Exocet/Gbs Chassis

[Filipe]

Hi all.

I'm looking into building a kit car based round the mk1 mx5 running gear. My choices are either an Exocet or GBS Zero. Both have there perks in my eyes but unfortunately can only have 1 at the minute 

My only gripe ( this is purely because I'm a coachbuilder by trade and this was the first thing that came to my head ) is the joining of aluminium to the steel. Has anyone experienced galvanic corrosion with joining  the 2 dissimilar metals ?  I know powder coating is not a sufficient barrier between the 2 metals, it does last a fair few years but does eventually break down the metal over time. Not looking to scare anyone here either BTW.

 

 

[nelmo]

Older cars do get corroded but no idea if that is for the reason you say - I would have thought powder coating would be good enough as there is no metal-metal contact, no? 

My car is 5 years old now and the powder coat all looks good and I assume the steel underneath is OK. 

You need to consider what you want the car for - exocets are much less practical than a normal 7 and are more of a day out fun car whereas a Zero or similar can have doors and roof so can be used for longer trips etc. 

If you're worried about the corrosion thing, look at a Tiger - very similar to the Zero but has GRP bodywork. 

[DeanRudkin]

You can get a zero with stainless body panels it’s a heavier car but you won’t have that problem 

[Grim]

I've not heard of any particular issues, probably because most people tend to use their cars on nice days and the cars stay garaged for the remainder of the time. I'm sure it would be an issue if used as a daily driver / parked outside.

[Peter Bell]

You may be overthinking it as far as kit cars are concerned, people do stick ally panels to the chassis with sikaflex etc. These cars are not generally used in wet salty conditions, also think of all the alloy parts bolted to an iron engine block and gearboxes.

[Filipe]

Probably overthinking it lads. Coming from a rusted out mx5 you can understand the worry  must look into every type of kit and see whats going to suit me best. Any of you fellas own or tried other kit cars? What would be the best for road and track day use ?

[DeanRudkin]

Personally the zero is probably one of the better kits to look at just for affordability and performance 

[nelmo]

GBS also seem to be the best prepared for a Mazda donor - I believe they have special chassis mods to allow the Mazda engine to fit better, for example.

There are probably 4 main kit makers; Caterham (although they don't like being called kits and they come half-built anyway), Westfield, GBS and Tiger. There are numerous other smaller makers (MNR, Exocet, MEV etc).

Do a search on here - pretty sure the question of 'which kit?' has come up numerous times.

[agent_zed]

as mentioned already, using a sealant/adhesive between panel and frame will add an extra barrier. In addition to this if you are riveting you should use stainless rivets rather than aluminium or the rivet may corrode where it contacts with the steel chassis.