Welcome to 'Slimyroadster'

 

Donor car: 1992 Eunos Roadster (Import MX5 NA), 1600cc engine.

Chassis: Self build, based on the ‘Build your own sports car on a budget’ book, and including some updates from the Saturn Sports cars build guide to suit the MX5. 

Body: An Austin Healey ‘narrow body’ fibreglass shell from KAD Fibreglass products. Believed to be originally the ‘Healey Seven Replica’ from MK. (MK HSR).

Kerb weight: 687Kg.

Engine output: 115bhp at 6500rpm. 

I started this build back in 2013, and while I started with a Haynes roadster chassis, I always had a ‘full’ body in mind, perhaps something like a Tiger GTA or Sylva Phoenix. It wasn’t until Stoneleigh 2016 that I saw the Healey bodies, one known as the MK HSR and the other was the Thruxton GT. With the HSR option being cheaper I ordered one in 2018, and it arrived a couple of months later.

Total build time was around 1500 hours, mainly due to getting the donor, chassis and body to match up. The HSR was designed to drop directly on to an MK chassis and therefore didn’t align with the Haynes roadster chassis in any aspect. Keeping costs low and limiting myself to single donor parts also made other parts of the build more difficult than expected.

The IVA was taken in February 2026, and failed first time with 2 construction faults, 2 misinterpretations of the IVA manual, 1 issue with low kerb weights on the application, and a missing exhaust mount. Retest took 15 minutes, and the use of a single donor meant registration gave an age-related plate. 

Future plans include an engine replacement to suit the Healey body, most likely a straight six of some kind. 

My ‘most useful tool’ for this build has been a 3D printer, with many custom parts designed and printed. For example, the dash gauges are MX5 originals removed from the original housing, with replacement PETG 3D printed bezels.