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May 15, 2018 11:14:24 GMT
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May 15, 2018 11:40:58 GMT
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Live half a mile from Caterham HQ and see the latest models out n about which are impressive but not for folk on a tight budget. Other end of the scale where i live in Bargain Bucket Boulevard things are different. From building my trike over the last 9 months the costs spiral sourcing the rare and different parts required so my advice would be buy the best you can afford with a budget put aside for bits you might need to replace or want to modify. As a leveller i set a budget of 2k and am well past 3.5 k with parts still to get / maybe an oversight on my part as enthusiasm overtook common sense but well worth it and what a challenge along the way. Always considered a kit car after seeing an abandoned Ginetta but life got in the way.
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Started out with nothing and have most of it left.
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paul99
Part of things
Posts: 410
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May 15, 2018 11:59:57 GMT
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I have a Quantum 2+2, up for sale if interested Lightweght, different, (athough people at first glace think it's an MX5) cheap to run. Lotus 7 clones a plenty (around 20 last I counted) and as you have found, for all budgets. Try to get a drive in the one you want before you comitt, it's alot of work if you don't like it. I tried a Robin Hood 2b years ago, couldn't get to the gear shift as I was wedged in the cockpit (ok, I admit it, I'm a 6' lardarse)
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May 15, 2018 12:58:54 GMT
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That's something I have been thinking over. I'm 6'3, I'm regular in width.
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,704
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Kit Car Kits Darkspeed
@darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member 39
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May 15, 2018 13:12:04 GMT
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I have a bit of knowledge - see the links below to a couple of threads - The Caterham R620 is not exactly a kit car - and if you want expensive kits then its the replica market where things can get pricey.
The GBS Zero - £2345 - Not sure the Ford Donor is the way to go these days. - The pit falls that most people make is underestimating the costs involved. A mazda build would be the sensible approach - instantly adding 12% to the price and that's not delivered. So £3K at the door - see where this is going.
To cut a long story short there is only one reason to build a 7 type kit car - You have a great desire to spend money building something that will be worth half of what you spent on it when finished. The sensible approach if you really want to build something yourself is to buy a completed car take it to bits and put it back together again. It will take you around the same amount of time as a build but cost you half as much.
Anyway
What's great? - You get the chance to build/own something that you have no possible hope of doing any other way - I do not have £500K to buy a Strato's ...then again I don't have £50K to buy or build a replica either.
Pitfalls
Costs - always underestimated. Time - always underestimated. Value - always overestimated.
Realistically building that Zero - to a half decent standard will cost you £7K min. with (B)IVA there are very few shortcuts and the expense of the test and registration alone will be close on a grand. £6-8K buys you a great deal these days.
If you want to go through all the hassle - save a few quid and look around for a part completed there will be loads about when you start asking.
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Kit Car Kits johnthesparky
@johnthesparky
Club Retro Rides Member 6
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May 15, 2018 19:57:20 GMT
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Only thing I’d add to that, If you got a badly built car you may end up spending a lot more anyway... We have spent more than our Fugitive is worth and it’s not finished... If that was a concern, it’d probably have been sold on again as a part finished project, luckily ours is funded by scrap and spending time together.... so we don’t care A mate is building an MNR (?) using MX5 running gear, I think he’s about 12k in (But going for about 300bhp from the engine) Good luck!
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May 15, 2018 23:21:23 GMT
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I've built a kit car of sorts, well actually what I did was to re-build one with a different body etc. I pretty much echo what everyone else has said. I expected to spend about £3000 - £3500, I actually spend getting close to £9000! This was because I started to think that I was only going to do this once, so it has to be right first time, and have the bits on it I wanted to have. I was building it with some friends who were also building a similar car, on similar chassis. we all decided that we'd spend only about £3000. One of my friends did it on budget, but I don't think it was ever the car he hoped it would be, and he was never happy with it even though it looked and drove very well, he sold it, and made a small profit. The other friend got to £3000, and that was it, he stopped, he'd spent all he was going to spend, so he put his half finished (if that) car up for grabs and got £800 for it! I carried on and over spent, but the car got finished, and it was finished how it was supposed to be in my head, but it's not as good as it could've been, and this I've learned after I finished it. There are things that I'm not too happy about, things that I could've done better, and things that I should've done differently. But you live and learn. The other thing is the time. I figured I'd be driving it in a year and a half... FIVE YEARS LATER it was finished! It took up all of my time, when I wasn't at work, or sleeping, I was in my garage. It got to the point where I actually hated and resented the thing. I lost friends, I lost girlfriends, I couldn't make a relationship work no matter what I did because I had to get my car finished! However at the end of the day it did get finished, and it looks good, and it's kinda cool to be able to stand there and say I built that, I built a car... From scratch! So knowing what I know now would I do it again?
NOT ON YOUR NELLY!!
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I've built a kit car of sorts, well actually what I did was to re-build one with a different body etc. I pretty much echo what everyone else has said. I expected to spend about £3000 - £3500, I actually spend getting close to £9000! This was because I started to think that I was only going to do this once, so it has to be right first time, and have the bits on it I wanted to have. I was building it with some friends who were also building a similar car, on similar chassis. we all decided that we'd spend only about £3000. One of my friends did it on budget, but I don't think it was ever the car he hoped it would be, and he was never happy with it even though it looked and drove very well, he sold it, and made a small profit. The other friend got to £3000, and that was it, he stopped, he'd spent all he was going to spend, so he put his half finished (if that) car up for grabs and got £800 for it! I carried on and over spent, but the car got finished, and it was finished how it was supposed to be in my head, but it's not as good as it could've been, and this I've learned after I finished it. There are things that I'm not too happy about, things that I could've done better, and things that I should've done differently. But you live and learn. The other thing is the time. I figured I'd be driving it in a year and a half... FIVE YEARS LATER it was finished! It took up all of my time, when I wasn't at work, or sleeping, I was in my garage. It got to the point where I actually hated and resented the thing. I lost friends, I lost girlfriends, I couldn't make a relationship work no matter what I did because I had to get my car finished! However at the end of the day it did get finished, and it looks good, and it's kinda cool to be able to stand there and say I built that, I built a car... From scratch! So knowing what I know now would I do it again? NOT ON YOUR NELLY!! ...and then some comes along and gives you a reminder that somewhere you have a build log they're dying to see, bringing all that pain and suffering back!
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Lol, it will come, but probably not until the Autumn.
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May 16, 2018 11:26:26 GMT
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I love the idea of building one of these, but dread to think the cost of buying and importing the body from the US, let alone building it up to a decent standard.
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May 16, 2018 12:44:23 GMT
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^^^^ this, or someone's abandoned project.
The "starter kits" by MNR (my preference)/ GBS and the like are just that. Your starter for 10 ... 10% of the cost!
I looked at building an Exocet ( www.mevltd.co.uk ) - the big benefit of that is that first you get an MX5 - then you strip it down and get your money back in parts (or twice if you bought a decent one to start with), then you do all the work on what you have left. THEN and only then , if you are still interested, do you fork out for the kit. As it was, when I saw one in the flesh (after having done the aforementioned MX5 strip) I didn't like it - but as you can see from what I do have that is personal taste (or lack of).
If you want cheaper, build the Locost frame suspension etc yourself - or buy a Talon one. You will get much more of your money back on a finished, well sorted and IVA'd GBS/MNR though.
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May 16, 2018 18:49:54 GMT
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I've looked into this many times myself And I was at the kit car show the other week checking out what's new And this is how I see it If you want a "caterham" type car for cost I'd be more tempted in a MK or TIGER but you really need to do your homework The kit price in most cases don't include a lot of parts you need At the show tiger (I think) was doing a "complete" kit everything you need to build one and the price was under 10k so not bad For me all the caterham type cars are just track cars On the road it's just a motorbike without any of the advantages but all of the disadvantages like getting cold and wet But the replica market is where it's at for me Lots of companies do cobra's in different ways so you have a good choice including hard tops My wife has wanted a Porsche speedster for some time and there's two main companies that do them but I can't find a hard top (I know someone does one) and don't want a soft top At the show was the lancia rep's and they looked the nuts There was another company doing a more modern chassis for the beach buggy body Also C-type Metro 6r4 And this beautiful Ferrari So what ever takes your fancy The time and cost will be at least twice what you think it will as with all builds
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1992 240 Volvo T8 1955 Cadillac 1994 BMW E34 M5 (now sold ) 1999 BMW E36 sport touring x2 1967 Hillman imp Californian "rally spec" 1971 VW bay window (work in progress) 1999 Mazda 323F 1987 Jaguar XJ12 All current
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May 16, 2018 18:54:55 GMT
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Just to add to my post
To cut costs and save time with IVA etc on the caterham type cars I'd be inclined to buy a low spec pre-build and re-build it to my spec (brakes/suspension/engine) Or a unfinished project
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1992 240 Volvo T8 1955 Cadillac 1994 BMW E34 M5 (now sold ) 1999 BMW E36 sport touring x2 1967 Hillman imp Californian "rally spec" 1971 VW bay window (work in progress) 1999 Mazda 323F 1987 Jaguar XJ12 All current
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May 16, 2018 20:08:38 GMT
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My wife has wanted a Porsche speedster for some time and there's two main companies that do them but I can't find a hard top A wacky idea, but I've recently seen a couple of rat rod/Volksrod builds with hardtops created by stretching material over a frame and brushing resin over (much as you would making a fibreglass subwoofer cabinet) giving the look of a soft top but without the complications. As there is a soft top for the 356, maybe you could use this method? A fibreglass hardtop, that looks like a soft top?
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I was in the fortunate position of building a Ronart "kit" car for somebody else. There is a build thread on here. I echo what others have said - it will cost at least twice of your original budget, take twice as long and be worth half of what you think. Even with a well established supplier/kit, there were lots of bits/layouts/positions etc to sort out as you go. However it is a great feeling to know that you have built it when you finally get to drive it!
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May 17, 2018 12:29:37 GMT
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I pop in to my local kit car place now and again - Scottish Kit car centre - they build their own cars under the Raptor name as we as working on other stuff. Andy the owner is always up for a good technical blether and as far as I know is looking to produce a Healey 3000 style car soon in addition to the current offerings.
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Ignosce mihi cacare necesse est
2012 Fiat Qubo Sadly currently living a retroless life
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,704
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Kit Car Kits Darkspeed
@darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member 39
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May 17, 2018 13:22:17 GMT
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Was started in 2004 by the original buyer and completed by me and a mate in 2014 its a no frills lightweight Fisher Fury Spyder - It is a reasonably high specification build and then he added CXR's ZZR's, LSD, Momo, Schroth etc. Took us three years to finish this nearly completed build but I did have other things going on as well
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,704
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Kit Car Kits Darkspeed
@darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member 39
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May 17, 2018 16:52:50 GMT
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More pictures - 1989 Westfield A car that was real hoot - Westfield SE (Narrow body)with an 1800 Zetec - another part finished project I bought and put back on the road - went aeroscreen with it and removed everything that was not absolutely necessary. Ran 45's with Weber Alfa ECU - Was a bit of a job to get it under the hood as this was an early low-line SE - Live axle with a 4.5 Ratio - accelerated like as fast as you could swap cogs - no need for 1st - type 9 was effectively a 4 speed. My first play with Kit Cars A 1983 I think - would need to look it up Dutton Series 4 - a far more capable car than people give them credit. After the S4 I bought a Series 1 V8 from 1983 that was a barn find. And a 1974 is B+ as well as a couple of early B types and a series 3 - Good cheap fun to cut your kit car teeth on. 3 Ginetta G15's although not strictly kit cars - a Ginetta G31 - a great car 2 Ginetta G27's still have the V8 I do keep a search out for the Autotune Gemini as I would fancy one of those and the Moss Mamba also appeals. - So much choice and so much retro appeal with many of them and scope for improvement and fun.
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May 17, 2018 17:30:31 GMT
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When I first looked into caterham etc The dax Rush looked to me to be the best value for money they done two kits (car engine) and (bike engine) The later models had quite a fancy front suspension set up The company was just round the corner from me so I popped in for a chat and got taken out in a V8 one
That was it for me I had to have one Last year or the year before I was quite serious about buying a kit but they don't do them anymore they only do the AC Cobras now
I'm sure as a track weapon the bike engine ones are the way to go (turbo busa ) But as road car the torque and noise of the V8 would be the way I'd go
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1992 240 Volvo T8 1955 Cadillac 1994 BMW E34 M5 (now sold ) 1999 BMW E36 sport touring x2 1967 Hillman imp Californian "rally spec" 1971 VW bay window (work in progress) 1999 Mazda 323F 1987 Jaguar XJ12 All current
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May 18, 2018 22:31:28 GMT
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I've been having the same thoughts recently, my plan is to mop up the left over bits from the cortina restoration (still in progress).
As the series 2 7 ran that engine and box I'd like to build something a bit closer to the Chapman designed club racer.
I know it'll be worth very little but I could get use out of it in ways I can't with the cortina such as track days
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1966 Ford Cortina GT 2018 Ford Fiesta ST
Full time engineer, part time waffler on Youtube - see Jim_Builds
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