Thought you guys might like........

.......... to see my latest toy:












Now I know Shay is going to extol the virtues of owning a Mazda MX5 (Miata) instead but it's all down to personal choice, and this is mine.

I still have the Sylva Phoenix as well but it will now be used purely as a track day car:

That's a cool racer! I didn't know MG was still around. It looks like s fun car to drive.

Mike the 'racer' I bought as a bare unpainted chassis with raw unpainted gelcoat body. Everything else was built by myself.

As for MG, the were taken over by BMW in the 90's, went bust again somewhere around 2008 when they were taken over by a Chinese company. Still going today but not built in the UK.

My car, despite having an 2002 registration is in fact a 2004 car, and built in the UK.

I recently had it re-mapped and it now puts out 150bhp, with much better throttle response and therefore power delivery

Hi Al,

Very nice, Sir, it's great to see something other than the MR's and MX'sm I really like the Phoenix too, did you build her or was she already built, any chance of knowing her stats please...

Mike C wrote:That's a cool racer! I didn't know MG was still around. It looks like s fun car to drive.

Hi Mike,

MG are still going; they even build hybrid SUV's and full electric cars now too...


Andy...

Hi Andy,

I built the Phoenix from a bare unpainted chassis and unpainted gelcoat GRP body.

Specs. are 1978 Fiat 132 Mirrafiori two litre engine which I stripped down and rebuilt with new bearings etc. Bores were good but I honed them anyway. The head was skimmed to raise the compression and the cams were changed for higher lift less dwell angle versions, meaning she's a lot more 'cammy' than standard. I also ditched the original carb and fitted twin, twin 40 Delorto side draft carbs, and made the four branch manifold. She's now putting out 150bhp and weighs in at under 500kg

Twin master brake cylinders (front and rear) with an adjustable rear bias control is also fitted. The stoppers all round are discs and callipers from a Honda Fireblade which meant I had to make adapters to get them to fit the Ford MkI uprights and the Ford Sierra Cosworth rear hubs.

Radiator is from a MkII Escort RS1800 and the LSD dif and drive shafts are from a Sierra Cosworth. Prop shaft is a shortened Sierra Cosworth.

Because of the Fireblade discs, I had two 'Inboard discs made' to fit either side of the dif, shoprtened the propshaft and used two mechanical lawnmower callipers attached to a self designed 'holder', connected to an MX5 handbrake.

Instrumentation is from a Fiat 124, rear lights are Hillman Imp, headlights are from a Mini (original) the steering column is MkII Ford Escort and the wheels are Superlites while the rubber is Yokohama 195x50 R15 AVS Sport.

All in all, I built her from parts from nine different cars, one motorcycle and a vacuum cleaner.

Hi Al,

Thank you for sharing, Sir, you have done a fantastic job on her, you'll have to mount a camera on board next time you take her out...

Andy...

Neat rides.
.....and here’s me thinking I had the biggest car kits of the group.
I miss tinkering with my 1:1 scale cars - age, and all that !

Just found out today that my 2006 2 litre Golf GTI, which I’ve owned and cared for 14 years needs a new dual mass flywheel and clutch,
....but the cost of repair outweighs the car’s value, so it will be going to the big breakers yard in the sky very soon.
Fortunately I do have another, newer car in the garage.

Are you going to make a model of that race car?

Thanks guys.

quote="dadooronron"]Just found out today that my 2006 2 litre Golf GTI, which I’ve owned and cared for 14 years needs a new dual mass flywheel and clutch,
....but the cost of repair outweighs the car’s value, so it will be going to the big breakers yard in the sky very soon.
Fortunately I do have another, newer car in the garage.[/quote]

That's a shame Sam cos if they are in good shape, like my MG TF, they wiil appreciatte in value from now on.

Mike.... I'd love to build a 1/24-1/25 version but can't find anything close, my Cheetah slot car is close as I can find:

I recall, as a nipper, having a couple of Merit model racing car kits (1/24th) - the Aston Martin being the most memorable.
I’m thinking they must be a few out there, but as it was about 1957, probably not that many.

Live streaming of Goodwood Members meeting all day today on Youtube folks

Thanks for the H.U. Ron. Got it recording.

I have been wondering about the Phoenix. Glad you still have it, and it sure is a gorgeous beast.

Skid wrote:

All in all, I built her from parts from nine different cars, one motorcycle and a vacuum cleaner.

Don't forget the lawnmower...

LOL at Sam.

I purchased and fitted a new stereo today so I can now not just have radio and CD but also hands free dialing, hands free answering, access to Alexa via my mobile phone and music on moblie phone too.



Tomorrow I shall be starting to replace all the coilover shockers with what is reffered to as 'The soft ride kit'




The MG TF is well known for having very stiff suspension from manufacture and mine has Bilstein shockers to boot.

Perfect for track work but something of a nightmare on the roads in the UK at present.

The authorities really need to get their act together and get the potholes filled in.

Skid wrote:Perfect for track work but something of a nightmare on the roads in the UK at present.

The authorities really need to get their act together and get the potholes filled in.

Hi Al,

I really hope that the new shocks help...

Up until May '21 I had large 4x4's, my last one was a '95 Mitsubishi Pajero 2.8 LWB, then in July '21 I bought my very first French car, it's a '12 Citroën C3 Exclusive 1.6 auto, now I have to watch out for the potholes (which by me and very, very many)...

Andy...

I hear you Andy on the 'Pothole Dodgem's'.

She's up on the axle stands, wheels off, all nuts/threads treated with Plusgas and all nuts/bolts 'cracked off' ready for the assault tomorrow.

You want to put a starter in my van when your done please.

Seriously, four exhaust pipes Al, for feck's sake it's not an M5.

Sam wrote:You want to put a starter in my van when your done please.  

Yup. Fire up and bring her to me. Doddle.

dublin boy wrote:Seriously, four exhaust pipes Al, for feck's sake it's not an M5.

That's a Scorpion 7 stainless steel exhuast Shay and she sounds absolulley gorgeous.

I suppose it will outlast that K series head gasket at least Al.  

My Mx-5 is fruity enough with the factory exhaust, but they were allowed to be noisier back in the day.

And the fact that's it's an original system that's 32 years old might help! lol

Talking of the menace of our potholed roads, yesterday a front spring snapped on the Golf. There was a twang, rattle and a tinkle of metal on the road as I was chasing down a BMW Coupe in the country lanes. I pulled over and ran back up the road (...or I should say: hobbled) to see what had fallen off, hoping it was just an exhaust clamp. Nope, the newly snapped half a coil was there as proof. Once I would sort it out myself, easy enough job with a set of spring clamps - but I’m no longer that man, I’ll have to see my go-to fitter and pay up. Was it the car’s fault, or the state of Britain’s roads ?.......or my enthusiastic driving ?

That's a catastrophic failure Ron, must have shaken you a bit.

The only experience I have like that is bringing my Old Man's Saab 9-3 for it's test to be told one of the front coils was broken, the car felt fine on the way up to the MOT, and the same when I got two new springs in it and brought it back for the retest.

Has it got monster mileage on it Ron?
I have my Mam's old Mk 5 Golf, 27500 miles. It's a bit mad really lol

It’s not the first time it’s happened Shay, I put a full new set of springs on the car about eight years ago, after one front failure - and one back.
The car is still drivable, just a horseshoe missing from the coil - but I still won’t be driving it until it is sorted.
The car is 17 years old, and barely run in for a 2litre motor at 103,000......still plenty of life in the old girl, but the diagnosis a few weeks ago that the dual mass clutch/flywheel is on it’s way out too, sort of adds to the nails of the coffin, so to speak. 🥴