Kit car good Beginner project car?
Discussion
Hi
Just general question really, I've always envisioned myself getting a project car for my spare time but seen as I don't know much about actual fixing/modifying cars and wanted to learn, so thought it would good to get something to cut my teeth on.
I was wondering if kit cars would be a good place to start whether there good to learn on or are just a nightmare and would be better getting a normalcar in need of restoration?
If so any good recommendations for a kit car?
Thanks in advance
Alex
Just general question really, I've always envisioned myself getting a project car for my spare time but seen as I don't know much about actual fixing/modifying cars and wanted to learn, so thought it would good to get something to cut my teeth on.
I was wondering if kit cars would be a good place to start whether there good to learn on or are just a nightmare and would be better getting a normalcar in need of restoration?
If so any good recommendations for a kit car?
Thanks in advance
Alex
I definitely would recommend a kit car. I built my first one when I was 17. The best thing you could do is get yourself along to the National Kit Car Show at Stoneleigh near Coventry this comming bank holiday (Sunday and Monday) and have a look at the thousands of cars that will be there in two halls and not least the club areas outside where you can ask the owners all about them. There's lots of different cars not just Seven replicas
Just a few random thoughts on this having cut my teeth on my first car (mk1 escort), built a fisher fury and now tackling a classic.
Have a look around at the market, make up a spec sheet and then score the different cars against your requirements, list things like type of driving (road, track, offroad), budget, manufacturer support, donor, options, weather gear, strength of owners groups etc.
Budget is a big one, work up a number and then add at least 25% contingency. Currently I would not want to start to build any kit on the market at the moment with anything less than £10k, rmembering iva test will probably take around £1k of that in fees, retest, fixes, travel etc. If you do not have a half decent set of tool build in that cost aswell.
Make sure you visit kit car manufacturers (after doing reserach and visiting shows) building a kit car is not like buying a car from a garage, you need to be sure that you will get the support you need from then, daily or at least weekly calls will be the norm. Note some kits are easier to build than others, various forums will give you guidance on these once you have a short list.
Single donor kits should be a little easier to build than multiple donor cars and also less hassle to register. You will learn a lot about the car by breaking it down into individual parts, you will also know that if it all worked before taking apart it should work after.
Having said that, one route would be to do the research, choose a kit, buy the donor car and work on that for a bit to understand the mechanics etc and refurbing parts ready for the build, then once ready, break it down and build the kit.
Finally, if I were to build another kit car I would seriously consider buying an mx5 (mk2 1.8 with torsen diff), refurb the brakes, hubs, axle, tart up the engine and drive for a while. As a donor this has a few opportunities as there are several seven type cars, mev do a number of kits (replicar being my favourite) or if you do not want the hassle of iva there are now a number of bodykits that change the look (tribute).
Just my personal thought so please take with a pinch of salt and make up your own mind which route to go. Hope this help.
Have a look around at the market, make up a spec sheet and then score the different cars against your requirements, list things like type of driving (road, track, offroad), budget, manufacturer support, donor, options, weather gear, strength of owners groups etc.
Budget is a big one, work up a number and then add at least 25% contingency. Currently I would not want to start to build any kit on the market at the moment with anything less than £10k, rmembering iva test will probably take around £1k of that in fees, retest, fixes, travel etc. If you do not have a half decent set of tool build in that cost aswell.
Make sure you visit kit car manufacturers (after doing reserach and visiting shows) building a kit car is not like buying a car from a garage, you need to be sure that you will get the support you need from then, daily or at least weekly calls will be the norm. Note some kits are easier to build than others, various forums will give you guidance on these once you have a short list.
Single donor kits should be a little easier to build than multiple donor cars and also less hassle to register. You will learn a lot about the car by breaking it down into individual parts, you will also know that if it all worked before taking apart it should work after.
Having said that, one route would be to do the research, choose a kit, buy the donor car and work on that for a bit to understand the mechanics etc and refurbing parts ready for the build, then once ready, break it down and build the kit.
Finally, if I were to build another kit car I would seriously consider buying an mx5 (mk2 1.8 with torsen diff), refurb the brakes, hubs, axle, tart up the engine and drive for a while. As a donor this has a few opportunities as there are several seven type cars, mev do a number of kits (replicar being my favourite) or if you do not want the hassle of iva there are now a number of bodykits that change the look (tribute).
Just my personal thought so please take with a pinch of salt and make up your own mind which route to go. Hope this help.
I think the OP wasn't considering building a kit car from scratch, but more likely restoring a used one (correct me if I'm wrong though).
For my 2p worth, a used kit would be good for someone to learn mechanicals without the hassle of steel body repair - just make sure the chassis is sound (even then if it needs welding it will be easier then thin steel). 1st think MAKE SURE ANY POTENTIAL PURCHASE IS PROPERLY REGISTERED - and then do the research mentioned above by qdos.
GRP is IMHO just about the easiest material to repair (and I do mean properly, not by using a dollop of filler), so rewarding fun to be had there as well....... Go for it!
For my 2p worth, a used kit would be good for someone to learn mechanicals without the hassle of steel body repair - just make sure the chassis is sound (even then if it needs welding it will be easier then thin steel). 1st think MAKE SURE ANY POTENTIAL PURCHASE IS PROPERLY REGISTERED - and then do the research mentioned above by qdos.
GRP is IMHO just about the easiest material to repair (and I do mean properly, not by using a dollop of filler), so rewarding fun to be had there as well....... Go for it!
MEV Exocet is an easier build than most
Join a kit car club
Go to Stonliegh
Look at Locostbuilders forum
Is this going to be your day to day car? Not many of us use kit cars every day especially through winter ( yes I know there are the exceptional hard men or ex bikers that do use the cars every day) but most keep them as a toy for the sunnier days
Join a kit car club
Go to Stonliegh
Look at Locostbuilders forum
Is this going to be your day to day car? Not many of us use kit cars every day especially through winter ( yes I know there are the exceptional hard men or ex bikers that do use the cars every day) but most keep them as a toy for the sunnier days
As previously mentioned a MEV Exocet.
I had zero mechanical knowledge before starting mine. The fact that youre almost stripping a car down completely and then rebuilding it gets you to understand everything about the car. It was a massive learning curve for me but a very enjoyable one. Also there's a very good support for the Exocet over on the MEV forum.
I had zero mechanical knowledge before starting mine. The fact that youre almost stripping a car down completely and then rebuilding it gets you to understand everything about the car. It was a massive learning curve for me but a very enjoyable one. Also there's a very good support for the Exocet over on the MEV forum.
I'm one of the 'hard men' that drove my car every day for 11 years. A Spartan. It was an excellent car and surprisingly practical too. However there are also a few kits which are genuinely practical every day cars such as the Midas which are bargains to pick up second hand and restore at the moment. There's also the Quantum. Being GRP though you won't need to learn about welding so that may be a drawback for the OP.
I used to use my Westfield as my everyday car, I did 38,000 miles in 3 years.
Definately worth going to Stoneleigh as has been suggested. I'm planning to go up Sunday as we are out Monday.
As an alternative to a kit car, my first car was a Triumph Spitfire, again used every day, but I learnt everything I needed to know from working on that car, Haynes manual in one hand, spanner in the other.
Spares avaiability is excellent and it's far easier to source the exact bits you need rather than have to trawl round a scrapyard looking for a piece to go between A and B and modifying it to suit. As I had to do when I built a Marlin Roadster that was an unfinished kit. That was interesting as I had no build manual so it was just make it up as you go. (Getting it through the SVA was an unexpected hurdle as I started it before the SVA came into force then had to go back and modify things to suit the new test)
Definately worth going to Stoneleigh as has been suggested. I'm planning to go up Sunday as we are out Monday.
As an alternative to a kit car, my first car was a Triumph Spitfire, again used every day, but I learnt everything I needed to know from working on that car, Haynes manual in one hand, spanner in the other.
Spares avaiability is excellent and it's far easier to source the exact bits you need rather than have to trawl round a scrapyard looking for a piece to go between A and B and modifying it to suit. As I had to do when I built a Marlin Roadster that was an unfinished kit. That was interesting as I had no build manual so it was just make it up as you go. (Getting it through the SVA was an unexpected hurdle as I started it before the SVA came into force then had to go back and modify things to suit the new test)
If you want something that is easy but different, there are two GTM's on Ebay they have basic mini running gear, all the bits are easy and cheap and work well.
If money is tight but you want something bigger, plenty of ginetta G27 come up. Hit every branch falling out of the ugly tree but good solid chassis, Ford Cortina running gear again cheap as chips and as basic as you like.
If money is tight but you want something bigger, plenty of ginetta G27 come up. Hit every branch falling out of the ugly tree but good solid chassis, Ford Cortina running gear again cheap as chips and as basic as you like.
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