spending months researching his options, he realised that adaptive spacers, adaptors and wobble bolts couldn’t be used due to the wide track of the Mk4. In desperation, he decided the best course of action would be to alter the PCD patterns of a similar set of wheels. www.completekitcar.co.uk

Shotblasted and painted in contrasting white.

Bigger brakes ensure the Midas has stopping power.

New centre cap with Midas logo.

February 2019 59

READER’S BUILD INTERIOR

As is often the case with ageing daily drivers, the interior of Justin’s Mk4 took much of the brunt during its 25 years of hard use – and with mainly Metro architecture and furniture fitted, it was never the most inviting space to begin with. It required a lot of work and, despite Justin seeing himself as more of an engineer than designer, he was keen to learn new skills and take on the job himself.

To see what he had to work with, Justin promptly gutted the interior of its carpet, seats, doorcards and sound deadening and found the fabric to be surprisingly rust-stained. It turned out that the steel seat runners were far past their prime, much like the seats themselves, making each a good place to start. He sourced a pair of diamond stitched bucket seats via eBay that looked the part, but reduced the headroom by 40mm. At 6ft 2in, Justin no longer fitted. Remanufacturing the seat bases in thinner, stronger aluminium plate restored 30mm of room and restuffing the bases in softer material from a baby mattress managed the rest. It’s clear that Justin enjoys the problem-solving side of car building, and as soon as he retrimmed the rear bench to match

Justin tried several off-cuts before...

he moved his attention to the dull grey hues of the dashboard and doors.

At first, Justin wanted to trim everything in cherry red, as he wanted to recapture the interior style of his old Peugeot 306 convertible. But after testing many different off-cuts and samples, he couldn’t find anything that worked. As Justin explains, “When I saw that nothing worked as I liked I just thought ‘sod it’, I’ll bite the bullet and just go for bright red vinyl.” Justin fabricated a perspex template for the doorcards so that he could see through as he trimmed them, reducing the risk of over-run. The dashboard was then trimmed to match and all back-lighting was changed to red to suit the new theme. Despite being happy with the job, he still felt the interior was lacking a centrepiece, what 21st century interior and would be complete without a touchscreen infotainment system?

Instead of buying a system off the shelf, Justin thought it would be more fun to program his own. It all began with a £30 tablet from eBay which he plugged through a car charger behind the dash. While the satnav worked well, Justin is

...choosing diamond cut bright red.

a self-confessed fan of gimmicks and felt there was still more that it could do. He first upgraded the tablet to support video playback, video games, a reversing camera and intelligent satellite navigation (congestion rerouting) which was better, but still not all that could be done with the 7in screen.

“I became aware that there was this app called Memsdiag, which could be used to diagnose the older Rover Mems ECU. I just had to get an Android tablet as a replacement to make it work,” he says. All in, Justin thinks it was about a year’s work, on and off, to get the USB to TTL cable to communicate between both the tablet and ECU respectively. But once set up, it was able to delete fault codes and see live data on the fly. However, with just a bit more power he could also tune the fuel/ignition timing via the application. A more powerful Acer tablet was swiftly ordered, but disaster struck when Justin discovered it didn’t support GPS navigation. Instead of purchasing another, he created a hybrid out of two different rooted tablets. With that, he had admittedly more functionality than he could ever use, but he had created a talking point which we will take a closer look at in the next issue.

Original door cards lacked drama...

...the new ones don’t!

Dash trim came next.

Red LEDs were chosen to suit the new interior...

...they also gave the dials a sportier look.

Two different tablets become one...

...to create the touch screen dash, nicely bringing...

...the Midas interior into the 21st century.

60 February 2020

www.completekitcar.co.uk

MIDAS Mk4

Much of the new set up was designed in house...

...and required lots of research.

Cardboard aided design!

Conventional springs taller than hydragas spheres.

Rear bell-crank assembly fitted perfectly...

...but proved too hard to set up for daily use.

The alternative was to use boot space.

SUSPENSION

Lots of trial and error with...

After hearing in passing that a failed suspension sphere had left the previous owner stranded in Normandy only a few years ago, Justin decided he wanted to do without the complex Hydragas system inherited from the Metro donor. “I didn’t like the idea of not being able to fix my car at the side of the road, so I decided I wanted a more conventional system underpinning the car,” he explains.

Despite it being a common conversion on both the Mini and the mechanically similar MGF, there was nothing in the way of an off-the-shelf conversion kit for the later Rover Metro or 100.

There was only one thing for it: develop his own.

This would have been no easy feat anyway, but remember that Justin was using the car on a near daily basis at this point and he couldn’t afford to take it off the road for any length of time. Whatever the solution was, it needed to be fitted fast and with the minimum of fuss, but in reality that just wasn’t going to happen.“I started off by sticking a random www.completekitcar.co.uk

...mounting angles at the front.

coil spring of a known weight under the back of the car to gauge how much it would compress. I wanted to mount the coil spring vertically but there was no height to do it,” Justin explains.

Scratching his head, he looked at fabricating a bellcrank set-up as that would allow the spring to be mounted horizontally within the wheelarch.

After several motion ratio calculations and experiments with cardboard templates, Justin had everything laser cut in stainless steel and fitted.

“It was a nice idea, I really liked how elaborate it was, but the ride was too hard. I kept trying softer springs until I finally got to 75lb coils which could barely support the weight of the car,” he says.

The solution was found in a highly unlikely place – the boot of a Ford Cortina drag car. With its long racing coils mounted through the boot floor and connected via a strut brace, it opened up the possibility of mounting the suspension vertically and inspired Justin to design a similar arrangement which proved easier to set up.

No Hydragas to be seen on this Mk4!

The front suspension, thankfully, didn’t throw up quite so many headaches, but it still required a little trial and error to get right. For instance, sitting just behind the front axle the coils, it would brush the front tyres on full lock, and the strut brace couldn’t fit in the minuscule space between the exhaust manifold and bonnet without modification. The first issue was sorted by fitting a pair of 5mm spacers on the front wheels and re-angling the coil-overs by 15deg, but getting the brace to fit would prove more difficult.

Justin’s first solution was to bend the bar around the manifold with a 10-tonne press, but this weakened the structure of the bar considerably, meaning the manifold had to be altered to allow a straight aluminium bar instead.

With the suspension now seemingly complete, Justin took the car for a nerve-wracking test drive of the local potholes and speed bumps to get a feel for the new set-up before concluding that he’d fixed it. For the first time in 25 years, the Mk4 wasn’t supported by Hydragas.

February 2019 61

READER’S BUILD The first time Justin spotted his car was actually back in 1995 on the cover of the July issue of Which Kit?, a magazine he used to read as a schoolboy.

At the time, he was more interested in following the progress of the then upcoming Dax Kamala, and he can still remember dismissing the new-age Midas to his friends as a “dull, out of proportion shopping cart.” In time, he grew to understand the appeal of practicality in a sports car, but even after 20 years reflection his opinion on the car’s styling had remained largely unchanged. While more forgiving of certain aspects, he knew that if he was to be truly proud of his car once finished he would need to get creative.

With the Mk4 borrowing much of its shell from the earlier cars, Justin first played around with the idea of fitting a round headlight front end from the Mk3 (Gold), but conceded that would require too much remoulding. He was going to have to work with what he had instead.

“Rehanging the doors was the first big job, as they were all over the place. I made all sorts of

EXTERIOR

tools out of plywood to bend them back into shape and fabricated better brackets to improve the fit,” explains Justin. But despite the visually improved fit, Justin noticed during his commutes that the driver’s side window sat 10mm lower than on the passenger side’s, and soon learnt that a little research can be a dangerous thing. After discovering the Mk4 is asymmetrical and a whole 10mm taller on the driver’s side, Justin couldn’t help but notice every time he looked at the front of the car. To alleviate his OCD, he remounted the driver’s side mirror in a different position to the passenger’s, to make it at least look symmetrical from the front.

The Metro/100 mirrors were also swapped for more up-to-date Rover 25 items, after being inspired by a Noble M12 spotted at a show, but both proved far too large for a car that Justin already felt was ill-proportioned. “They looked like Mickey Mouse ears,” he laughs.

After much deliberation, he noticed that a passing Rover 75 had similar, but smaller, mirrors which proved to be a more cohesive fit for the

little coupé. This wouldn’t be the last time passing cars would provide inspiration during the build.

Not happy with the three separate grille aesthetic, or their access inhibiting meshes, Justin was on the hunt for a new removable solution.

As he explains, “I came to the conclusion that having a linear grille would trick the eye into believing it’s not three separate grilles, but one.”

He considered parts from several manufacturers, but settled on the Vauxhall Astra Mk5 lower bumper grilles after spotting a colleague’s car at work. “I saw them and just thought they’d work well with the curvature of the Midas, so I fabricated a set of brackets for a test fit. Once happy with the result, I butchered together about five grilles to get the slats, reworked them all and glued everything into a position that flowed along the front,” he explains.

Justin dreads to think how much he spent on Astra replacement grilles, but he is happy to have lost the ratty mesh in favour of something he feels is visually more appealing and more practical for repairing on the go.

Astra grilles suited the curvature of the nose.

Newly fabricated brackets.

Much disassembly was required.

Alterations were made to make the three grilles consistent.

62 February 2020

New ‘continuous’ grille looks good and allows access to the front of the engine. www.completekitcar.co.uk

MIDAS Mk4

Different LED positions were tested.

Some sanding was required.

The original Astra Mk2 real lights were...

New LED lights were bought in.

Fitting tubes were frenched in.

...as colour matching proved difficult.

The LED units were also lightly tinted...

LIGHTS

before settling on a set of Wipac aftermarket units designed for the Land Rover Defender.

Justin used an 80mm hole saw to cut through the newly shaped Astra lights and fitted tubing to house the new lights. Once trued, the tubes were bonded in and sealed at the back with acrylic plates and epoxy resin creating a solid, strong plastic unit ready for sanding, priming and paint.

“At first, I was going to colour code them, but I was worried it’d not be possible to get an exact match, so I went with a contrasting black instead,” Justin explains. The final job, once the lights were housed, was carefully tinting each unit without obscuring the legally required reflectors.

This all may seem like a lot of work for a set of rear lights, but as is often the way with kit cars it’s the little things that make all the difference. As Justin explains, “They could be my favourite thing on the car, and I’m considering painting the rear centre bit black to make it look even wider.”

It’s clear to see front to rear this car, aesthetically and mechanically, is now more Justin than Midas.

We’ve already established that Justin felt the Midas had plenty of room for improvement dimensionally, and nowhere did he feel it was more noticeable than the rear end. As he explains, “The back end always looked too tall and far too narrow for my liking. The main issue is that the poorly chosen Vauxhall Astra Mk2 tail lights don’t reach the edge of the car, there’s a step that goes from the wheelarch that fools the eye into thinking it’s thinner than it is. You’re only talking about 15mm, but it’s noticeable.” Since finding a replacement off the shelf would prove difficult, Justin had to fabricate a solution himself. Luckily this was an area he was already well versed in having previously restyled a set of Ford Sierra tail lights during his Quantum build.

The design Justin settled on was a frenched in, ‘twin-afterburner’ LED set up which was to be moulded into the original Astra units. A jig was made to ensure the moulded shape was correct then Justin began to look at his LED options, www.completekitcar.co.uk

...remoulded to fit the wide arches.

Black paint was chosen...

...before fitting.

And despite taking him nearly five years to turn it into an award winner, Justin has been able to enjoy his car on the road nearly every step of the way.

It truly is an impressive and multi-faceted sports car now and no longer an often forgotten model from the Midas Owners’ Stand, and we’ll take a closer look at how all the jobs gel together when we look at the whole package in the next issue.

USEFUL CONTACTS Wheel modifications: Ian Jemison Engineering, 81 Main Street, Bishopthorpe, York YO23 2RA. T: 01904 703863.

W: www.alloywheelrepairs.com Miscellaneous: Car Builder Solutions, Redlands, Lindridge Lane, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 0JJ. T: 01580 891309.

W: www.carbuilder.com

February 2019 63

BACK ISSUES MORE ISSUES AT WWW.COMPLETEKITCAR.CO.UK/BACKISSUES CALL: 01476 978843

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SOLD OUT

November 2016

• Caterham Seven Sprint • Autotune Gemini • NCF Arctic Pt2 • Buying second-hand • Dutton Phaeton resto

December 2016

• Ultima CanAm • Raptor RR • Dutton Phaeton Pt2 • Haynes Roadster build • Choosing instruments

January 2017

February 2017

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September 2017

• CKC Car of the Year • Pilgrim Sumo • Haynes Roadster Pt2 • M&W Speedster build • AIE rotary engine

• Pie Valley Buggy • Mosselchuit • M&W Speedster Pt2 • Fisher Fury build • Protech Shocks

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Stoneleigh 2017

• NG TF V8 • Desert Scorpion Pt2 • Stimson Minibug • Westfield build • DIY prop repair

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• SSV Bug:R driven • Kozmo and Finnluxury • Mini Marcos Pt2 • Stoneleigh 2017 • Brush paint your car

• Dave Jones GTE • Nubodi Koupé • 60 years of the Seven • Lister Bell STR build • Birkin S3 restoration

• GD 427 to Le Mans • Lister Bell Pt2 (driven) • Adrenaline Murtaya • 2rike • Moto-Lita

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• Chesil Speedster • DDR Miami V8 • Westfield SDV Pt2 • Dax 427 build • Factory Five ’65 build

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• Blackwell SDR1 • XCS Model A driven • GKD Legend • Factory Five ’66 Pt2 • Siltech Racing

December 2017

• Mirage GT driven • GTM Coupé at 50 • MEV Exocet group • Tiger Avon build • Calculating coil springs

• McLaren F1 replica • Caterham Donington • Westfield SDV build • Hammer form ali • Exo Rocket II driven

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January 2018

• Mid Century Formosa • DJC V-Storm WR3 • WAM DBS3 • Tiger Avon Pt2 • Making GRP panels

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• Exo SVE Rocket II • Dax 427 • Westfield FW400 • GTM Spyder modified • Suspension theory

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• MR2 based Lambo • XCS 427 • Kyburz Erod • Rickman Ranger resto • NG Irish road trip

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• Marlin Sportster V8 • GBS Zero 2.5-litre • Probe 15 • Autotune Aristocat build • Ford Zetec

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• Two Ultima GTRs • Land’s End Trial • GTM Libra at 20 • Hawk Daytona • Quantum 2+2 resto

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• Rennen GT • Ronart W152 V8 • Interstyl Hustler • Quantum 2+2 Pt2 • Ginetta G15 resto

LAST FEW

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• Sylva Riot • AK 427 LS7 • Burton 2CV pick-up • Ginetta G15 Pt2 • Mazda MX-5 engine

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January 2019

February 2019

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January 2020

• Tifosi JEM • GD 427s Pt2 • Grinsvens Classics • Suffolk SS100 build • How to fit headlights

• Iconic Speedster • Suffolk SS100 Pt2 • Diesel Marlin Sportster • Ford Pinto engine • DIY wheel alignment

• MEV Exocet Mk3 • Westfield Eleven • Sylva Striker • Jago Geep restoration • How to rivnut

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• Dax Coupé • Marlin EXi • Jago Geep Pt2 • BMW 328 replica build • A-series engine profile

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• Pilgrim Speedster • Grinnall Scorpion • Grande Finale • GBS Zero build • Electrical relays

Stoneleigh 2019 • Hawk 289 • Z-Cars Fiabusa • GBS Zero Pt2 • RS Retro B200 • Towing legalities

• Exo SVE Rocket II • Gardner Douglas GD 427 • SHADO Jeep • New Zealand road trip • Rochdale GT restomod

• RS Retro B200 • DeHavilland F48 • Rochdale GT Pt2 • Ford Zetec engine • Pre-lit Westfield build

• Ultima Sports • Autotune anniversary • Classic Coachworks • Chevrolet LS engine • Pilgrim Sumo build

LAST FEW

August 2019

• Mini based group test • Vortex V2 • Pilgrim Sumo Pt2 • How to map an engine • GCS Hawke build

September 2019

• Gardner Douglas T70 • Tiger anniversary • MEV Electrocet • GCS Hawke Pt2 • Dutton drag car build

October 2019

• DeHavilland DVT GTS • MK Indy RX-5 • Dutton drag car Pt2 • Healy Enigma build • A day at Speedy Cables

• MEV Replicar • Kingfisher Overlander • Healy Enigma Pt2 • MK Indy build • Ford Crossflow profile

• One-off GT40 replica • DeHavilland F48 • MK Indy Pt2 • Willys Jeep replica build • Fitting LED lighting

• Iconic Speedster 987 • Beetle based group test • Willys Jeep replica Pt2 • A day at Automec • How to form metal

OUR CARS

When we’re not writing about kit cars, we can often be found working on our own cars – and occasionally even driving them! Here’s the latest progress from inside the garages of the CKC team. Well, some of the CKC team, at least...

GETTING A HANDLE ON IT Martin continues with rebuilding the Calvy Mitchel’s door handles… using some plumbing parts in the process.

Interior handle in position.

MARTIN SCOTT Projects: Quantum Coupé, Calvy Mitchel, Rickman Ranger This month: Making the Calvy Mitchel’s door handles fully functional.

66 February 2020

M

Bear claw latch, steel rod, and door lock rod clip.

y last report showed how a GRP part was created to give a firm fixing for the interior door handle of the Calvy Mitchel, making it ready to connect to the bear-claw latch.

I considered a cable, but the obvious choice was to link to the rod which was already part of the MGB handle mechanism.

I have a plastic box in the garage containing odd scraps of metal gathered over the years, and a quick rummage produced a length of 4mm diameter stainless steel rod which looked ideal for the job.

After another search in a drawer, I found a rod clip. These are readily available online searching for ‘car door lock rod clips’ – the selection packs of clips for various sizes of rods can be particularly useful.

The outside of the plastic rod clip was the correct size for the hole in the latch lever and the rod fitted perfectly in the hole in the clip, but needed a 90deg bend at its end. Bending the rod in the bench vice didn’t produce a tight enough bend, so it was clear that the rod needed to be heated. I have a carbon arc torch which I bought a few years ago, which is handy for heating or brazing metal, and a lot cheaper than using oxy-acetylene equipment. It attaches to an arc welder and uses carbon electrodes which, when brought together, produce a heating ‘flame’ without the need for any gas supply! A few seconds of heating had the stainless rod glowing orange, and it was easily bent to a tight right angle using an adjustable spanner pre-set for the job.

After it had cooled, I realised I’d made the bend a little further from the end of the rod than necessary, but this was to pay dividends later. The rod was cleaned where it had been blackened and was ready for use. A second piece of rod was bent to fit the plastic connector on the end of the MGB handle assembly, and once cut to a suitable length the two rods were joined together using a domestic electrical connector. Now that the interior handle was linked to the latch, the door could be easily opened from the inside.

Clip in position on latch.

The exterior handle presented a bigger challenge. I’d used resin and matting to repair the area where the handle was previously positioned because it was directly where the new latch needed to be. A new position for the handle needed to be decided upon, but holding it beside the door didn’t help much except to highlight that putting it lower would make it more difficult to reach from a standing position. A paper pattern of the mounting escutcheon was simpler to manoeuvre compared to the handle assembly and made it easier to consider alternative positions. I decided that a higher position, and forward sufficiently to be clear of the latch would probably look good and give room for any additional levers and rods inside the door.

A lever needed to be attached to the square shaft of the handle. I considered making a fibreglass part or using parts from a domestic lock until remembering where I’d seen the ideal part... so I was off to the plumbers’ merchants. The salesman placed a couple of toilet cistern levers on the counter and asked what sort of toilet I was fixing. I’m sure he didn’t believe me when I showed him the door handle and stated it came off my car. The plastic cistern lever I purchased for less than a pound fitted perfectly and even came with a securing screw.

Back in the garage I did a quick reality check before deciding to proceed drilling with a hole saw and fitting the door handle with the addition of an internal reinforcing plate used previously. Inside the door, the plastic lever (now shortened a little) was fitted to the shaft. Maybe joining it to the release lever on the latch would work? To test this theory, I drilled a rigid piece of plastic at each end and attached one end to a screw and nut on the lever. The other end of this plastic link simply engaged on the end of the stainless steel rod which I’d conveniently made too long earlier in the day.

It all worked as hoped, so I made an aluminium link piece to replace the temporary plastic one. With the mechanicals of the door complete, I’ll make a door card at a later date when the trimming is done. www.completekitcar.co.uk

IN OUR GARAGES

Cold bending didn’t achieve a tight enough bend...

...so a carbon arc torch was used...

...to get the correct shape.

Cleaned and in position, but a little too long.

Choosing the door handle position wasn’t easy...

...but a paper pattern helped...

...to reach a location.

Toilet cistern lever ideal for the job...

...and fitted the square shaft perfectly.

A hole saw was used to create this aperture...

...and handle with reinforcement plate was fitted.

A piece of scrap rigid plastic was used...

...to trial if the idea would work...

...and was then replaced with an aluminium link.

The door mechanisms are now complete.

www.completekitcar.co.uk

February 2020 67

OUR CARS

REPAIRS CONTINUE Jame’s Nova rebuild is making steady progress, with a number of improvements as he goes.

Working outside helps keep garage dust-free.

Canopy repairs continue.

Damage to inner profile edge complete.

Repairs tie together inner and outer mouldings.

More work on inner window rebates.

New captive fixings for headlamp covers.

Jack nuts deform to create captive thread.

Under-bonnet next for attention. Needs painting.

Inner bonnet moulding grille fixings being filled.

JAMES HORSLEY Projects: Nova This month: The long job of repairing the Nova’s bodywork continues.

68 February 2020

M

ore of the same this month. The garage is definitely getting cooler, and outside is getting wetter. This has slowed me down a bit as sanding the canopy parts inside the garage generates too much dust. The majority of major repairs are now complete on the canopy but lots of small blemishes and prior damage keep revealing themselves. In the last report I highlighted some areas on the front underside where the inner and outer panels were separating. I managed to grind out some damage relatively simply and then lay in new cloth and resin to reunite them. I am actually really pleased with how this went, and it seems very solid now. The underside of the canopy is in part still original black gelcoat, but some prior repairs have been covered with a form of black flowcoat, which is poorly applied and very messy to remove. Ultimately, it looks likely I’ll end up hand sanding down every part of the canopy inner section to be happy I have prepared it for paint.

As well as the canopy I have also been working on an alternative fixing method for the headlamp covers. They are too problematic to remove with nuts and bolts, and I don’t like self-tappers. So I had planned to use rivnuts, but having prepped and drilled my holes I

realised that due to the recess lip for the cover I couldn’t get my rivnut tool in place! So plan B – I sourced some ‘jack nut’ fixings which compress behind the hole when bolted up – a bit like a metal rawl plug. The jury is still out on whether I am happy with these!

My next headscratch is the under-bonnet area. Due to the inner wing repair being completed some paintwork is needed under the bonnet but with many of the under bonnet parts hard to move (fusebox, hydraulic pump, heater, radiator) I am thinking it may be best not to respray this area, but instead prepare it for paint now, and finish in satin black myself. The body colour can then just be applied to external areas. While this may seem a compromise it will avoid stripping the car entirely, and will keep it driveable for manoeuvring in/out of the workshop.

I am also trying to work out another way to screen the bonnet air outlets as with the panel now completely removable these holes become my handles to lift the bonnet away – so the grilles are in the way! For now I am filling over the old mounting holes, and will consider how to mount a grille under the bonnet independently. I seem to be spending more time thinking than doing at the moment – but hopefully the cogitation will be worth it. www.completekitcar.co.uk

Northampton Motorsport

Credit John Stewart Photography

The EcoBoost Tuning Specialists

Pete Goulding, Mygale Formula Ford 1.6 Ecoboost

320bhp and 304ft lbs 2nd overall 2019 British Sprint Championship Life Racing GDi4 ECU controlling engine, Launch, Traction and paddle shift.

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280bhp and 340ft lbs Life Racing GDi4 ECU and D5 Dash, controlling engine, Launch, Traction and paddle shift.

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Drive By wire | Direct injection | Variable valve timing | Forced induction | Knock control Sequential injection | Coil on plug | Odd fire engines | Individual cylinder trims | Wide band lambda control.

We are agents for Life Racing ECUs and motorsport electronics which have been developed in competition at the highest level of international motorsport from Le Mans prototype to the record breaking Ford Fox project.

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Whether for road or track, with intelligent engine monitoring and additional features like switchable maps, variable traction control, gearbox control and flex fuel we can make sure you get the best out of your engine and chassis package.

Why not contact us to see how we can help with your project.

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February 2020 69 www.northamptonmotorsport.com

13/12/2019 12/12/2019 9:36 4:06 am pm

ENGINE PROFILE

NEW ERA FORD The Ford Ecoboost represents a new generation of engine, where there really is a substitute for cubic capacity. Will this be the engine for your next kit car?

Words: John Dickens Pictures: Archive

1.0-litre threecylinder Ford Ecoboost engine.

70 February 2020

www.completekitcar.co.uk

FORD ECOBOOST

F

ord uses the Ecoboost designation to describe a range of turbocharged, direct-injection petrol engines. The range includes small and medium capacity inline three and four-cylinder engines and V6 units for the larger capacities. Most of the V6 units are fitted to vehicles used in the American market so this profile will deal only with those inline units readily available in the UK. The Ecoboost engines were designed to produce power and torque comparable with existing engines but with much better fuel efficiency (30 percent) and much lower emissions (15 percent). Ford reasoned that turbocharging small capacity engines was a less costly and more versatile way of achieving this than further developing hybrid or diesel technology. The Ecoboost engines are produced as 1.0-litre and 1.5-litre inline three-cylinder engines and 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre, 2.0-litre and 2.3-litre inline four-cylinder engines and are widely used across Ford’s range of vehicles.

IDENTIFICATION As can be seen from the information below, not only are there seven different basic engine types within the Ecoboost range but most of the engine types are available with a range of power outputs depending on the intended use of the engine. This makes identification of a particular power unit very difficult.

If the engine is still in the car then you should be able to use the car model and the ‘What’s available’ information to work out exactly which engine you have. If the engine is out of the car and you do not know its origin some of the information in the ‘Construction’ section of this article may be useful in determining some basic information about a power unit but not its specifics.

Having failed to find any definitive information on the internet I contacted Ford itself who put me in touch with Paul McDermott, the manager of Ford Component Sales (Europe). It is responsible for spares supply and they also supplies complete engine units and power trains to companies such as Morgan. He was very helpful and explained that, unlike earlier engines, the Ecoboost units do not have an identifying engine number or engine code on the cylinder block but they do have an Engine Part Number which can be found on a label on the cam cover. Ford Component Sales dealers can use this engine part number to fully identify any individual EcoBoost engine. He also gave me details of the Ford Component Sales dealers.

Hendy Power Products, 22 Brunel Way, Segensworth, Fareham, Hampshire PO15 5SD. T: 01489 560753. E: power.parts@hendy-group.com W: www.hendypower.co.uk Power Torque Engineering, Herald Way, Binley, Coventry, Warwickshire CV3 2RQ. T: 024 7663 5757.

E: sales@powertorque.co.uk W: www.powertorque.co.uk So if you contact these companies with the engine part number from an Ecoboost engine they should be able to give you the full specification of that engine (and also sell any spares you may need).

WHAT’S AVAILABLE? 1.0-LITRE FOX Bore by Stroke 71.9mm by 82mm 995cc Compression ratio 10.0:1 Power 99 to 140bhp Applications 99bhp Ford Focus, Ford C-Max, Ford B-Max, Ford Fiesta, Ford Ecosport 123bhp Ford Focus, Ford C-Max, Ford B-Max, Ford Fiesta, Ford EcoSport, Ford Mondeo, Ford Transit Courier 140bhp Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus 1.5-LITRE DRAGON Bore by Stroke 84mm by 90mm 1497cc Compression ratio 9.7:1 Power 150 to 200bhp APPLICATIONS 150bhp Ford Focus 180bhp Ford Focus 200bhp Ford Fiesta ST 1.5-LITRE Bore by Stroke 79mm by 76.4mm 1498cc Compression ratio 10.0:1 Power 148 to 181bhp Applications Ford Focus, Ford C-Max 148bhp 158bhp Ford Mondeo 181bhp Ford Fusion, Ford Focus

www.completekitcar.co.uk

1.6-LITRE Bore by Stroke 79mm by 81.4mm 1596cc Compression ratio 10.0:1 Power 120 to 200bhp Applications 118bhp Volvo V40 148bhp Ford C-Max, Ford Focus. Volvo S60, Volvo V60, Volvo V40 158bhp Ford Mondeo, Ford S-Max, Ford Galaxy 178bhp Ford Focus, Ford Transit Connect, 182bhp Ford C-MAX, Volvo S60, Volvo V60, Ford Focus, Volvo V70, Volvo S80, Volvo V40, Ford Fiesta ST, Ford Fusion 197bhp Ford Fiesta ST 2.0-LITRE Bore by Stroke 87.5mm by 83.1mm 1999 cc Compression ratio 9.3:1 Power 200 to 252bhp Applications 200bhp Ford S-Max, Ford Galaxy, Ford Mondeo, Volvo S60 2.0T, Volvo V60 2.0T, Volvo V70 2.0T 240bhp Ford Mondeo, Ford Explorer, Ford Edge, Range Rover Evoque, Ford S-MAX, Ford Kuga, Land Rover Freelander 2, Ford Fusion, Land Rover Discovery Sport 252bhp Ford Focus ST

2.0-LITRE TWIN-SCROLL Bore by Stroke 87.5mm by 83.1mm 1999cc Compression ratio 9.3:1 Power 245 to 250bhp Applications 245bhp Ford Edge, Ford Kuga, Ford Fusion 2.3-LITRE Bore by Stroke 87.5mm by 94mm 2264cc Compression ratio 9.5:1 Power 280 to 350bhp Applications 276bhp Ford Focus ST

Ford Explorer 300bhp Ford Explorer 350bhp Ford Focus RS

February 2020 71

ENGINE PROFILE CONSTRUCTION 1.0-litre inline three-cylinder Fox (2012 to date) Unusually for a modern engine the 1.0-litre inline three-cylinder engine has a thin-wall cast iron cylinder block. In addition to its strength this material has a lower heat conductivity than aluminium giving a quicker warm-up and lower initial emissions. For the same reason a two stage thermostat is used to allow coolant flow to bypass the cylinder block during warm-up. The cylinder head is cast in aluminium and the exhaust manifold is cast integrally with the cylinder head. This gives a quicker warm-up and also cools the exhaust gases giving the turbocharger an easier life. The four valves per cylinder are operated by double overhead camshafts and mechanical bucket tappets.

The camshafts are driven by an internal toothed belt which is lubricated by the engine oil reducing friction and parasitic power loss. Ti-VCT technology provides variable valve timing on both inlet and exhaust camshafts.

The crankshaft has the crankpins spaced at 120deg intervals giving good primary and secondary balance but producing an end to end rocking motion in the engine. Rather than use an auxiliary balance shaft which would absorb engine power Ford has modified the flywheel to give smooth running. The sump is an aluminium casting and the oil pump has a variable output to suit operating conditions. Direct fuel injection into the combustion chamber is used.

The engine is very compact. Ford claim that it has a footprint the same size as an A4 sheet of paper.

In 2017 Ford produced a new version of the engine featuring cylinder deactivation under low load conditions. A new dual-mass flywheel and a vibration-damping clutch help to neutralise engine vibration when running on only two cylinders.

1.5-litre inline three-cylinder Dragon (2017 to date) This engine is an expansion of the 1.0-litre unit with an individual cylinder capacity of 500cc. This time the cylinder block is also cast in aluminium. It uses both direct and port fuel injection and has cylinder deactivation technology.

1.5-litre inline four-cylinder (2014 to date) This engine is a reduced capacity version of the 1.6-litre I4 engine. It has a shorter piston stroke (76.4mm) and was initially produced to take advantage of Chinese vehicle tax regulations but has since become more widely used, replacing the occasionally problematic 1.6-litre engine in many applications. Particular attention in this design was given to the coolant flow in order to avoid the local overheating problems found in the 1.6-litre Ecoboost engines. The block and head are in aluminium alloy, the crankshaft is cast iron, the connecting rods are hot forged powdered metal with cracked end caps and the pistons are hypereutectic alloy. It has an integral exhaust manifold and an oil lubricated timing belt like the I3 engines. Valve operation is by DOHC and mechanical lifters and, like the I3 engines, it features Ti-VCT. It also has a computer controlled water pump clutch to aid faster warm-up.

72 February 2020

1.6-litre inline four-cylinders (2010 to date) The engine’s cylinder block and cylinder head are cast in aluminium alloy. The block has an open-deck design which helps lower weight and improve cooling balance. Thin cast iron liners are cast directly into aluminium cylinder walls. The crankshaft is cast iron with four counterweights and five main bearings. The connecting rods are forged and carry hypereutectic alloy pistons with low-friction resin-coated skirts.

The sump is also made from aluminium and adds structural support to the engine block.

The 16v cylinder head is designed as one piece with the camshaft casing. It has four valves per cylinder and D-shaped intake ports for efficient airflow. The belt driven valve train uses DOHC operation with mechanical buckets for valve activation. There are no adjustment shims. Instead the buckets themselves are available in 36 different thicknesses to set the correct valve clearance. Intake valve diameter is 30mm, while the exhaust valves are 25mm. The valve stems are only 5mm in diameter. Ti-VCT is featured on this engine.

High-pressure direct fuel injection is used with sixhole injectors and the high pressure fuel is supplied by a pump driven from an additional lobe on the camshaft. Each injector is located in the centre of the cylinder, near the spark plug.

The turbocharger is a high-response Borg Warner KP39 low-inertia turbocharger attached to a separate cast iron exhaust manifold. The centre section of the turbocharger is water-cooled. The compressed air goes through an air-to-air intercooler then into a plastic intake manifold through the 52.0 mm driveby-wire throttle body controlled by the ECU Bosch MED17.

2.0-litre inline four-cylinder (2010 to 2015) Originally derived from the Mazda L engine, the construction of this engine is very similar to that of the 1.6-litre unit having an open deck aluminium alloy block with iron liners and a DOHC 16v alloy cylinder head. The cast iron crankshaft has eight counterweights and a damped front pulley. There are forged steel connecting rods with oil jet cooled aluminium pistons. The engine may have a watercooled exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head or a conventional head with the separate exhaust manifold in unit with the turbocharger.

The intake and exhaust camshafts are driven by a single-row timing chain and once again the engine features Ti-VCT. High-pressure petrol direct injection is used with each cylinder having a 7-hole injector. The highpressure fuel pump is camshaft driven. The fuel pressure varies between 65 and 2150psi, depending on demand. The turbocharger is a low-inertia Borg Warner K03 unit.

The engine is ‘drive by wire’ and its operation is controlled by the Bosch MED17 ECU. Coil-on-plug ignition is used.

2.0-litre twin-scroll inline four-cylinder (2015 to date) Although the name was retained, this engine is largely redesigned with very few components in common

with the earlier version. There is a new aluminium cylinder block and redesigned aluminium cylinder head with an integral exhaust manifold optimized for the new Borg-Warner twin-scroll turbocharger.

The exhaust gases from cylinders one and four, and cylinders two and three, go separately into the two scrolls (turbines) of the turbocharger reducing the time needed to reach full boost.

The new turbocharger also has an active waste gate controlled by the ECU. This allows accurately managed boost and torque levels. The new engine features revised fuel injectors with more precise fuel delivery. Internally there is a forged steel crankshaft, new pistons, a higher compression ratio (10.0:1 rather than 9.3:1) and a variable output oil pump.

The new engine is also about 10 pounds lighter than the earlier version.

2.3-litre (2015 to date) Introduced at the same time as the 2.0-litre twinscroll the 2.3-litre Ecoboost engine is essentially a long stroke version (94mm as opposed to 83.1mm) of the 2.0-litre Gen 2 engine. Some aspects of the engine have been strengthened to cope with the extra power produced.

The engine has a high-pressure diecast open deck aluminium cylinder block which has enlarged oil and cooling passages and a structural ladder frame with integrated main bearing caps. The long stroke crankshaft is forged in 4340 steel and carries forged steel connecting rods with lightweight high-strength pistons. The new pistons have a lowfriction coating and fewer oil drainage holes for better lubrication and lower friction. The bottom side of each cylinder is cooled with oil constantly sprayed by special oil jets inside the engine block.

The bottom of the engine includes a chain driven oil pump, a balance shaft, and an aluminium die-cast sump with a baffled area which helps prevent oil surge.

The DOHC cylinder head is cast in aluminium and has four valves, one fuel injector and one spark plug per cylinder. The camshafts are chain driven.

The exhaust manifold is integral with the cylinder head and feeds the exhaust gases into a new twinscroll IWG turbocharger. The exhaust valves are 2mm larger at 30mm. The intake valve diameter is 32.5mm. The camshafts have higher lift and longer duration and use Ford’s Ti-VCT system. The exhaust camshaft drives the high-pressure fuel pump.

The engine has a revised plastic intake manifold with increased volume and a larger diameter throttle body.

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FORD ECOBOOST COMMON PROBLEMS AND FIXES A problem for all direct injection engines is that there is no fuel passing through the intake ports.

This fuel would normally perform a cleaning function. Without it carbon can build up on the intake valves and stems and can restrict the airflow through the ports. Dirty intake valves also have problems with sealing, which leads to loss of engine power and, eventually, serious damage of valves and valve seats.

1.0-litre engine The engines produced before 2014 had a problem with the bottom coolant hose that would split and leak coolant. There is also a pipe that runs from the expansion bottle to the engine that can crack and leak. This pipe was upgraded during routine servicing.

High-mileage engines can suffer from issues with fuel pressure. Replacing the worn fuel cam bucket will cure the problem.

1.6-litre engine The 1.6-litre Ecoboost engine was the subject of a huge and well publicised safety recall. Localised overheating could cause the cylinder heads to crack and warp leading to oil leaks and occasionally engine fires. The recall replaced the affected parts and also added a coolant level sensor with audible and visual warnings.

2.0-litre engine The main problem area on this engine is the combined exhaust manifold/turbocharger unit. The stainless steel exhaust manifold is prone to cracking at relatively low mileages (50 to 60k miles) and is expensive to repair. Failure of the turbocharger control valve is also a very common problem. The fuel filter in the tank is easily clogged and does not allow the low pressure pump to deliver the required pressure and quantity of fuel for correct highpressure pump operation.

2.3-litre engine The most well-known problem for this engine is head gasket failure. Ford Focus RS engines had an issue with a leaking head gasket resulting from the use of the wrong head gasket in the initial assembly.

WHAT TO CHOOSE Obviously the bigger the engine capacity the greater the power output in standard and tuned form but even the compact lightweight 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit can be mapped to produce 175bhp so it could be ideal for a lightweight high performance car. Remaps seem to be available for all the EcoBoost variants but the most popular in terms of tuning parts and information seem to be the 1.0-litre inline three-cylinder and the 1.6-litre inline four-cylinder engines.

TUNING TIPS With 130 to 150bhp per litre available from the Ecoboost range they are already in a fairly high state of tune but increases in power can still be found. The first step would be to reprogram or rechip the stock ECU to provide more power and torque and there are companies all around the UK who can do this for you or sell you the necessary parts. Essentially the reprogrammed ECU can modify the fuelling, ignition timing, rev limit and possibly the boost pressure of the engine to enhance performance.

Burton Performance offers a range of DIY kits which allow you to reprogram or ‘flash’ your engine’s ECU yourself via the car’s OBD2 port using a laptop and a special USB connector. Another alternative is to fit a ‘piggy back’ supplementary ECU in addition to the OEM unit. This has the advantage that it is very easy to return the car to its stock configuration.

Following a re-map the next step would be to fit a cold air induction kit and high flow air filter to allow a greater volume of cooler air into the turbocharger.

A hybrid (modified) turbocharger should be considered next along with an uprated intercooler and a less restrictive exhaust system, particularly the downpipe, which will allow the turbocharger

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to work more efficiently. The engine also responds to more conventional tuning methods and larger throttle bodies and replacement camshafts are available for some engines in the EcoBoost range.

Using the 182bhp 1.6-litre engine found in the Fiesta ST180 as an example a remap can raise the power to 200 to 215bhp and an induction kit can add another 10bhp to this. A hybrid turbo will allow the engine to produce 230bhp and the addition of a better intercooler and downpipe can raise this to around 270bhp. With the addition of a new turbocharger, a modified wastegate actuator to allow higher boost pressures and a full free-flowing exhaust system a reliable 300bhp is available.

Using this same engine Pumaspeed markets a kit, including a remap, which can raise the power output to 370bhp at 7950rpm using a boost pressure of 1.8bar (26psi). This effectively doubles the output of the standard engine while retaining all the standard engine internals.

SPECIALISTS AND TUNERS AET Motorsport www.aetmotorsport.com Burton Performance www.burtonpower.com Motorsport Developments www.motorsport-developments.co.uk Mountune www.mountunestore.com Pumaspeed www.pumaspeed.co.uk

February 2020 73

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Ranges include: • EcoBoost 1.0, 1.5 & 3.5 • New ‘Maverick’ 2.0 & 2.3 • Coyote V8 • New Panther EcoBlue 2.0 diesel engines • PSA EB2ADTS – 1.2 Turbocharged • PSA EC5 – 1.6 Ti-VCT • PSA EP6FADTX – 1.6 Turbocharged • Manual & Automatic Transmissions • OE Components from Ford & PSA • Technical support, drawings & CAD available

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74 February 2020

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GAZ Adjustable Dampers FROM (each)

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Goodridge Braided Steel Hose Kits . . . . . . from £57.50 Comprehensive range of pipe fittings, bends and unions.

Brake pad fitting kits available for most Fords.

Brake Pipe Flaring Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £24.00 Brake Pipe Clamp - Heavy Duty. . . . . . . . . . . . . £11.00 Standard and performance pads, discs and calipers available for most Fords

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From outside the UK dial +44 208 518 9189 (GMT Time Zone)

Fuel Pump 3psi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £31.99 Fuel Pump 4 - 5.5psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £43.50 Fuel Pump 7psi, competition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £35.95 Mounting Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £5.65 Fuel Pump Kit 4 - 5.5psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £76.60 Fuel Pump Kit 6 - 7.25psi Red Top Works . . . . . £81.50

www.burtonpower.com/electrical Odyssey Sealed Batteries • Fully sealed. Mount any way up • Can be safely mounted in boot • Compact size • Delivers more power for size

4 pot 245x13mm road brake kit: Cortina Mk3/4/5 based kit car . . . . . . . . £450.00 Escort Mk1/2 based kit car . . . . . . . . . . . £450.00 4 pot 245x22mm road brake kit: Cortina Mk3/4/5 based kit car . . . . . . . . £450.00 Escort Mk1/2 based kit car . . . . . . . . . . . £450.00 4 pot 260x20mm road brake kit: Escort 1/2/Capri based kit car . . . . . . . . £500.00 Cortina Mk3/4/5 based kit car . . . . . . . . . £500.00

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Water Rails Raceline Water rail - Zetec E. . . . £209.95 Raceline fitting kit - Zetec E . . . . . £9.00 Retroford Water rail - Zetec E . . £216.00 Water rail - Duratec HE I4 . . . . . £255.26 Fitting kit - Duratec HE I4 water rail. £9.14 Retroford Water rail - Duratec. . . £264.00

Comex Cooling Fans Various sizes and kits available.

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Vacuum tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . from £2.10 Alloy Joiners . . . . . . . . . . . . . from £6.50 Reducers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from £8.50 Elbows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from £9.70 Hose Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from £9.95 Straight hose 0.5m . . . . . . . . from £11.95 Stainless Hose Clip Set . . . . . . . from £3.25

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Flip top fuel caps Monza . . . . . . . . . . . . . .from £51.50 Aero (flush) . . . . . . . . . .from £61.50 Aero (flush) lockable . . .from £99.50 Aston . . . . . . . . . . . . .from £149.95

Oil Coolers & Catch Cans

£55.99

Oil Cooler Rads 7 row . . . . . . .£58.99 10 row . . . . . .£59.59 13 row . . . . . .£66.95 34 row . . . . .£205.99 Sandwich Blocks . . . . . . . .from £32.95 Crash resistant. in-line, oil to water coolers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .from £229.90 Catch Tanks +sight glass from £104.95

Pipercross’ unique foam filter offered superior filtration and air flow after www.burtonpower.com/engines 500 miles. This means you won’t need to clean your Pipercross filter as frequently as other brands.

Wet Sump Oil Pan Kits Single Carb Baseplates . . .from £14.20 FROM Single Carb Elements . . . .from £32.95 Dual Twin Carb Basepltes .from £29.74 Dual Twin Carb Element . .from £58.96 Pipercross Air Box Filter .from £163.36 Zetec E RWD www.burtonpower.com/filters BURTON Alloy - £441.00 Raceline Alloy - Silver Top . £532.36 Raceline Alloy - Black Top . . . . . . . . . . £510.00 Duratec HE I4 BURTON Steel - Escort RWD. . . . . . . . £375.00 Raceline Alloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £475.00

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3 Point . . . . . from £33.00 4 point . . . . . from £34.00 6 point . . . . from £134.95 Westfield . . . from £105.95 FIA Approved from £121.99

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Pipercross Air Filtration

Build your own performance exhaust with universal straight pipes, angles and silencer boxes. Ideal for competition use. All standard components available in aluminised/ mild steel with selected items in stainless steel.

14Amp, 5Kg, 400A cranking current . . . . . . . . £152.50 26Amp, 9Kg, 685A cranking current . . . . . . . . £168.00 37Amp, 12.5Kg, 965A cranking current . . . . . . £189.95

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RUNNING REPORTS

Want to know what it’s really like to build a kit car? Our team of Running Reporters tell all about building their cars at home in their garages. Follow their progress every other issue... and maybe even be inspired to get in the garage yourself this weekend...

ROLLING Needing to clear the ramp was all the excuse Simon needed to get the Avante’s body and wheels on, but there was quite a bit of work needed to get there…

SIMON SKELDING Project: Avante Mk1 Age: 53 Occupation: Suspension manufacturer Project Start Date: May 2018

76 February 2020

076 Running Reports.indd 76

P

icking up on last month’s work on the doors and the great feeling of getting the window winder mechanisms installed, it quickly became apparent that there is a lot more work left to do to get to the finished items. The new glass was cut to the template made by a local glass merchant. With a large radius at the front, the window needs to come right to the top where the seals will eventually be mounted.

The doors were designed to use Morris Marina handles and mechanisms and the outer handles look like they were installed when the kit was supplied, however the striker plates and inner release handles required installation. The Avante inner door has a feature line running up to the dash so I thought I could try to mount the handle along the same plane. I used the stock inner operating bar to position the handle and welded it to the winder frame at the desired angle. This then determined where the rest of the feature line needed to be built up towards the dash. I cut a plywood template to cover the whole inner door and started the positioning by getting the door release trim to fit. Then the plywood was screwed to the inner door so that an aluminium tube and some more plywood templates were attached to form the feature line up to the dash. This was all done with fibreglass and filler and much sanding.

Having got the basic shape sorted, it showed another area that would need attention. The inside of the window where the back sweeps up to the roof needed a skin making. This was made in fibreglass which was laid up on the old side window to give a nice smooth finish and again bonded into place and clamped to the frame.

The above work took about three weeks, so for a break I did some work on the rear grille that has been tig welded using the original boot panel as a jig. I checked the general fit in the aperture and was really happy that it would fit. I bolted it in each corner and it held the shape of the curves amazingly well. A couple of tabs mounted to the bottom of the numberplate mount and three more along the top edge have been all that was needed to provide the floating grille effect I was after. The outer part of the 1in tube that forms the body seam was cut off with a slitting disc and flap wheeled back to give a good shape. Again, I am really pleased with how this came out and the line flow with the body.

The engine cover that was cut out last month has been mounted on a 2in aluminium strip bolted to the body. The cover is also held down by the same anodised aluminium countersunk bolts with countersunk washers in a two by two formation.

Another question raised by the mid-engined layout was where to put the fuel tank. I have taken a leaf out of the Ultima manual and gone for twin side-mounted tanks. Another plywood template was made to optimise the space before cutting them from 3mm aluminium sheet and tig welding them up. My friend Kieron who does the tig welding was asked to make sure they were no bigger

“WE DROPPED THE BODY ON... NOW IT DOES LOOK AMAZING SITTING ON THE GROUND. OH, YES!” than the sample and he did a great job. When they came back they slipped straight in.

I now got to the point where I could not resist all the powdercoated chassis parts laid on the workshop floor. I positioned the chassis pan on four axle stands and made a start. First job was to go around all the threaded holes and run a tap down them so the bolts would screw in easily. Then the front wishbones, spindles, coil-overs and steering rack were bolted up. The rear set-up followed the same pattern, wishbones, hubs, coil-overs and struts.

Finally, the brake discs and calipers finished the whole lot off.

The front and rear braided brake lines were rerun and the OBP pedalbox bolted in. This was followed closely by the Trigger handbrake set-up with my new cable arrangement. The coolant and heater aluminium pipes were re-installed after a quick burnish with the flap wheel as these are going to be on view in the cabin, adding to the mechanical look I am going for.

The Car Builder Solutions heater box was bolted in up front and the flex hoses added too. The passenger footrest was trimmed to sit closely around the coolant pipes and then bolted to the floorpan.

At this point I need to see the wheels on, so they were next to be attached. Fat! I thought I would add some Dynamat to the floorpan as it is much easier now without the body! With the seats bolted on top of that it now needed to go into the other workshop so the engine assembly could be installed and some further hosing of the coolant and heating system could be finished. Final job on the chassis was to install the intercooler and air inlet pipes.

Back to the body. I needed to make the inner seal holder that holds the felt against the inside of the window. This was made by attaching a 20 by 50 angle aluminium filler to sit just inside the window and then attaching the felt seal to that. Sounds easy, but took ages! However, these are the bits I will have to look at every time I get in the car so they have to look good.

Another job that made a real impact was painting the inside of the body with matt black paint. It took a couple of hours but it does look classy. Finally this month I needed to clear the ramp so my friend Michael could get his Rochdale on it while I was away, so we dropped the body onto the chassis and put the steering wheel on so that it could be pushed around. Now it does look amazing sitting on the ground. Oh, yes! www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 11:51 am

REAL-WORLD BUILDS

New glass cut by local supplier.

Handle aligned to moulding in door...

...using plywood trim for each side.

Templates for inner door elements.

Skin needed for rearmost fit of window.

Work on rear grille provided a break.

Countersunk bolts hold down frame.

Having a ramp really helps!

Assembling the suspension...

...was a job that Simon...

...could resist no longer.

Dynamat easy to fit with no body.

Wide wheels look great!

Back to the windows. Sills in next.

Finalising this job took a while.

Inside of fibreglass all painted.

Engine and gearbox in place. Mid engined layout led to fuel tank relocation.

With the body placed on the chassis, there’s lots of visible progress.

RUNNING REPORTS IS SUPPORTED BY Car Builder Solutions T: 01580 891309 E: info@cbsonline.co.uk W: www.cbsonline.co.uk

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076 Running Reports.indd 77

ETB Instruments T: 01702 601055 E: info@etbinstruments.com W: www.etbinstruments.com

Dampertech T: 01709 703992 E: sales@dampertech.co.uk W: www.dampertech.co.uk

Woolies T: 01778 347347 E: info@woolies-trim.co.uk W: www.woolies-trim.co.uk

Midland Wheels T: 01926 817444 E: sales@midlandwheels.com W: www.midlandwheels.com

SiliconHoses.com T: 0845 8385364 E: info@siliconhoses.com W: www.siliconhoses.com

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13/12/2019 11:52 am

RUNNING REPORTS

CHASSIS SHAPING UP With the gearbox in place and work on the suspension done, the rolling chassis is coming together.

Rear suspension arms to be fitted next.

They required some adjustment...

...which required perseverance.

Gearbox in position...

...which is a big step. Could only select reverse at first.

Jon can’t look!

CLARE SPINDLOE Project: Chesil Speedster Age: 37 Occupation: Business analyst Project Start Date: July 2017

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076 Running Reports.indd 78

I

n advance of fitting the cleaned up gearbox to the chassis we needed to get the gear linkage rod in position in the central tunnel. There is a little guide just behind the gearstick leading back to the gearbox for it to sit in. Using a piece of thin wire, which we fed through the hole next to the gearstick to the front of the chassis and attached to the gear linkage, we pulled the rod into the guide so that it could be positioned correctly. The guide was then smeared with grease to give as smooth a gearchange action as possible.

Next we worked on the rear suspension. Jon’s visit to Chesil had shown that the rear suspension would need to be adjusted to remove a little of the pressure that supports the car so that the Speedster will sit a little lower than the Beetle. To release some of this pressure off the springs, we had to take each side of the rear suspension, pull the blind shaft out from where it joins the springs in the middle of the chassis, rotate it one notch upwards, then push it back in and secure it in this new slightly lower position.

Jon had been given a very detailed description of how to do this and the loud clang to expect when the blind shaft was released from the springs. It was just as well he had as it still made us jump! But with satisfaction we completed the adjustment and will hopefully see the benefit as the re-build continues.

We had previously cleaned up and repainted the rear suspension arms but needed to insert the new bushes we had bought before we could fit the arms to the chassis. The bushes were a very snug fit and so a few different tools were tried before we found a process that worked using the vice, a socket and a hammer!

With the new bushes in place the rear suspension arms were positioned on the mounts at the back of the chassis. They went on relatively easily, slight adjustments were needed to get them in

the right place and there wasn’t a lot of room between where the suspension arms met the mounts to fit and tighten the nuts and bolts but with perseverance we managed.

Now we were ready to put the gearbox in position. We were going to re-use the original gearbox mounts from the donor Beetle, but one of them was cracked quite significantly across the rubber section and we weren’t happy with its stability so ordered new ones.

These arrived swiftly from Heritage Parts Centre and we were able to fit them to the gearbox and mount the whole thing on the chassis. The gearlinkage rod connected up to the gearbox easily and we decided to fit the gearstick and test changing gears.

Unfortunately, we could only get it into one gear which appeared to be reverse, so we had an issue somewhere. We removed the gearbox and investigated. Taking off the nosecone revealed one of the three actuator rods was pushed into a selected gear position, even though the gear selection lever inside the nosecone was not pushing it down. We hadn’t noticed this when replacing the gasket, but it was simple to pull the rod back up into position so all three lined up.

We put the nosecone back on, and this time checked all the gears could now be selected before lifting the heavy gearbox back into position on the chassis. We used the universal joint from the gear linkage rod to check the gear selection and all seemed to be working fine. So we fitted the gearbox onto the chassis, connected the gear linkage rod back up, inserted the gearstick and finally had four working forward gears as well as a working reverse gear.

Finally, we fitted the shock absorbers, the rear shocks were very straightforward and connected easily, as did the front shock absorbers with the new mounts for the new front beam suspension.

The rolling chassis is taking shape. www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 11:52 am

REAL-WORLD BUILDS

BODY MODS It’s been a while since Rob’s last report, but a lot has changed.

He has sold four of his Midtecs to focus on this build.

Parts going onto powdercoated chassis. Spare wheel recess was to go.

It was first cut out...

...and smoothed over.

Indicator plinths also removed.

Dashboard panel has also been...

...simplified and modernised.

ROB DAVENHALL Project: Midtec Spyder Age: 37 Occupation: Specification manager Project Start Date: April 2014

I

Lots of cracks in fibreglass to fix.

t’s been a while since my last report and a lot has changed. The Midtec build is progressing more slowly now, which is a bit of a shame but understandable as a work promotion and general family life have started to take over a little bit again. I’ve been to more weddings this year than I have in the previous ten which has taken up a lot of my free time, as it’s not just the wedding but the stag do and then babysitting while the wife is out at the hen parties etc… but enough about me, what about the Midtec build?

As the dry build was now complete, it has been stripped back and sent off to the powdercoater for a lovely coat of satin black to the chassis and electric blue to the wishbones and steering column. I have to say it has come up much better than expected and it makes a big change to work on a clean surface again. The big issue I had was the overspray and the need to retap all the threads for the wishbones, so what should have been a quick re-assembly has turned out to be a longer more arduous task than anticipated. The current state is that the pedalbox is on, the front hubs and uprights are on, the steering rack is on, the radiator is on, the fuel tank is on… and that’s it for now.

The other area I have made significant progress is the body modifications. Cutting up a bodyshell is always a big step but this shell was in a bad way to start with, so I thought what the hell! First was the spare wheel on the back, as this is mainly going to be a track toy it was surplus to requirement. I then wanted to clean up the front and went for a larger scoop and no indicators. Instead, the signals will be incorporated into a set of halo style headlights. There’s still some work to do on the front but the back has turned out better than expected – with a massive rear diffuser and oversized rear wing I think it will really come to life. The bodywork was in a mess and in the end I made over 200 drill holes in the body as I went to work trying to stop and repair the crazing. It’s a very dusty and tedious job and it

Working with all clean parts for the Midtec’s re-assembly.

doesn’t seem to matter how many I thought I had fixed/repaired, I kept finding more!

I have also reworked the dashboard as I wanted to utilise the ETB DigiDash2 and the original Midtec design was set up for dials so a complete remodel was called for. The dash will only have the DigiDash, boost gauge and a few Savage switches surrounding the DigiDash to keep it simple and sleek. There are no indicator or light stalks in the car now as I have bought a remote steering wheel kit so the indicators and lights will be operated from switches mounted to the steering wheel. They’re still to be fitted.

So, the build moves forward but it has taken its casualties, as I have taken drastic action and sold all my other Midtecs. It had become obvious I was never going to get the time to finish all five so I decided to sell the other four, including my beloved blue road-going Midtec. It was a tough decision, but I needed to remove distractions to get on with the build and make way for an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. More on that next time.

RUNNING REPORTS IS SUPPORTED BY Car Builder Solutions T: 01580 891309 E: info@cbsonline.co.uk W: www.cbsonline.co.uk

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076 Running Reports.indd 79

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Dampertech T: 01709 703992 E: sales@dampertech.co.uk W: www.dampertech.co.uk

Woolies T: 01778 347347 E: info@woolies-trim.co.uk W: www.woolies-trim.co.uk

Midland Wheels T: 01926 817444 E: sales@midlandwheels.com W: www.midlandwheels.com

SiliconHoses.com T: 0845 8385364 E: info@siliconhoses.com W: www.siliconhoses.com

February 2020 79

13/12/2019 11:52 am

CARS FOR SALE Book your ad now! £25 for two months (private advertisers) W: www.completekitcar.co.uk T: 01476 978843 E: adam@performancepublishing.co.uk

TIGER R6 2.0 Zetec, twin 45 carbs, baffled sump, Weber Alpha ECU, Team Dynamics alloys, Tarox 6-pot front calipers, Quaife straightcut gearbox and LSD, £9000. T: Mark – 07716 581541 (Bedfordahire).

PHANTOM VORTEX Honda V6. Off road for three years. Requires re-commissioning work. No PAS, no air con. Some spares included, £6000. T: – Pete 07931 459774 . E: newsh.tintin11@btinternet.com.

THREE-WHEELER Kawasaki powered. Single seat, KLR 650, Spitfire uprights disc brakes, in board front suspension, adjustable dampers, £4500. T: Dick – 01249 750433. E: dick@matherwood.co.uk (Wiltshire).

SYLVA VECTIS 2013, spaceframe similar to Sylva J15 but with MGF rear subframe. MGF 1.8 engine, 5-speed gearbox, ETB instruments, heater. Open to sensible offers. T: Jeremy – 07884 954304 (Lincolnshire).

POWDER COATING MACHINE Never used, complete with a bag of black powder. Make is Electrostatic SOLDMagic.

In excellent order. Cost new is now £149. Will accept £95 ono. (Kent).

FT BONITO 1975 Beetle floorpan. Mid-mounted Golf 1.8 16v engine, 5-speed Audi transaxle. Road legal, competition log book, £9750. T: 07792 154077.

E: ftbongaz@googlemail.com (Dorset).

ARISTOCAT SPORTS 140 XJ6 based, IVA March 2018, 4.2 engine, Weber twin carbs, Getrag 5 speed gearbox, wire wheel, Moto-Lita steering wheel, CD/radio/iPod, £15,750 l: 07540 993690 (Croydon).

GUNSON CARB BALANCER Never used, looking for £25. T: 07828 174883 (Kent).

SYLVA FURY Rebuild and respray, new instruments and interior during rebuild, then unused since 2011. Paint and brakes need attention, can be heard running. OIRO £4500 for car and trailer. Tel: 07730 431363 (Kent).

LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH BODY Fibreglass body, finished in white. Has previously been fitted to a car. No doors. Offers invited. Tel: 01704 894006 (Ormskirk).

FERRARI REPLICA MR2 based, with new coilovers, Woodsport Lexus 3.0-litre V6 conversion, refurbished gearbox, new clutch, custom exhaust , new P-Zeros, 2-pack paint, £17,495. Tel 01765 600558 (Yorkshire).

JC MIDGE Stalled project. 1968 Triumph Herald based. Wind screen and other parts included. Sleaford Lincs £350 ono. 07473 975965

SYLVA STRIKER 1997, Kawasaki ZX9R installed. MoT June 2020. Toyo R888 tyres. 6-speed, reverse box.

Speedo doesn’t work, wobble from propshaft at 30mph to 40mph. £8000 ono. Tel: 07860 937 283 (Fife).

KLX5 Cars and project for sale. MX-5 Mk1 based demo, year MoT, 97,000 miles. leather seats. Momo wheel, adjustable coilovers. Moulds included, and part built MX-5 Mk2 build, £8000. T: 07746 449445 (Macclesfield).

TRIBUTE 250 GTO MX-5 based, Gaz dampers, larger front discs. Pro paint, no problems, outstanding car, needs viewing. SORN. Eye problems, must sell, £10,950.

T: 01276 23078 E: derekargyle@gmail.com (Surrey).

ADVERTISE ONLINE AND IN PRINT JUST £25 FOR TWO MONTHS Place your advert today When you place a classified advert with Complete Kit Car magazine, it appears on our website for two months and in two editions of the magazine.

To place your ad…

BRA MG3 Built 2001, Moto Guzzi 850 engine. 5-speed.

Aeroscreens. Vinyl seats, tonneau. Present owner for 15 years. Fits 6ft driver. New MoT, £11,000. T: David – 01892 837949 or david.osborne27@btinternet.com (Kent).

80 February 2020

QUANTUM 2+2 1986 registration, 1597cc Ford CVH, red. No MoT, off the road for two years, £1100.

T: 01538 702816 (North Staffordshire).

1) Got to www.completekitcar.co.uk to book and pay for your advert, filling out the wording in the ‘comments’ box when you place the order (or call us on 01476 978843 with your wording and payment details) 2) Email a photo to adam@performancepublishing.co.uk www.completekitcar.co.uk

Classic & Retro Seats Over 60 styles of Classic & Retro style seats in Vinyl, Leather & Cloth

Lighting 100’s of lamps & LED lamps

1981-2019

38 YEARS

All Major Cards Accepted Secure Online Shopping

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February 2020 81

FINISH

EVERYTHING THAT DIDN’T FIT INTO THE REST OF THE MAG

IN BRIEF

WHERE DO YOU READ YOURS? PART 22 Dave Williams is the latest Complete Kit Car reader to grace the back page of the magazine. He’s seen here comfortably taking in the October issue in the grand lobby aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship on his travels to Perth, Australia – where the November issue was already sat waiting for him.

If you have any snaps of you and the mag in an interesting location, please send them in to jack@ performancepublishing.co.uk and you too could feature in Complete Kit Car.

BRAZILIAN BUGGY While we were at Castle Sportscars for sister magazine Absolute Lotus, we were distracted from the Elan we were there to see by a beach buggy we’d never seen before. The Way Super Buggy is a Brazilian made interpretation of the evergreen theme and, while the one we saw was air-cooled, the company that makes them has moved on to watercooled engines from the Volkswagen Golf.

A modern engine probably makes more sense of the Way’s heavily modernised styling, although following our group test of Volkswagen Beetle based cars last month, we’re fans of the simplicity of the old tech. The car is for sale, so if you’re interested in owning a buggy that’s different from the norm give Castle a call (www.castlesportscars.co.uk).

KIT CAR OWNERS UNITE

DUTTON DEBUT Tim Dutton emailed the office just before the Christmas break to celebrate ending his 50th year of car production. Fittingly, it included a photo from a previously undeveloped roll of film.

Taken in 1968 to celebrate the registration of his first experimental build, the Mantis, above is one of the only colour photos in existence of the car that got the Dutton ball rolling all those years ago.

Next issue on sale Friday 31 January

82 February 2020

082 Finish.indd 82

Adam recently bought a Suzuki Jimny as a set of winter wheels to keep his other cars out of the grime. It was a good ploy, right until the moment it decided to spit out its fanbelt in the middle of a multi-car photoshoot. We abandoned the car at lunchtime and returned to call the AA… and were delighted when the patrolman turned out to be Westfield owner and North West Kit Car Owners’ Group member Adrian Parham.

By the time he’d been to the motor factor for a new belt and battled the Jimny’s recalcitrant tensioner, he’d gone beyond the call of duty and worked almost a full two hours past the end of his shift so that Adam could make the trip back from Warwickshire to Lincolnshire. You can’t knock that!

www.completekitcar.co.uk

13/12/2019 11:52 am

Est. 1990

Gardner Douglas Sports Cars Is this the best Cobra replica? Voted 10/10

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February 2020 83

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289

FIA version also available GRP or aluminium bodywork

For the ultimate in authenticity, quality & engineering integrity ‌a motoring icon may be closer to reality than you ever thought

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84 February 2020

Hawk Ad FP September 2018.indd 1

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26/03/2019 4:20 pm