Automatic kit car

[hal 1]

Hi, I've fit an auto box to my Haldane 100, when i asked maker if it was possible i was told it wouldn't fit, but what do they know ? Mine was a bit bigger than the manual 5 speed ford but its in and works fine, go for it.

[Wheelrepairit]

Ok, wheres the best place for me to be looking for the car of my dreams.

Am browsing the autotrader,pistonheads site and of course fleabay.

Is it worth me buying a few magazines, of the kit car variety of course.

Im guessing this is buying season due to upcoming summer weather.

Pete

[steve_d]

As I said before, get yourself up to Stoneleigh on the 6/7 of next month. You will find most every make and model and many will be for sale.

Steve

[Locoblade]

I think you might be looking around for quite a while if you want to a second hand car with a proper auto box because 99% of people will fit a manual to this type of car. If you decide the BEC route is the way to go though, pretty much any BEC for sale could be converted to hand clutch and/or quickshifter fairly easily.

Edited by Locoblade on Friday 13th April 21:15

[JenkinsComp]

Wheelrepairit said:

Hi everyone, my 1st post, so please, be gentle.

Ok, bit of advice please.

Is there such a thing as an automatic kit car, such as locust,tiger,westfield, that kind of style.

Following a motorcross accident 3 yrs ago and having a spinal injury i do really need an auto, can drive a manual although its hard work.

So, is there hope, or am i banging my head against the wall.

Pete

Plenty of hope for you Pete!
I've just completed the first test of my self designed car, which is sort of 7 ish, but uses a new Chevrolet LS1 and automatic gearbox.
The reason I went for an auto was because by using a Gear Vendors overdrive unit, an ECU and paddle shift, I have a cheap 8 speed sequential gearbox that can handle 500bhp plus. Autos are far better for drag racing when you start running 9 second 1/4s, as they launch miles harder than a manual ever can. Another useful by product is that with just two pedals, it's like a big go kart to drive around a circuit! And I stil have manual shift. Best of both worlds.





There is only one so far, but maybe something like a Cobra is an alternative.
If it has a yank V8, then any of the TH350/TH400/4l60E/4L80E autos can use a Gear Vendors overdrive and hence be converted to manual gearchange. Any of the kits that you mentioned can accept an auto, but you will be hard pushed to find one built that way. If you find a kit you like with a Pinto or something, then a Sierra auto box could easily be used. Maybe a BMW 320 engine and auto box could be dropped in, find one from a scrappy.

Edited by JenkinsComp on Saturday 14th April 09:31

[stig mills]

You can buy a MEV Rocket kit if you fancy minimalist motoring. Donor is Ford Focus and there are plenty of auto cat D ones around (damage repairable with V5, no Q plate) These tend to be £800 to £1500. Regards Stig

[Locoblade]

stig mills said:

You can buy a MEV Rocket kit if you fancy minimalist motoring. Donor is Ford Focus and there are plenty of auto cat D ones around (damage repairable with V5, no Q plate) These tend to be £800 to £1500. Regards Stig

No offence Stig, but if every kit car manufacturer like yourself chipped in with "You could buy the car we sell" every time someone asked for advice on which kit to buy then it would soon get very clogged up with adverts!

I wish you all the luck in the world to make the car a success as I think it looks good and has potential, but replying to threads on Pistonheads like this doesn't give a good impression of the company in my opinion, not to mention the fact that it will eventually get you in trouble with the mods as they tend to not like their forums being used as free advertising space.

cheers

Chris

Edited by Locoblade on Saturday 14th April 11:39

[kenmorton]

O.K. not 7 type but there are acouple of Phantom Vortex running with auto boxes.

[Wheelrepairit]

How about this one folks

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl

Anybody think it may be possible to fit the "trickshift system" or even just a clutch lever onto the gear lever.

[Locoblade]

It should be possible to fit a trickshifter of some sort to it, as with most (if not all) BECs, and putting a hand clutch is effectively returning it to how it actuated on the bike so that shouldnt be a problem either, but if Im correct, the Cat E1 is the low end Tiger model that uses the entire Sierra rear suspension pretty much wholesale (ie the whole subframe), so is a fair bit heavier than a lot of seven type cars, with suspension design thats less than optimal for a lightweight sports car.

Edited by Locoblade on Sunday 15th April 17:58

[Wheelrepairit]

Ok folks, after a long search, a car has been found.

I wont say too much, just in case the owner is a member on here, however a viewing is on the cards so need any info you may have on car.

Its a sylva striker, with a 1600 xflow engine, and an auto box

Kent camshaft, with twin dellorto carbs.

Owner has been very helpful in sending me pics, car looks great and well looked after.

All im after really is things to look out for, is this a good engine to have in this style of car, blah blah blah.

The more info i have the better for when i take a look.

Thanks everyone.