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Which Kit Manufacturer?
Calzonii - 2/6/15 at 02:20 PM

Hi all,

As some of you know I'm about to start building my first kit car. I am just looking to get some information on which kit people would choose for a replica 7. I already have the engine chosen. A 2l duratec as I got one for free from a friend. So now all I want to know is peoples opinion on the best kit to buy. Will be used mostly for just driving around in the summer but also for track days. Probably a couple per season. And my budget is around £12k all in minus engine as i already have that.

My current list:

MK Indy R
Westfield
MAC1
Tiger Avon
Or any other recommendations.

Can people also highlght the positive and negatives for each supplier?

Thanks,

Cal

[Edited on 2-6-2015 by Calzonii]

JAG - 2/6/15 at 02:30 PM

Have a look at the Aries Motorsport car...

Aries Motorsport

JohnH - 2/6/15 at 03:18 PM

Aries Motorsport...... Great kit. Everything fits together great. Good price. Great bloke to deal with (Steve). Give Steve a ring and have chat to him. The car has done very well in the 750 championship. They do car engine aswell as bike engine. 😜

coozer - 2/6/15 at 03:23 PM

Midlana, build it from scratch and hold your head up!

Or, my vote would be MNR.

Kev99 - 2/6/15 at 03:45 PM

IMO i would go for the Westfield just on resale value when u come to sell it but it will be the most expensive to build

Kev.....

ian locostzx9rc2 - 2/6/15 at 04:21 PM

Raw striker ?

matt5964 - 2/6/15 at 05:42 PM

How about the Elite Pulse, Eddie is a top bloke too

http://www.elitemotorsport.co.uk/elite-pulse-16-w.asp

austin man - 2/6/15 at 06:02 PM

Indy RR you will get plenty of change and the car has a proven race pedigree slightly wider that the Stuart Taylor tons cheaper than the Westfield, if its the Westfield look you like then consider the Road Runner virtually identical bodywork.

rash12 - 2/6/15 at 07:48 PM

road runner sr2 very similar looking to the westie good build quality too

HappyFather - 2/6/15 at 09:37 PM

Let me add one plus for Aries Motorsports (former Stuart Taylor) and the man behind it, Steve. Wonderful person to deal with and the kit is easy to assemble, all fits in and is one of the cheapest.

From your list, and if you have the cash, would go for Westfield. The most expensive of the list but the quality shows on the final product. Also, as stated before, has the best resale value from the listed ones.

MNR is algo a good choice, quality wise and the people behind it. Price between Westfield and Aries.

Would go for one of these 3 and forget about the others. Actually I went for Aries when I bought my kit, 5 years ago.

kingster996 - 2/6/15 at 09:59 PM

With your budget a westfield is easily achievable.

Built this for less







[Edited on 2/6/15 by kingster996]

ianhurley20 - 2/6/15 at 10:00 PM

This is a difficult question to answer without knowing the person making the car. Builders seem to sit in two groups - builders and - drivers. If you are a builder I would go for a Haynes Roadster as there is tremendous freedom to make the car your own - a driver on the other hand I would go for the much simpler build together with resale ease of the Westfield. In between possibly the MNR.

I have built 3 previous kit cars, all over 40 years ago, and now have chosen the Haynes Roadster. make your own choice but decide which group you fit into best first.

PorkChop - 2/6/15 at 10:53 PM

If you can, I would try and see if you can persuade someone to let you sit in the cars you're interested in.

It's all well and good having a straightforward or a high quality build, but it means naff all if you can't get comfortable in the car when it's done...

Calzonii - 2/6/15 at 11:04 PM

Hi guys,

Thanks for the input. I also think you make a good point Porkchop! Ill maybe take a run up to a few of the factories and get a better idea of the cars they make.

At the moment I have to say imleaning towards the MK. I don't think I could afford to build a westie to the spec im looking and buying a kit a bit cheaper lets me have more scope to tune the engine / add supervharger etc.

What are peoples opinion on MK? I havent heard much chat about them so far in the comments?

Also can somebody tell me the difference between the Indy R and the RR?

MK9R - 3/6/15 at 02:39 AM

MNR Vortx

FASTdan - 3/6/15 at 07:58 AM

We have an original MK Indy fitted with a Duratec and have had good dealings with Danny at MK when sourcing replacement parts etc. I think the Indy R looks like a great kit. However, the Roadrunner SR2 continually catches my eye at the shows and had a good chat with the guys at a track day recently - I'd be very tempted with this option but I do not know the in's and outs of fitting a Duratec as their donor is an MX5.

Tazzzzman1 - 3/6/15 at 10:54 AM

Yes I'd recommend the Roadrunner Sr2 as well. Had mine on the road for almost 3 years, done both track and road, covered 9K miles so far. Fitted with an MX5 which I have just supercharged. So plenty of scope to improve the car and space to allow it. IMHO one of the best sorted and quality kits out there and a budget of £12K would get yo a decent spec build. The duratec shouldnt be an issue as they have done multiple engine fits including a 600BHP V8.....

YQUSTA - 3/6/15 at 11:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Calzonii


What are peoples opinion on MK? I havent heard much chat about them so far in the comments?



When I had my MK Indy I found MK to be totally unhelpful unless it was when you were giving them money, I would order parts and they would not arrive even though they would tell me that they had sent them. I also asked them to bring some parts to Stoneleigh one year and they said they forgot but would send them to me making promises that they were in the workshop, even though 2 months later they were then telling me they were waiting for parts to be made.

I personally would never deal with them again, their focus is now imo on racing and not on customer service, it also appears from other forum posts about their service that it happens to be worse for people who can't just pop in and see them due to the distance they are from the workshop.

If they had just been honest it would have made my opinion of them much better but when you get told lies time and time again it's not good.

Others will have glowing references for MK but this is my honest experience with them.

hkp57 - 3/6/15 at 12:07 PM

Scottish Kitcar Centre Raptor range derived from Indy Chassis


SKC Link


Calzonii - 3/6/15 at 02:28 PM

Nice looking car hpk

ragindave - 3/6/15 at 05:41 PM

Westfield better resale value.

Rocket_Rabbit - 2/8/15 at 11:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Tazzzzman1
Yes I'd recommend the Roadrunner Sr2 as well. Had mine on the road for almost 3 years, done both track and road, covered 9K miles so far. Fitted with an MX5 which I have just supercharged. So plenty of scope to improve the car and space to allow it. IMHO one of the best sorted and quality kits out there and a budget of £12K would get yo a decent spec build. The duratec shouldnt be an issue as they have done multiple engine fits including a 600BHP V8.....

I have their ex V8 car (the green one)


I must say that the quality of the chassis/kit/service has disappointed me somewhat.

The chassis had apparently done 50 miles when I got hold of it.

The seat spacers that were welded on had rusted off.

The rollcage side bars haven't been welded underneath and have rusted at the join where the powdercoating hasn't taken

Speaking of powdercoating it is absolutely hopeless. My 13 year old Westfield was in much better condition. A loy of it is flaking away, especially round welds.

The propshaft they gave me had a CV joint and a UV joint.

The bonnet has a 2/3 inch lip/overhang on the left hand side.

Shame really because the chassis design is very good.

prawnabie - 3/8/15 at 05:59 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Kev99
IMO i would go for the Westfield just on resale value when u come to sell it but it will be the most expensive to build

Kev.....


my mazda SDV cost me 8k all in

daniel mason - 3/8/15 at 06:26 AM

If I new the larger welds on the roll cage were sub-standard,I'd be going ove the car with a microscope to make sure the chassis welds are all spot on!

[Edited on 3/8/15 by daniel mason]

Rocket_Rabbit - 3/8/15 at 08:42 AM

quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
If I new the larger welds on the roll cage were sub-standard,I'd be going ove the car with a microscope to make sure the chassis welds are all spot on!

[Edited on 3/8/15 by daniel mason]

I agree.

If it were a perfect world I'd strip the chassis, blast it, reweld it where needed and then re powdercoat the whole thing with something not made from chocolate!

I've had a weld fail before on a steering arm. It's not nice.

I'll try and get some pictures up of the car

CosKev3 - 3/8/15 at 09:09 AM

Westfield quality of finish is the best of the bunch, body panels are way better.you can see the fibreglass matting/weave through a lot of cheaper panels, and one I've looked at recently but won't name you can see daylight through the rear panel it was that thin!

I looked around a SR2 and thought the front suspension pick up points and sizes of the wishbones/rose joints etc looked weak.

Rocket_Rabbit - 3/8/15 at 10:32 AM

quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Westfield quality of finish is the best of the bunch, body panels are way better.you can see the fibreglass matting/weave through a lot of cheaper panels, and one I've looked at recently but won't name you can see daylight through the rear panel it was that thin!

I looked around a SR2 and thought the front suspension pick up points and sizes of the wishbones/rose joints etc looked weak.


The pickups and general design is fine IMHO.

I think if I had to do it over again, I'd look at MNR or Elite Pulse.

But since I'm £15k and counting down this hole, I need to get to the bottom (Another £3-4k away I reckon without IVA) of it.

sdh2903 - 3/8/15 at 11:09 AM

quote:
But since I'm £15k and counting down this hole, I need to get to the bottom (Another £3-4k away I reckon without IVA) of it.


Wow thats a big hole for something your not fully happy with. Have you not approached RRR with the issues?

I have recently done the rounds looking for a new build and my observations were:

MK, decent quality and price, plenty of them around but on (some) occasions the backup from manufacturer can be poor.

Westfield, the mazda SDV looks good value, decent resale, very good quality, as said the grp is very nicely finished, but by the time id specced the fw bodywork and a few other bits and pieces the price skyrocketted very quickly. Also their customer service seems to have taken a downward turn lately, lots of people complaining if you trawl the web.

RRR Sr2, only spoke by email but the guy seemed nice to deal with.

MNR, ended up buying one. Bodywork is very close to westfield quality and much cheaper to replace if it all goes Pete tong. Chassis looks very well made and the prices are reasonable for parts. Also the service from chris and mark is exceptional. Emails very rarely take 24hrs to get a reply unless they're away racing. I just wish they werent so busy as i still have a couple of months to wait for my kit

Rocket_Rabbit - 3/8/15 at 11:53 AM

quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
quote:
But since I'm £15k and counting down this hole, I need to get to the bottom (Another £3-4k away I reckon without IVA) of it.


Wow thats a big hole for something your not fully happy with. Have you not approached RRR with the issues?

I have recently done the rounds looking for a new build and my observations were:

MK, decent quality and price, plenty of them around but on (some) occasions the backup from manufacturer can be poor.

Westfield, the mazda SDV looks good value, decent resale, very good quality, as said the grp is very nicely finished, but by the time id specced the fw bodywork and a few other bits and pieces the price skyrocketted very quickly. Also their customer service seems to have taken a downward turn lately, lots of people complaining if you trawl the web.

RRR Sr2, only spoke by email but the guy seemed nice to deal with.

MNR, ended up buying one. Bodywork is very close to westfield quality and much cheaper to replace if it all goes Pete tong. Chassis looks very well made and the prices are reasonable for parts. Also the service from chris and mark is exceptional. Emails very rarely take 24hrs to get a reply unless they're away racing. I just wish they werent so busy as i still have a couple of months to wait for my kit

Yes it is a big hole, but if I were to sell up now, I'd be losing £5k minimum

There is no point in dealing with RRR on these issues. If I say 'The powdercoat is rubbish please redo it' they'll say 'No'.

As for the rollcage I'll end up doing it myself otherwise it'll be a day off work and £100 in fuel to take the car over to them.

And they fitted the bonnet to the car and would have seen it was off, yet they let it go out the door.

I think you made the right choice going MNR

micksalt - 3/8/15 at 03:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Rocket_Rabbit
I think you made the right choice going MNR


You'll have to pop over when I receive the Vortx kit this November(ish) and take a look

Chris_Xtreme - 3/8/15 at 04:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by PorkChop
If you can, I would try and see if you can persuade someone to let you sit in the cars you're interested in.

It's all well and good having a straightforward or a high quality build, but it means naff all if you can't get comfortable in the car when it's done...



I'd agree with this, I'm just 6ft but seem to have long legs! I couldn't fit in a lot of kits and ended up as a cheepo starter as a robin hood new series 3 (several years ago now!) followed by 2 quantum xtremes, all of which are slightly larger 7 style cars, but I have loads of room and thus makes for a much happier drive.

Another thing is to consider having the factory nearer to you if you are buying the kit from new, will make it easier if you need to see something or get a part sorted.

have fun choosing

Rocket_Rabbit - 6/8/15 at 12:20 AM

quote:
Originally posted by micksalt
quote:
Originally posted by Rocket_Rabbit
I think you made the right choice going MNR


You'll have to pop over when I receive the Vortx kit this November(ish) and take a look
I know mate, you're kicking bottom!!

Be nice to see it!