An introduction and background

Hi, and welcome my my blog documenting the restoration of an SSC Stylus. 

The Origins of the Stylus

The SSC Stylus stands out as one of those rare kit cars that perfectly bridges the gap between a raw track weapon and a genuinely usable road car. Its story actually begins in Manby, Louth, under the Sylva Autokits banner with the legendary designer Jeremy Phillips.

By the time he released the Stylus, Phillips had already established a formidable reputation in the motorsport world. His lightweight and incredibly agile designs absolutely dominated the 750 Motor Club Kit Car championships throughout the 1980s and 90s. Although the Stylus was originally conceived as a natural evolution of his highly successful Fury model, its journey took a new direction in the summer of 1996 when the production rights were sold to Specialist Sports Cars (SSC).

SSC didn't just inherit the design; they actively refined it. To sharpen the already race-proven handling, they upgraded the suspension by replacing the original nylon bushes with polyurethane, swapping the rocker arm pivots for needle roller bearings, and beefing up the rear axle brackets. While it shares obvious DNA with the Sylva/Fisher Fury, the Stylus was explicitly designed to be far more practical for the real world. It boasts a wider cockpit and engine bay, larger doors for much easier access, a functional boot for actual luggage, interior heating, and a one-piece moulded body tub that makes panel alignment during the build process significantly less of a headache.

Finding the right car often means taking a leap of faith, and my Stylus was no exception. I bought it completely sight-unseen as a project and trailered it home. Right now, it is very much a diamond in the rough. The fiberglass bodywork is showing its age with a fair amount of spider cracking that will need some careful repair and prep work. Mechanically, the suspension requires a total overhaul, meaning a complete replacement of all the bushes, bearings, and ball joints to restore the handling. While it currently has a 1.8 Zetec-E under the bonnet that needs a thorough service, it likely won't be staying there permanently. The long-term vision is a upgrade: swapping in a Jaguar AJ-30 V6, or possibly the legendary Toyota 1UZ-FE V8.