Newbie looking for advice

[BigBazza]

Afternoon Chaps,

Ive had enough of plugging around in my discovery and need something to give me "that" feeling again.

I have had a Cerbera in the past so need something seriously quick but more reliable and cheaper as this would be a second car.

Westfield with a bike engine maybe? Really not sure, any advice/pointers most welcome!

Thanks

Barry

[DamienCBR]

Hi There,

Depends on budget and what you are going to use it for.

Bike engines tend to lend themself more so to track days but it is personal preference. You do not need a lot of power to go very quickly in a 7 type car.

D

[BigBazza]

Hi Damien,

Not really bothered about trackdays, plenty of nice roads round here, budget say £5k-£10.

I am going to keep the disco as my daily, just need a bit of fun.

This is just the kind of advice I need, Thanks

[Snake the Sniper]

I run a bike engined seven on the road. I find it's quite hard to use all the car has to give, as I either run into traffic all the time (going to happen when you drive as quickly as you can in a 7), or due to conditions. I have to wear a crash hat though, so can't see bugger all if it rains. What ype of car are you after? My 7 is huge amounts of fun, but my 205 Mi16 GTi is probably quicker once you get up to a reasonable speed, and more usable, as it has windows and a roof. Depends what kind of thrill you want, as I can still scare the poo out of passengers in both my cars!

[BigBazza]

Im not a 205gti kind of person, no offence, I just like off the wall kind of stuff, ariel atoms, westfields, TVRs - I'm not overly technical so would I struggle with a kit car?

[X-man]

Barry, i have been in your postion(see profile) i eventually i opted for a Stylus RT , it only has 185 bhp(about 316 per ton) but it is FUN and you can always up the power plus its a bit different if you don't like seven clones.

[Mark Benson]

Would you struggle with a kit car? Not necessarily.
There are plenty of people out there who can look after one for you, since they're made from bits of other cars they're no different to an older TVR in that respect Except you'd probably use a trusted independant garage instead of a main dealer, so it would be cheaper (and arguably better service too).
If it's for predominantly road driving, then a car engined kit would be a better bet than bike engined, for most people (hardcore excepted) bike engined cars are a bit raw for regular road use.

You don't mention budget which plays a big part in what to recommend, what sort of money are you thinking?
How practical (ie. full roof, fabric hood and screen or just a wind deflector?) does it need to be?
Any other considerations (garaged? wife has to drive etc), anything you'd like?

Edited by Mark Benson on Wednesday 4th July 17:42

[DamienCBR]

BigBazza said:

Hi Damien,

Not really bothered about trackdays, plenty of nice roads round here, budget say £5k-£10.

I am going to keep the disco as my daily, just need a bit of fun.

This is just the kind of advice I need, Thanks

If you are looking at a 7 then you have a few options

Westfield
Tiger
MK
Robin Hood
Locost

and a few others. I spent allot of time looking at the pros and cons of all the above. I decided againts Caterham because they were out of my budget. I ended up buying a Tiger Cat E1 (which is now up for sale).....shameless plug!

Westfields - In your budget you could get a really nice one running a Zetec engine somewhere around 160-180bhp

Tiger - At the top end of your budget you could get the B6 or R6, check out their website, actually i think one sold recently on here. Other than that there is the Cat E1, based on a Sierra donna and then the Super Six, both of which you could get nice examples of.

MK - Tend to have bike engines these days as they are lighter middle range of your budget to the low end.

Robin Hood - Is basically a Sierra with a different body. Actually that is not fair, they are less well regarded than others but there is still plenty out there.

Locost - Check out www.locostbuilders.co.uk loads of info on there.

They are great fun, i bought mine as fun for the weekend to replace my CBR600RR, nothing can touch in in the twistes and with the acceleration you would need to spend serious money to get close with a normal car.

D

[DamienCBR]

BigBazza said:

I'm not overly technical so would I struggle with a kit car?

NO!

Mine is a simple 2.0L Pinto engine running twin 45's. I have basic knowledge but then that is what a Haynes book is for. Also the Pinto Engine has been around for over 25 years so it is tried and tested. Newer option is the Zetec again tried and tested. Or Vauxhall Red Top DOHC, X-Flow, Duratec (loads of power), or Toyat 4age.

D

[grahambell]

Hi Baz, welcome to PH.

As you'll gather from previous posters, you've got more than a few options. One that sounds like it might suit you very well though is Westfield's Mazda SDV.

Takes all its parts from one car - an MX5 - comes with years of Westfield experience so should be a straightforward build and can be built within your budget.

For more info see http://www.pistonheads.com/roadtests/doc.asp?c=111...

[Jon Ison]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...


Know the car and the builder, worth a look.

[BigBazza]

Thanks guys for all this brilliant info - I'm going to have a browse of the classifieds and ebay/AT etc.

One final point, i'm 6'4" tall, is that going to be a problem?

Cheers

[DamienCBR]

BigBazza said:

Thanks guys for all this brilliant info - I'm going to have a browse of the classifieds and ebay/AT etc.

One final point, i'm 6'4" tall, is that going to be a problem?

Cheers

Shouldn't be. Most cars will be set up to fit the driver, in other words the seat does not move. Mine has a movable seat much like a normal car however i drive it with it all the way back and i am 5'9".

Good luck

D

[JenkinsComp]

BigBazza said:

Thanks guys for all this brilliant info - I'm going to have a browse of the classifieds and ebay/AT etc.

One final point, i'm 6'4" tall, is that going to be a problem?

Cheers

I'm 6'2" and fit in a Sylva Fury or Caterham pretty easily. It's a squeeze, but being bolted so closely to the chassis is what gives you such a close feeling of what is happening. My Fury makes 240bhp in 620kgs - enough to frighten superbikes. The Vauxhall XE is an awesome engine, reliable and torquey.
I would always go for a car engine over a bike if you plan to use it on the road, it's no fun to cane around for an hour only to get a cracking headache. I reckon you should be able to find examples similar to my Fury or similar spec Westfields for between 5 and 10 grand. If I were you I would go for a newer engine running coil packs ignition, which eliminates the unreliability of older engines that run points and contact breaker ignition. Zetec, Duratec, Vauxhall Ecotec or Vauxhall XE are probably the best 4 cylinder engines around. You can get good power out of all of them without breaking the bank. You only need about 150bhp anyway really to get near Cerbera performance.

There are plenty of garages around to help you run such a car if you don't want to do it yourself.
Just ask people on here for their local specialist! :-)

Edited by JenkinsComp on Sunday 8th July 10:53

[JamesK]

Bazza I am in a similar situation and am 6'5" tall. Having done some reading it seems size is not an issue but more needs to be altered the bigger you are. Things to do seem to be fit a racing seat, bolt it directly to floor, adjust pedal box (floor fitted seems better), fit an extending boss to the steering column etcetc.

I'm not sure how easy or expensive all this is and I am no techy either. I guess I am waiting for someone really tall to sell their westfield 2ltr Duratec preferably!

[kriss]

I am in a similar postion however want to buy ready built and re owned. Budget is 7-8k and i am six foot 4 too.

Took at Caterham SV our thismorning and loved it, but got my head scratching when i was thinking how hard is going to be to find a car that fits me and in my budget. i'm not a large build, just long legs!

please help with 7 style reconmendations

[jimgiblett]

kriss said:

Budget is 7-8k and i am six foot 4 too.

That budget wont buy much of a Cateringvan particularly SVs. You might pick up a Westy SeiW but i think they are still a bit tight for the tall.

Plenty of nice MK Indys about for that budget (similar spec to a Cateringvan SV but without the badge cache).

Or maybe a Striker if you want to be a bit different. Depends on if you are just tall or tall and wide (if the latter a Striker might be a squeeze).

- Jim

[kriss]

I know a Caterham SV is well out my budget. Badge is not a real issue, just comfort!

Im tall, and pretty skinny ir anything.

Any specific models you can reconmend at all rather than just manufactures?

Looking to buy feb 2008

[jimgiblett]

kriss said:

I know a Caterham SV is well out my budget. Badge is not a real issue, just comfort!

Comfort...lol

You'd be better off with a full bodied car with a screen.

A Fisher Fury or a SSC Stylus

MK is the make Indy is the model

Raw is the make (Sylva if it is more than 3yrs or so old) Striker is the model

Spec is wide from bike engined to V8

You will need to trawl the net and manufacturers websites to see what you like.

- Jim