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I picked my MX250 Kit up from Chris yesterday so am looking forward to getting started - although I have already stripped all the non-needed parts off the car and have changed my brake calipers, discs and pads whilst waiting for the kit.
I'm building a coupe kit and basing it on a 2001 mk2.5. Luckily the chassis rails are pretty good but I've rubbed down some minor rust patches and have taken the crash cans off, waxoyled inside and am in the process of undersealing the outside.
I've not done anything like this before and I spent some great time walking through the build with Chris and getting my questions answered, I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
That said, I'm definitely going to need ongoing support, so am starting my own thread hoping you'll all be gentle with me. I'm a bit of a plodder, so I do not expect to make quick progress, but I'll get there eventually!
So hi to all, I'm looking forward to getting more involved and I'll try to update regularly - or at least when I make any significant progress.
Good luck Darren. We needed a new build thread for us all to watch (while saving up our own pennies).
Never done a build myself either - but will offer words of encouragement
Well my build is progressing slower than hoped, but I now finally have it off road and in the garage so should get a move on now! I'm based in South Woodham near Chelmsford so it seems lots of us are right near you! Maybe we should have an Essex Tribvute meet!
Thanks Roadster and Ned for your offers of help, I very well may take you up on them. Ned, I think I met you at the kit car show last May, and asked you lots of questions then - but I didn't realise you were so close.
So I realise that I still have quite a bit of faffing to do before starting the kit in earnest. Today I finished spraying my crash cans and tow hooks, as they were pretty rusty, and I filled where I had ground out the surface rust on the chassis rails, ready for undersealing tomorrow. I also want to bleed the brakes tomorrow and I want to get underneath and change the gearbox oil and transmission oil.
I've also just ordered a set of coilovers to put on, primarily because I want to lower the height a little.
So I've been thinking about preparing the roll-cage. I will probably just spray satin black, but what have people used to rub it down, and what primer should I use?
By the way, as a complete novice, everything has been a learning experience even in the dismantling process, so if anyone needs any help in describing things in detail, then I can probably help with that.
Maybe we should have an Essex Tribvute meet![/QUOTE]
Would be up for that,don't make it too soon though,i need to clear the 3000 roof tiles , 1500 bricks , blocks , cement mixer , lintels, wood and various other bits that are in front of the garage so i can get the GTO out
- I need to remove the seal at the upper edge of the windscreen where the soft top front edge normally rests. It looks like it is one piece all the way round and down the A pillars. If so, presumably I need to cut it, but does anyone have a picture of where the cut needs to go exactly?
- What have people primed and sprayed the front wheel arch extenders with?
Mk2 builders. How have you relocated your fuse box out of the way? My Fuse box is in 2 parts the main fuse box and then a smaller secondary fusebox on a bracket (see photos). But the area is so cluttered between the brake fluid reservoir and the fuel can thingy, and the wire does not have enough overlength that I can't seem to move it far enough to clear the wing extension. any ideas?
This doesn't show my solution very well but it's on bracket mounted to the wing extenders. I'll try and get some better pictures at the weekend when there is some sunshine.
Thank-you, that will help a lot. Have you separated the large fuse box from the smaller one behind, or are they still together on the same bracket? Did you have to do anything with the wire, as I have very little movement at present?
When you say the small fuse box do you mean the relays on the gold coloured mount? I left these where they were. It's a PitA to get to them if they fail but as I had to replace all three during my build I would hope they will last a while.
In terms of the wiring, I "gently" pulled the main fuse box until there was enough length to mount it where I wanted. There isn't a great deal of spare length on the wiring but with some gentle teasing it does come further out.
Hi Limpabit. That's very kind and I'm sure as I get further into it, I will be glad of some help and advice!
Hi Fatbloke. I had a go at the fusebox again tonight. I took the 3 connectors and gold bracket off and I was able to get to the wiring loom underneath. I separated the two main strands a little where they are taped and re-taped them. This gave me quite a bit more flex. I re-installed the 3 connectors. on your vehicle it looks like you've taken the other gold bracket out near the fuel can? For now, I've also twisted the front part that holds the fuel pipes through 45 degrees which brings the black connector away from the strut top to give more space. I also reversed the grey connector and the small black hitatchi box through 180 degrees which also brings that wiring out of the way. So at least the fuse box can be brought far enough out of the way for now, but may need to tweak later.
It's been a while since my last post, but I've been busy doing all the stuff underneath the car - sorting rust and undersealing, and have also fitted some adjustable coilovers (that wasn't easy as all the front roller links wouldn't budge and needed to be ground off.
Anyway, I'm nearly at the point of actually doing some work on the kit again.
This may be a bit of a naïive question, but do the front wing extenders, rear parcel shelf and boot extender need painting before fixing to the car?
If so, do you leave the surfaces which will be bonded unpainted?
Is there any particular type of primer / paint that works better with fibreglass?
what i do is (2 pack ) acid etch primer on first off leave to dry dont flat off, then apply high build primer filler flatted off between coats, 2or3 should do it, to build up a good layer so you have a decent thickness then guide coat (matt black aerosol ) flat off again fill any pin holes that are visible with stopper,not filler, flat off then apply coulor basically treat it as you would steel. any flexible/bendy parts you can put a addative in that keeps the
paint flexible when dry ps use a good face mask its nasty stuff
This weekend I've actually started to do some 'kit bits', but I have 3 questions already, so hoping some people can help.
Here goes with Q1:-
What do I need to remove in the top windscreen area. The seal looks to be one piece, so I need to cut it but where? The blue line on the attached image, shows a sort of natural point for cutting, but does it need to be further down the a-pillar?
Do I need to take the trim pieces off. I'm trying to avoid taking the A-pillar trims off, but it looks like the header trim can be removed separately (at the red line). DO I need to remove this?
