Getting started - part 1

Time to get started on this project. I have my Mazda MX-5 in a garage ready to be taken apart, enlisted the help of a friendly mechanic called Mick, and got the tools and a book of instructions that will lead me through the process of taking the parts off the donor car I need. Surely this couldn't be easier, what is all the fuss about?

Well... Let's start with a complete Mazda. All working, running, and actually quite fun to drive.

We started enthusiastically disconnecting the engine from it's electrical, fuel, air, and cooling ancillary components. Much of the various oils, fluids, and liquids carefully collected before it hit the floor, much of it not. My plan is to use as much of the existing MX-5 wiring loom as possible in the new car so I diligently attached pieces of masking tape with some vague reference of their function to all the electrical connections. Having read about other people trying to re-use looms in kit cars, this seems to be what they all 'wish they had done at the start'. I broke the clip on one connection which disappointed me, but if that's the worst that happens on this project, I'll take it.

All good so far. Now to lift the engine and gear box out as one unit. A few bolts holding the gearbox to the PPF (Power Plant Frame - a long metal beam running half the length of the car from the gearbox to the differential, right in the way of everything) put up a little resistance but gave way with a little persuasion. Unfortunately this PPF was so positioned as to not allow the gearbox to tilt sufficiently to enable removal with the engine. Seeing that splitting the engine and gearbox whilst under the car was a mission in itself, and would have to be done mostly by feel, the PPF had to come off.

And this is where it start to go wrong. With the 2 bolts attaching it to the gearbox removed, the only thing holding the PPF in the way was 2 bolts in to the differential casing. No kidding - one of these bolts took the two of us an hour and a half to get off. With the bolts out the thing still wouldn't come off the diff due to what looked like a stuck locating bush underneath, so we decided to take the whole differential itself off.

At this point I should say that it appears the rear of the car has suffered a little more with rust than the front. Quite a lot more in fact, and as such the differential was going nowhere. Of the 6 bolts holding it in place, 4 had so little shape to them that they had to be removed with Irwin sockets. Another 2 hours and half a can of WD40 later, the differential was detached, freeing the PPF, and we could move the gearbox. All that was now needed was to attach the engine hoist and lift out the engine and gearbox.

If things weren't already going according to plan, or at least timescale, the engine hoist had one more surprise for us. With the engine attached by its lifting points, a few pumps on the hoist's actuator handle revealed the final problem that was going to bring the day's activities to an end. Instead of the hydraulic ram neatly lifting the engine and transmission out of the engine bay, an O-ring in one of the cylinders failed and covered the floor in yet another automotive oil. Despite finding some more O-rings, almost the right size, it wasn't going to hold it's liquid, so we had to call it a day.

After an evening of analysis, planning, and mostly beer drinking, the next day saw the purchase of a shiny new engine hoist. This lifted the engine and gearbox out cleanly. I declare this project officially started.

Having not got anywhere near as far as I wanted to do on the first day of working on the project, I am obviously keen to get on taking the rest of the Mazda apart. Unfortunately due to work commitments, and having to do this part of the work some 200 miles from home, I now have a two week break before I can start work again, but I think I have a better idea of what to expect next time.

Decisions

The 7 style two seat sports car is one of the most popular kit build cars around, and as such there is a lot of choice in kits to buy. Having visited a few kit car shows and obtained stacks of company brochures via the internet I narrowed my choice to a couple of companies, one being Great British Sports Cars near Newark. Their offering, the Zero, appears good value and, to my mind, has a more exciting look about it than some other cars. I like the use of the aluminium body panels with just the nose and wings in coloured GRP.

Time for a factory inspection.

I managed to pick the coldest day in February for my visit, a fact not lost on director Keith Bird who turned a worrying shade of blue during our test drive. Great British Sports Cars (GBS) is the company formed out of Robin Hood Engineering and a few other subsidiaries, and has itself seen some significant changes in the last few years. The new car, the Zero, was first released in 2007 and has been the subject of constant development since. There are 2 main chassis options, a Ford based kit which can use mostly new as well as donor parts, and the new Mazda MX-5 donor based kit. There is also a 'GT' option with a wider body. All these are exported all over the world, and there is even a dealer in America.

I met Keith in the showroom next to a part built kit and told him of my lack of automotive knowledge and aim to build a car on the tiniest budget imaginable. Undeterred, he showed me the around the kit, told me what parts are reused from the donor car, what extras would be needed, and the sort of work required by an amateur like me. The factory floor had a number of kits in various stages of build and some completed cars awaiting IVA inspection. I suspect this will prove to be one of the most useful activities in the whole process of getting a car on the road, the opportunity to see where all the various components of engine, brakes, cooling etc. fit in to the small chassis is invaluable and I would suggest this be a must do activity for anyone thinking of building a kit. Keith patiently answered my barrage of questions, then took me out for a test drive in the demonstrator car.

The demonstrator was a Ford based car with a 180hp engine and some sort of test set up on the suspension which made the ride a little lower than it would normally be. Other than that, it is the standard build anyone can make. Keith is obviously a skilled driver and drove me around the nearby roads ably demonstrating the handling and acceleration (I'll not mention any speeds we might have achieved). I haven't driven or ridden in many kit cars up until now, in fact I've only driven one quite old example, but the first thing that struck me was how solid the whole thing was. In my mind I had the idea that a kit, being built out of bits of other cars, would feel, well, thrown together. Nothing like that here, the car solidly stuck to the road, hugged the corners, responded immediately to steering, acceleration, and braking, all the time showing no sign of any 'rough and ready' feel.

Impressed, and by now nearly frozen solid (it had actually started to snow at one point), we retreated inside for a cup of tea and look around the workshop. GBS make a lot of components for things like suspension themselves using some very cool CNC machines, rather than buying off-the-shelf or having them made specially by external companies. Keith explained this gives them better control over the quality and availability of the parts as well as the freedom to try different ideas as designs evolve.

After a very useful and informative couple of hours I thanked Keith and headed home with a lot to think about. GBS are located some 200 miles from my house in Southampton, but I don't think this will be a problem as I was promised support via email, telephone etc. I needed to think more about the cost as my original budget of around £6k would probably not give me the sort of finish I would ideally like.

So, a few email exchanges later in which Keith gave me a helpful realistic guide to the likely overall costs, and having found myself a 1996 MX-5 to take apart, I placed the order for the kit. With a few essential extras included, such as the powder coating and lowered floor, as well as the new sport front wings, I parted with the deposit. I now have 6 to 10 weeks to clear the garage, take the bits off the Mazda I want, and, most importantly, buy the sort of garage tools that even I need a reason to part with cash for.

So that's it, no going back now. I've got my donor car, ordered the kit, promised myself I'll tidy the garage, I can't wait to get started.