Donor Items for "one donor" Kits & which SDV - or not to SDV?

[Kingster]

.......................and I suspect that it is the small "cheap" bits that often get forgotten when total costs are calculated - and how they add up!.

 

 

True - but that's also something that made it all possible for me, I could buy little bits each week and not really notice - whereas a 'completion kit' would hurt!

[lewis]

True - but that's also something that made it all possible for me, I could buy little bits each week and not really notice - whereas a 'completion kit' would hurt!

 

That's why I did it that way too!

[Chris Hooper]

It sounds a little daft but one of the reasons I chose the Mazda SDV was the reuse and recycling of so much of the MX5. I was won over by reusing the steering column and self cancelling indicators

[elder]

I can well understand this & it doesn't sound daft to me at all. As someone who has played with cars, but never built one and who understands cars as they were, rather than as they are, I am a little apprehensive about a collection of parts, increasingly that I don't really understand, that I have to get to work together.

 

The attraction of largely starting with a car which works and moving the parts to something else en bloc where parts are designed to work together, connectors work, computers talk to each other etc etc etc is real. I also think that getting the bits and getting them to work together is where I am most likely to incur unexpected time delay, difficulty & cost.

 

This I can achieve with a Special Edition Kit, a single donor vehicle kit or buying a completed car to improve as necessary.

 

The brave souls who have followed my meanderings through this thread will know however that neither the Mazda nor the Sierra are really my choice of starter, If Westfield offered a single donor BMW  I would be there in an instant. There are makes that offer a BMW based 7 type kit but none with the reputation, backup & resale value of a Westfield.

 

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

​

[darve]

I'm based in North Colchester with a 1.8 mx5 SDV if you ever come down this way and want to have a nose. Mines not really a "standard" mx5 SDV per the "book". Main variances being:

- rebuilt engine with flowed head

- 4 to 1 exhaust

- omex 600 ecu

- custom loom

- LSD

- flat dash

- aeroscreen

Have some throttle bodies on the shelf for the winter

[dombanks]

What's wrong with the mx5 version? Very capable car? The BMW kit looks a bit out if proportion to me never been able to figure it out and whilst the idea of the 6pot 3.0l is great its a big heavy engine for a 7 car with a lot of complicated electronics (basing that on my 04 z4 which us basically a 5 and 3 series underneath)

I can understand ignoring the sierra sdv these days. Not enough about and old hat.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Yup, from a single donor perspective, BMW's have been a poor choice for at least 10 years or so. That's not to say they don't have some nice individual bits, Caterham for instance are using the diffs, IIRC from the one series. But for a long time the engines and boxes have been too big and bulky for the typical size "Seven" style car. Even the four pots are quite big, tall especially. 

 

Having just  built a Westfield with a large power train - the S2000 powered car, it is restrictive to say the least.

 

Then you have the electronics issue, since the late 90's the complexity has just increased exponentially. Worse still, a lot of models moved to Can Bus which complicates it even more for us. Then there's all the little annoying elements; my old m.y. 2000 E39 5 series for example, something as simple as the dash display, the sort of part used in the Mazda SDV kit, was Can Bussed into the car, expecting speed signals and engine data etc over the bus from other ecus. Worse still, it was coded to the car, so you couldn't easily swap second hand units between cars.

 

There will be a place for them in niche Seven variations for years to come, I'm sure. But the Mazda is a way better choice for a something that is both a "complete package" entry level style car, and that has serious tuning potential when the builder is ready.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

(Oh, and didn't mean to sound down on Beemers, I've a real soft spot for them and have owned half a dozen or so over the years!)

[elder]

I must try a Mazda engined car. I have had several kind offers & when we get back from holiday I will be contacting the nearest.

 

My experience is that in a range of cars the one with the biggest engine is always the nicest to drive and that I prefer engines with more than 4 cylinders.

 

Having said that I enjoyed the Westfield demo so we will see.

[dombanks]

Couldn't agree more Dave, I'm no BMW expert at all but what I've picked up on is the 4 pots are a bit naff anyway, well the 2.0 in z is.

The 6pots are the peaches but IRC the newer ones use done sort of direct to head injection? I have some recollection of it being that the injector is direct on the head with no manifold (or ver small) or summat like that which means the ecu choice for aftermarket is really expensive and limited...

[Dommo]

You won't need a big engine to get the big engine feel in a westfield. With low weight it will pull from low down no problems. After building mine I cruised up hills at low rpm in 5th that would have a seen me in 4th or 3rd when it was an mx5.

Alternatively, fit a turbo and have more power at 2.5k than the engine used to make at 7k

[Dave.]

I also purchased a Sierra SDV Kit with a £1000 off in 2014 was not ready for the kit and this is reflected in the fact that it has not been started yet but won't be long now.

 

If I was doing this again I would have gone for the Westfield MDV as the MDV components are now a comparable price of  Sierra donor parts and it is not really a more cost effective route as I did not have a Sierra donor car and I have found myself purchasing new Sierra parts for my build but I already had some major components like a new Zetec engine and Gear Tec type 9 and a LSD.

 

If I wanted my build to be the most cost effective then the Mazda SDV wins hands down a MX5 donor can be purchased for as little as £200 the MX5 spares are available in abundance the only potential downside is the HP but in a Westfield it's still going to be so much fun to drive and as the MX5 is so popular you can find many performance enhancements as it is such a cracking engine Turbo and Super chargers are available

[elder]

Having listened to what has been said here and on other threads and having reviewed the market and the time scales involved in building a car I have decided that my best way forward is to buy a used Westfield and to see how I get on. That will give me a car to enjoy and a much better knowledge of where a better solution for me might exist. With luck the car that I but will be perfect for me! I can then decide if I want to build a car or work on the one that I have and also enable me to take my time should I decide to build one.

 

So when we get back from our holiday I will be looking for a Q Reg or pre Catalyst engined date Reg Sei W with lowered floor or equivalent SDV. As I understand that this is the standard body spec from around 2008 this should be possible.  

 

Thanks for all you help in reaching this decision.

Edited August 23, 2015 by elder

[dombanks]

Why a pre cat car? If it already registered then someone else has done all the hard work. ...and by hard work I meant just paid the cash for a cat exhaust system

[Andy (Sycho)]

You can still have a car with a new reg as long as the engine is pre cat which is 92 I think.