Which kit for a 1st timer?

[v8will]

I've been toying with the idea of a kit car on and off for the past few years. Hopefully I'll have some spare funds soon that I can make the jump...

Anyway, which kit for a 1st time builder?? The project will be spread over a few years, maybe 2-3K per year invested until the build is complete. I can't see myself spending 10 years on a Ultima build though...

I've always liked Cobra reps but I don't think I can stomach putting maybe 15-20K minimum into a car that will probably spend 6 months or more of the year parked up. I'd also be nervous of ploughing that kind of money (and time) into a car and then being, well, a bit disappointed with how it drives or at the very least too scared drive it hard.

So, the criteria is as follows:

Low module cost, spread the initial build over maybe 2 winters and keep her indoors off my back. Something complete for less than 10K would be nice.
Plentiful cheap donor cars (BMW, MX-5 etc) I think the trusty Sierra is a little hard to pick up now.
Fun to drive (obviously)
Plenty of power or power to weight, V8 burble would be nice but not the most important thing.
No bike engines, this will be a cruiser, summer daily etc and probably won't see the track too often. I don't mind an exo type design though.
Decent to look at, I find quite a few kits a bit marmite, ie Midas and some 7 style cars.

Do I ask for too much?

So far I've studied Westfield and Caterhams, ruled out on cost. Low budget cars like the Robin Hood etc ruled out on what i've read about the weight and drive quality.
Dax Rush, maybe with a reasonable Rover V8?
MEV Rocket, could be well within budget. Accomplished kit or Ariel wannabe, tell me more!

Any input appreciated

[CPDMotorsport]

Something like an Aries Motorsport 7/Locoblade would suit you I think, I trawled through all the 7 manufacturers and I liked the guy and his cars.

They are good if you are on a budget as well because they weren't trying ti force me to buy an expensive starter kit and big parts early on.

[cbcbcb]

What about a GKD Legend? (7 based on a BMW 3 series)

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...

[Wanchaiwarrior]

Or if wanting V8 type power (and slightly bigger size), how about the Leuogo Viento ?

http://www.luegosportscars.com/2.html

Not much info on the site at the moment, maybe its being re-built

[Paul Drawmer]

For £10k I would recommend buying a runner that needs TLC, or a nearly complete car.
I think you'd get better value for money and end up with a better car than £10K from new.

[jason61c]

Wanchaiwarrior said:

Or if wanting V8 type power (and slightly bigger size), how about the Leuogo Viento ?

http://www.luegosportscars.com/2.html

Not much info on the site at the moment, maybe its being re-built

Fitting a v8 doesn't equal power unless spending ££££'s on a Ls3/7 etc. A RV8 is a wheezy old lump!

[Furyblade_Lee]

If you have say, 5-7k to outlay , then what Paul says makes sense. Buy a completed car you like, smoke around in it a bit, making a list of what you don't like and what to change. Then over a weekend strip it bare and rebuild it how you want it. The most cost effective way and no IVA / registration to shell out for. And you will end up with probobly a better car for your outlay.

For a new build, consider the RoadrunnerRacing MX5-based 7. I think it is pretty as a peach, and the cost should be lower end of the scale to put on the road. Like £1,000 will buy you all your mechanical hardware from a good Eunos roadster complete with LSD. Assuming it still has it's 110-130 bhp present, you should see over 200bhp per ton, which is quick. But the bonus is Mini Cooper S supechargers from eBay can be had for £300, and the kit to get your MX5 engine to nearly 200bhp is about £1k total going this route ( Check out MX5nutz for more info ). That will get you between 3 and 400 bhp per ton, which is bloody quick. And from my experience of MX5's that drivetrain / car should be pretty bombproof.

Edited by Furyblade_Lee on Thursday 24th March 10:46

Edited by Furyblade_Lee on Thursday 24th March 10:50

[The Black Flash]

Things were you can take the engine, box, ecu, loom and keep them as stock are probably the way to keep costs down. You can always upgrade later. As soon as you start having to do rebuilds or adaptation, you're into big money. Every Rv8 I've seen seems to have cost around 4k, for example.

[v8will]

Thanks guys

I wasn't really looking at 7 style cars but maybe this is the way to go due to the number of kits available.

I'll have a better read up on the ideas suggested, So far I like the idea of something MX-5 based, easy enough to pick up a rusty one of those!

I assume the general consensus is that the Rover V8 is just a bit rubbish these days? Sure a LS would be great but I don't want to put that amount of capital into an engine - not now anyway

Any thoughts on the MEV stuff? The designs caught my eye as they're totally different to a 7

[pilotea]

jason61c said:

Fitting a v8 doesn't equal power unless spending ££££'s on a Ls3/7 etc. A RV8 is a wheezy old lump!

Im not sure how a Luego with a tuned LS7 would perform though.... might bend it sideways!

[MKnight702]

How about a Sylva Riot. They get great write ups, plus should come in easily on budget.

[Steffan]

Paul Drawmer said:

For £10k I would recommend buying a runner that needs TLC, or a nearly complete car.
I think you'd get better value for money and end up with a better car than £10K from new.

Excellent and sensible advice.

New Kit cars are not cheap nowadays.

If you buy an existing REGISTERED kit you are far more likely to be able to really produce something outstanding than buying a new kit at that price.

I have written elsewhere that new cars are struggling for markets and this is not least because of price. You will have far greater margins to play with if you buy an existing registered kit and improve it.

If you must have a new kit fair enough. If you want outstanding race car performance on a budget BUT A GOOD SECONDHAND REGISTERED KIT CAR.

[V8 GRF]

jason61c said:

Fitting a v8 doesn't equal power unless spending ££££'s on a Ls3/7 etc. A RV8 is a wheezy old lump!

Wheezy old lump eh?

[jason61c]

Yes but at what price?

[charlie vrs]

jason61c said:

Fitting a v8 doesn't equal power unless spending ££££'s on a Ls3/7 etc. A RV8 is a wheezy old lump!

Power isn't everything. There is no need for a sterio with a v8 soundtrack to enjoy. Try driving through the tunnels on the A55 in north Wales in 2nd gear and then tell me what you think of the Rover V8?

[jason61c]

I've no problem with the RV8, I was just stating that they cost ££££'s to get near the 300bhp above, as standard they're heavy and lacking in most areas except noise.

I'd still take an Alfa v6 though

[Broken]

Furyblade_Lee said:

If you have say, 5-7k to outlay , then what Paul says makes sense. Buy a completed car you like, smoke around in it a bit, making a list of what you don't like and what to change. Then over a weekend strip it bare and rebuild it how you want it. The most cost effective way and no IVA / registration to shell out for. And you will end up with probobly a better car for your outlay.

For a new build, consider the RoadrunnerRacing MX5-based 7. I think it is pretty as a peach, and the cost should be lower end of the scale to put on the road. Like £1,000 will buy you all your mechanical hardware from a good Eunos roadster complete with LSD. Assuming it still has it's 110-130 bhp present, you should see over 200bhp per ton, which is quick. But the bonus is Mini Cooper S supechargers from eBay can be had for £300, and the kit to get your MX5 engine to nearly 200bhp is about £1k total going this route ( Check out MX5nutz for more info ). That will get you between 3 and 400 bhp per ton, which is bloody quick. And from my experience of MX5's that drivetrain / car should be pretty bombproof.

Edited by Furyblade_Lee on Thursday 24th March 10:46

Edited by Furyblade_Lee on Thursday 24th March 10:50

If you go down the mx-5 route ant want to tune it then bbr can do you a turbo set up (probably need a bit of modding as it's for an mx-5 not a kit car) or some where like MOSS do supercharger kits for the mx-5 (which will bolt straight on unlike a mini supercharger, which has the mounting points in the wrong place even though the core is the same).

Exocet do an exoskeletal car based on the mx-5 ckc are currently building one.

[one eyed mick]

If I'd got 7k to spend I would be knocking on Brody Britan 's door to buy 1 of their sorted Mx-5s,bhp 220 lots of torque done by the people who developed the turbo kit for Mazda, there was a roadtest in either Octane or Evo a couple of month back a lot of fun for the money ,ok its not akit car but I'm very temptedas it's civilised !

[v8will]

one eyed mick said:

If I'd got 7k to spend I would be knocking on Brody Britan 's door to buy 1 of their sorted Mx-5s,bhp 220 lots of torque done by the people who developed the turbo kit for Mazda, there was a roadtest in either Octane or Evo a couple of month back a lot of fun for the money ,ok its not akit car but I'm very temptedas it's civilised !

Nah, I'd be waiting for the exchange rates to go a little more in our favour. It'd have to be a FM turbo..

http://www.flyinmiata.com/turbos/index.php

This is partly why something MX-5 based would be ideal for me. I've run a few of them in the past and I'm semi-familiar with the mechanicals, I like how they drive and I like what tuning options are available. I don't like how MX-5's rust and how common they are.

I keep thinking some sort of exo chassis and some well built MX-5 running gear would be helluva lot of fun.

[Toltec]

v8will said:

I keep thinking some sort of exo chassis and some well built MX-5 running gear would be helluva lot of fun.

The Exocet is certainly interesting, I gave a mate of mine a hand stripping the bodyshell off the drive train etc. a few weeks ago. The new chassis just dropped straight on to the MX5 running gear.

Not that it is quite that simple, the wish bones and sub frames were pretty rusty so the whole lot needs stripping, cleaning and repainting to make a good job.

Could be a good 1st project though and well within your budget.