A few (maybe stupid Qs)
Discussion
Evening all,
I keep popping into the kit car section for a nose about.
In the next year I may be looking to change my MX5, quite tempted by a 2nd hand kit. However, looking down the classifieds there appears to be such a wide range of Caterfield-type cars.
I gather that some may have older doner parts - but how much difference is there between these for instance?
The thought of something road legal for sub £2k seems too tempting!
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I keep popping into the kit car section for a nose about.
In the next year I may be looking to change my MX5, quite tempted by a 2nd hand kit. However, looking down the classifieds there appears to be such a wide range of Caterfield-type cars.
I gather that some may have older doner parts - but how much difference is there between these for instance?
The thought of something road legal for sub £2k seems too tempting!
1
2
3
Have you looked at these makes of car close up?
Even to an enthusiast without any car design training like me, there is a big difference between the visible quality of the chassis and suspension design of various brands. If you go to a kit show and have a good look you'll see what I mean.
The other thing to remember is what is the standard of build quality. It is possible to attach wishbones upside down on some kits.
If you buy a kit built Caterham, as long as it has the post build check stamp in the owners handbook, you can be sure it was built correctly and was well set up initially. This and the development they have put in over many years is partly why they command such high prices.
Other makes are very good. I've owned a Westfield and was very impressed with the chassis/suspension design, and my brother has a Fury which is superb to drive.
It is possible to build one of the cheaper kits to a very high standard, and all of them can be made to drive well or they wouldn't have survived. If you are competent to set the car up yourself, it can be done. However, at a track day, I was talking to someone who'd bought a cheap 7 style car which was going very well. It was a lot quicker than my brother's Fury! However, he told me that to get the car working so well, he'd spent almost as much as he'd have spent on a Caterham, and he now had a car with very little second hand value.
I hope you find my thoughts useful.
Even to an enthusiast without any car design training like me, there is a big difference between the visible quality of the chassis and suspension design of various brands. If you go to a kit show and have a good look you'll see what I mean.
The other thing to remember is what is the standard of build quality. It is possible to attach wishbones upside down on some kits.
If you buy a kit built Caterham, as long as it has the post build check stamp in the owners handbook, you can be sure it was built correctly and was well set up initially. This and the development they have put in over many years is partly why they command such high prices.
Other makes are very good. I've owned a Westfield and was very impressed with the chassis/suspension design, and my brother has a Fury which is superb to drive.
It is possible to build one of the cheaper kits to a very high standard, and all of them can be made to drive well or they wouldn't have survived. If you are competent to set the car up yourself, it can be done. However, at a track day, I was talking to someone who'd bought a cheap 7 style car which was going very well. It was a lot quicker than my brother's Fury! However, he told me that to get the car working so well, he'd spent almost as much as he'd have spent on a Caterham, and he now had a car with very little second hand value.
I hope you find my thoughts useful.
To be honest any thing below 4'5 /5K wil either dissapoint you or and need a bunch of money spending on it. I run a car which many on here would not consider, an early '96'monocoque Robin hood, as bought the basics were there but a lot needed doing but were not serius enough to stop me using it, having spent a few years on the spanners [40+] I haave been able to keep costs to an affordable[just] level and in the last 8/9 years it's provided me with a few head aches but many more enjoyable trips inc 3 memorable trips to LeMANs in approx 32k miles my advise is look long and hard before you commit and like the man said --be care full out there !
a kit which was well constructed from the kit-manufacturer will be a good basic.
Locost could be good, but its all based on the guy who built it (as even the chassis was built from scratch, according to a book).
e.g. older robin hood kits came from the "factory" in a very vague state. so it was also up to the builder to gain a proper result. as it was sold as a "cheap" alternative to other kits, the result was mostly "cheap" too (most robins are crap imo)
but when you compare prices you might found a robin being sold for 3.5k, also a sylva striker or a westfield are sold for the same price.
the difference is: 3.5.k robins are offered every week. a westfield or a striker in that price range every 2-3 months.
even these westfields or strikers have some small things to sort , they are much better cars than a robin could ever be!!!
Locost could be good, but its all based on the guy who built it (as even the chassis was built from scratch, according to a book).
e.g. older robin hood kits came from the "factory" in a very vague state. so it was also up to the builder to gain a proper result. as it was sold as a "cheap" alternative to other kits, the result was mostly "cheap" too (most robins are crap imo)
but when you compare prices you might found a robin being sold for 3.5k, also a sylva striker or a westfield are sold for the same price.
the difference is: 3.5.k robins are offered every week. a westfield or a striker in that price range every 2-3 months.
even these westfields or strikers have some small things to sort , they are much better cars than a robin could ever be!!!
Edited by Comadis on Monday 13th June 22:50
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