Comments on Spec before ordering

[Rory's Dad]

All other things being equally (but they are probably not) a new Zetec @ £750 plus a new BGH gearbox @ £1300 won't be far off the net cost of the Honda if you get it by breaking a crashed/damaged car.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

That was pretty much the man-maths I was using when I decided to build another; it all started with wanting to get rid of the straight cut noise! (Though IIRC, the box I was looking at was more like £1800)

[Andy (Sycho)]

Actually, just been thinking about ways to save building costs - I tend to automatically add around £2.5k for the engine/box, but one way a few builders have used to significantly reduce that, Sycho mentions it, is to buy a running S2000 and break it for parts yourself, that way you can bring the cost of the engine and box way, way down! That could knock another £1500/2000 off the total spend.

Yep that's how I've saved money s2000 cost me £3200, I've broke most of it for about £2800. I'd have been happy with half that but s2000 parts do sell well & the shell still outside with quite a few bits still on it, so it potentially it's fee engine & gearbox etc, I think the savings are more like £2500 to£3000.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I considered doing similar, but in the end just didn't have the room or the time. (I was already "breaking" a Westfield to build the new one, I couldn't have broken a Honda too!

[Stu Faulkner]

I did similar but not on such a scale.

Paid £2K for all the engine and running gear inc shafts and ECU and sold £400 worth of bits I didn't need.

[Rhett Turner - Black Country AO]

I too would go S2000 if I was building now. Remember with the standard zetec you are going to be getting circa 150bhp, to change to throttle bodies you are going to be adding another £1250 and that will take you to 180bhp ish. 

[CrisisWolf]

I too would go S2000 if I was building now. Remember with the standard zetec you are going to be getting circa 150bhp, to change to throttle bodies you are going to be adding another £1250 and that will take you to 180bhp ish. 

 

£1250? A bit more than that - depending upon ECU you need new cams, new ECU and throttle bodies for 180hp and thats over £2k in parts alone.

 

In short - bear the above in mind!

[Dan76]

Thanks for all the comments some good things to think about. I think I'm happy with the main spec just need to decide on the engine to power the thing.

[jonjh1964]

I'd suggest that you get yourself along to one of the local meetings, talk to other owners, ask them what they've change, how they use their cars and look at their cars. The April meeting is usually when all the cars come out on SORN so there should be plenty to see. I built a Zetec Special in 2012 and use it for touring and trackdays and it's changed quite a lot since I built is - now has an LSD, Jenvey TBs, Large bore CF exhaust, anti-roll bars front and rear, TTV light weight flywheel, NMS geo and mapping etc - already planning head work, cams, longer 1st gear, better shocks most of which I would have been cheaper to have done first time or have considered a different engine to start with. Still, as my wife says, cheaper than a mistress.......

[Kingster]

I too have plans to upgrade my car and that is before it has even been IVA'd!

No doubt it will cost as much if not more than doing it all from the start but this way I can drip feed the funds in rather than mostly pay up front.

[Dan76]

Decided now to hold off until after Stoneleigh, hopefully I can have a chat with some of you and take a look at some of your cars. If an order goes in straight after the show I'll just about be able to get the car ready for Summer 2016

[Nic Chase (NICO) - Shropshire & Mid-Wales AO]

Dan that's probably a good idea. Talk to lots of people and take lots of pictures. If you have never been before come early and stay late.

There is a lot to see. Don't forget to leave time to speak to Westfield, they usually have show offers.