Discussion
I am absolutely loving my SE5a . I am planning on keeping it and keeping it as original as possible. But my real passion is kitcars, so instaead of building another kit I am toying with taking an otherwise fit for the scrappy SE5 / 5a ( loving the chrome ) and re-building with some modern hardware and a whole lotta love.
Current thinking is outwardly still a standard old-school looking car minus some image split-rim wheels, and main mod will be a Honda S2000 V-tec and 6-speed gearbox. This should give a bombproof 250bhp and supercharging potential in the future. This conversion works great in kitcars, should be good in a 1,000kg Scimitar. And dual circuit brakes with a bias-bar pedalbox. Full roll cage (is one available off the shelf???)
Has anyone any other experience and tips for this project like brake and suspension choice ect?
Current thinking is outwardly still a standard old-school looking car minus some image split-rim wheels, and main mod will be a Honda S2000 V-tec and 6-speed gearbox. This should give a bombproof 250bhp and supercharging potential in the future. This conversion works great in kitcars, should be good in a 1,000kg Scimitar. And dual circuit brakes with a bias-bar pedalbox. Full roll cage (is one available off the shelf???)
Has anyone any other experience and tips for this project like brake and suspension choice ect?
plenty of SE5s and 5as compete within scimitar circles. I love the idea of running a GTE with a bit of modern thinking, its always been a bugbear of mine that scimitar people dont use the advantages of modern cars, but keep the essence of the classic part of the car, just seems so obvious to me! a screaming four pot would certainly alter the sound and upset the purists lol.
getting the weight down to 1000kgs will be tough though, as the only place you will lose any 'real' weight will be the engine and possibly the box. The old essex is a heavy old dinosaur, but the GTE chassis are bloody heavy being built from girders!
i dont know what an essex and box or Honda plus box weigh but im guessing the saving from the honda setup will be 60-90kg.
below are the weights from some of the scimitars that competed in last seasons RSSOC sprint and hillclimb championship. Most of the Se5/as below 980kg are pretty stripped out running lightweight wheels etc, no interior, polycarb windows etc etc. The car at 1153kg is pretty well standard so gives you some idea.
Car type Reg no. Power Weight Power to weight ratio
SS1 E89 TOB 282.00 800.00 352.50
SE5a OEL 603M 275.00 920.00 298.91
SE5 EJF 96L 185 1040 177.88
Coupe OYF 165F 240.00 954.55 251.43
SS1 D686 ALR 179.00 880.00 203.41
Coupe WPL 349G 239.00 920.00 259.78
SE6a OPJ 62R 235.00 1105.00 212.67
Coupe JCM 833F 238.80 1133.00 210.77
SE5 FMK 4J 240.00 980.05 244.89
SS1 E597 LHY 165.00 920.00 179.35
SE5a YUC 266H 131.00 1153.00 113.62
Coupe CRE 801E 169.00 1040.00 162.50
SS1 C100 ANC 157.00 930.00 168.82
Coupe OYF 165F 240.00 954.55 251.43
SE5 EMC 821J 220.00 1040.00 211.54
SE5a NNP 338K 166.60 984.00 169.31
GTE PBW 400M 131.00 1153.00 113.62
SS1 C149 EMP 106.00 788.00 134.52
SS1 G97 TJA 91.00 880.00 103.41
SS1 G97 TJA 91.00 880.00 103.41
im sure the Honda s2000 motor rotates the other way to the ol fords too, which requires the back axle flipping upside down too.
Custom Cages have done various cages for hillclimb and circuit racing GTEs. Iain Daniels Engineering is another good source in Appleby Magna.
Good luck with the project though, sounds great
getting the weight down to 1000kgs will be tough though, as the only place you will lose any 'real' weight will be the engine and possibly the box. The old essex is a heavy old dinosaur, but the GTE chassis are bloody heavy being built from girders!
i dont know what an essex and box or Honda plus box weigh but im guessing the saving from the honda setup will be 60-90kg.
below are the weights from some of the scimitars that competed in last seasons RSSOC sprint and hillclimb championship. Most of the Se5/as below 980kg are pretty stripped out running lightweight wheels etc, no interior, polycarb windows etc etc. The car at 1153kg is pretty well standard so gives you some idea.
Car type Reg no. Power Weight Power to weight ratio
SS1 E89 TOB 282.00 800.00 352.50
SE5a OEL 603M 275.00 920.00 298.91
SE5 EJF 96L 185 1040 177.88
Coupe OYF 165F 240.00 954.55 251.43
SS1 D686 ALR 179.00 880.00 203.41
Coupe WPL 349G 239.00 920.00 259.78
SE6a OPJ 62R 235.00 1105.00 212.67
Coupe JCM 833F 238.80 1133.00 210.77
SE5 FMK 4J 240.00 980.05 244.89
SS1 E597 LHY 165.00 920.00 179.35
SE5a YUC 266H 131.00 1153.00 113.62
Coupe CRE 801E 169.00 1040.00 162.50
SS1 C100 ANC 157.00 930.00 168.82
Coupe OYF 165F 240.00 954.55 251.43
SE5 EMC 821J 220.00 1040.00 211.54
SE5a NNP 338K 166.60 984.00 169.31
GTE PBW 400M 131.00 1153.00 113.62
SS1 C149 EMP 106.00 788.00 134.52
SS1 G97 TJA 91.00 880.00 103.41
SS1 G97 TJA 91.00 880.00 103.41
im sure the Honda s2000 motor rotates the other way to the ol fords too, which requires the back axle flipping upside down too.
Custom Cages have done various cages for hillclimb and circuit racing GTEs. Iain Daniels Engineering is another good source in Appleby Magna.
Good luck with the project though, sounds great
brakes and suspension are also easily covered within the competition sections of the Club. Many use a wilwood setup for the front (be careful, the front ends are a mish-mash of triumph bits so dont think theres a complete kit, but iain sells the 'right' one. Some use discs on the rear ( Iains conversion, not a wilwood item) but to be honest the drums at the rear are huge and pretty effective, so often not worth the hassle.
Suspension, again depends on usage. Poly bushes all round are a must and most go for an LSD (ex Jag). Dampers wise, Spax and AVO are sold via club traders, although some of the racers use Protech as they are lighter. Loads of info re spring rates too, but rates vary due to usage (road or track) and whether the cars 1150+kg or 950kg!
there are a few anti roll bars on the market, although most of the fast boys use an aftermarket fabricated front bar that makes a huge difference. Loads of competing scims run Image splitties too, cast and billet centres.
drop me a line if you want more info, especially on the competition side as im the Comp Sec ;-)
Suspension, again depends on usage. Poly bushes all round are a must and most go for an LSD (ex Jag). Dampers wise, Spax and AVO are sold via club traders, although some of the racers use Protech as they are lighter. Loads of info re spring rates too, but rates vary due to usage (road or track) and whether the cars 1150+kg or 950kg!
there are a few anti roll bars on the market, although most of the fast boys use an aftermarket fabricated front bar that makes a huge difference. Loads of competing scims run Image splitties too, cast and billet centres.
drop me a line if you want more info, especially on the competition side as im the Comp Sec ;-)
Edited by CNHSS1 on Tuesday 5th January 12:28
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