Hello,

I saw this forum in the web and thought you guys can probaply help me. Iam new to this, never done something like this. Normally i build modelplanes out of wood and not cars out of metall so i dont really have a lot of knowledge about this. My question now is, whats the best way to start out? What tools do i need? I already looked online and decided to go for the McSorley 7+442e plan.I never welded before so i was also wondering what would be the best welder for it?. For a jet turbine project i whanted to do a couple of years ago i got recommendet to use a TIG-welder, but for this project i was wondering if maybe a MIG-welder is enough (to clarify i dont own any welder yet, as i had to abbandone the other project due to my health state at the time). My main goal for this project is mainly to have fun, build a car that is street legal in germany and it should be relatively relatively lo cost .

Thanks for your help,
Nima

Welcome to the club.
I wouldn't worry too much about which welder, some of us have used mig and some tig, if you are in Germany your problem is likely to be registering it there when you finish it.

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. Then i`ll probaply go with the MIG-welcder because i heared its a lot easyer to learn. The registration is the thing iam worried the most currently, because i mean its germany, everything is complicated here. Do you have some tips for stuff like how to find a good donor car, because i looked and couldnt find any good one. Or should i worry about this later and first learn welding and weld the frame?

Welcome! For welding I'd suggest MIG, it's easier and cheaper. I'd also suggest looking for a second hand unit, if you get one that just needs the spare parts replacing (nozzle, shroud, maybe the liner) then you can get running for very little money.

As mentioned registration is the hardest thing in Europe, I hear all sorts of horror stories from people trying to get their cars on the road. Look at the regulations in your particular location then aim to build to them. Or maybe consider a creative solution, such as importing a UK registered car that's in need of renovation?

[Edited on 7/10/24 by Slimy38]

Hello,

thanks for your answer. Importing a UK registered car is a good idea, sadly i would need to register it again in germany because of the law, and then its the same thing.

As far as I know, the only practical way to get a kit registered in Germany is to buy a car that's already registered elsewhere AND qualifys as an "old-timer" (classic). We used to have a German member who imported cars that way. Think the age of the engine was the vital bit (pre 80's maybe). Unfortunately I can't remember their name.

Another way is to buy a kit from a company that builds and registers the car as new... then takes it appart and supplies it to you as a kit like RCB do.
https://rcb7.de/#./Willkommen

Hello,

the second thing could work, but iam planning to build the car completely myself to stay as cheap as possible, so no kits.

I know you are asking from Germany,
but I strongly suggest you get a copy of the UK iva manual, to give you a sensible 'minimum standard' to build to.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/iva-manual-for-vehicle-category-m1

[Edited on 8/10/24 by Myke 2463]

I know a fair bit about German registration as I have had 3 customers register, or attempt to register, my cars (the Furore) in Germany. My car is the one you see as my profile pic.

There were 3 Furore's registered, one sadly went up in flames, I believe there are 2 still registered in Germany, however, if you don't continue to use them & keep them on the road then apparently my German customer has told ne recently you would lose that registration & he said now the rules have changed & become more strict there is no way you'd get a car registered now. The IVA test we have over here, although it allows us to register a car in the UK, it wouldn't allow you to import that car & register it there as the IVA is a National test, NOT an international test like type approval

I don't think you'll find the rules are any simpler for a 7 style car than they are for mine, so I think if you want to build your own then you would be building a track day car, I think the only way you'd get it registered would either be prohibitively expensive or would mean resorting to bending the law illegally. Whilst I'd never discourage anyone from having a go & building their own, I'd hate to see anyone waste their time & effort to build a car only to find they could never actually use it

There certainly used to be a law that allowed you to import an older vehicle, registered elsewhere in the EU for personal use, I believe that was cars over 20 years old, but not certain on that. Whether that would still apply to a UK vehicle now we're out of the EU I don't know, though if between 20 & 50 years old we'd have been in the EU when it was built .....
You can certainly pick up a crossflow engined 7 style car for around £3-4k over here & you could drive it back home & register the import - but check regs first!

Before even starting on the track of a welder etc. I think you need to find someone who can advise you on the rules governing one off builds in Germany, I think you'll find building your own won't work

Welcome to the forum & good luck - let us know how you get on

Thanks for your replies. I look further into the registration thing and found out that i have to let a qualified professional check all the selfmade parts in the car. That means for me mostly the chassi, because i was planning to source the rest out of production vehicles. These parts normally are already tested because they are out of a production car which has undergone thorough investigation. But while researching i found another option. Some kit supplyers have parts that are already well tested and make registrating them easyer. Do you guys now a kit maker with cheap kits like this?

Edit: I just contacted the TÜV for more precise informations, i will provide a update on them after they answered.


[Edited on 8/10/24 by Nima0908]

Hello,

so i just had a talk with the TÜV abou this. The short answer is its impossible or you nned a lot of money for it.
The cause for this is that the TÜV cant even test youre car for this. It can only be tested by special companies. And everything needs to be tested. The exhaust, the chassy, the driveshaft etc. One test for example is that one tester from the company goes on a racetrack with your car and drives it for 1000km. Then it gets fully checked for cracks and stuff. This alone would cost around 10.000€, if not more. Because of this, sadly i have to cancel my project here. It was fun and i would have really liked to spend time for this but with this amount of difficulty its just not possible for me.

quote:

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Originally posted by Nima0908
Hello,

so i just had a talk with the TÜV abou this. The short answer is its impossible or you nned a lot of money for it.
The cause for this is that the TÜV cant even test youre car for this. It can only be tested by special companies. And everything needs to be tested. The exhaust, the chassy, the driveshaft etc. One test for example is that one tester from the company goes on a racetrack with your car and drives it for 1000km. Then it gets fully checked for cracks and stuff. This alone would cost around 10.000€, if not more. Because of this, sadly i have to cancel my project here. It was fun and i would have really liked to spend time for this but with this amount of difficulty its just not possible for me.

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