VMV Cars build [Archive]

VMV Cars

09-16-2009, 03:10 PM

Surprise! I'm here. Got my kit in August 2007, and I'm about to get it titled in a few weeks. I was working with a partner to have a distributor for MEV, but things fell through. Now, I just have this fun little car. I'm in Dallas, TX.

golftdibrad

09-16-2009, 07:57 PM

welcome!

VMV Cars

09-30-2009, 10:07 AM

I got my temp plate yesterday, so I have 30 days to get the title, registration, inspection, and metal plates. I just consolidated the two fuse boxes into one 12 fuse block and 3 relays on Monday. Tonight, I mount the computer and fuse block so the engine cover can go on. All that's left is the exhaust!

I'll get updated pictures once the engine cover is put back on, too.

stiggymills

10-02-2009, 03:26 AM

Thats great news Mr VMV. We had hoped it was not gathering dust, so well done for getting near the end. I dont sell Rockets now, they are available from www.roadtrackrace.com together with Atomic and the new trike.
I sell Sonic7 and Missile now. I do tech bach up for all MEV products though so let me know how you get on. Regards Stuart

VMV Cars

10-02-2009, 08:11 AM

Thats great news Mr VMV. We had hoped it was not gathering dust, so well done for getting near the end. I dont sell Rockets now, they are available from www.roadtrackrace.com together with Atomic and the new trike.
I sell Sonic7 and Missile now. I do tech bach up for all MEV products though so let me know how you get on. Regards Stuart

I've been meaning to email you. Various things caused delays in the build (not kit related). However, I did have to cut/re-weld the brake/clutch mount as it placed the clutch pedal at the center of the steering column ;) (no worries)

I just finished the consolidated fuse block last night(9 total) and the damn thing starts right up! Also, with the orientation of the exhaust header, I have cut a section out of the engine cover and replaced it with aluminum. I did a heatgun test on a scrap piece of your GRP and it doesn't take kindly to heat (it delaminates!)

Yes, yes. Updated pictures are coming. It rained last night so I didn't take it out. This weekend should be great for an open cockpit roadster!

africanstyle

10-02-2009, 03:58 PM

Haha vmv. I'm also in dallas, and it didn't rain, it poured. Good luck with the build, maybe I'll see you on the road! ;)

VMV Cars

10-02-2009, 08:09 PM

Update Photo:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OzGCCr7lACE/Ssaw2DS2_LI/AAAAAAAAAAU/5h3xQjMZGYM/s400/DSC_0041.JPG

Bigger picture (http://picasaweb.google.com/vmvcars/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCNqplvaqmJu0Lw#5388188446839 209138)

First legal road trip. Went to the gas station, put in 3 gallons of 93 octane! Now to re-load the tune for it.

VMV Cars

10-03-2009, 01:19 PM

The 93 octane tune is on it now, and WOW what a difference! I was able to open it up a bit on a straight road and it gets a little scary!
Video of Idle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQurxa8op84)

Nigel

10-03-2009, 02:40 PM

The 93 octane tune is on it now, and WOW what a difference! I was able to open it up a bit on a straight road and it gets a little scary!
Video of Idle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQurxa8op84)

Congratulations :clap:

cordycord

10-03-2009, 03:17 PM

Congrats on a good-looking car and a speedy build!

Karlo

10-03-2009, 03:55 PM

What are your specs for the Rocket?

VMV Cars

10-04-2009, 10:19 AM

What are your specs for the Rocket?

2002 Focus SVT drivetrain
- 2.0L DOHC Zetec was 170HP when in the Focus
- 6spd Getrag
Spec stage3 clutch, Fidenza flywheel
SCT Xcallibrator tune for 93 octane.
Wilwood 4 pots with 310mm vented/slotted rotors in the front
SVT Focus front brakes for the back
Quaife quick ratio rack (1.8)
Aluminum hubs
Saleen Focus wheels (17")
"Poppy Red" GRP

Right now, I would guess the engine is making about 210HP with the VERY open intake and exhaust with no cat.
Any idea where I can get the headlights from the VStorm? ;)

cordycord

10-04-2009, 10:29 AM

Schweet! What did you need to do to get that rotor and hub on the Cortina upright?

VMV Cars

10-04-2009, 01:44 PM

Schweet! What did you need to do to get that rotor and hub on the Cortina upright?

Get a friend that lives in the UK to buy it for you from RallyDesigns and have him ship it to you. RD refuses to sell stuff to the US due to our "litigious society" :thumbdown2: :patriot:

cordycord

10-04-2009, 03:48 PM

Get a friend that lives in the UK to buy it for you from RallyDesigns and have him ship it to you. RD refuses to sell stuff to the US due to our "litigious society" :thumbdown2: :patriot:

I didn't know that the Dyna Lite 4 pots could handle a 310mm rotor--not bad. Did you have to extend the caliper mount?

BTW, I've got the RallyDesign for my Sonic7. I can't imagine a front hub assembly getting much lighter.

VMV Cars

10-04-2009, 07:42 PM

I didn't know that the Dyna Lite 4 pots could handle a 310mm rotor--not bad. Did you have to extend the caliper mount?

BTW, I've got the RallyDesign for my Sonic7. I can't imagine a front hub assembly getting much lighter.

Yeah, there is a ~1" spacer that goes between the caliper and the upright. That and the bolts are really what makes it a "brake kit". It's a shame that RD is the only maker of the rotors for those uprights. The only way to get rotors/hubs for the Cortina uprights in the US is to say they are for a Hyundai Stellar. The only ones I found where stock sizes and solid (not fun). I purchased and sent some Mustang2 uprights and steering rack over to Stuart to see if he could make a custom front end jig for the US market, but he said the geometry wouldn't work. My goal was to try to get all US sourced parts to get it running. Cortina uprights and a manual LHD Sierra rack are pretty hard to find over here.

VMV Cars

10-04-2009, 07:51 PM

Congrats on a good-looking car and a speedy build!

I don't know if I'd call it speedy. I got it in August of 2007, although I didn't work on it at all last year, so all-in-all less than a year total. A good lot of that time was figuring out what the HELL to do with the shift cables. I should have broken down and ordered some custom made cables in the beginning.

BTW, I just found the "MEV Rocket" and "MEV" stickers today and applied them. Now I need to take some more pictures ;)

VMV Cars

10-24-2009, 12:57 PM

So, good news and bad news today:

1. I was able to pass safety inspection and get it registered/titled (YAY for metal plates!)

2. On the way home from getting my plates, I had the front lower control arm mount pop off the frame. Luckily, I was just stopping into a subdivision to adjust my earplugs before I got on the turnpike. I think I see a design flaw on this and will fab up a new mount that is sturdier. Here is a picture of the failure:

http://sites.google.com/site/vmvcars/102309Failure.jpg

It appears that when the brakes are hit, that mount endures a pulling stress at the top part of the weld. It came out of the frame like a sardine can lid. The fix will be to add a top brace which gives it a more lateral stress point. I will also do this to the other side.

golftdibrad

10-24-2009, 02:36 PM

So, good news and bad news today:

2. On the way home from getting my plates, I had the front lower control arm mount pop off the frame. Luckily, I was just stopping into a subdivision to adjust my earplugs before I got on the turnpike. I think I see a design flaw on this and will fab up a new mount that is sturdier. Here is a picture of the failure:

http://sites.google.com/site/vmvcars/102309Failure.jpg

1. Congrats on the plates.

2. dammit!!! When I saw that when I got my car it worried me :/
Mine looks like it is made a little different with steel plates, but i'm not sure its better.

Looks like I may be making that suspension model sooner than I thought...

Glad you and the car are ok.

VMV Cars

10-24-2009, 07:12 PM

I'll take pics of the mount redo. All the other mounts look pretty sturdy, though.

1. Congrats on the plates.

2. dammit!!! When I saw that when I got my car it worried me :/
Mine looks like it is made a little different with steel plates, but i'm not sure its better.

Looks like I may be making that suspension model sooner than I thought...

Glad you and the car are ok.

cordycord

10-25-2009, 12:39 AM

NOT good.

golftdibrad

10-25-2009, 08:53 AM

NOT good.

this would be me
http://knowyourmeme.com/i/21326/original/1250421399260.jpg?1254436266

cordycord

10-25-2009, 11:14 AM

Honestly, there are reasons why some manufacturers would put a suspension bracket in single shear--namely because brackets are easier to fix than frame tubes in the event of an off-track excursion. However, it's not supposed to break on the way to the 7-11!!! Unfortunately, yours looks like a material or welding defect.

The Sonic is a bit different, as the square tube holds the brackets differently. However I may need to consider strengthening my brackets, as well as going back to 7" rims at back instead of 9".

VMV Cars

10-25-2009, 08:12 PM

I honestly don't think the stress put on this bracket mount is even. It puts the bulk of the load on the top of the mounting point. Once that little section was compromised, the rest of the tearing came quickly. I did hear a distinct "ting!" and the right wheel started its flop forward and to the inside. I only skid about 3-4 feet. As luck would have it, when I bent down to see the damage, I found a penny in the street heads up ;-)

cordycord

10-25-2009, 08:57 PM

I honestly don't think the stress put on this bracket mount is even. It puts the bulk of the load on the top of the mounting point. Once that little section was compromised, the rest of the tearing came quickly. I did hear a distinct "ting!" and the right wheel started its flop forward and to the inside. I only skid about 3-4 feet. As luck would have it, when I bent down to see the damage, I found a penny in the street heads up ;-)

On second view you may be right. The Sonic brackets are directly mounted to the frame--they don't have an "arm" coming off the frame for the mount. If you've never seen it before, it's kinda difficult to see in the picture, as the broken mount is overexposed.

VMV Cars

11-02-2009, 09:55 AM

OK, so the fix is in. Pics to come, soon. I also did the DIY alignment which seems to be very successful. I did 2mm of toe-in and -2 degrees camber. Can't really adjust caster, so I assume Stuart already has it dialed in correctly.

VMV Cars

11-08-2009, 05:49 PM

I got my title for the car in the mail! I'm 100% street legal. The car is officially registered as a 2009 Assembled Vehicle, Roadster. For some strange reason they put the weight as 1700lbs though :(
It actually weighs 1280.

jeanlee411

04-30-2010, 06:27 PM

I've been meaning to email you. Various things caused delays in the build (not kit related). However, I did have to cut/re-weld the brake/clutch mount as it placed the clutch pedal at the center of the steering column ;) (no worries)

I just finished the consolidated fuse block last night(9 total) and the damn thing starts right up! Also, with the orientation of the exhaust header, I have cut a section out of the engine cover and replaced it with aluminum. I did a heatgun test on a scrap piece of your GRP and it doesn't take kindly to heat (it delaminates!)

Yes, yes. Updated pictures are coming. It rained last night so I didn't take it out. This weekend should be great for an open cockpit roadster!

Haha vmv. I'm also in dallas, and it didn't rain, it poured. Good luck with the build, maybe I'll see you on the road! ;)

VMV Cars

05-10-2010, 04:55 PM

I was recently informed that there is a fix for the early revision of the Rocket. It involves putting a 1" bar through the front which connects the two lower wishbone mounts. Following RTR's advice, I made this myself ($8 worth of steel tube with the ends crimped and drilled). I've also put new headlights on (Hella projectors). I'll see if I can get some new pics of it soon.

acrtl1000s

01-24-2011, 06:00 PM

I realize this is a practically dead thread, but I've got a POS Focus 2.0 Zetec 5mt sitting in my driveway due to a failing ac compressor. How mechanically inclined must one be to build this kit or (preferrably) the Sonic7? I've got a pretty decent ability to put things together.

golftdibrad

01-24-2011, 07:45 PM

I realize this is a practically dead thread, but I've got a POS Focus 2.0 Zetec 5mt sitting in my driveway due to a failing ac compressor. How mechanically inclined must one be to build this kit or (preferrably) the Sonic7? I've got a pretty decent ability to put things together.

its not bad it just takes LOTS of time.

cordycord

01-24-2011, 08:59 PM

I'd say that it takes LOTS of time if you've gone ahead and used an engine that's not designed for the car, and has never been used in this manner before...i.e., my build. If you build a Rocket, I think you're safe. Your benefit is that there are lots of people who have built them on the MEV forum, so you can look and get a general idea of what's in store for your level of participation. For example, you may want to leave a portion of the build to an expert.

acrtl1000s

01-24-2011, 09:02 PM

Thanks. That's what I wanted to know.

Nigel

01-30-2011, 09:13 AM

its not bad it just takes LOTS of time.

I realize this is a practically dead thread, but I've got a POS Focus 2.0 Zetec 5mt sitting in my driveway due to a failing ac compressor. How mechanically inclined must one be to build this kit or (preferrably) the Sonic7? I've got a pretty decent ability to put things together.

Keep it simple and whether or not your building a Sonic7 or a Rocket its relatively straightforward if not easy.

As Cord has posted visit the MEV Owners Forum and make you own mind up www.mevowner.co.uk

nigel

victory12

11-13-2011, 06:50 PM

Update Photo:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OzGCCr7lACE/Ssaw2DS2_LI/AAAAAAAAAAU/5h3xQjMZGYM/s400/DSC_0041.JPG

Bigger picture (http://picasaweb.google.com/vmvcars/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCNqplvaqmJu0Lw#5388188446839 209138)

First legal road trip. Went to the gas station, put in 3 gallons of 93 octane! Now to re-load the tune for it.

Congrats on a good-looking car and a speedy build!
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