Sylva in New Zealand

[7ishNZ]

Hi, down here in the colonies it is pretty rare to see any of the Sylva/Fury type cars due to the cost of freight, so I was pretty happy when I spotted a Sylva Phoenix Mk4 body minus chassis for sale. It had been in careful storage since 1998, and had never been fitted.


I was about half way through building my second Lotus 7 replica when I found this body , so have now started working out how to fit it onto a 7 chassis ( because I'm too old to start on a new chassis).





After some study to see if it was easier to cut the fibreglass rather than take the cage off, we went with the easier option:







The 7 wheelbase is about 200mm longer than the Sylva, and about right in the track, but some small wheel arch extensions will be required. The spec will be Honda 2.4 VTEC with rotrex supercharger, W58 toyota gearbox, WRX LSD diff, and will be raced in the sports car class here as well as being road legal.

I offer my apologies now to anyone who considers this a travesty, but you have to admit it will look a thousand times nicer than a 7.....

[Edd]

Hi, and welcome!
That's an interesting project!Look forward to hearing more...
Edd

[jeffw]

Nice project. Interesting to confirm what I always suspected about JPs chassis against the normal 'Lotus' wheelbase. I'm looking forward to your engine work with the supercharger to see where you end up, I've got a Rotrex on a Ford Zetec.

[dopdog]

That looks like a great project and welcome to the mad house, looking forward to seeing your progress with it.

[7ishNZ]

I am expecting about 320hp from this setup, going on figures from similar builds. It's nice having a bit more room under the bonnet to fit everything in.. I had a lot more trouble with my last 7, 3sgte Toyota with 6 speed box..

[dopdog]

Nice plate

[jeffw]

My 2lt Zetec with a C30-94 makes 397BHP if that helps. A Duratec with the same level of tune would make well into the 400s so I would expect your 2.4 Honda to be in that ball park.

[adithorp]

Looks good. Interesting front suspension with a pull rod.

[Darby]

wicked chassis on your Sylva Phoenix. I am currently rebuilding mine and would love to have a look at your Sylva Phoenix as I'm in Christchurch as well .

[7ishNZ]

Sorry for the delay in replying...send me a pm and you are welcome to come round for a look at progress. Cheers.