Small Shed Required

[dc2100k]

I'm looking to do a bit of grass roots motorsport next year and this will require the purchase of a small shed that will also double as a daily driver/nursery run/shopping trolley. If my wife finds out it was purchased for the motorsports part there will be trouble so it should appear to be practical, durable, safe and sensible. My priorities, however, are that is is quick, reliable, easy and cheap to work on, fun to drive and at least broadly competitive. 5 doors would be a selling point, as would an active 'community' to help with basic spannering. I will be driving too and from events in Scotland and the north of England so a basic level of comfort/refinement would be appreciated.

The motorsport I am intending to do are possibly some Targa/Road rallies, maybe a couple of hillclimbs, some Autosolo, etc. Nothing too tough, I will not be installing a roll cage for instance. The MSA regs for rallying means 4 cylinder only, forced induction only under 1.5 litres - so that instantly draws a type of car that might work - a sub-compact or supermini. I also live in Edinburgh so the word on the street is that we are getting a ULEZ in 2020 which means it must be Euro 4 compliant or better. These are what I was considering:


Toyota Corolla TSport - 190bhp N/A in a dustbin. Comes in 5 door flavour for maximum surprise. Not Euro 4 compliant though, so no dice.

Smart Brabus Forfour - fast Mitsubishi 1.5 turbo engine, light, enjoyably quirky. Unknown quantity otherwise - ie. forum support, etc. I think this is classed in the over 2L class for hilclimbing so up against the big boys.

Fiat Panda 100HP - seems ideal really.

Nissan Micra 160SR - see Panda but probable even more stealthy. Timing chains.

Toyota Yaris 1.8SR - probably reliable and quick. Apparently a very bad turning circle which might hamper its motorsport abilities. Might be a bit heavy with the big lump.

Suzuki Swift Sport - again, seems ideal but the 5 door only came out in 2013 so a bit expensive to be ragging on the edge.

Alfa Giulietta 1.4 Multiair - 170bhp forced induction. A bit portly? 1350kg. Probably a disaster.


Budget is c. £2k. Not really looking for something I have to fix every week, I've got other cars for that! Would prefer light, naturally-aspirated but acheiving more than 100hp/ton seems difficult without FI. All the above are fairly niche, low volume cars so I'm guessing I will have to travel.

Any other cars I should be considering? Anybody got any views on the above choices? Current daily is a 996 Carrera 2 or a Landcruiser Amazon, both terrible fuel consumption.

Edited by dc2100k on Thursday 26th December 14:54

[trickywoo]

Swift 1.5 glx.

Easy to work on, pretty robust. Will be right under the radar but still sub 1,000 kg and about 100 bhp standard.

They are pretty good standard but a lot of the sport suspension will bolt straight on.

[Jimmy Recard]

MG ZR160
Rover 25 GTI
Rover 200vi

All pretty old but available in five door and light with a nice engine

Ford Focus ST170

[dc2100k]

I'm not sure I could quite stomach a common-or-garden variety Suzuki Swift tbh! There is a Cat S 5-door Swift Sport near me for under £4k but it a bit much for my purposes.

The Rovers are quite common on the motorsport scene. I'm not sure about the K-series though and not Euro 4 compliant unfortunately.

Focus ST170 is an interesting choice, never considered owning a Ford before... Will do some research now.

[Slow]

Mini Cooper? Not the S as its super charged.

Can be had for not alot and should be able to get a mini past the wife?

[Agila b 6yr 6k challenge]

Don't buy a corolla t-sport the power delivery is terrible. No power before lift engages. Really soft handling.

[ZX10R NIN]

ST170

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-2-0-2004MY-S...

206 GTI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

207 GTI

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-PEUGEOT-207-GTI-17...

The obvious answer is a Clio 1"2 of some sort.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

You won't get a Giulietta for your budget but you will get a Mito in 155bhp (as long as you haggle hard & stretch the budget a bit) form:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or Grande Punto Sporting T Jet

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[dc2100k]

Thanks for the interesting suggestions.

I looked at a Mini 1.6 but was put off by three doors and loads of them seemed to have broken gearboxes?

I have ruled out the Corolla, has anyone tried the Yaris 1.8 SR?

I must admit I haven’t really considered older French cars from a reliability standpoint and these Renaultsport/Pug GTIs are all three door right?

Alfa Giulietta looks interesting. There is a 170hp Veloce on autotrader for £2195. Looks lovely but has 146k on it. I’m sure this is a nice car but I feel like it’s got some major bills in it, and that these wont be cheap like a Panda 100HP or a Swift Sport.

Anyone got a Civic Type S 2.0 (2004-5ish)? Looks like a good reliable fast car.

[Slow]

Think it was the early one with gearbox issues?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[VR99]

I will recommend a Focus ST170, I have no experience of one but...I drive a 1.8 n/a MK1 focus and while it's definately not fast with only 113bhp, the car feels v nimble for what it is so the increased power of the ST170 should help. Should be easy to work on too given the simplicity of these cars.

[Belle427]

The Clio 172 is a stormer but it’s not at all practical, I sold one a few months back and the practicality issue with a small child was the reason it went.
Otherwise it’s not bettered for the money.

[dc2100k]

Thanks all. I have decided to really go for the shed aspect of this and chuck Euro 4 compliance in the bucket. Therefore my searches are now primarily focused upon the ST170 and the MG ZR160 5dr. If the ULEZ is brought in then I'll just have to deal with that when it happens.

General consensus of the above pairing seems to be ST170 - good chassis but slow - and ZR160 - rapid but head gasket failure. Anything to note beyond this?

[avenger286]

If you are looking for something to do road rallys or tagas, I would go Ford Puma or Twingo 133.
A puma will run rings round a st170 I ran a puma in road rallys and stage rallys.
Now building a Twingo that is going to be fun developing.

[dc2100k]

So a shed has been acquired - it is small, 5 door and finished in X-Power Grey. I have never owned a British car before and I’ve got a feeling this isn’t perhaps the best example to roll off the Longbridge lines! My MG ZR 160:



She is a 2003 car which I believe was a slight facelift and has 80k on the clock. £550 later and she has survived the 150 mile journey home, although somewhere outside Hawick the exhaust gained a rally car soundtrack and upon inspection the centre section is hanging on for dear life. MOT till May and rust in all the right places, sounds a bit like a diesel at idle which I’m told is the VVC valvetrain However, it goes like stink and is far better to drive than I had expected. The steering is tight and tracking is spot on, handling is well controlled and very quick through the bends. It has two decent Uniroyal RainSports on the front and a couple of cracked ditchfinders on the back which I’ll need to sort. Brakes are very impressive and gearbox is better than my 911. Cooling system seems rock solid, apparently the MLS head gasket and belts/pump were done a few years ago but no history whatsoever so taking a bit of a punt here. Any telltale signs that this has been done? The timing belt looks new-ish.

Anyway the plan is to replace the centre section with a straight through pipe and replace the rear tyres, run some injector cleaner through it and give it an oil & filter service. It has only done 2000 miles in the last few years so probably needs a few good blasts to clear the cobwebs. I will attend to the various bits of rust nibbling away at the edges, but she seems solid enough that I think a bit of clean up and rust treatment should keep the MOT tester happy. Will give her a good clean in the new year.

Edited by dc2100k on Tuesday 31st December 10:33

[Youreterriblemuriel]

Going to be selling my Panda 100HP in Edinburgh soon, it's a bit too stiff for the city but it's served me well for the last two years. Has a few issues but a change of job means it's just sitting most days. It's been a great car, surprisingly spacious and practical while living for a good B road.

[ZX10R NIN]

Nice choice OP.

[blueg33]

Can you find a manual Fiat Stilo Abarth? 170bhp There was one for sale in Birmingham last month, but I dropped out as the seller said it wouldn't go into 5th gear and I just wanted a cheap station shed.

[dc2100k]

Youreterriblemuriel said:

Going to be selling my Panda 100HP in Edinburgh soon, it's a bit too stiff for the city but it's served me well for the last two years. Has a few issues but a change of job means it's just sitting most days. It's been a great car, surprisingly spacious and practical while living for a good B road.

Hi, can you send me a email through my profile if possible. Thanks.

Edited by dc2100k on Wednesday 1st January 09:35

[dc2100k]

ZX10R NIN said:

Nice choice OP.

Haha, thanks very much. I’ll do and oil and filter service, exhaust centre section, plugs, rear tyres and run her for a couple of thousand miles and see how she reacts. Parts are unbelievably cheap compared to the 911! Service kit including plugs and oil - £50. Centre section - £40! If she can worm her way into my affections (and make it through her next MOT without major bills) I will attend to the bodywork (minor tin worm) and other bits. The underneath seems remarkably solid however, nearly all of the underseal is still in place with just a bit of surface rust where it has been chipped off.

Edited by dc2100k on Wednesday 1st January 09:37

[gweaver]

Good/brave choice OP. VVC aside they are mechanically simple, easy to work on, and parts (assuming available) are usually cheap. These are good things, given that you'll probably have to break the spanners out soon!

I had a Rover 200vi (predecessor to the 25 GTI and ZR160) for thirteen years and learnt a lot with that car! They don't have the "adjustable handling" that journos crave, but the feel and feedback from the controls is in a different league to most modern and even contemporary cars.