tdk
Part of things
Posts: 958
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So many kit cars are really, really poor quality, though. And I don't mean shut lines and trim feel, I mean fundamental things like chassis design, welding quality, things that will snap and kill you. That might sounds hypocritical from someone who loves shonky old snot, but there's a colossal difference between factory built snot and some home-brew snot. Caterhams are, in my experience, pretty good but some of the other stuff can be really 'orrible.
PS - I have visited the factory of one of the companies mentioned in this thread. Their front door was fitted the wrong way round. What's that about first impressions?
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May 19, 2018 10:27:01 GMT
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A family member built a gbs zero, was ment to be mx5 based but ended up with a hot crossflow. I've driven it a few times (it's being given to me now). I've also been out in the demonstrator. They are capable things but I can't see one coming in cheap. Think he had 10k in his. Just the coilovers were nearly 1k. Plus all the costs of getting it on the road.
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May 19, 2018 11:28:17 GMT
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Is the itch related to 'the build' or ownership? If it's a build itch then you either start from scratch or buy one thats already CORRECTLY registered (make sure to check with DVLA to see the name matches whats on the boot badge) and restore it to your own spec. I'm totally biased (owning the number of Duttons I do) but you could do worse than pick up a half decent Phaeton / Melos for less than £2k and improve it. You'll never make a profit but it's so satisfying when it all comes together. If it's just the ownership itch and you want to go out and drive it yesterday then be prepared to shell out for a good build. Above all, make sure the V5 is correct, there are some very dodgy motors knocking about on old kit log books to avoid the IVA and if the builder didn't have the confidence or ability to get it done right would you really want to put your life in his hands? This is my current toy, had it 18 years now and I think it's still cost under £5k. There is one on ebay currently for about £3500 which is pretty much straight and I can vouch for at least two of the previous owners.
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1988 DUTTON LEGERRA MK1 - SPARES DONOR 1989 DUTTON LEGERRA MK2 - CURRENT PROJECT 1990 DUTTON LEGERRA ZS MK2 1990 DUTTON LEGERRA ZS MK2 DUTTON PHAETON S2 - Resting DUTTON PHAETON S4 - Resting DUTTON PHAETON S4 - PROJECT X DUTTON SIERRA S2 - Resting
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May 19, 2018 12:33:14 GMT
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I remember seeing pics of one of these in a pseudo-RS200 livery some years ago, looked mega
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May 19, 2018 14:40:00 GMT
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Lots of pitfalls pointed out in earlier posts, principally it can become a time and money pit.
On the plus sides, looking way beyond the Locosts and Duttons, think of a dream car you desire but which could only ever be yours with a hefty lottery win; Lamborghini Countach, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, Jaguar XKSS, Jaguar C-Type, Jaguar D-Type, Ferrari 250, etc. If you could settle for a kit then that dream car may be within your grasp.
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Kit Car Kits johnthesparky
@johnthesparky
Club Retro Rides Member 6
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May 19, 2018 15:47:22 GMT
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Lots of pitfalls pointed out in earlier posts, principally it can become a time and money pit. I think if you were to buy the ‘wrong’ retro or classic the same would be true.... We are 2 years in on our project, generally they are easy to strip and rot shouldn’t be too much of an issue, if we’d got a cheap beetle instead of the Fug, I imagine we’d be chasing the rust for years, so still would have spent loads....or we’d be into a full restore which would cost even more
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May 19, 2018 15:54:06 GMT
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Lots of pitfalls pointed out in earlier posts, principally it can become a time and money pit. I think if you were to buy the ‘wrong’ retro or classic the same would be true.... We are 2 years in on our project, generally they are easy to strip and rot shouldn’t be too much of an issue, if we’d got a cheap beetle instead of the Fug, I imagine we’d be chasing the rust for years, so still would have spent loads....or we’d be into a full restore which would cost even more Or even with the right classic. If you have a car long enough you'll find yourself replacing / overhauling major components that you've done before. There aren't many out there that are bullet-proof but some are more fragile than others.
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quadra
Part of things
Posts: 162
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May 19, 2018 16:10:42 GMT
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Last Edit: May 19, 2018 16:14:57 GMT by quadra
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quadra
Part of things
Posts: 162
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May 19, 2018 16:17:21 GMT
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Ritchie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 767
Club RR Member Number: 12
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Kit Car Kits Ritchie
@ritchie
Club Retro Rides Member 12
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May 19, 2018 16:47:06 GMT
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May 19, 2018 18:26:50 GMT
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We've (in work) been up close and had a good poke around some of those, the one that's supposed to look like a Cobra, and 250GTO. Both look horrendous in person. I do quite fancy building an AK Sportscars Cobra some day though, preferably the one that comes for bolting in a BMW V8, so I can fit a 400bhp S62 into it.
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,841
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Kit Car Kits Darkspeed
@darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member 39
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May 19, 2018 19:19:02 GMT
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quadra
Part of things
Posts: 162
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May 19, 2018 20:57:40 GMT
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These are some of my favourite other kit cars over the years. - Look who was parked in the background .... Oh yes, ironic! That was taken quite a few years ago. Did you still own it at that time?
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If you're going to buy a pre-owned example, buy one that's had this level of attention to detail! ↑
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,841
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Kit Car Kits Darkspeed
@darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member 39
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Oh yes, ironic! That was taken quite a few years ago. Did you still own it at that time? Yes - that's parked on the SHACC (Shropshire Alternative Car Club) stand - Still had the screen on it at that point so would have been soon after getting it back on the road and yes that would have been a good few years back - 2007 perhaps. When I sold it it went to Germany. I suspect that's me in the background in the grey assisting Roger and Yoland with packing the tent up. When I got projects back on the road I do not tend to keep them for very long. My Ginetta G31 which was the car after the Westfield was the exception.
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May 20, 2018 13:06:19 GMT
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I fancied a fast motorbike when I was 53yrs but ended up building this SSC STYLUS . Then once driven , it didn't do exactly what I wanted it to do , so started developing it into a race car . The original build I estimated at £8000 but bits were offered to me here and there , you know how that goes , so the final cost was £16,000 over 2 yrs building time that I thought would be 6 mths. Started competing with it , didn't win out of the box so gradually developed it for sprints/hillclimbs . Took me 4 yrs to get from 8th in class to 1st in class , then the road going class championship . Since then it has been developed further and entered into the sports libre class , in the same ACSMC championship . I have won that class 6 times and 2nd a few times. I won't go into the individual parts used or made to develop it but you'll be amazed OR possibly shocked to know the total cost including the build cost of £16,000 , is over £40,000 from 1998 to 2014 . Yeh , I know that's insane but I caught the disease of winning . It's a one off as STYLUS cars go , own suspension and set up . Ford Zetec 2lt DUNNELL engine 231bhp , Caterham race box , Quaife 4.4 diff ATB . Force Racing 3.5kg wheels with 215X55X13 Avon ZZR medium compound tyres . Max revs on throttle bodies 8,300 rpm in 5th gear is 138mph but you won't reach that at Goodwood , as the Lavant straight isn't long enough , she'll pull just under 130mph before 4th gear into Woodcote .
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Kit Car Kits johnthesparky
@johnthesparky
Club Retro Rides Member 6
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May 20, 2018 17:55:08 GMT
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you'll be amazed OR possibly shocked to know the total cost including the build cost of £16,000 , is over £40,000 from 1998 to 2014 . Yeh , I know that's insane That’s £2500 a year, or about 2 pints a night...... and if you’d spent it on beer you’d have a belly and that’s not as lovely to look at as your car (trust me I just did a check ) That’s not that insane at all!
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May 20, 2018 18:44:47 GMT
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It's not daft if you enjoy what you're doing! Lovely car!
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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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Badger
Part of things
Posts: 250
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Kit Car Kits Badger
@badgermcletcher
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May 20, 2018 21:32:38 GMT
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Well... here's mine so far. Nearly done. Not really a kit car as it's a Haynes Roadster, so pretty much all home built. I did get the fibreglass panels but they took a fair bit of work to get up to spec. Also it's not exactly a book Haynes Roadster... So far I reckon about 3-4k spent, but a hell of a lot of time (pretty much every weekend for nearly 5 years). I have to say, I wouldn't do it again. It's nice to say I've built my own car but it's taken so bloody long. A good learning experience though.
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