c usive!

Sylva Autokits latest offering to the kit

world finally hits the road and Which Kit?'s

editor gets a first taste of what the little

funster is all about.

WliEN ONf fAKES A MOMENT TO sevenesque roadster with enough cons1dN 11, Sylva's ma1n man, 1nd1v1duallty to g1ve it a clear and Jcrerny Phllllpr,, has bClen one of separate Identity the most prohf1c k1t car des1gners The h1ghly successful Fury came of recent years Seven d1fferent next and 1s currently go�ng strong models m the last fourteen years under the ad1ve gUidance of new doesn't even take 1nto r�ccount a custodian, F1sher Sportscars. In fact, vanety of d1fferent suspenston Jeremy has always had a hab1t of opt1ons offered on each of the selling off h1s des1gns after a year vanous models For m ny years the or so of marketing them under h1s most successful of th a the own wtng The early pr tty httle Sylv went the same way as the Fury and

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18 WHICH KIT7 JANUARY 1997 •

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WHICH KIT? JANUARY 1997 19 • SV· 68·7R

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- the more recent Sylva Stylus has car designed by also changed hands to Spec1ahst someone other than Sports Only the Stnker has h1mself remamed under the watchful eye The end result 1s of Ph!lhps s1nce 1t was first the Sylva Jester you launched 1n 1986 But 1f there 1s see here Love it or one thmg that has linked all Sylva otherw1se, there can cars over the years, 1t has been be no doubtmg the the1r unquestionable abil1ty out on des1gn 1s certainly the track out on a hmb And so we come to the latest (perhaps even out to creat1on to come out of the lunch!). No L1ncolnsh1re based workshops. Not impersonations of only IS the Sylva Jester the ftrst car 's1xt1es heart throbs not destgned m-house but 1t IS also here please. The the f1rst Sylva to be destgned Jester is all new and w1thout compet1t1on use firmly 1n looking to party. mmd So what was the destgn and The one marketmg cntena beh1nd the Important feature of wacky look1ng Jester? F1rst and the car you slightly foremost was affordab1hty A lose in photos is the £2000 on the road pnce was the car's tmy weeny target w1th d1rt-cheap runn1ng proportions - 1t looks hke a car costs also a htgh priority. Next up that has been in some automotive on the hst was ach1ev1ng a unique cannibal's shnnk1ng pot1on. The marketplace. Forget replicas, the wheelbase IS some 1 Ocms shorter new Svlva would have no that the already pet1t Mk1 Fresta competttors by betng totally unique on which 1t 1s based while the body 1n 1b styling and appeal The new overhang 1s zero out back and c r would have to tap mto an as­ conservative 1n the front. Th1s car 1s ycl un-chartered market . small - wh1ch only adds to the fun lo ach1€lve the former, ie low factor of actually taking it out onto cost, mm d t ly set 1ts own the h1ghway rather than around pa a flt w th1n wh1ch the your mum's ltv1ng room co pan� d o work We're So how does 1t all hang t lk.mg onE:l-donor wh1ch 1s together? Under the fibreglass p duced tn large enough numbers bodywork is a chass1s of typical or long enough that old Sylva 1ntegnty. In essence 1t's a sem1 e r pi s are read1ly ava1lable for spaceframe affa1r w1th sheet metal n money Recondit1on1ng had to floor and front bulkhead plus a Top: Basic Corbeau bucket seats do the job. Surpnsmg amount of b cheap and engine capaoty low boxed sheet metal crossmember storage space behind them. Long gear shift actually very nouoh to ensure affordable for added s1de-1mpact protect1on comfortable to use. Above: Donor dash pod clearly visible. urance for even the youngest As always, 1t's 1mpress1vely put d tvers A Mk 1 F1esta f1ts the b1ll together and prom1ses to make the mod1f1catron or changing except you could push the boat out and periectly Keep1ng costs down also most of the humble donor for the front spnngs, which are f1t some flash alloys. As 1t stands, meant produCing a kit that was components ... simply replaced by the F1esta's rear the Escort 1tems are hardly gomg to easy and qutek to bUild A one- Mk1 F1estas are only available spnngs break the bank whrle the 155x70 f 1rce GRP tub, s1mple chass1s and a these days at what we'd call donor Out back there's a s1mple beam tyres are not exactly costly 11 echanical configuration which car prices. You'd struggle to pay axle with one tratl1ng arm per s1de Eng1ne opt1ons from the F1esta m1rrors that of the donor were also more than £500 for a top notch plus a Panhard rod The donor's are wtde and vaned, from a of great Importance example wh1ch 1s really too good to cunnmg dampers are retamed and meagre 950cc onto a more Next up was the des1gn stnp anyway Much more common have a un1que double locat1on onto acceptable 11OOcc followed by SimpliCity and fun were the order 1s £1 50 for a sens1ble donor car the axle wh1ch allows for the s1ngle 1300cc, 1300cc Sport and 1600cc of the day and doodles 1n Jeremy's from whteh you'll be able to use trailing arm to work effectively Not XR2. They' re all based around the note pad show hts mitial thoughts most components w1th only mmor surprismgly, you'll need a second venerable X-flow lump and the were headtng down a modern recond1t1on1ng For £25 Sylva set of rear spnngs to replace those 11 OOcc vers1on on the demo car beach buggy route. Somethmg ltke bought a complete car the other put on the front proved that even the smaller a cross between a beach buggy day from wh1ch a reasonable Construction continues on thrs opt1ons are well worth and a Mtnl Make. lt was at th1s select1on of parts have been s1mple take-off/put-on route as cons1deratton Don't forget, the JUncture that Jeremy met Huw salvaged - not an 1deal donor ccu, pedals, pedal box, remote servo, Jester we1ghs 1n at well under McPherson, whose brother, Jam1e, but mvaluable for extra spares steenng, rad1ator, heater, SOOkg, so even the 55 odd bhp of had recently ordered a Stnker k1t L1ke many front·wheel-dnve gearlmkage and handbrake all f1t the demo car engme produces ov r Huw was a des1gn graduate from cars, the FIC!>ta's whole front Without any extra f1ddlmg Even 120bhp/ton1 the Sheffteld Hallam Un1vers1ty and, suspens1on and eng1ne assembly the F1esta's dash pod slots tn place For the day of our test 11 may on heanng of Jeremy's 1dea for a can be r0moved from the car tn on the Jester's dash and the have been sunny but 1t was also new proJect, offered to draw up one p1ece. There's no SlJbframe to donor's loom 1s a strarghtforward Jaw-numb1ngly cold Sylva has JUSt some 1dea'> of hts own W1th deal w1th, although a s1mple mstallat1on w1th mmor f1ddltng developed a very trdy soft top for gu1deltne- s from Jeremy, the end engme cradle 1s reta1ned and bolts requ1red for the non standard lights the car and some neat sohd result seemed to f1t the b1ll onto the chass1s both 1n front and etc The demo car uses 13" Escort s1descreens should g1ve rt some real perfectly and Jeremy suddenly behmd the engme Nothmg from steel wheels but the F1esta's 12" all-year-round practrcalrty 1f so found h1mself develop1ng a new thrs whole assembly reqUires 1terns can be frtted or, of course, desrred The s1de screen!; weren't

WHICH KIT? JANUARY 1997 21 - qutte fmtshed for our v1s1t so 1n1t1al Wtth some ttppmg seats, access to I - - 1mpress1ons were had with JUSt the th1s would be pretty good, too. • - hood on before ftnally removtng Ex1t1ng through a shortened

,. - even that for the real open-air feel Fiesta exhaust, the 11 OOcc X-flow .. The thtngs we do just to g1ve you lump sounds willing enough. In a • • the whole story' moment of rashness, Jeremy had a Getttng m wtth the hood 1n fancy camshaft dropped 1nto 1t and • • place tsn't half as tncky as one has regretted the move ever smce ' mtght expect of a car without The unit runs well enough but conventtonal doors The stde stll is under full throttle seems to choke really quite low while access with up a bit, which spoils one of the the hood in place 1s pretty Jester's most endearing features - generous. Some cheapy Corbeau total thrashabillty! buckets do a fme JOb and Weighing the car equivalent of thankfully thetr posttton was pretty Kate Moss, the Jester makes the OK desptte the lack of any seat absolute most of every ounce of runners Instruments m the Ftesta horsepower First and second gears dash pod are all platnly vtstble and are snapped up m no ttme while Above: Jester seems to work a treat. You can see how easy it the Ghta example fttted 1n this car thtrd sees some real progress and would be to get to a stage without having to purchase features a rev counter unlike the fourth has you poundtng through a bodyshell. That can save valuable space in a small garage. more humble opttons the speed limtt. The geanng seems Not surpnsmgly, the standard pretty spot on to us, wtth the 13" improve confidence 1n the early £1200 inclusive of VAT (and there Ford pedals cause no problems and wheels gtving a surpnstngly realistic stages of a sortte, when the dnver is were still one or two avatlable when the long gear lever actually falls top speed. a little more unfamiliar with the car. we visited) the standard krt pnce will remarkably naturally £1220 • to hand Only With sk1nny little tyres and quite Otherwise we're talking a senous be +the dreaded VAT the positton of the steering wheel firm suspens ion one soon gets the grin machine of monster However, to help spread the costs, Initially feels a little htgh and close hang of pushing the little Jester to proportions. You only have to get in Sylva will happily supply you wrth to the dnver, but a� you get its remarkably capable limits. A the Jester and you're pretty much just the chassis for £525 which will underway 1t all seems to fall into degree of body roll keeps the guaranteed to have a smile on your allow you to progress a long way place. As far as tnm goes, the entertainment com1ng thtck and fast face. Vicious wheelspinning anttcs towards completron before you have demo car features some rubber while the sk1nny tyres can easily be from take-off only add to the to order the body matttng 1n the footwells and stmple overcome and resort to understeer tf complete daftness of thts mtcro­ A quick walk around the demo vtnyl tnmmed std� panels. We're you push mto a corner w1thout maniac. You can be a complete car and we found ourselves lookrng never gomg to b talk1ng plush and thinking. However, the secret, as hooligan w1th thts machtne before at around £3000 (rnclusrve) to put the matttng reall1 utts the Jump 1n ever, 1s to make sure you're 1n the you've even reached ten miles an somethrng simrlar on the road. Thrs and go tmage. nght gear to power on and pull hour. Which, of course, 1s another tncluded a number of optrons whrch The Ftesta's heater wasn't yourself out of the bend Get thts secret weapon 1n the Jester's a budget bUilder may erther do plumbed-In 1n ttme for our vis1t sorted and the Jester sttcks to the impressive armoury. You s1mply h1mself or do Without all together, (damn') but 1t ftts a treat and task like a trooper. don't have to be tr avelling at plus the purchase of a reasonable should do much to warm up If there was a downside to the psychotiC speeds in order to have a donor car. For Instance, powder otherw1se frozen occupants on a demo's otherwise user-friendly set-up ball. With sensible gearing, a wtlling coati ng at £130, factory to remove cnsp Winter's day Su rprisingly, it was 1n the steenng, wh1ch lacked engine and flyweight bodyshell, the flash lines in the bodyshell for £40, then=� really 1s a reasonable amount feel 1n these more Important Jester makes complete use of every soft top and doors at £232 (all plus of storag€ space beh1nd the seats moments. A tad more adjustment 1n ounce of power for bargain VAD could all be either done by the and under the rear body tub area. this department would greatly basement prices and at speeds that purchaser at home or avo1ded all would be mind-numbingly dull in a together. There are other sav�ngs Little 11OOcc engine is loads of fu n in the Jester. lt also makes the car Mondeo. 50mph in the Jester 1s a that could be made elsewhere and distmctly more insurance fr iendly than larger 1600cc lump. Everything complete hoot. Sylva's target of a basiC car on-the­ that can possibly be retaiined from the donor car has been. All of whtch rem1nded me of the road for £2000 doesn't seem too far ternftc little F1at 126 off the mark. based Barchetta 595 So 1t would certarnly appear that wh1ch ts now sadly no Sylva has largely ach1eved 1ts 1n1tral longer available But a1ms when 1t tned to desrgn thrs where the Barchetta latest offering There's certa1nlv felt a the little fra1l on nothtng like rt tn terms of · mechan1cal s1de, the rnd1v1duality; rt's cheap to burld and Jester feels rock-solid, 1nsure, rt certa1nly looks easy to and where the construct and I'd be the last to say 1t Barchetta may as well wasn't a complete g1ggle to drrve. of had no brakes at More than that, it also handles all, they were so bad, remarkably well, has an excellent the Jester's servo nde for such a short car and assisted Fiesta 1tems prov1des extraordinary performance stop the t1ny buzz­ from d1st1nctly humble ongrns. bomb 1n qu1ck-smart Yup, the Jester really IS fun, pure

fash1on . and s1mple For more 1nformat1on So what's 1t all you can contact the company at go1ng to cost you? Unit A 11, Downlands Business Wh1le the f1rst twenty Park, Manby, Nr Louth, k1ts have been offered Lincolnshire LN11 8UX. Tel: at an Introductory 01507 328809.

JANUARY 1997 22 WHICH KIT?