Hi all,
Totally new to the kit car scene so please excuse all the stupid questions(that you've probably heard a thousand times).
I've had the high powered Jap cars in the past but mainly motorbikes all my life......but want a different "buzz"now.
I'm being pulled towards the BEC due to my bike back ground......so the high revs and noise does not bother me in the slighest.
Main problem i have is i'm 6ft 4 and 16 stone.....so this rules out certain cars.I have on my short list MK indy/MNR vortx and SEW Westfield's.
One thing i have noticed is that alot of the cars seem to have lot of owners in a short period......is there a reason for this ??
I understand that these are toys and fair weather cars for most but still it is a bit worrying.
I've read alot of threads on the CEC V BEC debate on which is best...still very confused.What i really want is a reliable fun car to drive.
Any advice is most welcome.....cheers

First off, welcome.

Just a couple of questions that may help others to give a more focussed answer -

What will you be using the car for - sunday drives (probably not), road driving only, road and track, just track, race etc. ?
Do you have a budget in mind ?
Are you looking to build or buy ready built and then tinker ?

One option is to buy a xflow or pinto car and then re-engine.

Final comment, might be worth a look at the smaller modern i4 engines that are very light and can be built to rev giving a medium ground. Worth startiong with the Zetec SE (Sigma) which in 1.6 form (Focus/Puma/Fiesta) can give 175hp at 8k rpm without any internal work and weighs 100kg wet with all anciliaries. Others to look at are the Toyota 4AGE.

Here's an example of what can be done - Sylva Striker (Raw or Stuart Taylor but not Caterham or Westfield)

My opinion of why cars get a lot of owners is that new people buy one without realising the amount of work that is required. Even if the car has been recently registered and put on the road, it might still need some work done to get it working well. It's in contrast to the average tintop which has already been road tested long before it went on sale.

Having said that, as you're a bike owner you probably appreciate the greater than average maintenance needed to keep a bike running. I doubt we'd have as many car owners if they had a chain that needed oiling on a regular basis!

The only other thing I would suggest is if you can be patient, get over to Stoneleigh next May and try out the cars. All the big names turn up there, and most are very accommodating to you sitting in their cars to try them out. 6 4 and 16 stone isn't that big, you might find that your choice of car isn't as limited as you might think. Or at most you might need a less padded seat!

Despite being a bike owner myself, I'm going for a car engine.

welcome

when it comes to which cars will fit you best you've really got to try them, but if you find yourself struggling with the smaller ones then the Luego Viento's may be worth a look as they are a fair bit bigger than most


as for the number of onwers quite a few people enjoy building them so much that they sell it on soon after its finished so they can build something else. others buy the car only to discover that the BEC is a bit louder than they wanted afterall or the wife doesn't like it or the wife just found out that he'd bought it or they lost there job and need the cash or the wife wants a new kitchen and needs the cash or they are moving house and don't have a garage any more or they want something even faster......

it could also be that a particular car isn't very well built / maintained or even is some cases turns out to be a ringer (e.g. its registered as a Dutton when its clearly an MK, meaning its never been through the SVA/IVA tests and shouldn't be on the road) - that sounds scary but its easily avoided if you do your research and carefully inspect the car before you buy
and you can always ask on this site for advice about specific cars


as for the BEC vs CEC can of worms - its really just down to your preference

but if you were planning to do long distance trips across Europe then you might want something a bit less frantic then your average BEC, equally if you were on the track ever weekend then you might want something a bit lighter than your average CEC - but there are no rules

If you start off with the understanding that the car will -

* have a harsh ride (compared to an ordinary saloon, anyway)
* be noisy (usually) - inside and out
* be totally impractical
* have very poor protection from the elements, meaning that you won't always be able to drive it in British weather
* difficult to keep secure (you can't park it in a multi-storey car park and go to the cinema/shops - or if you do, you'll worry)
* not have a great mpg, especially if you are 'enthusiastic'.

- you won't go far wrong! You have to accept the fact that the car is a toy, a plaything, to be driven for the sheer fun of it - many people don't realise this...

Once you've got over this barrier, you'll find that the car will -

* accelerate better than most ordinary cars, and will give the more extreme ones a fright
* corner better than most cars
* give you an impression of speed that you won't find in most other cars
* give you an ear-to-ear grin more often than is normally experienced!

Hi and welcome.
You know you want a BEC so stick with it.
Are bikes unreliable, no so no problem there, what else is there to go wrong, wheeels dont often fall off!
you ougt to fit in an MK with shell seats I'm 17.5 stone noty as tall but a mate is.
Get out an about sit in a few, grab a ride and get on with it

how much do you want to spend?

if its over 10k i would buy a Lotus Elise, i may get flamed for this but unless you want a proper fun only toy then the elise will get more use, be worth more and be usable and pratical

not as quick in standard form mind but just throwing it out there

Thanks for the replies so far.
In answer to some of the questions...

I'm looking for a built car.I work 6 days a week and long hours running a motorbike shop meaning i just would not get time to build one.

I have a budget of £7500 - £8000

The car is purely for fun on the roads on nice nights and weekends.Saying that i do alot of track days and some racing on motorbikes so i may be tempted in the odd track day in the car.

My only reservation with a BEC car is my terrible recent record with bike engines.So far this year i have managed to blow up 2 different race bikes and have lost a small fortune in the process.....hence why i'm having a change in "hobbies"

This weekend i'm gonna pop along to Curdborough sprint circuit to have a looksie at some of the cars there and maybe get a cheeky sit in a few to try for size

Maybe not BEC then!!
What do you do at them?

Ours is for sale
Ride it and you'l buy it

MK Indy R1 Kit car

still looking.......swaying towards the BEC again.Just my luck that all this glorious weather will be gone by the time i get one