Building a kit how difficult

[ground-rush]

Hi Guys,

How easy is it for someone with little mechanical experience to build a kit, Westfield or Tiger from a SDV?

How long will it realistically take?

When I see some of the build diaries I'm amazed at the level of detail, if I try building will I never see my family again.

Cheers

[ozzie dave]

So, who is to say there aren't advantages to kit building, awaiting repercussions here!

[RazMan]

How long is a piece of string?

It all depends on your choice of kit. Mine took me two years but I redesigned the bodywork which takes ages.
I have heard of people putting a Seven together in a few weeks.

[robcollingridge]

I started with practically zero knowledge. Do your research as it will save you lots of time in the garage. I had to juggle a wife that really didn't want me to do it and I have two young children. I planned to do it in 8 months but so many things got in the way and rather than ruin my marriage, I tried to minimise the impact on my family. It eventually took 17 months from chassis collection to SVA pass. Don't underestimate the financial impact too. I was lucky that I live close to my work. I spent many a lunch hour at home working on the car.

www.robcollingridge.com/kitcar/ - for detailed build diary and planning

Rob

[r1ot]

I built a kit car, but it was through choice of building something with the performance and the indivduality of a supercar without the costs.

Bearing in mind i soon learnt that the budget for building a kit car works like this.

Think how much it will cost you.

Divide that by 2 add to the original cost.

How difficult is up to you. Westfields and caterhams are relativily easy to build as they are really just "plug and play" everthing you need comes from westfield.

I built a Sylva Riot, it came from the factory as a chassis, a box of suspension components, various component parts (fuel tank, seats), 6 sheets of aluminuim, glass fibre body panels and a page of photo's as a build manual.

It wasn't difficult to build just required a lot of sideways thinking and a lot of problems had to be solved by myself. Over the phone support from Sylva was excellent and always willing to help. Building a kit car is only as difficult as you make it for yourself, by this I mean is how competent are you? If you are limited to changing a wheel it'll be a steep learning curve. If you can cope with 4 spanners in a haynes manual you can build a kit car. You will need space, a credit card, loads of spare time, if you are working in the winter a gas heater and if you have one a very understanding partner.

[tribbles]

r1ot said:

Divide that by 2 add to the original cost.

(or multiply by 1.5)

I'd say that it's normally between 1.5 and 2.

I started by buying 2nd hand kit cars, stripping them down and rebuilding (and improving) them, which meant I had most of the bits (or a good idea as to what the bits are). I'm now finishing my first car from scratch.

[Roman]

tribbles said:

r1ot said:

Divide that by 2 add to the original cost.

(or multiply by 1.5)

I'd say that it's normally between 1.5 and 2.

I started by buying 2nd hand kit cars, stripping them down and rebuilding (and improving) them, which meant I had most of the bits (or a good idea as to what the bits are). I'm now finishing my first car from scratch.

I think that is a really good way to start and is exactly what I have done.

A ready built 2nd hand kit car will cost the same or less than the cost of a new build (in my case less than half) and you can start to enjoy it straight away.

At the same time you can rebuild, upgrade or modify whatever you like in your own time and still get to learn plenty which would hopefully stand you in good stead should you want to build one of your own.

[Rebuilda]

I have now owned 5 duttons, The first required minor repairs, the second was a basket case rebuild but ran and passed its ticket after a year of work. I am now rebuilding my third one from the ground up, body off, welder and angle grinder in use every night. I hope to have the whole project turned around in 3 months and drive it to the nationals at Stoneleigh in May.
Just dont mention the other two to my better half as she thinks they are spare parts cars ..
Whatever you decide on, good luck and remember if you get stuck there is always someone out there who has had similar problems, dont be afraid to ask for help or advice no matter how simple it seems.

[v8owner]

ground-rush said:

How long will it realistically take?

Do you have a time limit?

When I built my first car it was to gain a fast fun car for reasonable money. The first Car I built (a robin hood) was a major learning curve.. but got there in the end and had a very nice example.
Once on the road i felt i wanted to build something else.. And now thats become the bug more than owning/driving the vehicle.. "itchy fingers syndrome"

If there is no time limit I say take it on and learn something new... The feeling of everyone looking at it and asking about it.. and being able to say 'I made this' is great.

[Fer]

Glad to see this thread. I am seriously considering selling my Westfield (no, this is not an ad) and building a SDV. I am planning a factory visit up to Westfield, and going along to Stoneleigh to see what else is on offer, but right now I think the numpty value of having a guide and assistance is necessary for me, keeping me from going for something like an Aeon.

[robcollingridge]

I costed my car down to the smallest detail before I started. Final cost was within 2% of original estimate. Planning is another lost art in this country :-)

Rob
www.robcollingridge.com/kitcar/

[Fer]

robcollingridge said:

I costed my car down to the smallest detail before I started. Final cost was within 2% of original estimate. Planning is another lost art in this country :-)

Rob
www.robcollingridge.com/kitcar/

Would be good to see the spreadsheet (with numbers removed if necessary) to give me some idea of what I need to think about in costing this... all part of the sales job on SWMBO.

[robcollingridge]

Fer,

You have mail.

Rob

[Fer]

robcollingridge said:

Fer,

You have mail.

Rob

Thanks, so do you.

[molestrangler]

Ask around locally and you will no doubt find someone who has SUCCESSFULLY built a kit car and they willprobably be pleased to pass on the practical help you need and probably give a hand with the build. That's the way it works around here.

[tribbles]

molestrangler said:

Ask around locally and you will no doubt find someone who has SUCCESSFULLY built a kit car and they willprobably be pleased to pass on the practical help you need and probably give a hand with the build. That's the way it works around here.

I didn't have someone to help with my first one, but I've got someone in the office who seems to be seriously looking into doing it, and has been asking me a lot of questions about the process (which I'm willing to answer - he's not annoying, and the questions are sensible - such as what tools do you need, insurance, timescales).

I'll be lending him my SVA manual when I've done my current one - not to scare him off, but to let him get a feel as to the regulations involved.

[robcollingridge]

Tell him not to get too hung up on the SVA manual though. I have yet to read it and my Fisher Fury R1 passed the SVA test last month. Most of the stuff is obvious and common sense. You learn more from fellow builders and Internet web sites. These sources tell you how to do stuff to get through the SVA test or and how to get around certain aspects of the test. In some cases there are steps you can take to avoid things becoming an issue, e.g. no windscreen, choosing the right parts to pass and replacing them later, etc.

Rob
www.robcollingridge.com/kitcar

[Dave Dax builder]

Definition of a kit car.....


A collection of parts that almost fit together.



MFI it most certainly aint'

[molestrangler]

Methinks that the better the kit, the easier the SVA. However a pal of mine built anew Westfield eleven last year and had it "finished" and prepped by a well known guy in this trade and it still did'nt pass first time, 3 pages of faults , but was told by the inspectors that this was quite good! What worries is what attitude they will take to scratch built cars.

[meeja]

Dave Dax builder said:

Definition of a kit car.....

A collection of parts that almost fit together.