Tell me why I'm stupid for wanting an Exocet?

I've got a fixed up '90, quite a few bits I could sell off of it to recoup some money.

It already has the top removed and is only an HPDE/nice weather/weekend toy.

Tell me why it's stupid? The only thing I can see is a lack of trailer hitch which I'm sure could be easily modified so I can tow a small trailer to the track.

Any other thoughts? Anybody built one yet?

I'm suffering from similar ideas so I suggest you buy one and start a build thread .

Hehe so the biggest complaint I have seen people make is that it's ugly. Personally I think most 7's are hideous anyway so I don't get it.

The exocet is on my long term plan possibilities. Within a couple years I think my miata will be similar to yours in terms of prep. Once I get bored of that (I will probably do hardtop and a 1,8 swap with NA mods first too) if I want something faster I was debating doing the exocet before spending money on forced induction or a v8 swap

Why do you need to sell off stuff one of the reasons I was eyeing the exocet is all my wheels/suspension etc should just carry over

Tim, aren't you getting a 911 or a NSX?

A friend of mine who imports a number of vehicles (including Westfield and a Stratos) looked into importing the MEV line, and he decided against it after some closer investigation. I'd try to get the chance to lay eyes on one before plunking down any cash.

It looks like there's going to be a Catfish running in the 25 hours of Thunderhill. That bodes very well. For extra credit, I believe it's got an LS3!

The Catfish is massively appealing also but double? the price from current numbers I have heard for the kit? And I don't know how long they will be until they have kits actually available.

Jaynen wrote: Why do you need to sell off stuff one of the reasons I was eyeing the exocet is all my wheels/suspension etc should just carry over

Roll bar, butterfly brace, frog arms........all wouldn't be needed for the Exocet.

But Keith hinted at something I was curious of, quality of the kit itself. If it's anything less than stellar (which I suspect for the price that it's questionable) the $6k or whatever for the kit, would = a VVT NB motor with I/H/E, squaretop, standalone, dyno tune and Torsen.

So going from 90whp (maybe) with an open, diff to 145-150whp and a Torsen would be a dramatic improvement as well.

My plan was to go the cheaper route for the 135hp of a NB1 motor. But first I need the budget for the wheels and tires/suspension

Big question for me is whether or not I build the car STS legal as I do more autox than track days (and currently not SCCA)

I was just reading about this kit over the weekend as I have a '96 that suffers from some rot issues. The only real issue is that you lose the versatility of the miata by not having heat, a top, a real windshield, a trunk, etc. I came to the conclusion that I could get a really nice bike for $5k, keep the miata, and not have to explain to my wife why I turned my perfectly reliable and useful miata into a car that she won't be seen in.

If I put race seats in my miata my wife wont be seen in mine anyway

Are you planning to take out some British warships?

oh, I thought you were talking about a cruise missile. me = military mindset, lol

What he said! ^^^

Jaynen wrote: Tim, aren't you getting a 911 or a NSX?

That's the plan, but it partially depends on the sale of my UK 911 going through.

However, a cheap light mostly track-ish car does still appeal. Especially one that's cheaper to unbend than an NSX or a 911...

z31maniac wrote:

Jaynen wrote: Why do you need to sell off stuff one of the reasons I was eyeing the exocet is all my wheels/suspension etc should just carry over

Roll bar, butterfly brace, frog arms........all wouldn't be needed for the Exocet. But Keith hinted at something I was curious of, quality of the kit itself. If it's anything less than stellar (which I suspect for the price that it's questionable) the $6k or whatever for the kit, would = a VVT NB motor with I/H/E, squaretop, standalone, dyno tune and Torsen. So going from 90whp (maybe) with an open, diff to 145-150whp and a Torsen would be a dramatic improvement as well.

Don't look too hard for that squaretop unless you're trying to build a dyno queen. We found the VICS manifold to be the choice for area under the curve.

^They are easy to find, but that's good to know.

Does that stand true if you add cams and plan to spin it to 7500+

Keith can you expand on your comments on quality. I haven't seen any complaints from any of the MEV build threads.

They are being imported now.

No, they aren't necessarily a perfect as a 7 as the engine is in the original Miata position, but it's still a heck of a build.

For people who call them ugly, I'm really sorry, but a good looking 7 is a rare thing. I've only seen a handful of the 'Locost' vehicles out there that actually look good. The lines of the original Lotus/Caterham are very subtle, the Westie is an excellent reinterpretation, but most 'Locost's' miss the boat by a mile. To me the Exocet looks great.

I was hot and heavy for a while until the reality of $$’s and time hit home. Hence a $750 SAAB instead.

Yeah, I think this one, for example, looks fantastic.

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=466828&highlight=exocet

But as I may have already talked myself out of it when I compare getting a proper engine/diff in the '90.

Are you honestly going to tell me these:

Are much better looking than these:

This is not to take away from the effort and ability of Locost builders, but to slam one at the expense of the other is odd to me, especially as you can properly build an Exocet for the cost of the ‘average’ Locost if using a built frame and body panels.

To me the most common visual issues with Locost’s are.
1. Bonnet line much higher than the front wheels giving them odd proportions.
2. Too wide a cockpit for the width of the nose use leading to a pinched look.
3. Cockpit sides parallel to the ground not sloping as per the original Lotus and Caterham. The only car that seems to carry this off is the all fiberglass Westfield’s.
4. Too much unpainted body giving the painted parts a tacked on look.
5. Headlights too high and often rectangular or little tiny projectors.
6. Turn signals looking out of place.
7. Too vertical a rear and or extending too far back giving it a fat arsed look.

Again, these are just my opinions and you know what they say about opinions don’t you.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

Is it just me or do those roll bars look useless?

You can order it with a real roll bar and or roll cage too. Those style bars are fore well, style. That’s what it comes with std. Note that they seem perfectly acceptable for track days and HPDE’s in the UK. I’ve seen many and surprisingly millions of people have not died as a result.

They are pretty neat but I suspect a Seven style car would be easier to sell at later date if that is a consideration.

I would so do a Seven Clone/Locost if I could sneak one past the NJ DMV.. but to build one would require it to meet all current safety and emissions requirements

Adrian_Thompson wrote: You can order it with a real roll bar and or roll cage too. Those style bars are fore well, style. That’s what it comes with std. Note that they seem perfectly acceptable for track days and HPDE’s in the UK. I’ve seen many and surprisingly millions of people have not died as a result.

Just cause you can doesn't mean you should. Personally I would rather have 7 clone though.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: You can order it with a real roll bar and or roll cage too. Those style bars are fore well, style. That’s what it comes with std. Note that they seem perfectly acceptable for track days and HPDE’s in the UK. I’ve seen many and surprisingly millions of people have not died as a result.

Keep in mind that they let you run in a convertible without any rollbar in the UK though - I've run my turbo'd Miata just with the roof up, no hardtop or rollbar like it's required here.