damien
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 02:30 PM |
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hi, hope you can help me
hi,
i couldnt find a "newbe" part of the forum so i hope this is the right place.
im thinking about building myself my first kit car, ive been toying with the idea for afew months now but am still very undecided on what kit/engine
to go for.
does anyone have any insight in the main differences between the main kits i.e catham/robinhood/gts etc or is it mainly down to the cost of the
kit/how the kit looks? (i cant tell the difference between them by looking at the pics)
regarding engines, ive always had peugeots and i was thinking about using my spare gti6 engine but from what ive searched on here there is problems
with the exhuast/gearbox bellhousing, has anyone got anymore insight into this?
would using the TU engine be a better option over the XU?
also what is the genral time/cost in building a car? looking at the gts kit it is just over 2k, how much extra am i looking at for a full compleated
car, would 5k be a good aim or am i looking at more?
and last but not least is it worth having/building a kit car? it took me 3 years to restore/rebuild my 205gti and its taken just over a year to get my
gti6 to perform how i would like round a track, i know that building a car would be a lot of time and hardwork but is it worth it in the long run? do
you injoy driving the car as much as building it? i dont want to finish building a car only to find its no fun to drive and having to spend more money
turning it into something fun.
i would use the car for weekends/trackdays as i do with my gti6.
and help you can give me for the above would be greatful
[Edited on 9/12/06 by damien]
Topaz gti6-tb 205 Gti (ph1.5)
Sigma 2.0 8v 306 XSI (ph1)
Provence 1.9 8v dturbo (ph2)
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Jasper
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 02:49 PM |
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Welcome Damian, I'm sure you'll get lots of feedback from these questions....
quote:
Originally posted by damien
hi,
i couldnt find a "newbe" part of the forum so i hope this is the right place.
im thinking about building myself my first kit car, ive been toying with the idea for afew months now but am still very undecided on what kit/engine
to go for.
does anyone have any insight in the main differences between the main kits i.e catham/robinhood/gts etc or is it mainly down to the cost of the
kit/how the kit looks? (i cant tell the difference between them by looking at the pics)
There has been plenty of discussion on the different kits, most people on here aren't building Caterhams or Westfields, they have their own
forums - these are more expensive kits, and Robin Hood are generally regarded as the cheap end of the market and tend me be heavier and larger than a
'regular' seven - though they do have new designs now.
Many people on here have gone for kit build - MK, GTS, MNR, Mac#1. There is not a huge amount of difference between them (though those building will
disagree I'm sure!) - many builders have picked the one that is geographically closest. By far the best way to decide is to go to a show and
check them all out. Next show isn't till Spring next year.
You can build from scratch (I did) as many people have, doesn't sound like it's what you're after.
regarding engines, ive always had peugeots and i was thinking about using my spare gti6 engine but from what ive searched on here there is problems
with the exhuast/gearbox bellhousing, has anyone got anymore insight into this?
would using the TU engine be a better option over the XU?
I don't know much about this - but it would certianly be much simple to use an engine that is more suited to RWD. There are lots to choose from,
Ford, Vauxhall, Rover, Nissan (my personal preference) etc etc....
also what is the genral time/cost in building a car? looking at the gts kit it is just over 2k, how much extra am i looking at for a full compleated
car, would 5k be a good aim or am i looking at more?
5k would be realistic for a well equipped car, as long as you don't want mega power.
and last but not least is it worth having/building a kit car? it took me 3 years to restore/rebuild my 205gti and its taken just over a year to get my
gti6 to perform how i would like round a track, i know that building a car would be a lot of time and hardwork but is it worth it in the long run? do
you injoy driving the car as much as building it? i dont want to finish building a car only to find its no fun to drive and having to spend more money
turning it into something fun.
i would use the car for weekends/trackdays as i do with my gti6.
This really depends on what you enjoy doing. Most people on here love the building process - hence building a kit car! As for driving you need to go
for a ride in one or two. And it depends how you build it - balls out racer or full weather protection with creature comforts, and what you want out
of it. But as a track tool and country lane racer they can't be beaten - they are fantastic fun.
and help you can give me for the above would be greatful
[Edited on 9/12/06 by damien]
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evo3500
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 02:51 PM |
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Build one of these !
There are lots of kits out there,lots of choice main differences tend to be quality ,safety,and cost ,and value for money,you have to consider all
these things to arrive at a chioce that suits you,also probably the average spend on a kit is around £7k for a well finished example with a few
goodies fitted that you couldnt resist as you are building the car,but you could try one of these. !
Check it out !
www.sdrsportscars.co.uk
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Jasper
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 03:00 PM |
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I think I'd want to see one finished, OTR and registered before I parted with the cash - nice looking machine though.....
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damien
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 03:02 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by evo3500
There are lots of kits out there,lots of choice main differences tend to be quality ,safety,and cost ,and value for money,you have to consider all
these things to arrive at a chioce that suits you,also probably the average spend on a kit is around £7k for a well finished example with a few
goodies fitted that you couldnt resist as you are building the car,but you could try one of these. !
Check it out !
www.sdrsportscars.co.uk
i like the look of that but it would have to have a car engine, ive emailed them asking for more information
[Edited on 9/12/06 by damien]
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3GEComponents
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 03:09 PM |
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It will be interesting to see how Ariel are with this, hopefully they won't be as anal as Caterham were with CCT7 over having "7" in
thier name.
Cracking looking bit of kit, with some nice touches.
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flak monkey
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 03:24 PM |
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Welcome to the site
GTS is a good choice and i see that you are local to them. Its worth getting yourself along to a kit show and having a chat with all of the
maufacturers and seeing what they think to your plans and the feasibility of it. You will find most are all too happy to stand around and have a chat.
Also see if you can arrange a ride in as many different kits as you can before you make up your mind.
As for engine choice, the common ones are ford, vauxhall xe and toyota 4age. All of which are well supported for conversion to rwd format and have
plenty of tuning options available. There are also other choices such as the rover v8 and other engines. The alternative is a bike engine, which many
people on here have great support for  . Bear in mind the differences though. A car engine will be more civilised and easier to drive in traffic and
will cruise along at around 3000rpm. A bike engine will give you phenominal power to weight but is far from civilised, its hard to pull of without
scaring grannies, they lack low down torque and cruise at 5-6krpm. It depends what you want from the car.
Cost; my GTS has cost me just over £5k and for that i have got everything i need tog et on the road. Some of the parts i have bought i could have done
without (like a new set of wheels etc).
Time: I took mine from a kit to a rolling chassis with all the running gear fitted in 2.5months. Take a look on my website... And that was with
working full time too, so if you are prepared you can make rapid progress. I would throughly recommend obtaining and reconditioning donor parts before
you buy your kit, this will mean once you have your kit you can just bolt it together.
Whether or not it is worth it is up to you. It depends what you want etc.
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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whitestu
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 04:03 PM |
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I built an MK Indy for around £5k OTR with a basic engine.
Took about 1 yr one evening a week and occasional weekends.
Its great fun to drive and IMHO looks great.
I'm now in the process of upgrading to a better engine [1.8 Zetec Blacktop, megajolt, bike carbs] which will cost approx £300 all in.
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bob
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 04:24 PM |
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As whitestu just a car on the road in basic form probs less than 5K if you do your homework,if you go for the higher spec it will diffinatly come out
the wrong side of 8K.
As for whitch kit well you can only ask owners of each available of the workmanship of the parts and service you receive,have a look around the photo
archives for spec.
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damien
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 04:26 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey
Welcome to the site
GTS is a good choice and i see that you are local to them. Its worth getting yourself along to a kit show and having a chat with all of the
maufacturers and seeing what they think to your plans and the feasibility of it. You will find most are all too happy to stand around and have a chat.
Also see if you can arrange a ride in as many different kits as you can before you make up your mind.
As for engine choice, the common ones are ford, vauxhall xe and toyota 4age. All of which are well supported for conversion to rwd format and have
plenty of tuning options available. There are also other choices such as the rover v8 and other engines. The alternative is a bike engine, which many
people on here have great support for . Bear in mind the differences though. A car engine will be more civilised and easier to drive in traffic and
will cruise along at around 3000rpm. A bike engine will give you phenominal power to weight but is far from civilised, its hard to pull of without
scaring grannies, they lack low down torque and cruise at 5-6krpm. It depends what you want from the car.
Cost; my GTS has cost me just over £5k and for that i have got everything i need tog et on the road. Some of the parts i have bought i could have done
without (like a new set of wheels etc).
Time: I took mine from a kit to a rolling chassis with all the running gear fitted in 2.5months. Take a look on my website... And that was with
working full time too, so if you are prepared you can make rapid progress. I would throughly recommend obtaining and reconditioning donor parts before
you buy your kit, this will mean once you have your kit you can just bolt it together.
Whether or not it is worth it is up to you. It depends what you want etc.
David
i found your site after looking on the main gts site then found this forum in your links 
engine wise it would have to be a car engine, i was looking into the 2.0 zetec lump or the vauxhall redtop but as said before ive build afew peugeot
XU engines so i would like to try and keep to them if possable.
as i do alot of track days i need something that has alot of go but at the same time will be nice and easy to drive down the local a-roads on a summer
day (if we have any)
i was chatting to afew kit car owners over the weekend at bedford and one was very nice in taking me for afew laps (thats me on the right)
tim isnt a problem, just wanted to get a idea on time, it would be the off weekend here and there because work takes up 90% of my life.
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ch1ll1
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 05:26 PM |
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got bec, and have lots of fun !!!!
went out in mine today, loads of fun
even the straight were like corners,
this weather is like trying to learn how to drift but in a straight line who needs corners
[Edited on 9/12/06 by ch1ll1]
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Hellfire
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 05:39 PM |
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Are you sure you can't be tempted to go bike engine? If you're interested in doing a few trackdays, you won't go wrong with a BEC.
They're as tame or as wild as you want them to be on the road but they really come alive on track. However, I realise that BEC's
aren't everybodys cup of tea and they're definitely not for girls but don't rule them out until you've tried one If
you've already had a ride in a BEC and still prefer a car engine then at least you've made an informed choice. (Even if it is the wrong
one )
With regard to the kit you eventually choose, you won't go too far wrong with any of the manufacturers who advertise their kits on here. They
all produce a quality product and all will give good value for money.
Have a read of our build and rebuild diaries, if nothing else it will give you a good idea of what you're letting yourself in for. Personally, I
prefer the driving just as much as the building.
Lastly, welcome to the nut house.
Phil
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ch1ll1
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 06:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
They're as tame or as wild as you want them to be on the road but they really come alive on track.
However, I realise that BEC's aren't everybodys cup of tea and they're definitely not for girls
i have to agree with hellfire,
they are great when you press the loud pedal,
but you can still drive them normal !
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BenB
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 07:14 PM |
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Just got home from a blat in the LocoEuro
Such good fun! A little bit cold- still haven't put the windscreen on!! Which was also a problem when we stopped to do some shopping- parking
ticket said "put in the windscreen"... In the end I stuck it to the top of the tunnel top and hope no-one nicked it(!). Like the thieving
parking warden gits!!! Luckily, it was still there when I got back (the car and the ticket that is!!!)....
The ST1100 quite happily pootles along at 2-3k... Infact, the one time I gave it some beans my girlfriend said "SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE GOING 70
MILES PER HOUR!!!!!"... In fact we were doing 35mph @ 70 (00)rpm. Hehehehe.....
I must say that when I built my kit the manufacturer being close to my location helped no end. It wouldn't totally make my decision for me but
it would certainly be an influencing factor.
I'd personally stay well away from RH, especially since they recently went bust and people lost money.... The 2B is very heavy, the RH tubular
stainless steel used is (accourding to someone I know who spoke to the chassis bloke at the factory) exhaust tubing  , and their Lightweight car is
failing SVA all over the shop for being built from tinfoil and with all the structural safety of a drinks carton....
I'd plan on 6k, 200 hours and go for one of the bigger players that has been in business for a while.....
and it's the usual situation- you can use any engine you want but you'll be working out a lot of stuff from fresh. Nothings impossible (as
the NSA say in the states- the impossible just takes longer) but you'ld probably be better off using a tried and tested route to Se7enth heaven
Ben
[Edited on 9/12/06 by BenB]
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damien
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 08:41 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
Are you sure you can't be tempted to go bike engine? If you're interested in doing a few trackdays, you won't go wrong with a BEC.
They're as tame or as wild as you want them to be on the road but they really come alive on track. However, I realise that BEC's
aren't everybodys cup of tea and they're definitely not for girls but don't rule them out until you've tried one If
you've already had a ride in a BEC and still prefer a car engine then at least you've made an informed choice. (Even if it is the wrong
one )
With regard to the kit you eventually choose, you won't go too far wrong with any of the manufacturers who advertise their kits on here. They
all produce a quality product and all will give good value for money.
Have a read of our build and rebuild diaries, if nothing else it will give you a good idea of what you're letting yourself in for. Personally, I
prefer the driving just as much as the building.
Lastly, welcome to the nut house.
Phil
my first ideas of a kit was to have a bike engine but i know next to nothing about them, i couldnt tell one bike part from another unless someone
stuck a lable on them, was also informed that a bike engine is great for the track but not heathy for normal road use because of the high reving which
leads me to think that the engines would need rebuilding more offen.
regarding the bike engine again is there any extra problems that i could come a cross when it comes to the SVA?
regarding "donor" cars, do they have to be used? could i not use new parts? if i used all new parts and a 2nd have engine would the car
still get a Q plate or would it get its own new one?
one last thing, im selling my everyday runner, would i be braking forum rules if i put it in the "for sale" forum as im a new user?
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JoelP
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 08:48 PM |
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feel free mate to post in the for sale section, not sure if you can before you get 10 posts or a certain amount of time under your belt.
For a new reg plate, you must use all new except one reconditioned part that must be reconditioned to an 'as new' standard. Bike engines
are dead simple and are unlikely to need rebuilding in the mileage you are likely to cover. Problems at sva might include noise and emissions, but
these are problems you may encounter with a car engine anyway. Loads of people have passed sva with bike engines anyway.
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Hellfire
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 09:31 PM |
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Like Joel says, bike engines are really quite simple. They are light, compact, give a superb power/weight ratio and are easy to both install and work
on. One reasonably fit bloke could install/remove an engine without assistance. You can change the clutch in less than one hour.
The best advice I could give, would be to get a ride in a BEC before making your decision on the engine.
Phil
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damien
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 09:46 PM |
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anyone up for taking me out for a ride?
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Hellfire
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 10:00 PM |
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Are you likely to be around South Yorkshire in the near future by any chance. If so, you're more than welcome to a passenger ride in ours.
Phil
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damien
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| posted on 9/12/06 at 10:05 PM |
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not for a long time, will be plaining on brands in jan so i'll see if theres any bike engine cars up there
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lukefree233
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| posted on 10/12/06 at 01:04 PM |
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Hi,
Where in Kent are you?
I'm up in Bexley but your more than welcome to go out for a ride in my bike engined sylva striker.
Will have to be soon though as I'm going to start some winter upgrades so the car will be off the road.
Regards
Luke
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damien
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| posted on 10/12/06 at 07:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by lukefree233
Hi,
Where in Kent are you?
I'm up in Bexley but your more than welcome to go out for a ride in my bike engined sylva striker.
Will have to be soon though as I'm going to start some winter upgrades so the car will be off the road.
Regards
Luke
im in hawkinge, folkestone
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GeoffB
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| posted on 10/12/06 at 08:45 PM |
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I live in ashford mate ,just up road youre quite welcome to come and have a look and my indy with a fireblade engine , its only just past its sva on
thursday so am still waiting for it to be registered and have got to sought a few running issues but once i hav i will be able to take you for a
spin.(not literally.!!)
Geoff
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damien
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| posted on 11/12/06 at 07:35 AM |
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cool, weekends are best for me because of work, just let me know when or where i could meet you.
thanks
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