First, apologies if this is in the wrong place but wasn't sure where else to put it, after a quick search it seems most people know the answer to this question! Just hoping to draw on the collective knowledge and experience from LCB.

Which kit car should I get for my first ever build? Complete kit with everything supplied and just bolt together a la Westfield (with the price to go with it), or kit and donor/secondhand parts from any of the multitude of companies available in the UK?

I can follow instructions and bolt bits together no problem, so am confident that I could more than handle the Westfield-type route. I've done simple bits on bikes previously but nothing like a full engine strip/rebuild (I do have a Pinto in pieces bought to give me some practice at that, but only now have a clear garage to attempt it).

I know the cheaper routes will require more work and sourcing bits on my part, my concern is it will require more skills (or tools or space) than I have (e.g. making brackets/mounts/bits from scratch).

Really I want to go into it with my eyes open, and not get stuck and quit halfway through.

Cheers in advance
Gaz

Gaz,

Go and see Marc and co at MNR just up the road at Harrogate Chris will be more than happy to discus budgets from MX5 doner upwards as they can taylor thekit to your budget.

ATB Agriv8

you could always break yourself in gently with a car that’s already been on the road and is in need of some TLC
then just strip it down and re-build it to your spec… it should work out cheaper too

Watch the DVD, "A Racing Car is Born" By mark evans. Quite and accurate record of what's involved in building a Westfield. It only get's harder with other makes, and DVD will give you a good idea of the skill's needed..

Cheers

Dan

I was completely new to this as well a couple of years ago and went through the same thought process. In the end, I went for a Luego Viento even though I knew that I would have to source bits myself and do some refurbishment, fabrication and modification. I am getting on well with the build although its been slow due to other commitments.

Unless you are in a hurry to get something on the road that you have bolted together, I would recommend going down the route that I have (and there is a wide choice of kits for almost any budget). I have learnt a huge amount more than I would have bolting back together what would have amounted to a disassembled car and I think that it has been more satisfying. The trick is to do a section at a time and learn as you go, rather than expecting to be an expert in everything from day one.

Another option would be to buy something relatively low cost thats already on the road, take it to bits, do some modifications and put it back together again. It would be a lot cheaper than a Westfield.

This forum has been absolutely invaluable and I would be surprised if you can come up with a question that no one knows the answer to.

Personally, I think you're doing it the wrong way round. You need to decide first of all whether you want to go BEC or CEC, then once you've made your decision, buy the bike engine you want and decide which manufacturers kit best suit the bike engine. This will eliminate all dedicated CEC kit manufacturers and narrow down your choice.

Phil

What's your budget? I think if i were to do it again i would have a look at buying a second hand one and rebuilding it to my spec. You wouldn't then have to jump through all the IVA hoops and these cars tend to loose value rapidly once they are a few years old.

MNR all the way Awsome to build excellent service and back up !!!

You should also look at Fury Sportscars. It's a champion winning kit, and Steve who owns the kit is very passionate and is improving the kit after Martin Bell who owned it previously (who did a great job as well).

It's a medium difficulty build, but takes many many power plants, sticks to the road like you wouldn't believe, and based on ford running gear so there are plenty of factory-mods you can go for. It's also strong - I offed my fairly standard car at harewood at 80 mph, walked away and it was a doddle to replace the mashed components. The important thing is that the right things broke and absorbed the damage. This is a major plus point, believe me. The offing was due to driver error (inappropriate application of the loud pedal).

I'd show you mine, but it's in bits getting a new engine

This is a great community here, and there's also lots of fury builders here. The great thing is that there's no us-and-them - everyone appreciates eachothers cars and mucks in.

Good luck

you have u2

I think if I was in your shoe's I would buy a second hand Westfield and upgrade as you fancy/afford or turn it into the car of your dreams over winter etc...

The "No IVA" point above is a very very good point...

And these car's are meant to be fun, so do the sensible thing and get one or build one with a bike engine in it, as getting one with a car engine in it is pointless, you may as well get a £500 MX5 and turbo it. It'd be a much better car!

quote:

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Originally posted by mcerd1
you could always break yourself in gently with a car that’s already been on the road and is in need of some TLC
then just strip it down and re-build it to your spec… it should work out cheaper too

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Thanks everyone for all the replies and advice. A no-IVA, ready-to-go car does sound like a good idea, and do smaller bits of work rather than a full job. It gives me a good excuse to browse the classifieds!

I've seen a couple of episodes of A Race Car is Born and enjoyed them, trying to get hold of the series now.

If I was picking a kit and donor I would almost definitely go for the Fury, I really like the look of the full body, especially the Le Mans bonnet.

Lots to think about there, although I tend to do too much thinking and not enough acting. I'm going to have to start impulse buying instead.

If you are on a tight budget, mind that Aries Motorsport (http://www.ariesmotorsport.co.uk) offers one of the best (straightest) chassis and is one of the cheapest cars. Steve is very helpful and will support your build.

They can be either BEC or CEC. Most of the built cars are BEC (usually with the CBR900 engine) but there are CECs based on Zetec too.

Ilkeston is some 75 miles from Leeds, don't know if that is too much or if there are other nearer. This is something to consider if you want to fetch packs of parts instead of everything at once.

I'm building an Aries and very happy with it and with Steve's help.

At the risk of repetition, just do whatever I have NOT done, and you will be fine. Get a proper kit from a proper manufacturer who can give you back up when necessary, and don't worry about 200 RWHP: it will be overkill, maybe literally. The only use for it will be at Santa Pod or the like.

Hi RIE

As I said in the post above - you're welcome to come over. Mine is in a lot of bits but that's not a bad thing.

I can take you through the trials and tribulations i've had, and mine's been around for a while now (from Fisher (boo) to Martin Bell (yeayy) to Steve Hughes (yeayy)).

It's the lemans bonnet, and is being moved over to a 215bhp duratec, so will give me 300bhp/tonne.

I have lots of special bits on it, so you can (for instance) see what a hi-spec monster caliper is like in your hand, and i can show you how some stuff is mounted.

When I did mine, I was the only guy in the area with a fury, so there was little local support. If you get yourself one, you're welcome to help support and shared experience.

ping me a u2u and i'll give you my phone number.

It wasn't plain sailing building mine but all the challenges were straightforward, but the grin 4.5s to 60 gives you is worth it. I think buying a runner and tweeking it is great advice by the way.

Take you pick

http://pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?g=1&dist=100&pc=&min=&max=&y1=&y2=&txt=Fury&px=&nodays=60&filter=TP& o=p&Submit=Search