Which Kit-Car - Budget £1000-4000

[BeirutTaxi]

Hey guys,

I really fancy the idea of something raw to save up for... and am drawn to kit cars, in particular the Tiger ones. What do you think are the best Kit-Cars to go for with a budget of £1000-4000? Also do you think I will have a problem with insurance given I am 23, 0 NCB, 1 accident, 0 points, licence held for 5 years?

Thanks,

Matt

[xRIEx]

A quick scan of the classifieds show even rock-bottom Tigers at the top end of your budget; Robin Hoods go for a bit less so may be your best bet.

Insurance shouldn't be a problem I would have thought.

[BeirutTaxi]

Thanks Also to drive.. are the Tigers and Robin Hoods any good? Is the steering and suspension pinched from some sort of normal sedan/hatchback? I am looking for something with great controls i.e. awesome steering weighting and feel, rifle bolt gear change, instant throttle response etc.

[greengreenwood7]

I think that perhaps you need to pause for a moment to consider 'kit cars' in general. By their very nature no 2 cars of the same make / model will be built exactly the same and therefore teh driving experience will very likely be slightly different.
There's no malice to this statement but at 4k you're looking at the lower end of the market and therefore choice will be more limited, yet it sounds as though you've set you expectations a bit higher? ' instant throttle response, rifle bolt gearchange etc etc'.......

on the upside a kit car by its very nature can be fettled into something that the new owner wants.

bottom line. go and see/drive a couple of cars and check you fit in them and like them in general. Remember that even if you don't like something about them that many things can be changed / set up in a different way ( except of course the general suspension which can be tweaked ). perhaps there are 'meets' within your area where you can pop along and talk to some existing owners and learn more about certain cars .....

i've driven for example a half a dozen 'kits' of exactly the same model, all of which were subtly different, yet a bit of setting up would have improved 1-2 of the less sure footed no problem.

even an average kit will seem nice and raw in comparison to most tin tops and will feel more assured/fun.......

have fun.....

[qdos]

greengreenwood7 said:

I think that perhaps you need to pause for a moment to consider 'kit cars' in general. By their very nature no 2 cars of the same make / model will be built exactly the same and therefore teh driving experience will very likely be slightly different.
There's no malice to this statement but at 4k you're looking at the lower end of the market and therefore choice will be more limited, yet it sounds as though you've set you expectations a bit higher? ' instant throttle response, rifle bolt gearchange etc etc'.......

on the upside a kit car by its very nature can be fettled into something that the new owner wants.

bottom line. go and see/drive a couple of cars and check you fit in them and like them in general. Remember that even if you don't like something about them that many things can be changed / set up in a different way ( except of course the general suspension which can be tweaked ). perhaps there are 'meets' within your area where you can pop along and talk to some existing owners and learn more about certain cars .....

i've driven for example a half a dozen 'kits' of exactly the same model, all of which were subtly different, yet a bit of setting up would have improved 1-2 of the less sure footed no problem.

even an average kit will seem nice and raw in comparison to most tin tops and will feel more assured/fun.......

have fun.....

I couldn't agree more with all of the above.

I know the OP seems to be looking for the Seven type of kit but for those others who might be also reading this thread there's lots of other good kits out there for this price. I've just picked up a cracking little Midas for less than your bottom price and there's others like the Fiesta based Quantum too which are your more practical alternatives to the ubiquitous Seven Lots to look at really and plenty of fun to be had.

To an extent it's because Kits are so good when they get into this price bracket (I'm talking second hand projects) that the kit car industry has to an extent wound up competing against itself. You won't find many production cars that will be so enduring.

Edited by qdos on Thursday 21st June 10:08

[slomax]

qdos said:

I couldn't agree more with all of the above.

I know the OP seems to be looking for the Seven type of kit but for those others who might be also reading this thread there's lots of other good kits out there for this price. I've just picked up a cracking little Midas for less than your bottom price and there's others like the Fiesta based Quantum too which are your more practical alternatives to the ubiquitous Seven Lots to look at really and plenty of fun to be had.

To an extent it's because Kits are so good when they get into this price bracket (I'm talking second hand projects) that the kit car industry has to an extent wound up competing against itself. You won't find many production cars that will be so enduring.

other cars to think about in this price range:
sylva jester
gtm rossa/k3
lomax
buggies (mini based)

driving an open car that is very raw and basic is excellent fun anyway, if you have never driven one before you will be surprised how fast even a Lomax feels on the road. I think i would be looking at better examples of those above than rock bottom examples of tigers/7's personally.

[Dreamspeed]

The only thing I can add to these comments is be wary of enticing offers of “build this car from only…..” £1750 or £3999 or £5999. Many people have been drawn in by these amazingly low prices only to discover more money is needed to complete the build. If you are buying a new kit, do your research, it’s often a good idea to double the “build this car from” price to get a more accurate cost.

If buying second hand, usually from someone who was caught out by my first comment and has now run out of funds, make sure the partial build has been done well, or it could cost you same again to un-do poor workmanship.

At your maximum budget I’m pretty sure you’ll only get an “on-going” project; perhaps a runner but something that will need work and improvement along the way. Also think about its use; an open top car, with no doors etc. is great fun on a track day when the suns out, but for the most part it’s of very little use as a secondary form of transport.

Good luck in your search, keep us posted on what you’ve chosen.

[JamesHayward]

Can't believe no one has suggested this yet but.... MEV Exocet? Granted it's gonna be tight on 4k but it is do-able

[OlberJ]

Another vote for the Exocet if you're going 7 style.

Buy the Mx5, learn to drive it well and then swap all the gubbins to the Exocet chassis with some new bushes and you're off.

[GinG15]

sylva striker, fisher fury, tiger and an end 80ies, beginning 90ies westfield should be easily available for 3.5k

dont buy a robin, as long as you dont get it for 1.5k....those cars are cr*p and not worth their money.

[JamesHayward]

GinG15 said:

those cars are cr*p and not worth their money.

And rather dangerous from what I understand.....

[one eyed mick]

JamesHayward said:

GinG15 said:

those cars are cr*p and not worth their money.

And rather dangerous from what I understand.....

On what do you base this very sweeping statement ? ,typical snobbery or or personal experience

[GinG15]

personal expirience. i drove all mentioned cars (and some more). the robins i owned have been the worst constructions i´v e ever seen. the kit offered from the factory was badly engineered and leaves a lot of things to the builder. unfortunately the majority of the builders dont have the skills, tools, money nor facilities to correct the rather vague factory-design.

another point to mention is, that robin-kits are cheap, and people buying them tend to "think" also cheap/money-saving...means the majority does not invest the right money in the right bits to get the car right.

its a naive miscalcultion: cheap kit at the beginning+ lots of investments necessary to do it right and finally its still a vague construction.
the "only" advantage of a robin is: if you have a fat ass or if you are tall you will still fit inside!!!

Edited by GinG15 on Tuesday 26th June 19:27

[smash]

My Robin Hood is a V8. It sounds ludicrous. It can pop, spit and bang on over run on command. It runs aero screen or full screen with wet weather gear. It's a quick sprinter to 70.

Whilst nowhere near the ballistic sling shot performance of my old P4 or the lesser Cerb I can honestly say it is more fun than both and is a capable car - not Caterham corner capable, but capable nonethless.

There are exemplary and ste examples in ALL kitcar breeds.

GinG15? Ginetta G15? The "only" good thing about the G15 is the headlights are nice and low...but you had to manually lift them for the MOT.

Edited by smash on Monday 6th August 18:37

[one eyed mick]

Thanks Smash at last some sensible comment ,RHOOD cars were never meant to complete like for like with caterham etc ,but to provide the section of less well pocket lined enthusiasts like my self ,having run an early S7 for ten years I am happy with what it will do and what I get out of it ,40k,3 lemans trips and lots of fun .Each to his own?

[thescamper]

one eyed mick said:

Thanks Smash at last some sensible comment ,RHOOD cars were never meant to complete like for like with caterham etc ,but to provide the section of less well pocket lined enthusiasts like my self ,having run an early S7 for ten years I am happy with what it will do and what I get out of it ,40k,3 lemans trips and lots of fun .Each to his own?

Just as in any car purchase you pays your money and takes your choice, my early RH did exactly what I wanted at the time, yes it was an absolute pita to build and the man who owned the company really did't give a s**t, and when I crashed it into escort van at 60 mph I survived so they can't be all bad.

[JamesHayward]

one eyed mick said:

On what do you base this very sweeping statement ? ,typical snobbery or or personal experience

I base this sweeping statement on what I was told by a credible member of the the motoring press.

[smash]

If we based everything on motoring journos we'd all believe a Hawk Stratos would never make it round more than 4 consecutive corners without the suspension collapsing

There's only one known potential issue I can think of with a certain model of RH but as I'm about to do a round trip to Le Mans in one can you let me in on the problem before I kill myself on route?!

ETA Recent MEV thread some incorrect loading issues were credibly highlighted on the chassis design by someone - never answered as far as I remember - is your MEV dangerous?

Edited by smash on Wednesday 27th June 20:23

[one eyed mick]

smash said:

If we based everything on motoring journos we'd all believe a Hawk Stratos would never make it round more than 4 consecutive corners without the suspension collapsing

There's only one known potential issue I can think of with a certain model of RH but as I'm about to do a round trip to Le Mans in one can you let me in on the problem before I kill myself on route?!

ETA Recent MEV thread some incorrect loading issues were credibly highlighted on the chassis design by someone - never answered as far as I remember - is your MEV dangerous?

Edited by smash on Wednesday 27th June 20:23

Once again sensible balanced comments . As for believing the motoring journos weeeeeeeel if most of them told me it was raining I would go out side to check

[Sonic7]

smash said:

ETA Recent MEV thread some incorrect loading issues were credibly highlighted on the chassis design by someone - never answered as far as I remember - is your MEV dangerous?

Don't remember ever seeing this can somebody point me in the right direction?