as the title suggests, can i build a locost for £1200? any suggestions on cost saving approaces ?

like the XJ6 rear suspension

good suggestions for donors?

i am open minded as to which rear suspension i use, be it live axle or use the Rorty locost IRS designs.


any suggestions much appreciated

cheers

Matt

No,
Steve.

It depends upon lots of factors like what engine and suspension you're going to use and how much time you're prepared to spend at autojumbles etc collecting parts or on Ebay waiting for a bargain to come up....

If you're prepared to go scrapheap surfing for the parts, make up your own chassis and glassfibre parts etc, use 2nd hand wheel, tyres etc then maybe... I think it would be a big struggle even then!!

nah, i think its easily possible - you just have to spend nothing extra. Ie, home made seats, all donor parts, lights from an auto jumble etc. Certainly worth a go! The record is well below that figure

well in the title of the book its only £250

Including getting it through SVA aswell ?

Nope

why build it to a budget anyway? its always better to build to a stanard
i'm sure that if you just buy what you need it can't cost too much anyway i.e don't buy stupid recaro or cobra seats that cost the same amout as half of the car

do you already have a the tooling needed to build a car?

[Edited on 29/12/06 by goodall]

i have access to prety much every tool under the sun, so the cost of buying tools can be thrown out of the budget.

matt

quote:

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Originally posted by goodall
well in the title of the book its only £250

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I guess technically it can be done but I'd suggest you'd be a bit unhappy with it once it's done and want to change loads of bits anyway. I'd say save a bit more and then give it a go spending say 3k.

Rich.

anyone recomend any good autojumbles?

SVA plus retest: £180
Registration: £30 (hazy memory)
TAX: £170

You including insurance in that £1200?

I reckon you can do it... but it'll be a bit of a dog!

Cheers,
James

this is just to get a finished car, i will worry bout the SVA later so the £1200 is just for the car nothing else

cheers

Matt

With time spent finding the bargains, making as much as possible your self yea easy.

Bit too late for you now but I have just given away a complete GRP set that just needed a bit of filler and paint including the rear lights and sold the front lights for £20, look out for people clearing there garage like that and you are well on the way.

Good luck, happy building & welcome.


edit too add, you ask which doner ?

Well they can still be found, Cortina, you will have all the running gear you need, engine box, axle, front uprights, brakes, steering column, (will need a different rack) but with a cortina and a homebuilt chassis you are well on the way.

Cant find one ? Go seek out the local banger lads, they still find them, take one off there hands when its wrecked, or better still pull all the bits off it you want at the side of the track as they load the wrecked car before leaving the circuit. not too many beer tokens need change hands, its just a case of been prepared too get your hands dirty.

[Edited on 29/12/06 by Jon Ison]

[Edited on 29/12/06 by Jon Ison]

I've got a pair of perfect front wings in blue for £20

you could prob get a part built on ebay for 600 ish, depending on many factors, will be lots for sale in next couple months as people realise they have no money and no time to finsh the mess in the garage, lol... so ebay like a hawk and see what comes up... and with the guys on here being VERY helpfull, you should source all the other items cheap to... give it a go. not alot to lose!!!!!

good luck.

I reckon you can do it easily

IF:

You get your steel for next to nothing
You get your donor for nothing
You get your panels for very little - second hand ally for most and s/h f/glass for rest
Can recondition essentials (like brakes) on the cheap
Can use instruments from donor

Therefore costs should be

Chassis steel £0
S/H Panels £50
S/H Lights £50
VW Polo rad (new)£42

All running gear/
instruments/loom
rack/uprights etc
from donor £0

SVA/Ins and 6
months RFL £400

Total £552

Still £500 more than the (rumoured) cheapest build, but leaves plenty of space within your budget

Try. And let us know how you get on

ATB

Simon

You can have it cheap
You can have it perfect
You can have it quickly

Though you can have only 2 out of 3 at the time..

thanks for all the help everyone, i will have a damn good go at making the car and of course i will let you all know how i get on, im going to do an online build diary like so many have done previously and post it on my website


cheers

Matt

quote:

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Originally posted by akumabito
You can have it cheap
You can have it perfect
You can have it quickly

Though you can have only 2 out of 3 at the time..

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Where the h*ll can you find your steel for free???

And the GRP parts?

And the shock absorbers.....

I think the 250 pounds are to satisfy your beloved wife

It will be much more around 5000-6000 pounds.

......it's time that GB goes euro.........

Got mine on the road for £3k ish (inc SVA/RFL and Insurance - about £600 total), and I made some dodgy purchases, like a knackered engine; splashed out when I didn't really need to, ie new seats and £400 worth of instruments!

Darren does a nice line in shocks for a reasonable amount. They must also be available s/hand!

ATB

SImon

[Edited on 29/12/06 by Simon]

No, simply because most people spend at the very least 3K and if YOU could build it for £1200 you would know enough not to need to have to asked the question in the first place (i seem to have come over all zen.....)

quote:

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Originally posted by novacaine
anyone recomend any good autojumbles?

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"like the XJ6 rear suspension "

that would weigh more than my whole car !


Also please take the advice from the above comments, as trying to build a good car for £1200 must be impossable, You may be able to do it on your second, third build, as you would Know were you went wrong the first time
My car cost to get on the road £3000 including insurance, tax, mot, and I was lucky enough not to have to go thru SVA

just getting the right SVA compiant parts must cost £ 500 + , seatbelts, e marked lights etc,
I also have made dodgy purchases, and must have a good few hundred quid
of usless rubbish lurking in my garage

And as already been said, the overal look of a £1200 car would be awfull,
and trust me most of the dreadfull cars that Ive seen at the shows, have been budjet builds, and i wouldnt even park next to them

[Edited on 30/12/06 by steve m]

I wish people would stop saying £1200 cars are awful.


So a guy as £1200 max to play with ? He shouldn't build a car because it will look awful ?

Give the guys a break, I don't have too like every car I see but I would never call anyone's efforts awful, it takes more balls n build time effort too get a car on the road for little $$$$$

Anyway, I will grab me coat and run off into a corner.........

I agree, go for it! It will still look good on a budget it'll just take you a lot longer than spending £6K! If you hunt about its deffinately possible.....ppl on here are always up for lending a hand as well! I for one will help you out anyway I can just let me know....Oli.

Our first car was on the road for £1500, ok it was 6 years ago, but I'm sure it can still be done.
It's what Locosting is all about - don't get caught up on buying when, with a little ingenuity, you can make most bits.
Our first chassis was built with 18 gauge steel section - came free from a school (ex shelving!)
Used the donor roof for the floorpan (followed the book pretty closely).
Fibreglass is all seconds - cost us in the region of £40 for the lot.



Description

Don't think it looks too bad for the money!

Jon and Marcus

I respect your comments, about cheapness, and what can be done, but all 3 of us were on the road years ago, when a mk2 escort / capri/cortina were plentifull, and every breakers yard had 10-20 to get bits, now we see that cortina front suspension parts on there own making £150 !!

as for second hand materials, were is it ?, as ive never found it myself, yet i live not 2 miles from the biggest breakers yard in the south of england,

also I rest my case on what a £1000 ish car will look at, as looking thru some of my old photos, some are awfull,
but aside from that judging by some other marques (R/hood) some people spend 10k on a piece of shite, and yet there happy,

so to the original post, build the car, but dont get to despondent as the cost gets higher and higher, as the weeks turn into months

It can be done though, Only last month I was at a office furniture factory within sight of the Rebock stadium in Bolton, skip full of lots of different profiles of box section, "can I raid your skip"? "yup no problem" You don't get if you don't ask.

Without doubt I could have built a chassis for the cost of mig wire, gas & electric out of that skip.

quote:

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Originally posted by steve m
....., You may be able to do it on your second, third build, .....[Edited on 30/12/06 by steve m]

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lol, you guys should know better! You all know that a car like this is never finished! so what if the car does not look like a showroom model? The point was to get it on the road for 1500 quid, which I think can be done with a bit of ingenuity and a good dose of dumb luck. Making the car look pretty can be done later!