Discussion
Mere-Grand said:
Thanks.
Do you have a link to this thread?
Found it again, as it was linked to a new one here: https://www.caterhamlotus7.club/forum/chitchat/som...
I've been following your build on the FB page (I'm Iain) but I'd not realised some of the work that had gone into this until looking at this PH thread. It really is absolutely staggering. I was wondering where the wheels had come from, I thought you'd had them machined specially. Was it the availability of the wheels that decided the scale of the car?
Honestly, if you are not already doing so I absolutely think you should put this into production...as a barometer the baby Bugatti costs £62,000, so I'm sure there is a profit, and a much bigger market for you to do this!
https://bugattibaby.com/
Here's my effort on a small car for my lad...I was quite proud of it but I think I need to up my game!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well done again, an incredible build!
Honestly, if you are not already doing so I absolutely think you should put this into production...as a barometer the baby Bugatti costs £62,000, so I'm sure there is a profit, and a much bigger market for you to do this!
https://bugattibaby.com/
Here's my effort on a small car for my lad...I was quite proud of it but I think I need to up my game!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well done again, an incredible build!
Hard-Drive said:
I've been following your build on the FB page (I'm Iain) but I'd not realised some of the work that had gone into this until looking at this PH thread. It really is absolutely staggering. I was wondering where the wheels had come from, I thought you'd had them machined specially. Was it the availability of the wheels that decided the scale of the car?
Honestly, if you are not already doing so I absolutely think you should put this into production...as a barometer the baby Bugatti costs £62,000, so I'm sure there is a profit, and a much bigger market for you to do this!
https://bugattibaby.com/
Here's my effort on a small car for my lad...I was quite proud of it but I think I need to up my game!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well done again, an incredible build!
Thank you very much. Honestly, if you are not already doing so I absolutely think you should put this into production...as a barometer the baby Bugatti costs £62,000, so I'm sure there is a profit, and a much bigger market for you to do this!
https://bugattibaby.com/
Here's my effort on a small car for my lad...I was quite proud of it but I think I need to up my game!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well done again, an incredible build!
The rims are KN Jupiter, the same as Caterham's but in 5x10. These rims were mounted mainly on the Minis intended for the Canadian market. They are quite hard to find now. And to make it look correct, they're fitted with 145/60R10 tires. This size doesn't exist anymore. I've found NOS tires from the 90's. In a first time, I put 145/80r10 Mini tires but I didn't like how it looked. But I can fit any Mini wheels, including Minilites. I should look for a similar size tires too.
The moulds for this body were created by an enthusiast in France in the 80s. He made a dozen mini Caterhams but they weren't as detailed as mine. (No roll bar, no air vents on the bonnet, etc.)
In 2016, I bought the moulds and I made the choice to make the most accurate replica possible. I reproduced the bonnet air vents, made a roll bar, seats, exhaust, logos, grille, windshield, wishbones that look like real ones, etc. Even fake K&N filters were made from a flat alloy sheet.
I plan to produce a few cars. How much do you think they should sell for?
I'm still waiting for the boot cover and it will be finished. Then I'll try to contact Caterham Cars.
Last february, I visited Rétromobile in Paris and on the Caterham's stand, I spoke to the sales director and he was interested in having it for next year's Rétromobile. That's a good start.
Mere-Grand said:
Hard-Drive said:
I've been following your build on the FB page (I'm Iain) but I'd not realised some of the work that had gone into this until looking at this PH thread. It really is absolutely staggering. I was wondering where the wheels had come from, I thought you'd had them machined specially. Was it the availability of the wheels that decided the scale of the car?
Honestly, if you are not already doing so I absolutely think you should put this into production...as a barometer the baby Bugatti costs £62,000, so I'm sure there is a profit, and a much bigger market for you to do this!
https://bugattibaby.com/
Here's my effort on a small car for my lad...I was quite proud of it but I think I need to up my game!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well done again, an incredible build!
Thank you very much. Honestly, if you are not already doing so I absolutely think you should put this into production...as a barometer the baby Bugatti costs £62,000, so I'm sure there is a profit, and a much bigger market for you to do this!
https://bugattibaby.com/
Here's my effort on a small car for my lad...I was quite proud of it but I think I need to up my game!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well done again, an incredible build!
The rims are KN Jupiter, the same as Caterham's but in 5x10. These rims were mounted mainly on the Minis intended for the Canadian market. They are quite hard to find now. And to make it look correct, they're fitted with 145/60R10 tires. This size doesn't exist anymore. I've found NOS tires from the 90's. In a first time, I put 145/80r10 Mini tires but I didn't like how it looked. But I can fit any Mini wheels, including Minilites. I should look for a similar size tires too.
The moulds for this body were created by an enthusiast in France in the 80s. He made a dozen mini Caterhams but they weren't as detailed as mine. (No roll bar, no air vents on the bonnet, etc.)
In 2016, I bought the moulds and I made the choice to make the most accurate replica possible. I reproduced the bonnet air vents, made a roll bar, seats, exhaust, logos, grille, windshield, wishbones that look like real ones, etc. Even fake K&N filters were made from a flat alloy sheet.
I plan to produce a few cars. How much do you think they should sell for?
I'm still waiting for the boot cover and it will be finished. Then I'll try to contact Caterham Cars.
Last february, I visited Rétromobile in Paris and on the Caterham's stand, I spoke to the sales director and he was interested in having it for next year's Rétromobile. That's a good start.
Personally, I'd probably steer clear of Caterham. I suspect that they would start asking for royalties etc (although I'd love to be wrong!). I think you would be far better selling it yourself as a "Seven Style Children's Car". Stick a Caterham badge on it and I think you'd be on shaky ground!
The Land Rover I built was from Toylander. What is great about Toylander is that you can either buy a complete vehicle ready to go, a full kit, or just the plans and any parts you don't fancy fabricating yourself. I went down the plans route, and actually made a lot of modifications to the Toylander design to make it much more realistic.
Personally, I think nothing could be better than you offering this in "kit" form, with the ability to personalise the build, with options on cycle guards, aeroscreens etc etc. My son was too young at the time to really help me with my Land Rover build, but he is now 7 and would love nothing more than building a replica of his old man's acid green R400!
Price wise, a ready to go Toylander is about £4500. I put mine together for £1000. At the other end of the scale those Bugattis are £40k to £60k.
On the basis that a Toylander money at £4500 would just about get you a half passable full size Land Rover, and your 7 is much more complex, I'd be fairly sure you could sell a complete car at around the £12-15k mark (you can't make it more expensive to buy the small version than the full size one!) I think if you could get a DIY one up and running for £4-5k, perhaps with lower spec wheels, details, drivetrain, suspension etc, that would seem a reasonable price point, but I have no idea what your production costs were or how things would work if you "scaled" for production.
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