GKD-anyone built one yet?
Discussion
Hi Guys,
The GKD LEGEND (like the EVOLUTION S2) is an all new car with many of the issues of the EVOLUTION S1 corrected (mostly related to the fit of the inner fibreglass body tub to the exterior bodywork)... but all the best bits like the award winning handling retained. By using BMW mechanicals (BTW the engine block is iron, however, the head, sump, gearbox, etc. are aluminium) the fit, finish and interchangeability is vastly superior to that from the old Sierra. You can view a customer’s build progress of a LEGEND at http://bristolkitcarclub.co.uk/smf2/index.php?topi...
P.S. for freshy26... if your dad has any outstanding queries, feel free to get him to give me a call. Unlike most manufacturers, I can answer questions at most weekends and evenings.
Peter
The GKD LEGEND (like the EVOLUTION S2) is an all new car with many of the issues of the EVOLUTION S1 corrected (mostly related to the fit of the inner fibreglass body tub to the exterior bodywork)... but all the best bits like the award winning handling retained. By using BMW mechanicals (BTW the engine block is iron, however, the head, sump, gearbox, etc. are aluminium) the fit, finish and interchangeability is vastly superior to that from the old Sierra. You can view a customer’s build progress of a LEGEND at http://bristolkitcarclub.co.uk/smf2/index.php?topi...
P.S. for freshy26... if your dad has any outstanding queries, feel free to get him to give me a call. Unlike most manufacturers, I can answer questions at most weekends and evenings.
Peter
Hi, Having been reading on here intermittently for awhile and seeing this post I thought I'd better reply as that link goes to my post on the Bristol Kit Car Club site. Seems I have a popular name so ended up with one I thought would be free when registering
I am building the GKD Legend.
This is a first build for me and I am not a mechanic. I've not found any issues with bad fit etc., in fact I have found it much easier to put together so far than taking the donor car to pieces, I did have a challenge on the bushes for the rear but with a bit of help from a local performance bike shop they were inserted.
If Fleshy26 Dad has had problems on the Evolution I'd say ring Peter at GKD, he's been helpful so far for me as I think you should expect. As I'm possibly the first customer build of this model I'd expect to find a few niggles but they have been small e.g. inserting rear bushes is hard.
My personal view is that the BMW 3 Series will be the next Sierra. BMW 4 cyl engines weigh between 82 - 102 kg and in stock form can deliver 140bhp, the 6 cyl are better known of course. There are a couple of very highly tunable BMW 4 cyl blocks the M42 and M44, the M42 was the basis of the S42 which in final form was producing 315 bhp with no forced injection from 2 ltrs so a lot of potential if you wish. On M42 several forged bits already, hollowed cranks and other good building blocks, in road car mid 160's bhp is easily obtained for not much money.
Quick summary of reasons I chose GKD Legend:
1) BMW 3 series based - my view great technology and a massive tuning and aftermarket world, spares plentiful and parts easy swapped.
2) Simple build - my first build so wanted to keep it simple, panels simple in design.
3) Wanted a supplier whose owner was likely to be around awhile - difficult one this as GKD is quite new but I felt having done a little quiet research on Peter that he had no need to make a lot of money from his company so was viewing it as a nice way to make a bit of money with his second love (family first of course).
4) Good handling car - use of the well proven front and back ends and fully adjustable suspension.
5) Responses to my email / phone and kit car show inquiries. To be fair here several suppliers were great and who knows where number 2 build goes yet but I am sure it will have the need for more build skills.
Before any of you ask, no I am not paid to write this, I paid him for the kit !
I am not built yet so could still find issues of course, no it isn't a top of the range kit car but for first build this suits me, was ok priced, got donor car for £370 with 11 months MOT, so not big money.
Enough rambling by me.
I am building the GKD Legend.
This is a first build for me and I am not a mechanic. I've not found any issues with bad fit etc., in fact I have found it much easier to put together so far than taking the donor car to pieces, I did have a challenge on the bushes for the rear but with a bit of help from a local performance bike shop they were inserted.
If Fleshy26 Dad has had problems on the Evolution I'd say ring Peter at GKD, he's been helpful so far for me as I think you should expect. As I'm possibly the first customer build of this model I'd expect to find a few niggles but they have been small e.g. inserting rear bushes is hard.
My personal view is that the BMW 3 Series will be the next Sierra. BMW 4 cyl engines weigh between 82 - 102 kg and in stock form can deliver 140bhp, the 6 cyl are better known of course. There are a couple of very highly tunable BMW 4 cyl blocks the M42 and M44, the M42 was the basis of the S42 which in final form was producing 315 bhp with no forced injection from 2 ltrs so a lot of potential if you wish. On M42 several forged bits already, hollowed cranks and other good building blocks, in road car mid 160's bhp is easily obtained for not much money.
Quick summary of reasons I chose GKD Legend:
1) BMW 3 series based - my view great technology and a massive tuning and aftermarket world, spares plentiful and parts easy swapped.
2) Simple build - my first build so wanted to keep it simple, panels simple in design.
3) Wanted a supplier whose owner was likely to be around awhile - difficult one this as GKD is quite new but I felt having done a little quiet research on Peter that he had no need to make a lot of money from his company so was viewing it as a nice way to make a bit of money with his second love (family first of course).
4) Good handling car - use of the well proven front and back ends and fully adjustable suspension.
5) Responses to my email / phone and kit car show inquiries. To be fair here several suppliers were great and who knows where number 2 build goes yet but I am sure it will have the need for more build skills.
Before any of you ask, no I am not paid to write this, I paid him for the kit !
I am not built yet so could still find issues of course, no it isn't a top of the range kit car but for first build this suits me, was ok priced, got donor car for £370 with 11 months MOT, so not big money.
Enough rambling by me.
Thanks all.
I am tempted by the BMW side of things too.
It will be my first build so I will probably need some advice etc
One concern is the underbonnet layout to
a)meet IVA
b)access for servicing etc
As for other build matters...well there seems to be a comprehensive package including weather gear etc to make the car more friendly for daily use.
VERY tempting package!
The only other concern is the donor parts...
Donors are likely to be highish mileage so what reconditioning issues are there? I would want to put a good engine in first time so apart from a "runner" as donor what are the issues to look at re the engine/gearbox?
sospan.
I am tempted by the BMW side of things too.
It will be my first build so I will probably need some advice etc
One concern is the underbonnet layout to
a)meet IVA
b)access for servicing etc
As for other build matters...well there seems to be a comprehensive package including weather gear etc to make the car more friendly for daily use.
VERY tempting package!
The only other concern is the donor parts...
Donors are likely to be highish mileage so what reconditioning issues are there? I would want to put a good engine in first time so apart from a "runner" as donor what are the issues to look at re the engine/gearbox?
sospan.
Hi Sospan,
Please feel free to give me a call and I'll try and answer any questions you may have. But to answer your first few questions... the Legend was one of the first cars to pass IVA and was designed from the outset for this test. Engine access, etc. is vastly superior to that of the donor car. As for high mileage, that depends on the donor car. We are able to recycle the mechanicals of both the BMW 3-series E36 and E46. This spans 1991 to 2006... a huge range of years and therefore mileages to choose from.
Peter
Please feel free to give me a call and I'll try and answer any questions you may have. But to answer your first few questions... the Legend was one of the first cars to pass IVA and was designed from the outset for this test. Engine access, etc. is vastly superior to that of the donor car. As for high mileage, that depends on the donor car. We are able to recycle the mechanicals of both the BMW 3-series E36 and E46. This spans 1991 to 2006... a huge range of years and therefore mileages to choose from.
Peter
Lots of questions on donors and things to consider, email me and I can give you a more comprehensive reply.
Generally BMWs do pretty high mileages without many problems and the tuning and spare parts scene is really massive, go have a hunt around your local newsagent and you will get the drift !
on 4 cyl petrol go after 1993 either M42 or M44 engine, on 6 cyl avoid the nikosil blocks, there is a way to tell.
Gearboxes, all pretty swappable, clutch slave fails at some point in its life.
BMW made most parts interchangeable with a few exceptions, and often moved them across models, so if you wanted a short shift for example you can use one from a 1999 Z3 in a 1992 E36 saloon, a bit of a fiddle to swap but with a bit of patience it is doable at home.
I ran my donor as my daily car for a while and it was surprisingly tight and rattly free, had a suspension problem but then not reusing that and the paint work was truly awful.
Plenty of choice out there, lots of kits are tempting for different reasons.
It is quite a big decision you are taking so you are right to take your time and do your research.
As for IVA I'll find out at some point, but not just yet.
Generally BMWs do pretty high mileages without many problems and the tuning and spare parts scene is really massive, go have a hunt around your local newsagent and you will get the drift !
on 4 cyl petrol go after 1993 either M42 or M44 engine, on 6 cyl avoid the nikosil blocks, there is a way to tell.
Gearboxes, all pretty swappable, clutch slave fails at some point in its life.
BMW made most parts interchangeable with a few exceptions, and often moved them across models, so if you wanted a short shift for example you can use one from a 1999 Z3 in a 1992 E36 saloon, a bit of a fiddle to swap but with a bit of patience it is doable at home.
I ran my donor as my daily car for a while and it was surprisingly tight and rattly free, had a suspension problem but then not reusing that and the paint work was truly awful.
Plenty of choice out there, lots of kits are tempting for different reasons.
It is quite a big decision you are taking so you are right to take your time and do your research.
As for IVA I'll find out at some point, but not just yet.
thanks everyone for the info.
I am going to look into it but hols beckon!
Lots to consider
V6 is VERY tempting!!!
Also details to be sorted and planning re reconditioning of parts etc.
I dont really want to spend too much time on re-builds etc so careful choice of donor is a must!
Also scope for tuning of 4-cyl
I'd like 150 bhp so V6 is great, but 4-pot may be ok!
Hmmmm.... lots to look at!
Thanks
sospan
I am going to look into it but hols beckon!
Lots to consider
V6 is VERY tempting!!!
Also details to be sorted and planning re reconditioning of parts etc.
I dont really want to spend too much time on re-builds etc so careful choice of donor is a must!
Also scope for tuning of 4-cyl
I'd like 150 bhp so V6 is great, but 4-pot may be ok!
Hmmmm.... lots to look at!
Thanks
sospan
BMW 4 cyl M42 /M44 are at 140bhp but strangled by a few things deliberately in the road car, to get past 150 on either of those engines is cheap to do without much effort.
The straight 6's are a heavier and you need to be careful in picking donor to avoid Nikosil ones, obviously more power straight away.
Obviously there are a few things that you don't need in kit cars so that takes a bit of the weight away from engine.
Enjoy your holiday.
The straight 6's are a heavier and you need to be careful in picking donor to avoid Nikosil ones, obviously more power straight away.
Obviously there are a few things that you don't need in kit cars so that takes a bit of the weight away from engine.
Enjoy your holiday.
I've spent a considerable amount of time searching for any info on kit cars fitted with the engine from the E46 M3, looking at the GKD website it seems they offer this option (the Legend Six 
)
I imagine using this engine in a lightweight 7 type kit car would offer unbelievable performance. I wonder if it is possible to utilise the SMG gearbox offered as an option on the E46 M3?
On a side note, does anyone know of any other 7 type car using the M3 drivetrain? Westfields etc?
Cheers
)I imagine using this engine in a lightweight 7 type kit car would offer unbelievable performance. I wonder if it is possible to utilise the SMG gearbox offered as an option on the E46 M3?
On a side note, does anyone know of any other 7 type car using the M3 drivetrain? Westfields etc?
Cheers
Toilet Duck said:
I've spent a considerable amount of time searching for any info on kit cars fitted with the engine from the E46 M3, looking at the GKD website it seems they offer this option (the Legend Six )
I imagine using this engine in a lightweight 7 type kit car would offer unbelievable performance. I wonder if it is possible to utilise the SMG gearbox offered as an option on the E46 M3?
On a side note, does anyone know of any other 7 type car using the M3 drivetrain? Westfields etc?
Cheers
WEll....... )I imagine using this engine in a lightweight 7 type kit car would offer unbelievable performance. I wonder if it is possible to utilise the SMG gearbox offered as an option on the E46 M3?
On a side note, does anyone know of any other 7 type car using the M3 drivetrain? Westfields etc?
Cheers
This is a 7esque chassis (the inboard MK) which is pretty damn fine.
And I know this clever chap who is putting an unusual body on it.
The pictures below are the first body, which has become the plug for more.
It's on gash wheels, and there's no engine in the car pictured.
The first one is Zetec powered, coming up for testing soon.
The second one will have the 323bhp E36 M3 engine in it.
Just sorry I'm not going to building another car!
sospan said:
thanks everyone for the info.
I am going to look into it but hols beckon!
Lots to consider
V6 is VERY tempting!!!
Also details to be sorted and planning re reconditioning of parts etc.
I dont really want to spend too much time on re-builds etc so careful choice of donor is a must!
Also scope for tuning of 4-cyl
I'd like 150 bhp so V6 is great, but 4-pot may be ok!
Hmmmm.... lots to look at!
Thanks
sospan
Just to be clear - BMW have never made a V6I am going to look into it but hols beckon!
Lots to consider
V6 is VERY tempting!!!
Also details to be sorted and planning re reconditioning of parts etc.
I dont really want to spend too much time on re-builds etc so careful choice of donor is a must!
Also scope for tuning of 4-cyl
I'd like 150 bhp so V6 is great, but 4-pot may be ok!
Hmmmm.... lots to look at!
Thanks
sospan
I looked at this car at Stoneleigh show and thought it looked well, the bmw
donor vehicle is probably going to a wise choice for many manufacturers moving forward.
The only thing that put me off as a junior builder was the lack of sales ( car only just launched ). I can see it becoming popular - I hope so, the 2 guys I spoke to at the show are so passionate about it .
donor vehicle is probably going to a wise choice for many manufacturers moving forward.
The only thing that put me off as a junior builder was the lack of sales ( car only just launched ). I can see it becoming popular - I hope so, the 2 guys I spoke to at the show are so passionate about it .
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