'7' Style kit car for the 'larger chap'

[skene]

Hi guys,

I know you get widebodied Westfields and such but how wide are these? I'm 6ft 1, 44" waist and probably a 52"ish chest. Basically am I ever going to fit in a 7?

I like the look of a Fury style car which I've heard is bigger inside(?) but it's really a 7 I want just for that complete exposed components kit car feel.

Working to a budget of around £5-6k (If this is even realistic) what would be the engine to look at? I've seen plenty pinto engine'd ones in and under budget, are these reliable etc?

Thanks

[GreigM]

You'll find a westie with the correct seats will fit a surprisingly large frame. The JK seats model 4246 (http://www.jkcomposites.com/) fits very well in a widebodied westy (drivers side only, the passenger side is narrower) and will take someone of your waist size no problem, and mounted right back on a solid mount it sits very low and I think you'd find it fits very well.

I even saw one which had no drivers seat, instead a couple of upholstered cushions attached to the tub for back/arse comfort, worked very well and I'd imagine would take almost any size of driver.

[ianm67]

I am of a similar build to yourself and I am building a Dax Rush which I fit into comfortably.... There is a rather nice Pinto engined one on eBay at the moment for £7k.... NTDWM by the way.......

[rhinochopig]

My old westy megabird had the padded race seats, and I specc'd it with a longer steering column with mounted slightly higher than normal. I'm 6'5" and ~ 17 stone with a 46/48" chest and it fitted me fine. At you height a simple swap to shell seats should mean you fit.

The benefit of the column mod is that it worked for all heights. Interestingly a lot of the westfield techs liked it because it was meant a less stretched out driving position (thing rally car wheel position)

You may even fit in a non SV Caterham too. Swerni on PH used to have one and he's a similar height to me.

[skene]

I'm relieved you guys are saying it shouldn't be too much of an issue I was expecting lose some weight you fat st

I've just realised the Luego factory is just 2 miles from my house! Is there much of a second hand markets for these?

Thanks

[nps123]

Here's a nice wide body westy, I fit into standard westy sports seats at 16 stone, tried a Caterham but it was too snug for me.

[GreigM]

skene said:

I've just realised the Luego factory is just 2 miles from my house! Is there much of a second hand markets for these?

Thanks

In a word - No. Caterhams keep their value (if not appreciate) and there is an active market. Westfields lose tons of money initially but stabilise after a couple of years and will keep that value very well and there is a reasonably active market. MK,Dax, MEV and possibly GBS are possibly the next rung down the ladder, and while no direct experience it looks like they follow a similar depreciation pattern to the Westfields of initial large drop followed by a fairly stable resell for a long time. Market is definitely limited for them though, but not impossible.

Anything else is fairly specialist and the market struggles alongside locost cars and while you can get some outstanding cars, you get a lot of unroadworthy rubbish also - market for these is slow, you may sit on a car for a long time to sell (from many months to years).

[skene]

I'm sure I've seen that yellow one for sale! It looks quite nice!

Thanks Greig, my post was poorly worded, I meant are these available often second hand, but then if you say they are of poorer quality it may be worth giving these a body swerve.

So by the sounds of things an older Westy seems like it would be the thing? Are these available for my budget? I see there are a few 1.6/1.7 Xflows and Pintos for sale, would I be better off holding out for a 2.0 Pinto (I think I know the answer to that).


When you say anything else is specialist, I guess I was being quite ignorant to think that below a Westy and Caterham theyre pretty much all the same with a different name

Edited by skene on Wednesday 19th August 16:05

[GreigM]

skene said:

Thanks Greig, my post was poorly worded, I meant are these available often second hand, but then if you say they are of poorer quality it may be worth giving these a body swerve.

Thats not quite what I said, I said the market for them was poorer - I have no experience of the Luego directly, so couldn't comment on the quality (as with all kits it can depend hugely on who actually did the spannering) but yes, you will struggle to find many of them 2nd hand

[greengreenwood7]

couple of quick points....

actually many kits would be suitable for someone of your size - Depending on your overall proportions, and depending the seats, pedal position and steering wheel position/height.

for example. I have a pal who has a Tiger Cat, he's about 6'2 and is a big old lump, he raised the steering column slightly, has a removable s/wheel and has no issues at all.
another has an MK, he's 'hooker' stature, 5'8 but quite broad across the beam. No issues.
basically m i'd suggest getting in to a few cars, and then working out whether a few quid on a seat change would make things better.

as for value for money.
i'd suggest trying to buy something that may well serve you as long as possible with no major upgrade. If all you want to do is potter around, then a 1.6 of some kind will do the job, but if you're likely to hanker after more ooomph along the way - then buy a car with a more modern /powerful plant.
sure a westie for example has more kudos than perhaps a Tiger or an MK or whatever, but assuming that both are well sorted, for the money you mentioned i'd rather buy a newer 'whatever' than an older westie.

as always, build quality is the key differentiator, and whatever the brand there'll be some true dogs out there.

surprisingly, Caterhams have oodles of legroom, at 5'9 with the seat forward i struggled to drive a pals Superlight - and on a Caterham day another 6'2 friend was jumping in and out of different standdard size models all day long. But they are pretty tight across the seat.

[GinG15]

locost or haynes roadsters are quite large inside

robinhood´s are quite large,too but AVOID: they are cr*p

[hkp57]

The big Luego will fit but in my opinion they look out of proportion to other 7's

You may want to take a drive down to the Scottish Kit Car centre just on the other side of Edinburgh where Andy builds the Raptor range based on an MK Chassis.

Get a sit in his demonstrator, as Andy is 6' 5" he makes sure there is room. I am 6'3" and fit in my Raptor R with no problems.

[FuryCossieSteve]

I'm 6 foot, 16 1/2 stones 1st thing in the morning (more after sunday lunch!) 44 waist(!), 48 chest etc, fit in my Tiger Cat nice and snug (you dont want to be flopping about trust me!) I tried a few cars and found the thing that tended to be an isssue was hip width more that anything else. The gap between the inner side of the car and the transmission tunnel is what'll get you every time if you're a big boy! I also have a Fury, lots more room but I hear what you say about the more 'open' experience.