Which kitcar to buy ???
Discussion
Hi all,I'm just new here and I'm after some advice !
I'm on the market for a kitcar someting along the lines of a Formula 27,tiger,MK etc.I was wondering what one the more experienced of you would recommend.I intend looking for some thing a little cheaper with a car engine and doing the bike conversion myself.
I was offered a Robin hood(it's actually on e-bay just now) at a good price but a guy that builds and converts kitcars(tigers etc)told me to steer clear as robin hood is not really a good kit and have issues with suspension etc.Has anyone got any input on this,any advice I get will much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
I'm on the market for a kitcar someting along the lines of a Formula 27,tiger,MK etc.I was wondering what one the more experienced of you would recommend.I intend looking for some thing a little cheaper with a car engine and doing the bike conversion myself.
I was offered a Robin hood(it's actually on e-bay just now) at a good price but a guy that builds and converts kitcars(tigers etc)told me to steer clear as robin hood is not really a good kit and have issues with suspension etc.Has anyone got any input on this,any advice I get will much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
What sort of budget are you talking about? If it specifically has to be BEC I suppose the first thing is to find a very light weight build. Sylva R1OT? One of the seven clones?
Never found out quite why (and it might be unfounded) but Robin Hoods seem to have a rather poor reputation. Nobody seems to ellaborate, they just say "don't go near them"!
Never found out quite why (and it might be unfounded) but Robin Hoods seem to have a rather poor reputation. Nobody seems to ellaborate, they just say "don't go near them"!
Thanks for the reply guys,Thats exactly what I was told about a robin hood,no real explanation just to steer clear !!
Ideally I would like to buy a car and do the conversion for 5K max,at this stage I still do not know if thats is possable ? When looking for a car is there anything obvious I should be looking for.
What kind of money would I be looking at for an MNR,just out of curiousity
Cheers guys
Ideally I would like to buy a car and do the conversion for 5K max,at this stage I still do not know if thats is possable ? When looking for a car is there anything obvious I should be looking for.
What kind of money would I be looking at for an MNR,just out of curiousity
Cheers guys
Edited by craig_007 on Thursday 9th August 16:34
Don't know how much a bike engine conversion would set you back, but I'm looking at buying something at a similar end of the market at the moment and here are a few ideas and a guess at their prices. Hasten to add, I haven't driven any of these, so this is all secondhand observations, sure there are others who can give a much more informed oppinion. Anyway.....
The bulk of seven clones start at around £4k - Sylva Strikers, Tigers, MKs, Wetfields.
As do the Sylva/SSC Stylus and it's Fisher Fury counterparts, in standard road trim with a car engine the latter weighs about 650kgs. They even do a special mid engined bike powered version.
Below that, you have the Vindicator - a loosely sevenesque car which has all independant suspension and the passengers sat rather far forward, yet the engine quite far back (with the bellhousing level with the passengers legs I'm guessing) this leads to a rather wide car with a slightly unconventional appearance, which may go some way to explaining why they seem to go for a lot less than other 7s, despite seemingly quite well thought out. They're not especially light - I'm told it can be 750kgs for road trimmed car with a Pinto in it, but I know you can reduce this dramatically (think their CVH engined racer was more like 550kg!) The earlier vindicators can be had for £2k and upwards. Think there are a few BEC examples going round.
Cheaper still, you have Dutton Phaetons - quite basic and quite heavy, but should be capable of handling as well as any other '7 if they have a 5 link rear axle (the later ones had cart springs!) not heard of a BEC one.
Almost as ugly, but rather better executed is the Sylva Leader. I want one of these myself - never heard a bad thing about the handling - don't know what the weight is, but it's more or less a full width body, so not as light as a '7 (600-700kgs?) Only go for a couple of grand, so plenty of scope for a bike engined conversion.
Wild card - GTM coupe. 550kg hard top 2 seater. They fly with a mini engine in apparently, so one would be great fun with a bike engine!
I suppose if you're specifically looking to transplant an engine, it would be wise to go for a part built car, or a finished kit where the engine has expired (or better still been removed) Don't think £4k (allowing £1000 for the bike conversion out of your budget) will go very far in traditional sevens built to a good spec with engines already installed, so you'd be best off going for a more exotic that needs work.
The bulk of seven clones start at around £4k - Sylva Strikers, Tigers, MKs, Wetfields.
As do the Sylva/SSC Stylus and it's Fisher Fury counterparts, in standard road trim with a car engine the latter weighs about 650kgs. They even do a special mid engined bike powered version.
Below that, you have the Vindicator - a loosely sevenesque car which has all independant suspension and the passengers sat rather far forward, yet the engine quite far back (with the bellhousing level with the passengers legs I'm guessing) this leads to a rather wide car with a slightly unconventional appearance, which may go some way to explaining why they seem to go for a lot less than other 7s, despite seemingly quite well thought out. They're not especially light - I'm told it can be 750kgs for road trimmed car with a Pinto in it, but I know you can reduce this dramatically (think their CVH engined racer was more like 550kg!) The earlier vindicators can be had for £2k and upwards. Think there are a few BEC examples going round.
Cheaper still, you have Dutton Phaetons - quite basic and quite heavy, but should be capable of handling as well as any other '7 if they have a 5 link rear axle (the later ones had cart springs!) not heard of a BEC one.
Almost as ugly, but rather better executed is the Sylva Leader. I want one of these myself - never heard a bad thing about the handling - don't know what the weight is, but it's more or less a full width body, so not as light as a '7 (600-700kgs?) Only go for a couple of grand, so plenty of scope for a bike engined conversion.
Wild card - GTM coupe. 550kg hard top 2 seater. They fly with a mini engine in apparently, so one would be great fun with a bike engine!
I suppose if you're specifically looking to transplant an engine, it would be wise to go for a part built car, or a finished kit where the engine has expired (or better still been removed) Don't think £4k (allowing £1000 for the bike conversion out of your budget) will go very far in traditional sevens built to a good spec with engines already installed, so you'd be best off going for a more exotic that needs work.
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