Quote:
|
Originally Posted by alackofspeed
It's 197BHP and normally aspirated,... Finally, the sound of a vetec engine at 8000 rpm is great, and I believe would suit a 5EXI brilliantly
|
When you used the word "Vtec" it gave me something to Google for - I have to admit that I hadn't been aware of these variable valve-lift engines. Wikipaedia's use of the adjective "elegant" matches my own initial impressions.
I'd better explain that I'm not that much of a petrolhead - I've ridden motorcycles for over ten years and I can strip carbs & adjust tappets, but it's only in the last few months that I've discovered that I rather like herding these square four-wheeled metal boxes. I'm hideously under-qualified to be let loose on a mid-engined sports-car at present - I think I'd probably take some lessons before completing a 1600 k-series build!
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by alackofspeed
I suspect there's a slight premium to pay for a type-r engine (~£2k), but it's something I'm quite happy to absorb for the above.
|
I can see how it would be appealing, although I would personally be reassured by using as much of the "standard" donor as possible (ie the k-series engine) should I go ahead with my first build. What configuration is the type-r? I see V6 mentioned in some of the articles I've turned up on Vtec.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by alackofspeed
Have you read the WKC build articles? Nothing in it has scared me off, and I'm just an office monkey with some car fettling experience
|
Nope, although one of the other lads from here mentioned when I phoned him that one of the magazines had done a build. I've just managed to search & find What Kit Car's webpage, so I'll probably phone & order some back issues. I hear they're using ABS, which I would find quite reassuring, were I to find a suitable donor car.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by alackofspeed
The hardest parts to me looks to be the wiring and bodywork - I suspect there's scope for expensive errors when cutting holes in the GRP bodywork!
|
Ha! I feel rather smug about the wiring, as my father was an electrical engineer - when I was a kid he had a sideline repairing televisions and I learned to solder sitting on his knee. I dropped out of an electronics apprenticeship having learned to read a circuit-diagram and after 3 months in the wiring-loom production department I was often given the more complex patterns to complete.
After such a c0cky statement I'd better mention that I'm now a different kind of IT geek by trade and I'm pretty rusty at that sort of thing. Wiring I've done on motorcycles in the last year or two has held up ok, tho', and again, this is an aspect of the build whereby I'd feel reassured by using the most "standard" donor car possible.
The GRP could be fun! Maybe one could pick up cheaply a knackered kayak second-hand to practice on? I'm not sure what's involved in putting the bodywork together, but maybe an old canoe could be used for cutting and binding practice?
Cheers for posting,
Stroller.