Formula27-any comments?

[oldboyracer]

Recently been to Jonathan Palmers Motorsport Sensation and i MUST get a Caterfield type motah for next year. Caterhams seem dear for poor old me, seen a few of these for sale (cant be doing with building myself-I would run out of steam after about 3 hours) at good prices but know nothing about them?
Any experiences/comments peeps?

Cheers
KW

[accident]

f27 are as good or as bad as any other kit.
a good dutton is better than a bad westie!
the standard f27 chassis is a good one,resale price is ruled by rear axle/engine/finish quality.
plus any special parts.
a rough live axle pinto that looks like its been thrown together will struggle to make £2000.
where as an independant well finished kit with a good engine might make £10000.
visit all points in between and find the car you want.
dont limit yourself to f27.
a lot of locosts out there that are very good.
ive yet to see a good robin hood(even thier show car is a shed)

[kitcarman]

oldboyraceer,
Have a look at this thread.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=59166&f=30&h=0

[oldboyracer]

Cheers kitcarman, it was actually the ad referred to on that thread that started me off and not being a 7 stone midget I need a wider car! There was a V8 RPI tuned one on there (findit.co.uk) as well and a Tornado V8 which I've never heard of. Good advice chaps. Cheers KW

[dino ferrana]

If you have driven a Caterham then a V8 7 replica will be VERY different. Even if it is fitted with a lightweight V8 it will still be MUCH heavier than the K-Series engines of the JPMS Caterhams.

Caterhams even those built as a kit are a class apart because the kits are in a fairly advanced state of completion when you get them. This is part of the reason they cost more.

Spend a bit more and stick in on finance. Money is really cheap currently and Caterhams are the only car in the market that you can finace I believe!

[welshy]

accident said:

the standard f27 chassis is a good one,resale price is ruled by rear axle/engine/finish quality. plus any special parts. a rough live axle pinto that looks like its been thrown together will struggle to make £2000. where as an independant well finished kit with a good engine might make £10000

Hi, first post here! Great site and forum with lots of knowledgeable owners. Being new to kit cars, what constitutes a good rear axle/engine for a BEC? Theres a F27 advertised with.....R1 engine/XR4 LSD/PERFORMANCE ADJUSTABLE SUSPENSION ALL ROUND/IRS INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION/DISCS ALL ROUND/NEW QUAIFE REVERSE BOX AND PROPS....would this constitute good? Also, I have read lots about the sump casusing some problems on BEC depending on the engine. What engines does this affect and how? Thanks for any replys.

Welshy.

[d-man]

I no expert on BECs, but I think the 'sump problem' is just that some bike engines really benefit from dry sumping to use in a car, whereas others like the R1 just need a well baffled sump to avoid oil starvation.

You say the diff is from an XR4, do you know what ratio it is? I think they only came in 3.92 or 3.62, which might be a bit short. This will mean you're using more revs while cruising in top, which might get a bit irritating. It'll reduce your theoretical top speed too, but unless you find you're bouncing off the rev limiter in top that won't really be a problem Most BECs that use a Sierra diff seem to use the 3.38 or the very rare 3.13.

[Locoblade]

Depending on tyre size a 3.62 wont be too bad, limiting you to around 120mph assuming a common tyre choice such as 205/60-13. My Locost R1 runs a live axle so the longest diff I can get is a 3.54, that will top out at just under 125mph which is ample for all but the very fastest of circuits (For example, I didnt max it out with a blade engine at Spa, Donington or Rockingham)
As to the sump issue, R1s are fine with just a baffle plate, dont need dry sumping unless you;re doing something out of the ordinary like fitting ultra sticky slicks etc.

Chris