I'm sorry i ask this question as i'm sure you hear it so many times.

From the research that i have done, i am putting it down to one of three kit cars:

Dax Rush
Westfield Megabusa
MK Indy

These are my thoughts - the Dax and Westfield are more common but well designed with good build manuals and more of a bolt together project which i really want as my skills are minimal. What frustrates me with both of these options are the costs. I want to be spending most of my budget on a highly tuned engine not so much the kit itself as i want balistic performance.

Im really keen to go with the MK Indy as the kit looks great and doesnt cost the earth and to coin a phrase - "does exactly what it says on the tin" What worries me here is the lack of detailed build manual - as seen on website. I need some good schematic drawings!!

The best way to look as this is to summarise my wants:
Good Build manual.
Cheap Kit.
Prepared to spend a lot on bike engine plus tuning.
Extremely raw car - as light as possible - no comforts - just awesome pace.
Ideal engine - tuned ZX14r to 215bhp at the rear wheels
Budget 15k for everything.

Hope you get my drift - any ideas??

Woops, MNR Vortx should be on you list as well!! +

Well within your budget quoted there fella!

Oh, and welcome to the forum

[Edited on 28/4/08 by coozer]

Yup, you forgot the MNR. Best of the lot!

If spending £15 K I would keep in mind resale values.

Welcome to the forum.

There are other cars that should be on your list in my opinion.

Where are you located (UK)?

There may be someone in your area that could help you with your decision making if they are close to you and have a car you are interested in.

If your only reservation against the Indy (or maybe a better option, MK's "new" car the SpecR) is the fact that the build manual isn't very good then you might be able to still justify the choice by using other people's build diaries as your build manaul. The one most popular (and well written/informative) diary is Hellfire's (here: http://www.mkhellfire.co.uk ) and that may help you realise that even though the company should really produce a good manual, that many of them don't...

HTH
Steve

if you get stuck we're always here...

The build manual isnt very good i must admit, however you dont need to be a f1 mechanic to put any of these kits together, people with all skills have completed kits to a very good standard. We had all the basic tools etc and basic skills and had no problem. If you have any questions, no matter how stupid you think they are, they have i'm sure been asked on here before and if not, ask away and you'll get the help you need.

If you want a insight of what is involved in a MK the best thing i can recommend is to look at hellfires website, that is what most people use as the build manual! I'm sure they will be along soon to comment!! Sorry Team Hellfire! (Edit) Steve (Worx) beat me to it!

Other good advice is get a ride in the kits, go to the shows oh and i'm sure others will agree, fit a Bike Engine!!!

ATB Mike

[Edited on 28/4/08 by mike smith1]

Thanks for all your replies. Im up in Edinburgh which makes things a little difficult geographically.

Dont want to buy second hand. I want to build one myself - thats most of the fun

Will be going to the kit car show at Stoneleigh and my lack of kits listed is only because of a lack of knowledge of kits. That MNR Vortx looks like a definate one to look at!

To be fair - build manual is prety much the main concern. Its got to be good. A pic or schematic drawing or two tells a thousand words.

MNR should be on your list (at No. 1...). They can supply everything you need to the last bolt and come with a 130+ page manual with pictures.
I originally wanted a Caterham, realised I had no budget for it, then researched all the other options, and here I am...
You should get a very quick MNR for 15k...

I always feel the MK build manual is quite lightweight, but to be honest, you don't need much mechanical know-how to build these cars, and part of the fun, is learning new skills. I built my MK myself and I would say I was a DIY mechanic at best, I certainly didn't have any specialist training, just what I've picked up over the year tinkering with my own cars.

Don't get too hung up on build manual, a lot of the build is common sense, and any question can be answered quickly by a search on here or a quick post.

My tuppence worth anyway

Cheers

Scott

I'll check out hellfires website thanks for suggestion

My mates circa £20k Westfield Megabusa still has a lot of undocumented areas int he build. he refered to othe rbuild diaries and even their tech helpline at least once a week.

I really would not let a build manual put you off, as someones like Hellfire has all the FAQ;s in one site.

Or, be boring like me, and get a pro to build it, SVA it and deliver it!

Even though we built an Indy - there are other very good quality kits available. It depends what you want really...

Cracking choice of engine by the way!! - but before you do, have a go in all that you would like to choose.

Personally i love the look of the MNR (except new nose cone and the Shopping Trolley Roll Bar - which is down to safety) but it's all down to taste.

Marvellous engine choice - did I already say that?

There is a reason for the significant price hikes over the Indy - thats mainly due to profit, name and quality of parts. Generally an out of the box Caterham or Westfield will out handle most on track.

That engine would be awesome in an Indy. Spec-R... but I'm sure I mentioned that!

One thing I wouldn't do is to put that engine in the older design of Indy IMHO it cannot cope with that amount of power without modification - in the Spec-R it would be awesome...

Welcome to the madhouse - there are guys on here with far more knowledge than us 2 (with web access) 3 if you count our old man (who has shorts instead) - but there are also a few "others" aswell, you'll find out who they are in your own time. Thats not to say they are not knowledgeable, they just had a humour bypass and suffer from dillusions of grandeur.

Main thing is - get a drive in a few first and have fun! There are a few great chaps up in your neck of the woods, I travel up there myself a dozen times/year (on business) so maybe we'll bump into each other sometime - always best over a pint or 3!!!

Steve

[Edited on 28-4-08 by Hellfire]

Another Vote for MNR here very helpful always at the end of the phone if you need anything form parts to advice and the product is supurb. the build manual is very comprehensive as well what more could you want!!

and for that money you should get a rocket ship

I too am not that adept with a spanner. I dont think however, I have ever looked at the build manual.

I just made sure that I used my limits of expertise and relied on others for help.

As above I would choose the kit based what you want not how the build manual looks. These cars must be chosen with your heart not your head

Paul

I have yet to see a build manual that deals with all the issues you run into with these things. Keep looking around the net and on here and you can find information on almost anything - there are little bits of info that make things easy all of a sudden. But as said, if you get really stuck, there are lots who would be able to gladly advise. It's a great community.

I would advise powdercoating the chassis however. You get tired of touching up all the time even before you are anywhere near finishing! Ask around; it probably won't be expensive.

I have a feeling that if you spend as much as 15 k GBP you've spent too much. You can get a pretty fast car over there for a lot less - much of the costs are in the finishing, gauges etc. Stuff you don't need to go fast.

[Edited on 28/4/08 by RK]

My own advice :- go and see some cars in action. I always recommend a hillclimb, because you'll get a mix of slow and fast corners.

See how they contain the understeer on the way in. Also watch how they put the power down on the way out. Some cars are far better at this than others.
After you do this, you may find yourself discounting certain cars.

(It may be an unfashionable statement to make, but I saw yet another car engined Caterham showing some ill handling bike engined cars how it was done yesterday.)

quote:

---

Originally posted by marksilver
I want to be spending most of my budget on a highly tuned engine not so much the kit itself as i want balistic performance.

---

Dont rule out Mac#1. Great kits, you dont need a build manual, Mark and Collin, are there to help, they wont let you fail.
Also its a one stop shop, you can get everything you need from them.

Chris

Dax do have a build manual, but the cars are NOT just bolt together kits in the way of Westfield or Caterham, each car is very different with lots of mods and variation....

Think of what you want, talk to loads of people, try them all out (Dax are near London, long way from Edinburgh) then make up your mind.... We don't regret ours at all (if we could get it running, but thats nothing to do with Dax!), but almost no-one else on here regrets their choice either.... If we did another one (and we're sorely tempted!) it would probably be another Dax, but a stripped out BEC instead...

Chris

Another vote for an MNR. If you could get up to Aberdeen i am sure Finlay would let you look at his bike powered vortx and let you know what he thought of the build and i could take you out in my zetec powered Vortx which was built by one of the guys on here so you could see what a finished one is like.

Hi Mark, I looked into pretty much all the options when selecting mine. The first build stages go together easily and the only real troublsome area i would imagine would be the engine. Most dont describe much engine wise so the manual isnt needed. If you wanted the ZX-14 the best place for information is probably here and you'll always be able to get it sorted. The learning curve is the fun bit anyway. So your main choice should be the manufacturer and their chassis so thats a nother vote for MNR and 15k will get you a very high spec car and maybe some change.
Adam


[Edited on 28/4/08 by bassett]

Can i just say thank you all very much for your input. I think i have taken a lot of very useful ideas on board.

I think the main things i need to do is

1. Get a test drive in anything so i have some form of experience to go on.
2. Consider whether or not i actually need to spend 15K which would be good.
3. Consider whether or not i actually need to tune a bike engine.
4. Go with the heart and not so much the build manual as it looks like there are lots of you out there to help.
5. Get to the kit cat show at Stoneleigh and have a good look around.

Mark

I bought a Tiger Cat (not a good choice for a bike engine BTW) took delivery of the kit in May 2001 and SVAd in Feb 2002. I had no experience of kit building prior to this and the build manual, as most Tiger owners will tell you, makes a good place to rest the coffee mug
The Tiger B6 might be another possible choice for you as this is intended for bike engined use, but as others have said have a look and a drive and make your decissions that way, it is supprising quite how different the various "7s" look.

yeah that makes a lot of sense. 15K is absolutely top amount, dont go over, get strung up by partner if i do
Think i'm going to bring it closer to 10K and build in a good contingency

Sorry guys but if I had a £15K budget for a toy, I wouldn't even bother looking at building a kit. I'd go for either a well sorted, second hand Megabusa Westy or factory built Caterham (again second hand).

Yes, you could build a very nice MK, MNR, MAC#1 or whatever for £15K but with a Westy or Caterham, you're also getting the decades of development that have gone into the car and you also have to consider re-sale values. (IMHO)

Phil

Ive considered it Phil but surely a kit car is exactly that. Something you take great pleasure in building and feel proud of the first day you take it out for a drive.

I'm in it just as much for the build experience. Want to learn how a car is put together etc etc.

But yeah i do know what you are saying

Mark

quote:

---

Originally posted by marksilver
Ive considered it Phil but surely a kit car is exactly that. Something you take great pleasure in building and feel proud of the first day you take it out for a drive.

I'm in it just as much for the build experience. Want to learn how a car is put together etc etc.

But yeah i do know what you are saying

Mark

---

Phil its more like i will borrow less from the bank and pay a lower monthly payment haha