Merry Christmas..

Well Christmas is over for another year.. Did well on the car build present front..

Bring on the new year!!!

More tools ordered...

So today I ordered a few more bits. Been speaking with fellow builders on the MNR owners club on Facebook and they recommended a few more bits I needed. 

Bahco 1-478-10-1-2 10-inch Assorted File Set with Handlehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Bahco-1-478-10-1-2-10-inch-Assorted-Handle/dp/B0041SY3K0

Draper DIY Series 10373 Handy Saw and Blade
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003D0GFVC/ref=ox_ya_os_product

Haynes manual ordered...

Another builder recommended I buy the Haynes manual for the bike engine I am fitting. Will help me with the wiring etc

Thanks Rob

Honda CBR1000RR Service and Repair Manual: 2008-2013 (Haynes Service and Repair Manuals) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857336886/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_sI9Jub06KAEKY

Exciting day..

My first part for the car turned up today..

Not every exciting and not like I can do anything with it but at least a start!

Been on the hunt for a engine but can't find anything close to my budget at the moment.

9 weeks to go...

This is going to be a long 9 weeks. 

Ebay Shopping..

Its started...

Not managed to source an engine yet but I have sourced a Power Commander, a bit of a bargain on Ebay..

Its a Power Commander V "WITH VITAL O2 OPTOMISER" whatever that means.  I guess I should find out.

Best read the manual...
http://www.powercommander.com/downloads/16-002/install/pcv/eng16-002.03.pdf

What Colour?

Now to decide what colour...

Think blue or orange are on the short list.

The orange is probably my favourite, but I wonder if its too loud.  I think its the most sensible as I would like to be seen, being vulnerable in an open top car.  The blue is more me, and not so loud. Lets see, I have some time to decide.

Image borrowed from - http://mnrvortxrpehayabusa.blogspot.co.uk

Borrowed from kimbo1982

Deposit Paid.......

So this week I put my deposit down on a MNR Vortx..

I went with the Vortx RT Plus kit for a bike engine. With the recommendation of MNR I have gone with the CBR1000RR engine, also a couple of other Locostbuilders members have recommended this engine. It appears the CBR1000 is a good reliable engine and is one of the lightest in its class.

Decided on the full race cage with the detachable side protection bars, love the look plus I get the added protection. I have also opted for the paddleshift, i've had a similar setup on my past RS3 and it was fantastic, I like not having to take my hands off the wheel. The RS3 version perhaps a little more complex. 

MNR are telling me I should be able to collect the kit in February. I cannot wait!

Mk Indy or MNR Vortx....

When I first started looking at 7 style kit cars again (early 20's) I really had my heart set on an MK Indy. At the time they seemed like the most popular and a really liked the look of them.

Coming back to look again with the full intention this time of buying one my first choice was still a MK Indy.  After a some extensive research it appears that the MK Indy is more aimed at a builder that is happy to get their hands very dirty with alot of home engineering. I'd like to build my own car but I am not sure I am ready to engineer parts, I want a more simple build, a more of a bolt together build.

Everyone recommend the MNR Vortx, most people only have good things to say about the cars and the company. The other big selling point for me was the fact MNR have been doing really well in latest RGB championship, so they are also a very good performer.

The guys at MNR recommend a CBR1000RR engine, they are very light and will also push out 175BHP. Plus you can enter these engines straight into the RGB should I get really hooked.

Birthday and Chirstmas..

My birthday was at the start of December with Christmas not far away... Have had all the family asking me what I wanted. Everything of course had to be kit car related with a build not far round the corner..

On the list was the following.. Not massively expensive but good start and nice to have some presents I really wanted.


The Sportscar & Kitcar Suspension & Brakes High-Performance Manual: For Road and Track (3rd Edition) - £18.70
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sportscar-Kitcar-Suspension-Brakes-High-Performance/dp/1845842073/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418248334&sr=8-3&keywords=the+sports+car+suspension

Lazy Tongue Riveter  £24.00
http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/lazy-tongue-riveter

Cleko Fastener Kit  £26.40
https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/cleko-fastener-kit

Rivnut Kit Budget   £27.00
https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/rivnut-kit-budget

Sealey AS2500 Axle Stands 2.5ton Capacity per Stand 5ton per Pair   £34.40  ( I asked for 2 pairs)
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/tools/car-lift-recovery-tools/jacking-and-lifting/axle-stands/?SEAAS2500&0&t5_231

Sealey RMB125 Rubber Mallet 1.25lb Black  £11.94
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/tools/hand-tools/general-tools1/mallets/?SEARMB125&0&t5_211

Siegen S0770 Tap & Die Set 39p  £37.74
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/tools/hand-tools/workshop-tools1/tap-and-die-sets/?SEAS0770&0&

On the list is also a cover, should keep the car dust free and once complete will keep it looking nice.

http://www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk/
About £100

Its a start.. I know I will need lots more.

Palmer experience day at Bedford Aerodrome.

So after a fantastic year at work,  we were treated to a Palmer Motorsport day at Bedford Aerodrome. A supplier the year before had taken a few of us on one and we loved it so we'd said if we did well the following year we would try and go back. 

The whole office this time went and we had a fantastic day, it was cold but the weather again was perfect. There were 4-5 of us who had done it before and another 3 who hadn't been before, a couple were very new drivers and this experience was a complete eye opener. 

The day starts off with the top instructor telling you this is dangerous but we will be encouraging you to drive as fast as possible. If anyone has done one of these Ferrari driving experiences where you drive round for three laps telling you to take it steady at this point you are thinking yeah right. Well as soon as you jump into the cars the instructors are telling you to drive completely flat out, the first corner when all you want to do is hit the breaks and the instruction is still telling you to put your foot down you know this is the start of a good day. 

On the day we drove, Land Rover 4x4's, Arial Atoms, BMW M3 GTP, Caterham 7 Superlights, Jaguar JP-LM and Formula Jaguars.  My favourite car of the day was the JP-LM's they were brilliant, so fast and the corner speed was crazy. The Caterham 7's were great fun!  

I was well chuffed, out of 40 drivers I came 2nd overall..   

The next day my mission was to find/buy/build a kit car... 

Cheesy....

Research / Links / Info

Specialists 

MNR SPORTS CARS - Home of the Vortx.. 

AB Performance (Andy Bates)  - CBR1000 Experts..

ETB Instruments

Build Diaries 

MNR Vortx RPE Hayabusa Build Diary (Eddie)

MNR vortx hayabusa build (Leon)

BASSETT'S BUILD DIARY

Kit Car Stores

Car Builder Solutions

Forums / Facebook Pages

LocostBuilders

MNRsportscars Owners Club - Only actual owners accepted.

Useful Links

Loctite Threadlocking User’s Guide - Was so confused about Threadlock, a great guide here

Honda CBR1000RR Service Manual

Varley Red Top Racing Batteries

Me and my blog (Build diary)

Welcome to my build diary...

I'm Dave, I'm 33, married, no children (yet), work in IT.. Where do I start, firstly I'm a petrol head, I love cars and most things about them. I've had fast cars, fast bikes, done a few track days and driving experience days, touring holidays, etc. 

My past cars range from 10+ VW Golfs including GTi's, Rallye's, 3x R32's, a few BMW's 328, 330, 335, an Impreza, a loan 911 C4S, Audi's S3, RS3, a few bikes CBR600, GSXR1000...

I've wasted too much money on cars to even think about over the years which brings me onto building my own car. At 16 the plan was to build my first car with my father, we were going to take 12-18 months to build it and then when I passed my test the finished car would be my first. We'd looked into insurance and if fitted with a smaller engine it was actually cheaper to insurance than most production cars aimed at first time drivers. The engine could be upgraded at a later date once insurance allowed. 

We'd been to a few different kit car shows to look at potential cars, at the time the budget kit the was selling well was the Robin Hood 7, back then it looked good and most people were saying good things about it.  

So off we went to the factory to take a look around. It was a real family outing, a long weekend away in a B&B, trips to Nottingham forest etc. The factory tour went well, got to see the full kit laid out on the floor to see what you were getting for your money. I was taken out in the demo car, at just 16 you can imagine I was blown away by the speed noise and complete experience. 

Once home I was completely gagging to get the order placed, it was about the time when the SVA was first being talked of and was going to be introduced in the new future, I believe the Robin Hood kit at the time would fail the SVA, my father had concerns as we would have to rush the build to complete it in time before the SVA came into place. He made the decision it wasn't a good idea and we should wait to see what happened, I ended up getting into girls and other boy racer type cars and all kit car ideas were forgotten...