Here we go again....

[Shmed]

So, having been to Castle Combe last week and being generally quick, but not as quick as some Clio's, despite 400HP, I've decided it's time to throw away the MOT certificate, and build a 'proper' track car.

First things first, the T-Bar had to go. Originally, I'd planned to run my daily drive, and the T-Bar (so I could still do track days), and start the project car too, but decided that would be too much to manage, so tax disc for the T-bar has gone back to the DVLA, the tintop is in the garage, and the stripping has begun.

Here is the new car, acquired for a snip at £275:

[Shmed]

Before I really get stuck into this, I knew when I bought the car that there was some rust, so went out to check it tonight....... not sure if this is a good idea....

[jasongtr]

looks like a nice solid base

[Shmed]

Yes, it is rather

Reckon this might turn into a money pit, or a glorified breaking thread...

Do you reckon the sills are salvagable?

[jasongtr]

for the price you paid its obviously cheap, but unless you can weld well its going to cost a bit to sort them.

You could have my rev2 turbo black tintop shell for £50 when im done stripping it, ill even leave the main loom/screen in it

has a few parts patched on the sills but other than that its decent

[Shmed]

Hmm, that sounds like it could save me some cash and effort. When do you think it'll be available?

[jasongtr]

2-3 weeks, should of said it will also include all the fixed glass, hard coolant lines, hell ill even leave the dash and bar in

you will of course need a recovery truck to collect as when it comes off the ramp it will be on a trolley, if you get it built up quick enough there is even currently over 11 months mot

[Shmed]

It does sound tempting, saves me a job of stripping it too... I certainly can't have three MR2's here though, I'm trying to sell my house and it doesn't paint a great picture.

Got to weigh up the options, see if anyone can fix the one I have for a low enough price.

Give me a day or so and I'll have an answer.

[jasongtr]

no hurry - if its still unclaimed when its ready to go ill scrap it -

cheers

[craig]

If it's just the outer sills, you're looking at around £1000 inc paint to sort them properly. Rob on here had his sills completely overhauled. A quick search will bring up his thread. Still, that's only £1275 for a solid car (assuming the rest of it is good). Not that bad from that perspective then

Obviously all depends on how much you want to spend on the car, but a solid base shell to start with would be the better option.

[Shmed]

Yep, that sounds too much just to get to a solid base. I'd expected to have the whole car repainted at the end anyway, so that is a cost I could absorb into the build. I really do just want the structural bit fixed though, I'd happily run without any outer sills (assuming they're cosmetic) as I'm planning to modify the aero anyway.

How much cutting would be required to get back to the internal sills to 100% be sure that this base car is a lemon? (I know I could probably just knock it off with a hammer ).

[Shmed]

Done some cutting this evening to see how much work is required. It's annoying that the sills have got likje this,m because the rest of the car is so unspoilt (the interior feels like it's never been removed, all little screw caps are there). Anyway, pics for thoughts.

The Rust:












The nice bits:






Free pack of unopened smokes, shame I gave up 5 years ago (still, some compensation for the rust, might sell them )