Board logo

What is the best car for a donor car ?
marcus_uk - 20/2/09 at 11:59 PM

Hi guys and gals,

I'm new to all this, but have a family member who has restored an old mini clubman and has given me the passion to build my own locost car.
The thing is i dont know which donor car i should buy/source ?

I want to be able to buy parts eaily and cheaply ... if anyone has any help and able to point me in the right direction i would be very greatfull.

Thanks in advance

Marcus

blakep82 - 21/2/09 at 12:01 AM

most would say sierra. theres more exciting engines to be had though

ReMan - 21/2/09 at 12:14 AM

Buy this book,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Sports-Car/dp/1844253910
Then ask some more questions

mark chandler - 21/2/09 at 12:26 AM

If it was that easy, a worn out car will give you worn out engine, gearbox and axle so to get a quality finished product may end up costing more than sourcing the various bits seperately if you end up reconditioning everything seperately.

If you are making your own frame and bones etc then any RWD car could be a good donor as you modify what you build to suit. If you want to follow the easier route then sierra is the car of choice as plans exist for this.

Also what do you want to experience, manic excelleration, sequential shifts and +10,000 RPM is the world of BEC's in which case all you need is are axles propshaft and a big bike engine so getting seperate bits should ultimately be cheaper.

The flip side is use a donor with good resale value on the parts you do not want and break even, but that usual involves a broken car on the drive for ages... not good really.

Paul TigerB6 - 21/2/09 at 01:29 AM

My advice - forget about the donor car and think about what kit you want to build. The kit supplier can advise on the best donor to suit your needs. I have seen so many posts on various forums with people who want to build what will be a £5k - £10k+ kit car just because they have been given a £200 donor.

Any kit car available today will have parts cheaply available. Build the car you want and go for whatever donor that requires

Steve Hignett - 21/2/09 at 01:53 AM

Hi Marcus,

welcome to the Forum.

I would suggest that you put your location in your ID. That way people local to you may be able to help out with your Donor Car Search!

Secondly I would add that the sentiments above ring pretty true - evaluate which kit you intend to build (with which engine - OBV BEC!) and then source the correct Donor, or Donor pack and go from there.

ATB

RK - 21/2/09 at 02:08 AM

Listen carefully to what people are suggesting. It can get very expensive otherwise. Besides the cost, it can become very unpleasant, and generally not a lot of fun.

Danozeman - 21/2/09 at 10:06 AM

Sierra is the norm but are getting harder to get.

Id get a dogged Mazda mx5. Might cost a bit more but youl get a good set of running gear.

As already said. Decide on which kit you want first and then what u want to use it for. Ie track use or just road.

[Edited on 21/2/09 by Danozeman]

marcus_uk - 21/2/09 at 10:58 AM

Thanks guys for the fast replys, I'm based in Crewe Cheshire.

At the moment i'm leaning towards a bike engine, as i have a bike in the garage ... so i kinda know about the engines. But i'm not after something thats going to blow my socks off. Beside the kit i want to build it from scratch. I have the tools to do it. Just not the information to build it. Is there anything different from building from the book to what i will need to do if i use a bike engine ? Will the engie bay need to be bigger or shorter ? anyone got any tips ?

Marcus

Ian D - 21/2/09 at 11:22 AM

I think this peice from John Ruskin sums up building a kit car. In particular around integration. Buying a package from a supplier may work out cheaper in the long run if your not sure.

best of luck

Ian


It is unwise to pay too much,but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you may lose a little money...thats all. When you pay too little,you sometimes lose everything because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the things it was bought to do"
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting alot...it cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder it is as well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that you will have enough to pay for the something better.
There is hardly anything in the world that some men cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper,and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.

JOHN RUSKIN 1819 - 1900

quinnj3 - 21/2/09 at 12:03 PM

another thing to remember is that any book you buy will be a rough guide only. Although it will definately be invaluable. The book mentioned previously should be bought and I'd also recommend 'How to Build Motorcycle-engined Racing Cars'. Again it is a rough guide, definately no instruction manual, but it will help with understanding suspension and also as the title suggests the installation of a Bike engine.

Good luck

marcus_uk - 21/2/09 at 12:59 PM

Thanks for all the information, which is sound advice. But i was wondering, does everyone now a days build their own chassis or do you get a kit ?

Is it easy to build your own chassis ? or is it better to use a kit ? Has anyone got any diagrams for a chassis ?

Thanks again for your help everyone

Marcus

chrisg - 21/2/09 at 02:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
Buy this book,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Sports-Car/dp/1844253910
Then ask some more questions


God bless you

The cheque's in the post...

Cheers

Chris

mr henderson - 21/2/09 at 03:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by marcus_uk
Thanks for all the information, which is sound advice. But i was wondering, does everyone now a days build their own chassis or do you get a kit ?

Is it easy to build your own chassis ? or is it better to use a kit ? Has anyone got any diagrams for a chassis ?

Thanks again for your help everyone

Marcus


You should buy the book anyway. When deciding whether to build your own, or not, you need to consider your time as well as the cost. Sometimes it's better to buy the kit ready made and get on with building it up (you will still have LOTS to do). On the other hand, you might get more fun. or satisfaction, from building everything yourself, as far as possible.

If it was me I would probably make the chassis but buy all the wishbones, uprights etc. In the end what is it that you want the most, the finished kit to drive around in, or the enjoyment of building it. There's a graph curve there and you need to decide what point it intersects with your requirements, if you see what I mean

John

marcus_uk - 21/2/09 at 03:37 PM

Ive got both books, it's just i've been told that the chassis diagrams are not 100% so i'm unsure on if i should follow them 100% or not and use them as reference.

I dont mind if this build takes me 2 weeks or 2 years. And as this is my first time building one i just want to learn things. But i still want a great final design.

I would love tobuild everything from scratch but i want to now if there is information about each part i need to do

But i'm finding information out as i go along ... now this is the fun part lol.

But one last thing thanks guys for all your information, i'm a new starter to all this and the wealth of information on here is crazy.

Marcus

Steve Hignett - 21/2/09 at 03:53 PM

I'm about 7 miles away from you and have a scratch built locost with a Fireblade engine in it that I am working on right now, if you want to come and have a look?

marcus_uk - 21/2/09 at 04:55 PM

I would like that very much steve. Ill will call you later on today, as at the moment i have guest around.

ReMan - 23/2/09 at 11:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by marcus_uk
I would like that very much steve. Ill will call you later on today, as at the moment i have guest around.

It's not ChrisG is it?

I considered making my own chassis, probably had the skill to do it, but decided to save 6 months and get into the main build quicker by buying the chassis from a well known manufacturer and getting cracking.
Decisions, decisions

[Edited on 23/2/09 by ReMan]