experienced builders

[dickkark]

Hi all,I`ve been into tvr a few years now but cant justify anymore as the obviuos current situation is bleek to say the least,
anyhow I started building a car which is having a chassis built in france by it seems a very popular guy,who works on a farm with one other and drinks a lot so I am a long way down the queue,at least a year!!!
whilst there he let me take out his crash repaired/salvaged/ultima fitted with a tvr 4 litre onto what looked like a vw transaxle,still it went well and I have to say out handled any tvr I`ve driven.
I would like to build something in the mean time,to a high standard using an engine which we allready have.
has any-one fitted or is fitting a Jag XKR 4 litre into the ultima chassis?

and how long would a person (no offence to any amatuer builders)skilled i.e. someone who does this kind of thing for a living,take to build an out of the box kit,with most of the trimmings as such,working 9 t0 5 Mon to Fri?just to compare with for estimate of hours,
I have myself plus 4 experienced blokes who all have built various cars, in a well equipped shop who could help in between jobs and a lad:banghead

I know the die hard`s might say "why use the Jag?" , but it would be handy to use stuff I have and to make a few of the parts ourselves and for the old lady to be able to drive it once in a while.

[crafty]

dickkark said:

, but it would be handy to use stuff I have and to make a few of the parts ourselves

Its not really the sort of car to be built from "bits and pieces I have hanging around"

dickkark said:

and for the old lady to be able to drive it once in a while.

Oh... then the Canam is the one for you

[GTWayne]

There is a guy who is an ex-Jag technician who has I think a Spyder fitted with a 4.0ltr V8 Jag motor, I think his name is Alan, I don't know anymore than that but it is likely that someone will be along soon that does.

[Stig]

GTWayne said:

There is a guy who is an ex-Jag technician who has I think a Spyder fitted with a 4.0ltr V8 Jag motor, I think his name is Alan, I don't know anymore than that but it is likely that someone will be along soon that does.

I seem to remember that the engine was from a Jag that David Seaman (the long haired footballer type) crashed - or I may have imagined it?

[GTRMikie]

GTWayne said:

There is a guy who is an ex-Jag technician who has I think a Spyder fitted with a 4.0ltr V8 Jag motor, I think his name is Alan, I don't know anymore than that but it is likely that someone will be along soon that does.

His name is David Harvey. He lives in Lewes, Sussex. His car is one beautiful piece of machinery!

[dickkark]

crafty said:

dickkark said:

, but it would be handy to use stuff I have and to make a few of the parts ourselves

Its not really the sort of car to be built from "bits and pieces I have hanging around"

Sorry didn`t mean it to sound as if I was going to hash it up form old mondeo parts,
I want to use some parts and various skills we already have to build the thing.

parts like the engine,ecu`s,radiators,gauges switchgear,
we could certainly produce our own wiring loom,bellhousings/adapters,interior,trimming etc,the multitude of brackets and various tanks and fittings,there are many parts that could be made adding to the pleasure of building,improving,making stuff yourself.
its not then just bolting a collection of parts to-gether.
Yes,it`s far more involved than that,but the worries of many when it comes to building your own car are things that are encountered everyday in our day to day so the onus as such is to purchase what we need,which will be the majority of it and make the rest.

collectively we have around 130 years experience and a good sense of what is and what isn`t right.
plus we have a literal mass of good 'bits and pieces' around us.

Cost is not the issue here as my wife has agreed(took some grovelling) that we could buy a finished car which as you know is more expensive,but thats not the point.

I would just like some indication as to time scale please.

[GTWayne]

It is generally accepted that a car can be built using the full factory kit of parts in around 400 hours but I have heard of some taking 1000 hours plus and then into the bargain you are intending to make/utilise many parts yourself so it is very difficult to say how long it will take based on the fact that even you yourself do not know exactly how much input with regards to supply and manufacture of your own hardware will inevitably affect the project.
Although I did not actually build my own car I am very aware of the implications of altering and modifying beyond standard spec and the problems that are to be encountered with all that is entailed. From a cost point of view and what I know now I would have bought a second hand car and modified that but can appreciate that for many, as indeed yourself it sounds, the building is the best part of a project like this.