Background
My Specification
- Single donor or kit with downer package
- Modern 16v engine (economy, unleaded, emissions)
- To be used all year round
- Not a body swap (donor chassis prep too much hassle)Independent suspension all round
- Under £10k on the road
Options
SSC Stylus
Manufacturer - Specialist Sports Cars,
Chassis - Spaceframe welded square steel
Body - Unstressed GRP
Engine - Most including xflow, pinto, Zetec, Rover V8, Lancia twin cam etc.
Donor - Escort (live axle), Sierra (IRS)
Pros - Good styling, long heritage, Sylva stable design, has lockable boot
Cons - Small engine bay, styling conservativeEst. Costs£8k - £12k
Chassis - Spaceframe welded square steel
Body - Unstressed GRP
Engine - Most including xflow, pinto, Zetec, Rover V8, Lancia twin cam etc.
Donor - Escort (live axle), Sierra (IRS)
Pros - Good styling, long heritage, Sylva stable design, has lockable boot
Cons - Small engine bay, styling conservativeEst. Costs£8k - £12k
Any Lotus Seven Inspired Sportscar
Manufacturer - DAX, Westfield, Caterham, Robin Hood, Tiger etc. etc. etc.
Chassis - Spaceframe welded steel tube, usually square, some tubular
Body - Aluminum and/or fiberglass
Engine - take your pick, xflow, cvh, zetec, bike, cosworth, Rover V8
Donor - Sierra or bits and pieces
Pros - Lightweight, many around, easy build
Cons - Load of them around, styling not original
Est. Costs - £3k - £30k
Chassis - Spaceframe welded steel tube, usually square, some tubular
Body - Aluminum and/or fiberglass
Engine - take your pick, xflow, cvh, zetec, bike, cosworth, Rover V8
Donor - Sierra or bits and pieces
Pros - Lightweight, many around, easy build
Cons - Load of them around, styling not original
Est. Costs - £3k - £30k
sylva Mojo
Manufacturer - Sylva Sports Cars
Chassis - Spaceframe welded square steel
Body - Unstressed GRP
Engine - Fiesta CVH or Zetec including CVH Turbo
Donor - Fiesta (Mk2 XR2i favourite)
Pros - New alternative styling, easy mechanicals, from good stock
Cons - Not so much different from a seven, new to market
Est. Costs - £6k - £8k
Chassis - Spaceframe welded square steel
Body - Unstressed GRP
Engine - Fiesta CVH or Zetec including CVH Turbo
Donor - Fiesta (Mk2 XR2i favourite)
Pros - New alternative styling, easy mechanicals, from good stock
Cons - Not so much different from a seven, new to market
Est. Costs - £6k - £8k
Others worth looking at
Marlin - traditional 30's looks but a bit heavy
YKC Romero - similar to Marlin, stylish but the wrong era
GTM Rossa/K3 - modern looks, well tried and tested, Metro based
Quantum Extreme - good build quality, sevenesque, costly ? sold ?
Banham X21 - body swap Metro, Audi TTesque, cheap
Sylva Phoenix - same chassis as Fury, stripped racer, similar
YKC Romero - similar to Marlin, stylish but the wrong era
GTM Rossa/K3 - modern looks, well tried and tested, Metro based
Quantum Extreme - good build quality, sevenesque, costly ? sold ?
Banham X21 - body swap Metro, Audi TTesque, cheap
Sylva Phoenix - same chassis as Fury, stripped racer, similar
My Choice
the Fury
Original design was developed by Sylva cars (Jeremy Philips) and passed onto Fisher in 1992. I guess it could be described as a 60's roadster with influences coming from the MGB, Spitfire, E Type and several other cars of that time. The general layout is a tried and tested formula, namely a triangulated spaceframe that is connected to an unstressed GRP body. In essence, it is a Seven type car with a more sensible body. Aspects that are appealing are the short overhangs, the faired in lights (le Mans bonnet), the front pivoting bonnet that reveals excellent access to the engine and the curved (Lotus Elan) windscreen. Just take a look for yourself and decide.
Chassis/Suspension/Body
The chassis is a tubular steel spaceframe made predominantly from square section tubing. The seat areas have welded steel sheet for support on the standard chassis, these are replaced by riveted aluminum for the lightweight chassis. The peddle box area is also welded steel sheet whereas the rest of the cockpit is paneled in aluminum sheet (adhesive and rivets). For the Sierra based IRS version the rear suspension uses the differential bolted directly to the chassis with the rear uprights sitting on lower wishbones and spax adjustables and 100 ftlb springs. At the front is the customary Sylva arrangement of inboard shocks and 170ftlb springs and lower wishbones. The peddle box are custom made items and connect to a 19mm bore master cylinder. This in turn connects to the standard Sierra front disk brakes (vented) and rear drum brakes (disk are an option). The body is an unstressed GRP item that is sectioned into five parts (bonnet, side pods, rear tub, scuttle). This can either be provided in gel coat or in a primer gel for painting. The windscreen is taken from a Lotus Elan, perspex side screens and the hood make up the body. Finally, the wheels and tyres specification is a conservative 185/65 tyre section on either 13 or 14" wheels.
Engine/gearbox
Engines fitted into the Fury are numerous and include Crossflows, Pintos, Rover K Series, Fiat Twin Cam, Rover V8, Fireblade, Blackbird, and more recently Zetecs. These come in a variety of sizes and stages of tune from a 60hp Escort GT Crossflow to a 220hp Dunnell Tunes 2.0l Zetec or a 170hp Blackbird bike engine. The main gear box used is the Sierra Type 9 box but the Escort 4 speed or the 6 speed sequential that comes with the bike engine can be used. Many owners have opted for the BGH Geartech Long first box that has, not surprisingly, a long first gear to help within traction off the line and reduce the large drop in revs when changing up to second.