im interested in cars
Discussion
It's good to hear someone of your age is interested in getting into the mechanics of cars - all we hear are fears that skills like that are dying out.
Have you done your work experience placements yet? Try and get them to place you in a garage (back when I was 15 a mate of mine got a placement in the workshops at Stratstones Ferrari, learnt a lot, was given a white-knuckle ride in an F355 around the back-lanes of Cheshire and was set on a career path for life - he now prepares rally cars), preferably one dealing in more 'unusual' cars, and speak to your careers advisors about the qualifications you'll need to get to the top of the trade, or if you fancy engineering the cars in the first place, the university qualifications that'll get you there.
If you missed out first time round, organise your own placement during a half-term holiday. Where abouts are you based?
ETA>> Just checked. Buckinghamshire. There should be loads.
Have you done your work experience placements yet? Try and get them to place you in a garage (back when I was 15 a mate of mine got a placement in the workshops at Stratstones Ferrari, learnt a lot, was given a white-knuckle ride in an F355 around the back-lanes of Cheshire and was set on a career path for life - he now prepares rally cars), preferably one dealing in more 'unusual' cars, and speak to your careers advisors about the qualifications you'll need to get to the top of the trade, or if you fancy engineering the cars in the first place, the university qualifications that'll get you there.
If you missed out first time round, organise your own placement during a half-term holiday. Where abouts are you based?
ETA>> Just checked. Buckinghamshire. There should be loads.
Edited by Twincam16 on Tuesday 4th January 14:58
Twincam16 said:
It's good to hear someone of your age is interested in getting into the mechanics of cars - all we hear are fears that skills like that are dying out.
Have you done your work experience placements yet? Try and get them to place you in a garage (back when I was 15 a mate of mine got a placement in the workshops at Stratstones Ferrari, learnt a lot, was given a white-knuckle ride in an F355 around the back-lanes of Cheshire and was set on a career path for life - he now prepares rally cars), preferably one dealing in more 'unusual' cars, and speak to your careers advisors about the qualifications you'll need to get to the top of the trade, or if you fancy engineering the cars in the first place, the university qualifications that'll get you there.
If you missed out first time round, organise your own placement during a half-term holiday. Where abouts are you based?
ETA>> Just checked. Buckinghamshire. There should be loads.
my dad is a workshop supervisor for BT some im doing my work experience there but thats not till around july time.. I might see about half terms or some time like that doing something with engineering or similar.Have you done your work experience placements yet? Try and get them to place you in a garage (back when I was 15 a mate of mine got a placement in the workshops at Stratstones Ferrari, learnt a lot, was given a white-knuckle ride in an F355 around the back-lanes of Cheshire and was set on a career path for life - he now prepares rally cars), preferably one dealing in more 'unusual' cars, and speak to your careers advisors about the qualifications you'll need to get to the top of the trade, or if you fancy engineering the cars in the first place, the university qualifications that'll get you there.
If you missed out first time round, organise your own placement during a half-term holiday. Where abouts are you based?
ETA>> Just checked. Buckinghamshire. There should be loads.
Edited by Twincam16 on Tuesday 4th January 14:58
Kinda irrelevant but i've just queried about marshalling as that will help me get to know some cars better and if i did end up doing some marshalling i could enquire about engineering. Im gunna have a look around and see wha i can find
edit : i meant im into the mechanical side (e.g taking engines apart, change parts of a car, things like that.)
Edited by the scott boy on Tuesday 4th January 15:07
- Lunch time is for eating, work time is for PH browsing 
Chris_w666 said:
If you live in a reasonably house, or at least one with a spacious driveway or garage why not ask for a classic car to work on as a birthday present and then gather bits for it in lieu of other presents until you can drive it yourself.
I have thought of this, but i dont know whether i could get a car cheap enough to do that :\ and i dont have buckets of space on my drive or garage, so i dont think it would be possibleChris_w666 said:
If you live in a reasonably house, or at least one with a spacious driveway or garage why not ask for a classic car to work on as a birthday present and then gather bits for it in lieu of other presents until you can drive it yourself.
Or better, build a kit car.Changes to insurance legislation mean that any registered car (ie, a restoration project) must be insured, even when declared SORN, which given the high cost of insurance these days will just be annoying.
However, build a kit car and until it's registered it's just a kit of parts, not a 'car'. Until you take it to the SVA centre it's no different to an Airfix kit.
We worked out on here that the best car for a young person truly interested in cars was a Citroen 2CV-based 3-wheeler, something like a Leighton CV3, Lomax 223 or Blackjack Avion. Lowest insurance group to start with, and three wheels means that you can drive it from the age of 16 on a provisional licence as long as you take your motorcycle CBT (a doddle on a scooter for a day). Low power, no roof and exposure to the elements means 30mph feels like 100, the engine's only got 2 cylinders (so not much to go wrong on it in the first place but also cheaper to fix when it does), and it will be infinitely cooler than any scooters anyone will get at 16, and any cars that normal kids usually end up lumbered with 17-21.
And unlike a scooter, you'll be able to keep it indefinitely without feeling like a prat the minute your mates start getting cars and wasting a load of money in the process.
Won't need loads of room to build it either. A normal size garage should do as it takes up roughly the same space as a motorbike and sidecar combination.
Edited by Twincam16 on Tuesday 4th January 15:41
Twincam16 said:
Chris_w666 said:
If you live in a reasonably house, or at least one with a spacious driveway or garage why not ask for a classic car to work on as a birthday present and then gather bits for it in lieu of other presents until you can drive it yourself.
Or better, build a kit car.Changes to insurance legislation mean that any registered car (ie, a restoration project) must be insured, even when declared SORN, which given the high cost of insurance these days will just be annoying.
However, build a kit car and until it's registered it's just a kit of parts, not a 'car'. Until you take it to the SVA centre it's no different to an Airfix kit.
We worked out on here that the best car for a young person truly interested in cars was a Citroen 2CV-based 3-wheeler, something like a Leighton CV3, Lomax 223 or Blackjack Avion. Lowest insurance group to start with, and three wheels means that you can drive it from the age of 16 on a provisional licence as long as you take your motorcycle CBT (a doddle on a scooter for a day). Low power, no roof and exposure to the elements means 30mph feels like 100, the engine's only got 2 cylinders (so not much to go wrong on it in the first place but also cheaper to fix when it does), and it will be infinitely cooler than any scooters anyone will get at 16, and any cars that normal kids usually end up lumbered with 17-21.
And unlike a scooter, you'll be able to keep it indefinitely without feeling like a prat the minute your mates start getting cars and wasting a load of money in the process.
Won't need loads of room to build it either. A normal size garage should do as it takes up roughly the same space as a motorbike and sidecar combination.
Edited by Twincam16 on Tuesday 4th January 15:41
Mr Will said:
Twincam16 said:
...must be insured, even when declared SORN...
You've got the wrong end of the stick there, It's all car must have insurance unless declared SORN, so you can have a project for as long as you like without having to tax or insure it.It states that the insurance database will be checked alongside the DVLA's registration database, and anyone owning a car without insurance will be fined, be given points, or possibly have their cars seized and crushed. In short, if it's got a numberplate, it needs insurance, or the government will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
Similar warnings have been printed in all the classic and restoration mags this month.
However, seeing as though a kit car under construction doesn't have a numberplate and has not been registered yet, you wouldn't need to worry about this as it wouldn't be on the DVLA's database yet.
Twincam16 said:
Mr Will said:
Twincam16 said:
...must be insured, even when declared SORN...
You've got the wrong end of the stick there, It's all car must have insurance unless declared SORN, so you can have a project for as long as you like without having to tax or insure it.It states that the insurance database will be checked alongside the DVLA's registration database, and anyone owning a car without insurance will be fined, be given points, or possibly have their cars seized and crushed. In short, if it's got a numberplate, it needs insurance, or the government will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
Similar warnings have been printed in all the classic and restoration mags this month.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicl...
DirectGov said:
The continuous insurance enforcement scheme will provide a new fixed penalty for people who ignore official reminders that their insurance has expired. This will apply to vehicles that are not declared as being off the road through SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) and not insured. Continuing offenders will risk having their vehicle seized and destroyed.
the scott boy said:
Twincam16 said:
Chris_w666 said:
If you live in a reasonably house, or at least one with a spacious driveway or garage why not ask for a classic car to work on as a birthday present and then gather bits for it in lieu of other presents until you can drive it yourself.
Or better, build a kit car.Changes to insurance legislation mean that any registered car (ie, a restoration project) must be insured, even when declared SORN, which given the high cost of insurance these days will just be annoying.
However, build a kit car and until it's registered it's just a kit of parts, not a 'car'. Until you take it to the SVA centre it's no different to an Airfix kit.
We worked out on here that the best car for a young person truly interested in cars was a Citroen 2CV-based 3-wheeler, something like a Leighton CV3, Lomax 223 or Blackjack Avion. Lowest insurance group to start with, and three wheels means that you can drive it from the age of 16 on a provisional licence as long as you take your motorcycle CBT (a doddle on a scooter for a day). Low power, no roof and exposure to the elements means 30mph feels like 100, the engine's only got 2 cylinders (so not much to go wrong on it in the first place but also cheaper to fix when it does), and it will be infinitely cooler than any scooters anyone will get at 16, and any cars that normal kids usually end up lumbered with 17-21.
And unlike a scooter, you'll be able to keep it indefinitely without feeling like a prat the minute your mates start getting cars and wasting a load of money in the process.
Won't need loads of room to build it either. A normal size garage should do as it takes up roughly the same space as a motorbike and sidecar combination.
Edited by Twincam16 on Tuesday 4th January 15:41
The rest of it is in the kit itself. Here's the Lomax site: http://www.sportsandleisurecars.co.uk/index_006.ht...
Price list is on there. Spread out bit-by-bit over the years before you can drive it should be fairly cheap to amass the various bits, and unlike a classic, they'll mainly be new and won't all need recomissioning before use - although get as much as you can off the Citroen before buying the bits from Lomax.
The Blackjack is similar but a lot more expensive: http://www.blackjackzero.com/mainindex.htm
the scott boy said:
Are there any car magazines you would recommend I buy?
For mechanical aspects of car maintenance, build and repair, Practical Classics, Classics Monthly, Car Mechanics and Practical Performance Car are all good.If you want to know about kit cars, then Total Kit Cars, Kit Car Magazine and Which Kit Car are your port of call.
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