New to Kit Cars, looking for Locust / Locust / Westfield etc

[ol]

Hi chaps,

I'm new to kit cars, but have recently decided I need one in my life.

I've got a budget of around £3,000 and want something I can drive away and don't have to spend weeks putting together. I'm about 6' 3" and about 15 stone, so will need something I can fit into...

I like the idea of being able to clip a wet weather roof on, (but I'm guessing you can get a roof to fit most 7-type cars?)

So, what should I be looking out for? I've read up on the main differences between Locusts and Locosts, and have read that I probably don't want a Robin Hood, so can you point me in the direction of any good cars for sale? Are Mk Indys better than Locost/ Locust?

My daily driver is a Golf R32, so I want something quicker than that - I've seen either 1.6l or 2l lumps, will there be much difference in performance between the two engines? I apreciate whatever I end up with will be far far far lighter than the Golf, so will feel quicker.

The car will mainly be used for quick road / track days, so needs to be taxed and MOT'd.

I've seen a few that look nice so far, but don't really know what I'm looking for...

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

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

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

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

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Any of those look any cop? The Westfield is over budget, but I do like the look of it...

[hugh_]

The first one looks good.

I would avoid Locusts; they have a ladder chassis which is compromised compared to that of the Locost. The MK indy, MNR etc. are all derivations of Ron Champion's Locost design. Don't rule out Tiger's, the Avon is a good car but you'll probably struggle to fit in it, I doubt you'll get a Super Six for your budget, and I (personally) would take a locost over the Tiger Cat which has the complete sierra rear beam and is therefore heavy.

[slomax]

As said above, the first one looks quite good. For £3k you will not get a lot of car though. I personally wouldn't start looking at se7ens untill around the £4.5-5k mark. Those crossflow engines are old though, and at 1600cc you won't be getting much power i wouldnt have thought probs probably ~80bhp although i might be wrong. Speed isnt everything, its the raw feel of the car that will give you the kicks. The fact that there is only you controlling it and there is no power steering or traction control or anything like that.

There is a rather nice looking Sylva Mojo in the classifieds at the moment that has a well documented build. While it has the same engine as the aforementioned Locost, i personally think it looks better than an equally priced se7en, even at £4k.

http://pistonheads.com/classifieds/2425625.htm

there is also this sylva striker, which looks quite good also...

http://pistonheads.com/classifieds/2560104.htm

[thescamper]

You cant beat a Jeremy Phillips design and that Striker is built exactly to the same spec as the demonstrator Jeremy had when I bought my Striker kit. I would be looking at the following as my short list. My only concern would be that the Striker might be a bit snug for you.

1st
2nd
3rd

The Locost looks like its been well built and that does really make all the difference, and there is what looks like a serious amount of decent parts gone into the build.

Dynamically they are all going to feel much quicker than the Golf and they should handle better if they have been set up properly, even if they havent its not that difficult or expensive to do so.

The engines in all 3 are old technology which could be changed but it does depend what the car is going to be used for. The 1300 crossflow is probably going to be the most temperamental, but if built right its going to be a real screamer.

As i said earlier it does depend on what you want the car for high days and holidays or trackdays.