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I've recently come into some money and want a unique looking car.
I already own a MX5 in decent mechanical condition and was looking around at what I could afford, I stumbled upon the MX250 and suddenly got excited considering I already own the base car.
I have a few questions though, things like I am a complete and total body work newbie. Not touched body work in my entire life.
I was wondering if I should take this on or you'd advise against it, it seems most people who build these already have some knowledge and take little guidance on what needs doing.
Another question would be about the interior, I see many of the finished projects without any interiors - is it just too much of a task to put an interior in or is it just not worth it.
Thanks to anyone who puts in the time to read this and answer any of my questions.
My entire mechanical experience was from behind a keyboard via Google. I didn't do large parts of mine as it was a unique build at the time, not a kit.
I did do an awful lot after getting the body fitted with things like fitting the lights.
Fitting the lights sound trivial?
Probably is when you know what you are doing and where the lights should go. I found it challenging to choose the lights, decide where they went and then working out how to wire them in. I will probably be laughed off the forum for admitting that but I did enjoy it and when I got the fog light fixed into the slot where the high level brake light was AND it worked I was very happy.
I would recommend doing it*. Even if it turns out shit, it is your shit and you can get someone else to tidy it up. You will probably find you overcome almost all of the things you fear and those that you can't, someone will help.
*Interior - I knew what I wanted. i knew I couldn't do it. I paid someone else to do it. I felt it was worth it although others have done their own interiors with great success it appears to be the weakest point in most kit cars.
Don't tell the engineers on the forum but at school the ones who did engineering were never the brightest and if 'Thicko Biggins' can become an engineer - how hard can it be?
Bodywork isn't actually too technical, just hard work! If you want to learn then have a go, if not budget for a professional job.
Interiors are much easier if you have some patience. If you ebay mx5 leather you will find some companies selling nice mx5 upgrades, as for the non mx5 stuff it isn't much more than a knife, fabic, glue and patience.
It all depends on how handy you are.
One thing I always remember, if a job is done and doesn't come out right, an amateur will try to bodge it to fit, an engineer will start over.
Cheers guys, I think I am going to budget myself out and see how much money/time I'm willing to sink into this thing.
Some of my other concerns are the space I have to do this and the tools. I am a fairly patient person and proud of a job well done.
I'll try and find the most comprehensive list of additional items I'll need and see if they're readily available where I am and go from there I guess.
If I do actually jump into it of course I will post regular updates about my learning processes and the car itself...
One thing I read on the website though is that it budgets for 17'' second hand wheels... would my car look stupid with just spacers on 13s? (I have bbs spoke stocks)
An MX250 kit was my first foray into the world of kit cars. I made things more difficult for myself by buying a Mk2 which meant some modifications to the kit but if I can do it anyone can.
Remember that any mistakes can be undo with some body filler and fiberglass.
Technically you can use your existing wheels, you will need new taller tyres to fill the arches.
The problem with the original wheels is the offset (check out "rim offset" on wiki).
Standard are ET35.
I have ET10 with 50mm spacers on the rear.
You would need 75mm spacers on the rear and 20mm on the front which is going to be expensive and mess up the handling.
The best solution is to sell yours and buy 15 or 16 inch wheels.
Hi Joezeff, I see most of your questions have already been answered by others above.
As I was the 'Thicko Biggins' who left school at 16, qualified as an aircraft engineer before I was 18 and didn't even get a degree until I was well into my thirties, I can't really advise on complete novice builds, except to say that my previous experience probably ensured I could build/drive/walk past such a project without losing a leg, or at least the use of a foot.
It's worth remembering that there isn't much you can't learn from t'internet these days and bonding (industrial strength glue), fibreglassing and even spray painting aren't really that hard with a bit of practice.
Whether you choose to build it yourself or buy a turnkey 250, to me the way the interior is tackled is every bit as important as fitting the 'right' wheels.
I'd want to be completely removing all the plastic trim, including the entire dash assembly, and replacing everything with something more in keeping with the period the original car came from. That goes for the seats too - period looking buckets aren't that difficult or too expensive to source.
From memory, I believe Tribute initially offered the kit with a moulding for the unique(?) triangular GTO dash pod. If they can still make you one, that'd be a good starting point for a more authentic looking interior than a stock donor dash could ever give, even if it's retrimmed.
