Ybotc
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posted on 9/11/20 at 09:30 PM |
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Looking for a new toy
Hello all
New to the forum.
Looking for a new toy (had an S2000, Elise, Boxster, z4) and have fancied a lotus 7 style car for a while, but have a couple of questions.
I have no technical skills and really looking for a car that I won’t need to tinker with (haven’t done any work on a car since my first car - a mark 1
Ford escort 30 years ago)
I’m 6ft and a little overweight , will I fit ?
Is there a good time to buy ?
Fancy a BEC , am I likely to kill myself, would I be better off with a lower powered engine to start with ?
Just seen a Fireblade engined car on eBay with paddleshift but no reverse , is adding reverse a relatively easy job for a garage - any ideas on how
much it would cost ?
Have looked on the normal places here / eBay / piston heads , anywhere else worth keeping an eye on
Will 7k get me something decent (happy to spend less)
Cheers
Toby
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jps
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posted on 9/11/20 at 09:58 PM |
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Q: I’m 6ft and a little overweight , will I fit ?
Yes, some 7s are bigger than others, search on here a bit and you’ll find other asking similar questions.
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perksy
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posted on 9/11/20 at 10:05 PM |
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Welcome
I always advise that potential owners take a passenger ride if possible in the type of car they are thinking of owning or at least go and see a few
before buying
I've taken a few folks out and afterwards they've said "thanks for that, but these cars are a bit too raw for me..."
Others have loved it and gone on and bought or built one
BEC's aren't for everyone, but some folks love them
The best time to buy is the winter, but a lot will hold onto their cars until the spring, where they fetch more money
Reverse can be fitted later
7k will buy you a car, BUT do your homework and make sure what you buy is correctly registered for what it is...
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Ybotc
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posted on 9/11/20 at 10:29 PM |
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Thanks both
Reason I fancy a seven is I loved my Elise but it was just too small for an everyday car, I now have another car as a daily drive so fancy something
that is just about driving no compromise needed.
On one of your points, I have seen a lot of adverts saying correctly registered etc , I assumed to be road legal they would need to be registered
correctly , what is it I need to look out for ?
Cheers
Toby
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perksy
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posted on 9/11/20 at 10:49 PM |
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Check what's its registered as on the V5
Eg if its a 7 but its registered on the V5 as say a 'Ford Escort', leave it well alone
Any queries just ask on here with a link to the advert
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bi22le
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posted on 9/11/20 at 11:26 PM |
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Welcome to the best car forum on the net. I saw this for 2 reasons. 1) se7en style and other fully bodies version generally covered on this site are
driver's cars. When doing 30mph is still fun because your @rse is 4" from the floor and you can smell if your radiator fan has kicked in.
2) We are a pretty friendly and helpful bunch. Not question to stupid, and over the years I have tested this lot. . .
So back to OP. No you are not too big, get your self out in a car and ask some questions face to face. If you find something you like the look of post
it in here and ask for advice. Someone may already have history on the car but no doubt someone will sniff out if something is not right.
Good luck and enjoy.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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Ybotc
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posted on 9/11/20 at 11:30 PM |
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Thanks everybody
Very helpful
Cheers
Toby
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Mr Whippy
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posted on 10/11/20 at 07:29 AM |
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If you're not going to maintain your car yourself it could end up being very expensive and most garages are not familiar with such cars. Chances
are it will need constant tlc if only to check nothing vital is about to fall off.
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Werner Van Loock
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posted on 10/11/20 at 07:41 AM |
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size?
mahoosive
viento vs book locost
http://www.clubstylus.be
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nick205
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posted on 10/11/20 at 09:24 AM |
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Yes there's one you'll fit into.
Personally I'd say most people who have one are more than prepared to get their hands dirty and tinker with/maintain their own cars.
They're not factory built dealer serviced cars afterall, more a collection of parts from a collection of deiffent donor vehicles.
I found (like many I'm sure) building my MK Indy was as much fun as owning/driving the finished car. The car was never really finished either .
There were always bits I wanted to change, improve, tweak, modify etc. I made friends along the way and acquired new tools and skills as well.
In the main - go into it with enjoyment as the priority!
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IanmK
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posted on 10/11/20 at 03:25 PM |
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Hi Toby,
If you don't want to tinker. I don't think a kit car is the right product. It will just frustrate you and most garages don't want to
work on them.
I don't blame them, as no two kits are built the same and what may be a simple job on a tin top, may not be so straight forward on a kit and
hence they will likely have had bad experiences or customer expectations.
Unless you want to start tinkering and learn?
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Mr Whippy
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posted on 10/11/20 at 04:39 PM |
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It’s like folk who buy a classic Landrover after reading the magazines… no garage, no tools, no experience working on cars, never actually driven one,
oh boy I have known a few like this and they could not get rid of them fast enough when the bubble burst just a few weeks later. I did warn
them.
IMO if you want to get your hands dirty, soaked and cold buy a 7, if not buy an MX5 as you'll have a much better time
[Edited on 10/11/20 by Mr Whippy]
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Ybotc
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posted on 10/11/20 at 05:42 PM |
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I don’t think I would have the bottle to drive anything I have tinkered with but know what your saying
I did contemplate another Elise but 2nd hand prices have gone through the roof. MX5 never done it for me it seems like a backward step from the S2000
/ Boxster. My dream car would be an atom but that’s a long way from my budget
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steve m
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posted on 10/11/20 at 06:04 PM |
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The only real way of not needing to do self maintenance in reality is to buy a Caterham, but for the type of money you would like to put in, is
probably going to be a dog, and need serious maintenance, triple your budget would get quite a nice car
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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Ybotc
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posted on 12/11/20 at 05:38 PM |
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Ok as part of my education
This looks alright , owner said it’s in great condition
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284076392632
Looks like a cheap intro to lotus7 style driving , has 12 months MOT , what could possibly go wrong
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Ybotc
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posted on 12/11/20 at 05:47 PM |
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Also this
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184531576066
I know people are often dismissive of Robin Hoods (and a lot do look rough), this looks nicely put together , I understand the chasis isn’t a patch on
a decent locost / Westfield etc , are they worth looking at or should I quickly turn the page when I see the name Robin Hood
Guess my priority is some kind of reliability and decent performance, based on other cars I have had 0-60 in under 6 seconds would seem ideal, would
probably not last long in a sub 5 second car
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big_wasa
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posted on 12/11/20 at 06:02 PM |
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First one looks like a Locust, this is not a Locost it's a plywood tub on a ladder chassis.
A well built Robin Hood would be fine for a Sunday blast.
Neither of these could be advised as low maintenance drivers cars
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Ybotc
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posted on 12/11/20 at 06:34 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by big_wasa
First one looks like a Locust, this is not a Locost it's a plywood tub on a ladder chassis.
Ok that doesn’t sound great, I thought the engine looked a bit ropey , how could you tell it was plywood run on a ladder chasis , experience or am I
missing something obvious
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sonic
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posted on 12/11/20 at 06:37 PM |
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Where are you based ? I would see if any of the guy's on here are local and go see there car and maybe go for a blast, you will soon see if its
for you or not
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big_wasa
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posted on 12/11/20 at 06:39 PM |
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What looks like a Triumph front axle is good indication.
Have a google and read about them. A nice one again would make a good Sunday afternoon car. ( that’s not what I mean by a good one )
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Ybotc
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posted on 12/11/20 at 06:44 PM |
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Cheers both
I’m in Devon , guessing a covid lock down isn’t the best time to be looking for a car and asking for a test drive.
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Stuart Walker
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posted on 13/11/20 at 12:57 PM |
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I'm in Cornwall and if you're still looking when my car is finished (hopefully Spring) I'd be happy to take you out in it. I'm
not anticipating it will be a maintenance free vehicle though - I expect owning it to be more like a classic car, i.e. great fun, very impractical,
constant tinkering and occasional frustration when (just for example) it won't start and you're on a campsite 100 miles from the ferry you
need to be on.
But I'm sure you could learn on the job! Then in a few years with all those new skills you can build your own
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Mr Whippy
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posted on 13/11/20 at 01:20 PM |
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As for the Robin hood 2b I'd sum up the car as being very heavy due to the use of so much stainless steel for all the metal body panels. The
nosecone/bonnet/skuttle combination is so heavy it needs either two people or gas struts to lift safely which is madness for a 7. The lower part of
the rear floor is devoid of any chassis structure to bolt either seatbelts or seats too. The engine bay is not sealed off from the footwell so an
engine fire will spread into the compartment immediately. The general design of the body panelling is very incompetent.
Good points are a very well made chassis which is predominantly made of stainless steel. It's quite roomy inside for it's size and
that's about it...
I'm rebuilding mind just now but replacing all panels with Aluminium, building a new skuttle and rear floor/chassis structure. After that
I'll be delighted with the car
[Edited on 13/11/20 by Mr Whippy]
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Ybotc
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posted on 13/11/20 at 06:28 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by Stuart Walker
I'm in Cornwall and if you're still looking when my car is finished (hopefully Spring) I'd be happy to take you out in it. I'm
not anticipating it will be a maintenance free vehicle though - I expect owning it to be more like a classic car, i.e. great fun, very impractical,
constant tinkering and occasional frustration when (just for example) it won't start and you're on a campsite 100 miles from the ferry you
need to be on.
But I'm sure you could learn on the job! Then in a few years with all those new skills you can build your own
Thanks for the offer, if I’m still looking may well take you up on it
Cheers
Toby
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number-1
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posted on 14/11/20 at 07:32 PM |
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Ive had a couple of BECs and also a normal car engine car so can offer some opinions.
My first BEC was my "toy".
It was track only with a GSXR1100 wp engine. No reverse or lights etc. The pain was having to trailer it everywhere. Any work i did, i couldn't
test it until i got to track
The 2nd BEC was a single seater Roadrunner Racing SR1 with an R1 engine. Again no reverse but fully road legal so any work i did i could test on the
road. Having a bike engine car was very cumbersome on the road at low speeds. Using your foot as a clutch takes some getting used to.
My car engine car is an SSC Stylus and for me is the best of the cars ive owned as its a car engine in a car. It works as it should and takes loads
less fettling.
This was the track only car.
This was the Roadrunner racing SR1 road legal
[Edited on 14/11/20 by number-1]
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