my first kit car
Discussion
Hi one and all
lookin at building either a tiger super six, cat e1 or robin hood 2b.
Anyone on here got any input about which is the best for a new builder.
read dome of the previous posts about single garage builds and cat e1 having all sierra rear suspension.
anyone care to expand on the merits of the above
cheers
also does the donor car need to be mot'd to keep the plate?
steve
lookin at building either a tiger super six, cat e1 or robin hood 2b.
Anyone on here got any input about which is the best for a new builder.
read dome of the previous posts about single garage builds and cat e1 having all sierra rear suspension.
anyone care to expand on the merits of the above
cheers
also does the donor car need to be mot'd to keep the plate?
steve
Robin Hood are ones to steer clear of, based on the mass opinion of people on here.
I like the Tiger Cat, but i can't hold an unbiased opinion as its the only kit car i have been in. There are various others for sale for around the same price, so may be worth a look. MK Indy for example.
I like the Tiger Cat, but i can't hold an unbiased opinion as its the only kit car i have been in. There are various others for sale for around the same price, so may be worth a look. MK Indy for example.
I didn't build i bought but went down the same route as you, which way to go :scratchin:
I went for the Tiger Cat E1 partly because the Sierra setup, nice cheap parts if needed and plenty available. I love my car, (look at photo in profile) it is great fun to drive.
As said above the Robin Hoods do get a slating but at the Detling show this year there were loads and some really nice examples. The Robin Hood stand was far superior than the Tiger stand and they are clearly trying to make an impression at the moment. The Robin Hood as far as i know uses everything from the Sierra, including clocks and seat. The Tiger uses major components, gearbox, engine rear end, i think the front is made up from Cortina.
The best places to look for advice are here:
www.tigerownersclub.co.uk
www.locostbuilders.co.uk
The locost site will be quicker with response and there many different types of cars.
Hope this helps and enjoy.
D
I went for the Tiger Cat E1 partly because the Sierra setup, nice cheap parts if needed and plenty available. I love my car, (look at photo in profile) it is great fun to drive.
As said above the Robin Hoods do get a slating but at the Detling show this year there were loads and some really nice examples. The Robin Hood stand was far superior than the Tiger stand and they are clearly trying to make an impression at the moment. The Robin Hood as far as i know uses everything from the Sierra, including clocks and seat. The Tiger uses major components, gearbox, engine rear end, i think the front is made up from Cortina.
The best places to look for advice are here:
www.tigerownersclub.co.uk
www.locostbuilders.co.uk
The locost site will be quicker with response and there many different types of cars.
Hope this helps and enjoy.
D
Hi Steve
I built a 2.0 Litre Zetec powered Tiger Super 6 in 2004. Loved every minute of the build, one of the best things I have ever done. I bought all the donor parts and kit from Chester Sportscars. Buying it through them, if you get stuck they'll always help. Still running the car now but would love to build another kit. I've got plenty of info on Super 6's and plenty of pics. If you want any advice or a chat let me know. Youre welcome to look at my car if youre near the North West.
Good Luck
I built a 2.0 Litre Zetec powered Tiger Super 6 in 2004. Loved every minute of the build, one of the best things I have ever done. I bought all the donor parts and kit from Chester Sportscars. Buying it through them, if you get stuck they'll always help. Still running the car now but would love to build another kit. I've got plenty of info on Super 6's and plenty of pics. If you want any advice or a chat let me know. Youre welcome to look at my car if youre near the North West.
Good Luck
Hi Steve,
I built and have run a Tiger Cat for four years. You're welcome to take a look (I'm in South Gloucestershire which is a pleasant drive from parts of Hampshire) Or I could be persuaded to head south if the weather is good.
The Tiger Cat can get an age related plate if you keep evidence of the Sierra Donor, whereas I believe the Super Six uses a greater mix of donor parts (golf front uprights?) so usually gets a Q plate (someone correct me)
I'll refrain from commenting on the Robin Hood. Ask Peetbee who has experience of both cars.
Kev
I built and have run a Tiger Cat for four years. You're welcome to take a look (I'm in South Gloucestershire which is a pleasant drive from parts of Hampshire) Or I could be persuaded to head south if the weather is good.
The Tiger Cat can get an age related plate if you keep evidence of the Sierra Donor, whereas I believe the Super Six uses a greater mix of donor parts (golf front uprights?) so usually gets a Q plate (someone correct me)
I'll refrain from commenting on the Robin Hood. Ask Peetbee who has experience of both cars.
Kev
I'd look at the MK indy if it was my money, its the most accurate visually of a Caterham 7. The road test reports (particularly of bike engined examples) have been favorable.And they seem like a nice bunch. It depends on what you want to do with it really, but if a car is made up of unmodified Sierra parts its will probobly drive like a sierra too. I have only driven a 2.0 Pinto Robin Hood (dynamically awful) and a CAT E1, not much better and felt massive and bulky compared to a Caterham. Taken in isolation, all the cars including a Robin Hood will be fun to drive, but if a "group test" of budget 7-alikes was theoretically conducted by someone like EVO magazine, who would not look through rose tinted glasses (unlike some kit-car press) a few budget cars would shine and a few would get DESTROYED. My advice is test drive a few demo cars. ALWAYS remember you can buy a genuine used crossflow Caterham for £7K, so do not waste your £7k building something that vaguely resembles a 7 but drives like a lightweight Ford Sierra.
If I was choosing between a Robin Hood and a Tiger, then the Tiger would be the one I'd go for.
I spent a lot of time making things fit where they had supposedly been designed to go, whereas the Tiger fits together properly.
This is more in respect of the look of the car, things would have gone together but you wouldn't have been happy with the look of it, nor would they neccesarily have functioned as well as the equivalent on the Tiger.
However, if you're on a tight budget then the RH seems hard to beat. Also you may be one of these people who is happy to spend hours on those sorts of jobs. There was certainly a great deal of satisfaction in overcoming some of these faults.
Thanks to TigerK taking me out for a spin I've got the bug again and want another 7, trouble is they don't make 4 seaters!
I spent a lot of time making things fit where they had supposedly been designed to go, whereas the Tiger fits together properly.
This is more in respect of the look of the car, things would have gone together but you wouldn't have been happy with the look of it, nor would they neccesarily have functioned as well as the equivalent on the Tiger.
However, if you're on a tight budget then the RH seems hard to beat. Also you may be one of these people who is happy to spend hours on those sorts of jobs. There was certainly a great deal of satisfaction in overcoming some of these faults.
Thanks to TigerK taking me out for a spin I've got the bug again and want another 7, trouble is they don't make 4 seaters!
UNFORTUNATELY somebody does now make a 4-seater 7! Cannot remember the name but they had it on display at Detling. Not wanting to shoot them down in flames, but.......... my God it was hideous. Supposedly it was a first prototype but even so it was not good. The worst think was the rollcage only went round the two rear occupants, like a square box cage. The driver and front seat passenger were exposed, it looked so wrong. Try to Google it and find it!
Of the three listed it would have to be the Tiger 6. The Cat would next on the list, but using the large, very heavy and relatively poorly performing semi-trailing rear suspension from the Sierra is a poor choice IMO. I'd much rather have a live axle than poor independant suspension.
Why limit yourself to Tiger though? The market is saturated with 7 type cars and some of them are very good indeed. Have a look at the MNR Vortx, MAC1 or Stuart Taylor to name a few or better yet get yourself up to Stoneleigh this Sunday/Monday and have a look around.
Why limit yourself to Tiger though? The market is saturated with 7 type cars and some of them are very good indeed. Have a look at the MNR Vortx, MAC1 or Stuart Taylor to name a few or better yet get yourself up to Stoneleigh this Sunday/Monday and have a look around.
Edited by MR2Mike on Friday 4th May 12:45
Furyblade_Lee said:
UNFORTUNATELY somebody does now make a 4-seater 7! Cannot remember the name but they had it on display at Detling. Not wanting to shoot them down in flames, but.......... my God it was hideous. Supposedly it was a first prototype but even so it was not good. The worst think was the rollcage only went round the two rear occupants, like a square box cage. The driver and front seat passenger were exposed, it looked so wrong. Try to Google it and find it!
Its called a Vindicator Sprint Family and Im building one
It is the only 4 seat option if you dont want a retro style or something that looks like a euro box.
it retains the handling of the 2 seater and has a larger boot than the 2 seater standard boot option.
have spoken to john at vindicator and he confirms he has already discussed with several people to sort a six point roll cage which would cover front 2 seats should anybody require it
Edited by tiger_drew on Friday 4th May 15:22
Edited by tiger_drew on Friday 4th May 15:29
I agree with the Raw striker option. They are a superb kit and a bit different from the usual 7 look. I bought a 16v toyota engine from Raw engineering for my westfield and it is superb,and again it is completely different from the nomally used ford zetec, they rev properly. Raw is an excellent company to deal with and they are well worth a visit.
Hi Again
yes found the raw striker last week and had a chat with the director
as a biker he recommends going the bike engined route (r1 or blade)
but they also do these twin cam toyota engines which sound pretty good
my wuestion is how will a bike engine stand up to the strain of pulling round 500kg of car
and all the extra stress through 2 large tyres, I dont want to be looking at large rebuild costs
guess the toyaota will be bullet proof as usual and go on for ever.
anyone built bike engined kits?
what u reckon
cheers
steve
yes found the raw striker last week and had a chat with the director
as a biker he recommends going the bike engined route (r1 or blade)
but they also do these twin cam toyota engines which sound pretty good
my wuestion is how will a bike engine stand up to the strain of pulling round 500kg of car
and all the extra stress through 2 large tyres, I dont want to be looking at large rebuild costs
guess the toyaota will be bullet proof as usual and go on for ever.
anyone built bike engined kits?
what u reckon
cheers
steve
My bought a Toyota 16v 4age twin cam from Raw engineering as a kit and it came modified for the twin 45's and the Omex DIS ignition, Also came with a bell housing to fit a type 9 box.
I tested a 155BHP zetec at Westfield and was disapointed at the lack of revs, it seemed out of puff at 6500rpm. I then went out in Raw's Toyota engined demo and was blown away by the 8500rpm, It just seemed so much more urgent, so I had to buy it.
They now supply a 20 valve version with 155bhp which I have also been round a track in (Raw's striker demo) with a proper driver and we blew the doors of a M400 Noble and everything else on the track.
As a package, the striker and 20 valve engine are just superb an the track and road,
I tested a 155BHP zetec at Westfield and was disapointed at the lack of revs, it seemed out of puff at 6500rpm. I then went out in Raw's Toyota engined demo and was blown away by the 8500rpm, It just seemed so much more urgent, so I had to buy it.
They now supply a 20 valve version with 155bhp which I have also been round a track in (Raw's striker demo) with a proper driver and we blew the doors of a M400 Noble and everything else on the track.
As a package, the striker and 20 valve engine are just superb an the track and road,
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