Shite kit cars

[Stanky]

So, is there any knowledge about kit cars on here? Ebay seems to be brimming with half finished and/or broken kit cars, how bad are they?

 

I have long harboured a desire to own a caterham 7, but since this is never going to happen I have been looking at some 7-a-like cars such as Robin Hoods and MK Indies, however these still seem to be a bit expensive in running order.

 

So what else is out there? I'd like something that has been IVA'd previously as that seems like a right old ball-ache - am I right that once they have been IVA'd they just* needs to be MOT'd each year like a normal car?

 

I like the look of Quantum's, which I think are fiesta-based? And would love a VW Beach-buggy but they are either fucked or really expensive or both. 

 

Anyone got any opinions? Cheap way into individual* motoring or load of old shit which will be a money pit and never get anywhere near a road?

 

I am reasonably mechanically minded and have some tools to wield, plus family who are very competent with bodywork.

[Pillock]

All I know is there's a fine line between a nice looking sportscar that happens to have elements of a donor vehicle in it; and a shonky homemade bodge with sheet aluminium folded at right angles to make panels.

 

Even some beach buggies look wrong, where some are really nicely proportioned. 

 

Another problem I guess you'll have now is that anything based on a Mk2 Escort, Cortina, Sierra etc is now going to present problems finding spares - where the original idea was you could build something exciting out of the dross filling scrap yards. 

[richardmorris]

2cv based variants are popular- lomax, burton, etc. there's a 2cvspecials club you could check.

[sierraman]

You cannot make a sports car out of a Cortina 1.6 GL. Particularly one that had a bodywork with the consistency of fried bread. That's why they end up half done.

[panhard65]

I had a Dutton and the biggest trouble with kit cars is they look the part but drive shite most of the time due to crap design. Mine had a hot escort engine but the seating position was so bad you couldn't enjoy it. I also looked after a cortina based cobra and it used to eat void bushes every couple of hundred miles due to poorly designed mountings.

[twosmoke300]

Buy my spartan

[Tamworthbay]

I built a Robin Hood 2b which was fun to do but the kits are utter shite. The guy is a borderline nutter and isn't interesting in anything other than flogging the kits cheap. Cater hams are expensive but there is a reason for that.

[phil_lihp]

I do like the idea of a Quantum, especially they have popup headlights and I believe you could get one with a diesel engine.  They do seem to be one of the better kit car options out there in terms of build quality but being that they're based on the Mk2 Fiesta I wouldn't imagine they're ever going to be particularly amazing to drive.  Should be good enough fun for a cheap laugh though.

 

Not sure if this is the going rate but seems a little pricey:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Factory-built-Quantum-2-2-/252016408695?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3aad593877

 

 

Do people still make kit cars?  You don't seem to see many about any more.

[Junkman]

My unfortunately late friend Roland was a huge fan of everything unusual on wheels, hence his annual visit to the Kit Car Show in Stoneleigh was a ritual.

I accompanied him a few times and was astonished, that in a sea of snot in form of dismal 2CV based shit, umpteen Super 7 wannabees that manage to be even worse than the original,

and oodles of half arsed Cobra replicas and Beaufords, there were some true pearls which demonstrated, that automotive development indeed continued outside the mainstream car industry after 1986.

One of my favourites is the Ultima GTR. Their 'factory' demonstrator clipped a whopping 5 or so Seconds off the lap time of the hitherto fastest car on the Top Gear test track, a Koenigsegg.

 

 

In that configuration, it would cost about 50k to build and it is fast enough to give the LMP2s a run for their money at Le Mans, while being fully road legal.

Two more things I found astonishing about its makers were that not only did they take all the time in the world to answer every question I pestered them with, despite I was clearly not in the position to sign an order, but also the knowledge of car technology they had. It was the most delightful automotive experience I had in decades.

[Dave_Q]

Could go full DIY and make a locost, the version in the more recent haynes book is based on the MX-5.

 

Plenty of crusty donors available, also you occasionally get someone else's abandoned chassis appear on ebay for a couple of hundred quid.

[garethj]

I had a Ginetta as daily driver, it was a fun thing to drive but you're always at the mercy of the bloke who built it originally.  New cars have multiplexed wiring and bonded panels, you get twin & earth wiring with self tapper wood screws.

 

If I could find one that was running, I'd have one in a heartbeat.

[robinmasters]

Do people still make kit cars?  You don't seem to see many about any more.

Apparently, yes. I saw a kit car magazine in a shop the other day, which reminded me how much I want a Midas.

 

The Haynes book is the way to go though; it'll definitely* only cost £250.

 

[sierraman]

As you would expect, there's a reason the Mazda MX5 cost millions to design, similarly there's a reason the Midas and others of its ilk cost thousands to design.

 

As people said you are at the mercy of the original builder, who by the time February came round and he was still trying to wire the car up in the driving rain, might have cut a few corners.

 

Some of the cobra replicas with V8s are good but, the idea of cobbling together a sports car from an MOT failure Escort Pop is laughable.

[UltraWomble]

Kit Car Show in Stoneleigh

.

My god that brings back memories, must be 89 or 90 last time I went there. Totally fell in love with the Rotrax

[Anglevan]

I have an AMC Cub which is moke based. Chassis is really well built and all metal. No grp, whoever built it though had no idea and I'm taking at back to bare chassis and rebuilding it. It's correctly registered so should be pretty easy to do.

[pompei]

I think GTM's are pretty well thought of but they're not cheap.

 

I remember visiting the  Onyx factory here in Grimsby years ago.  I think you can still get shonky Uno kits on ebay and the like.

 

Apparently, Minari kits have shot up in value as the Alfasud boys are robbing them for parts! 

[Bren]

Some of the projects offered are fucking gopping. Especially given the choice of powerplants - ford ohc? Austin B series? Cologne V6 in a cobra? Utter turd.

 

Most offered for sale due to vendor being terminally ill with asbestosis from sanding far too much isopon.

[Inspector Morose]

I built a JC midge out of a utterly fucked mk3 spit and a Rotrax out of various ford bits, mainly a cortina 2.0 GL

The quantum is definitely one of the better budget kit cars out there with proper lay ups of the Fiberglass and general quality and Rickman was another that springs to mind on the quality of moulding. There are a good few out there that were good in the 90's but there were many more that were goppingly shit. Beaufords used to be quite okay in their early days but quality dropped as the price went up for the kits. Ultimas have been a long time player and their quality continues to get better although early ones were a bit, shall we say, homespun?

 

The only thing that springs to mind with the Rotrax was that the tub was held in by self tappers screwed directly into the frame/roll cage which came to you unpainted. After twenty or so years, the structure would, I think, be a bit iffy Without some replacement tubing. On mine I Fully powder coated the frame in JCB yellow and used rivnuts to attach the tub. (I was a pedantic fucker even back then). Survival might be a little better on that one.

Both,when completed, were sold a a dramatic loss but at least they tought me how a car worked!

[sierraman]

Worst had to be the Dutton Rico. Unfortunately in the make do and mend times of the 70's 80's people must have gone skip ratting, found some old ply and thought hmm that will make a lovely veneer dash for my dutton!

 

The other problem is that to make the project viable you would have to do all the work yourself. Few people are accomplished let alone good at painting, trimming and rebuilding engines properly. Hence quite a few were shall we say 'rough around the edges'

[Taff]

Buy my Spartan

 

correct V5C present?

[twosmoke300]

yup , registered as a spartan and tax exempt

[Dave_Q]

Worst had to be the Dutton Rico. Unfortunately in the make do and mend times of the 70's 80's people must have gone skip ratting, found some old ply and thought hmm that will make a lovely veneer dash for my dutton!

 

The other problem is that to make the project viable you would have to do all the work yourself. Few people are accomplished let alone good at painting, trimming and rebuilding engines properly. Hence quite a few were shall we say 'rough around the edges'

 

Have just looked at some pictures of the Dutton Rico, looks like the lovechild of a mk3 Escort, a Reliant and a caravan.

 

[Taff]

/\ now, I don't wish to come across as derogatory about someone's pride & joy, but how the holy cunting fuck can anyone have sat back with a cold one and thought "she's a beauty"?

[UltraWomble]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-Quantum-Kit-Car-No-203-215-1-6-Ford-XR2-Running-Gear-Road-Track-Rally-MOT-/321799534586?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4aecbf37fa

Quantun at the shiter end of the price range

[UltraWomble]

Kit cars do seem to attract their fair share of Sunday BIY (bodge it yourself) enthusiasts. I quite like the Dutton, just not this one...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUTTON-FORD-SIERRA-KIT-CAR-ESTATE-tax-free-/111709318900?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1a0264eef4

[phil_lihp]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-Quantum-Kit-Car-No-203-215-1-6-Ford-XR2-Running-Gear-Road-Track-Rally-MOT-/321799534586?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4aecbf37fa

Quantun at the shiter end of the price range

 

 

^ That's not bad, although it's not yellow and doesn't have popup headlights.  They're actually not bad-looking cars from some angles, if a bit dumpy around the middle.  

[DaveDorson]

/\ now, I don't wish to come across as derogatory about someone's pride & joy, but how the holy cunting fuck can anyone have sat back with a cold one and thought "she's a beauty"?

 

 

You need to spend some time in Peterborough.  What people consider good taste is very suspect.

[DaveDorson]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-Quantum-Kit-Car-No-203-215-1-6-Ford-XR2-Running-Gear-Road-Track-Rally-MOT-/321799534586?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4aecbf37fa

Quantun at the shiter end of the price range

 

 

Bloke in Oakham used to churn these out at an alarming rate when I was a kid.  I can still hear the CVH rattle away now.

[UltraWomble]

Bloke in Oakham used to churn these out at an alarming rate when I was a kid.  I can still hear the CVH rattle away now.

I'd have one, but then Im quite partial to the Mk 2 Fester.

[Stanky]

Yes, thats the sort of thing I was after - Sub £500 motoring, no (visible) rust, guaranteed instant death in any crash over 5mph.