MK Indy R GSXR1000: Build Thread
Discussion
Introduction
Seeming as I've been on here as a member for over 6 years now, I thought it was about time I should post up one of my cars/projects. I'll get the ball rolling with my MK Indy R GSXR1000 that I built in 2013/14, and will post the entire build up in stages.
Why the Indy R? Probably like most replica Seven owners, I'd always wanted a real Caterham from a young age but never had the money to buy one. I was getting bored of waiting, and saw a replica as the first rung on the ladder to Caterham ownership. Plus I really fancied the challenge of the build with very little mechanical knowledge, other than very minor tinkering on my other cars.
I did plenty of research across the market, and eventually decided the MK Indy was the most attractive replica, and there was a fair amount of information out there already on them. So off to MK in Yorkshire I went, with a rough spec in mind of what I was after. One of the first things I learned is that most kit car companies will try and attract you in with a low 'starting from' price, and that you'll also only then need items A,B and C to complete the job. Actually, you need items A-Z, which will cost you substantially more than what you'd originally budgeted. All part of the learning curve for an amateur!
I opted for the Indy R with a K3 Suzuki GSXR1000 bike engine with yellow fibreglass panels. I'd been out in a couple of BECs (Bike Engine Cars) and loved the brutal experience, and the noise. The GSXR1000 had more torque over the competition, and I managed to get absolutely everything I needed from a 2003 bike for £1,200.
Collection day came, so full of excitement I set off in the early hours up to Yorkshire to pick up my kit. Upon arrival, they were still welding my chassis together, so not an ideal start! Eventually it was finished and dropped off for powder coating.
While I was waiting to pick it up, I spent several hours taking as many photos as possible of the other cars in build at their factory, and filling myself with as much knowledge as possible ahead of the build. I was eventually home and unpacked some 17 hours after I'd left in the morning – that was one hell of a day!
More coming soon, with a stack load of photos too throughout the build. I hope you enjoy the read nearly as much as I enjoyed the build!
Seeming as I've been on here as a member for over 6 years now, I thought it was about time I should post up one of my cars/projects. I'll get the ball rolling with my MK Indy R GSXR1000 that I built in 2013/14, and will post the entire build up in stages.
Why the Indy R? Probably like most replica Seven owners, I'd always wanted a real Caterham from a young age but never had the money to buy one. I was getting bored of waiting, and saw a replica as the first rung on the ladder to Caterham ownership. Plus I really fancied the challenge of the build with very little mechanical knowledge, other than very minor tinkering on my other cars.
I did plenty of research across the market, and eventually decided the MK Indy was the most attractive replica, and there was a fair amount of information out there already on them. So off to MK in Yorkshire I went, with a rough spec in mind of what I was after. One of the first things I learned is that most kit car companies will try and attract you in with a low 'starting from' price, and that you'll also only then need items A,B and C to complete the job. Actually, you need items A-Z, which will cost you substantially more than what you'd originally budgeted. All part of the learning curve for an amateur!
I opted for the Indy R with a K3 Suzuki GSXR1000 bike engine with yellow fibreglass panels. I'd been out in a couple of BECs (Bike Engine Cars) and loved the brutal experience, and the noise. The GSXR1000 had more torque over the competition, and I managed to get absolutely everything I needed from a 2003 bike for £1,200.
Collection day came, so full of excitement I set off in the early hours up to Yorkshire to pick up my kit. Upon arrival, they were still welding my chassis together, so not an ideal start! Eventually it was finished and dropped off for powder coating.
While I was waiting to pick it up, I spent several hours taking as many photos as possible of the other cars in build at their factory, and filling myself with as much knowledge as possible ahead of the build. I was eventually home and unpacked some 17 hours after I'd left in the morning – that was one hell of a day!
More coming soon, with a stack load of photos too throughout the build. I hope you enjoy the read nearly as much as I enjoyed the build!
Edited by Ben Lowden on Thursday 10th December 16:50
Chassis, Steering & Suspension
I’ll try and cover all of this in rough order of assembly. I have a bit of engineering in my background and Baz at MK is actually a bit of a black belt at welding. I was thoroughly impressed with his work on my chassis and the various components. Naturally there was a degree of welding distortion on a few parts, but nothing that couldn’t be sorted with some gentle persuasion.
The Indy R has push rod operated front suspension, and fully independent rear suspension (which is where the name ‘Indy’ comes from). I started by fitting the front dampers, notably upside down so the adjusters can still be accessed at the top. The steering rack followed, which uses a modified rack from a Sierra, all done by MK.
The wishbones went on with ball joints and track rod ends, followed by the front hubs. Worth noting the MK just sprayed these black and they rusted through within a couple of days, so if I were to do this again I’d have them shot blasted and plated first.
Rear wishbones went in next with hub carriers and dampers. All bushes had a dollop of red rubber grease to prevent any squeaking, as I’d read that those who used copper grease were still having issues. Suffice to say I never had any squeaking during my ownership.
With the suspension on, I cut a hole in the floor panel for an electric reverse. Seeming as bike engines don’t have a reverse gear, I used a starter motor supplied by MK, which engaged with a cog between the diff and the prop.
Differential, also from a Sierra, went in afterwards. The seals gave up on the diff literally the day after I sold it, spewing oil all over the Yorkshire Dales. Therefore I’d be getting a diff rebuilt in the future (with an LSD too) before fitting.
I’ll try and cover all of this in rough order of assembly. I have a bit of engineering in my background and Baz at MK is actually a bit of a black belt at welding. I was thoroughly impressed with his work on my chassis and the various components. Naturally there was a degree of welding distortion on a few parts, but nothing that couldn’t be sorted with some gentle persuasion.
The Indy R has push rod operated front suspension, and fully independent rear suspension (which is where the name ‘Indy’ comes from). I started by fitting the front dampers, notably upside down so the adjusters can still be accessed at the top. The steering rack followed, which uses a modified rack from a Sierra, all done by MK.
The wishbones went on with ball joints and track rod ends, followed by the front hubs. Worth noting the MK just sprayed these black and they rusted through within a couple of days, so if I were to do this again I’d have them shot blasted and plated first.
Rear wishbones went in next with hub carriers and dampers. All bushes had a dollop of red rubber grease to prevent any squeaking, as I’d read that those who used copper grease were still having issues. Suffice to say I never had any squeaking during my ownership.
With the suspension on, I cut a hole in the floor panel for an electric reverse. Seeming as bike engines don’t have a reverse gear, I used a starter motor supplied by MK, which engaged with a cog between the diff and the prop.
Differential, also from a Sierra, went in afterwards. The seals gave up on the diff literally the day after I sold it, spewing oil all over the Yorkshire Dales. Therefore I’d be getting a diff rebuilt in the future (with an LSD too) before fitting.
Edited by Ben Lowden on Friday 11th December 12:56
Brakes
You will have spotted in some of the suspension shots that I fitted the brake master cylinder a bit earlier.
I ended up fitting all of my brake and fuel lines by hand without any bending tools, and I was very happy with the results. It took a bit of practice to flare the ends, but it was fairly straight forward. Bearing in mind there was no build manual for the car, all of this work was purely done by following the photos I took while I was at MK picking up my kit.
All of the lines were riveted in place, held by rubber lined P clips.
I went for Wilwood four-pot callipers on the front with drilled and grooved discs. The stopping power was fantastic, but for a car weighing half a tonne you’d expect it to be.
The rear callipers and discs were standard Sierra fitment. Apparently the Wilwood rear callipers aren’t man enough for holding the car on the handbrake, whereas the Sierra callipers are.
You will have spotted in some of the suspension shots that I fitted the brake master cylinder a bit earlier.
I ended up fitting all of my brake and fuel lines by hand without any bending tools, and I was very happy with the results. It took a bit of practice to flare the ends, but it was fairly straight forward. Bearing in mind there was no build manual for the car, all of this work was purely done by following the photos I took while I was at MK picking up my kit.
All of the lines were riveted in place, held by rubber lined P clips.
I went for Wilwood four-pot callipers on the front with drilled and grooved discs. The stopping power was fantastic, but for a car weighing half a tonne you’d expect it to be.
The rear callipers and discs were standard Sierra fitment. Apparently the Wilwood rear callipers aren’t man enough for holding the car on the handbrake, whereas the Sierra callipers are.
Edited by Ben Lowden on Friday 11th December 12:58
Edited by Ben Lowden on Friday 11th December 12:59
Bodywork
I made a very foolish assumption that the fibreglass body panels would just fit perfectly from the off without any fettling required. Turns out that a fair bit of fettling was required, quite a few hours worth actually. I took the decision of inserting rivnuts into the chassis, thinking the panels would then be easily removable in the future without having to drill out rivets. In hindsight, it took so long to drill and insert the rivnuts, I think I’d just go straight for riveting next time.
I actually had to remove the front wishbones to get the side panels on after I’d cut the holes out from the template. I put them on, wiggled the steering rack around, and took it off again for some more fettling before final fitment.
The nosecone didn’t fit properly. Nor did the bonnet, scuttle, or rear panel. But after countless hours of sanding I finally got there. Crazy to think that when you buy a real Caterham (which uses aluminium other than fibreglass nose and wings), all of the panels are fitted for you with no hassle needed. I did appreciate the effort it took though, and felt rewarded for the achievement afterwards.
With a first fit complete and the wheels on, I was ready for my first Flintstone’s style outing down the lane. Now it was really starting to look like a real car!
You’ll notice at this point the side panels don’t meet the nosecone at the bottom. They had to be cut, pulled in and drilled to create the flush fit.
I made a very foolish assumption that the fibreglass body panels would just fit perfectly from the off without any fettling required. Turns out that a fair bit of fettling was required, quite a few hours worth actually. I took the decision of inserting rivnuts into the chassis, thinking the panels would then be easily removable in the future without having to drill out rivets. In hindsight, it took so long to drill and insert the rivnuts, I think I’d just go straight for riveting next time.
I actually had to remove the front wishbones to get the side panels on after I’d cut the holes out from the template. I put them on, wiggled the steering rack around, and took it off again for some more fettling before final fitment.
The nosecone didn’t fit properly. Nor did the bonnet, scuttle, or rear panel. But after countless hours of sanding I finally got there. Crazy to think that when you buy a real Caterham (which uses aluminium other than fibreglass nose and wings), all of the panels are fitted for you with no hassle needed. I did appreciate the effort it took though, and felt rewarded for the achievement afterwards.
With a first fit complete and the wheels on, I was ready for my first Flintstone’s style outing down the lane. Now it was really starting to look like a real car!
You’ll notice at this point the side panels don’t meet the nosecone at the bottom. They had to be cut, pulled in and drilled to create the flush fit.
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