Hi All, I am currently looking to buy an already built road legal MK Indy (or something similar such as a Mac#1, Sylva or MNR).

Ideally i'm llooking for something with a fairly high powered bike engine, maybe an R1, as I am looking for something pretty quick, and a car that been well built and well looked after. I have a budget of around £6K, but could be willing to go a bit higher for the right car.

I am based in Chesham, South Buckinghamshire/Hertfordshire borders, so something not too far away would be ideal!

Please message me on here if you are looking to sell your car if it matches what I am after above.

Thanks.

Graham

Welcome to the forum. There's a good bunch on here, and a wealth of information, and knowlege to be had.
Use the Search facility, as most things have been done to death over the years. Vary the wording if you dont get what you are looking for first time.
Dont be afraid to ask questions on any subject - Just put them in the right section!

Keep an eye on Pistonheads as well for a Bec.
Good luck with £6k for a hight powered BEC (Bike Engined Car)

Might be considering a good CEC (Car Engined Car) for about £3-4k and then doing a bike conversion over the winter or even next winter.
Just a thought, and would open up the choice available.



EDIT:
There are two MK's on Piston Heads.
As said I think you might want to review your budget for a BEC.

LINKY

PS... The Word LINKY is usually a Hyperlink to more info etc etc.

[Edited on 7/12/2012 by wilkingj]

Hi Thanks for the reply. Do you think I an R1 engine or similar is unrealistic with my budget? I would consider something not quite as quick, but I do want a good quick engine for road and track use.. Would you have any recommendations on what a good engine would be for me budget? I have seen a few fireblade engined BECs within my budget in the past, would these be a good choice?

IMHO.. R1, Fireblade, Hayabusa or even the Kawasakl 1400cc engine would be good.
I think £6k is a low budget for a BEC, but they do exist.
Look around as there are quite a few about.
Nowt wrong with a fireblade.

The old blade engine is a quick car. I upgraded mine to an 06 R1, and yes its a bit quicker but i did this as you are looking for every few tenths racing, but as a trackday or/and road car the blade is more than fast enough. Plus they are cheap and pretty bomb proof engines.

A westy for your budget

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bike-powered-cars/cars/westfield-megablade/397429

and a striker

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bike-powered-cars/cars/sylva-striker-kit-car-powered-by-honda-blackbird-engine/878168

How about this one?

stuart taylor motorsport kit car bike powered honda

Hi yes, I had just seen this stuart taylor on ebay yesterday and spoke to the seller, though he has only had it 6 months and didnt seem to know too much about the car. I absolutely love the look of this car, which is important to me and the price is spot on. Apparently it used to be Green, perhaps anyone might know of this car?

My biggest concern with it is with regards to the engine, Are the Honda Pan european engines any good? Now I dont really need the quickest car out there, but I do want something thats pretty quick 0-60 and can hold it's own and handle well on track, Also got to bare in mind my budget here as well, I know that at around £6k mark im not going to get the best, but want to get a decent car for the money. I dont want a slow one basically. The car will be used for a mixture of track days (nothing competitive just for fun) and 'spirited' weekend driving...

Im also fairly tall and well built 6' 2", 16 stone so would also be concerned as to wether I would fit ok?

If after having it for a few months I decided I wanted a bit more power and speed, would it be much of a task to swap the engine to something quicker, and whats sort of costs and gains would I be looking at? I should mention that I am in no way mechanically minded so would need to pay some one to carry out the work.

[Edited on 7/12/12 by p2ccolo]

[Edited on 7/12/12 by p2ccolo]

You need to find someone local with the same car and go and sit in it.
Better still is to get them to take you for a ride.

ALL these cars are pretty quick compared to a tintop, and certainly out handle them.
You also need to learn how they drive, as they are VERY different to normal road cars.
Especially if you have never driven a high powered (High BHP/Ton) rear wheeled car before.

At 6ft 2" and 16st, you really need to sit in the car you are going to buy.
Also an in-person visit will let you look closely at the car and to see exactly what its like rather than what you cant see in the photos.
Also you can then get out the folding money and start offering him cash. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and this even applies to Fleabay.

Take someone with you who knows kit cars and preferably the one (make) you will be looking at.
Ask if anyone on here has a XXX locally to you that you could come and sit in etc etc.

Please put your approx location in your profile as it will help with people offering help etc.

When you say you want something 'pretty quick' what are you used to? It takes a tin top with some serious poke to match my 'blade engined F27 to 100mph. With a 6k budget, I would of thought most BEC' s will be blade or ZX9 powered, although at this time of year there are bargains to be had!

Thanks for all the replies, it's a big help. Well, my daily drive is a BMW 330ci M Sport, so it's not the slowest car, but undoubtedly considerably slower than any kit cars I'm sure. I mean essentially, As long as it's 0-60 is pretty nippy (4 seconds or under), the handling is good and it doesn't just loose all its power once it gets past 80 miles an hour or so I'd be very happy I think. I drive my current car let's just say very 'spiritedly', and to be honest it feels very slow to me now. The biggest problem for me is I guess I have nothing to bench mark against since I have never driven a kit car, but my personality is such that I usually always want something at the faster end of the spectrum... I really like the Stuart Taylor currently on ebay, but just know about the engine, and how quick it would be, if its still going to be bloody quick but maybe just a fraction slower then some of the blades/R1 type engines then I'd probably be ok with that, as I think the price seems good and it looks amazing. I just wouldnt want the 'thrill' to disappear quickly and to start to feel its a bit slow, and regret not buying something faster.

[Edited on 7/12/12 by p2ccolo]

Is it a 1100cc pan european or the 1300cc?

According to the owner it's an 1100..

Hi
We have an Indy with a carbed R1 engine which we built from scratch
Passed IVA Dec 11, My son is about your size & fits Ok.
As for performance you won't be disappointed believe me.
On the rolling road we got 151 BHP with just a few tweaks from Austec Racing.
Find someone local to you who has one , beg a sit in, or better a ride.
Good luck
René

quote:

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Originally posted by p2ccolo
According to the owner it's an 1100..

---

Haha by somebody, did you mean you :-P

Hmm. thats sounds very interesting... I like the car a lot so would be willing to pay a little extra and do an engine swap, If the prices didn't come in too expensive.

Only problem is I wouldn't have a clue how to do the work myself so would need to pay someone else. Any idea how much I'd be looking at to get this done? Can any body recommend somewhere or someone who could carry out the job well (ideally in south east england)

[Edited on 7/12/12 by p2ccolo]

Its a easy enough job just to do a engine swap, there will always be someone on here local to you would be willing to help you for tea/beer and biscuits, and you learn more about your car and make a few new mates along the way. Thats what these cars are all about, you will be for ever tinkering and changing things on them, The more skilled bit is making the engine cradle up, and the exhaust manifold, but if you buy a complete engine set up, you can more or less drop it straight in

Awesome. So how long would it take someone with the know how to perform an engine swap? And is the added cost and effort worth it on this car? or would you guys recommend waiting for something else thats already got a more suitable spec. I am still keeping my options open but am planning on paying a visit to that Stuart Taylor on ebay in 2 weeks if its still up for sale as I need to head north anyway, and if I decide on that car il prob almost definately be looking to do an engine swap, plus maybe full cage, detatchable wheel and reverse fitted

You could do a engine swap in a day if you have all the parts to hand, but if your after one with a cage, reverse and a more powerfull engine, then I would advise you may be better waiting for the right car coming along, but expect to pay around £7000 for a car of that spec, that Stuart taylor is cheap for a reason as its got a less desirable engine fitted, if it had ticked all the boxes for you in every other respect and just wanted a engine swap it could have been a good buy for you.

You would be pushing it to swap out that pan engine for a straight 4 in a day, maybe get it bolted in but gear change linkages, cut out for exhaust etc will all swallow time, better getting something right first time.

nice striker honda blackbird powered on pistonheads for 5995 that would be my choice !!! no it isn't mine.


they are fantastic little cars,raced one for a few years.

Hi guys , still looking around for the right car to come up, and have spotted this westfield on ebay. Is it any good? What would the speed and performance be like in this car? The listing states 150hp, would that be realistic? Would it feel slow and underwhelming compared with a bec? What sort of 0-60, 0-100 times would this cec likely be running at?

Westfield 1700 SE Full Rebuild In 2009 150bhp Crossflow Engine

Also not sure if I would fit into a narrow body?

Thanks!

[Edited on 15/12/12 by p2ccolo]

My friend had a pre litigation Westfield with a tuned 1760 cross flow, my standard 893 blade locost was quicker accelerating with a better top end.

Think you need to decide firstly what you want the car for ie track days or just road use.I looked at BEC's I don't do trackdays anymore decided on a high powered car engine (raceline 2ltr zetec 160R westfield SEIW) loads of fun and you can upgrade as and when you want!!! A westy or other kit with a 1600 can be upgraded later as you grow with confidence.Whatever you buy you will want to improve

Well my main reason for buying is so I can affordably do track days In something fun. But it will also be used on road for a bit of Sunday driving type fun. Il like use it for something like 70% road 30% track

bike or car engine would fit the bill,if you go for car engine I would get a 5 sp box depends on the length of your trips!!

I did southern Spain in my westy and the 5 sp box meant leisurely driving when you wanted a break from blatting

invariably it is just down to what you want the car for.Take your time don't rush and the right car will turn up

Where do you tend to do your trackdays? I'm just wondering if noise might be an issue; you need a very quiet BEC to do most days at Castle Combe and Donington for example.

I have had no issues at Combe, and Donny, or Goodwood and I have a plain old R1 engine with pipe cross sausage filter.. MNR manifold into a link pipe into an Akropovic TI can.

My mate on the other hand with his supercharged Toyota Westfield has had to fit a decibel, (read bhp) killer at all of the above.

Perhaps mines a really quiet BEC

Hey p2ccolo welcome to the forum

i'm not that far from you i'm the otherside of Amersham

i would agree the old 900 fireblades are still very good engines, a couple of mates of mine have them in there indys
and they still perform well

i've had a 05 engined R1 MNR again great engine but the ZZR1400 is something else with the torque

6K is do-able

hope to see you on the road soon

Hey guys am still looking for right car, would also consider a CEC. Please message me if your looking to sell.

Cheers

*Bump*

Still Looking Guys, surely one of you is looking to sell a decent BEC or CEC :-(