build your own single seater book (Haynes)

[anonymous-user]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Single-Seat...

released in October apparently. anyone have an early indication as to whether, like the infmaous build you own sportscar for £250, it relies on your having a motorbike in your grage ready for stripping? presume its abox section aluminium chassis and a bike engine in the rear, donor car?

[47GT]

pablo said:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Single-Seat...

released in October apparently. anyone have an early indication as to whether, like the infmaous build you own sportscar for £250, it relies on your having a motorbike in your grage ready for stripping? presume its abox section aluminium chassis and a bike engine in the rear, donor car?

Sounds like a new 750MC Formula for the 2012 season may be on the way!

[anonymous-user]

hadnt thought about the 750mc/locost thing, i suppose FVee is getting on a bit know and a replacement might be on the cards? would still like to know what the donor is, suspect its a salvage bike?

[VladD]

From Chris Gibbs (the author of the book) from the Haynes Roadster forum:

"It's a steel spaceframe with GRP and aluminium bodywork. The prototype has a Honda Fireblade engine but the bay is designed to take most 4 cylinder motorcycle engines. The bay is physically large enough to take the Audi 4 and 5 cylinder engines/gearboxes (and possibly the V8) but I don't know if there'll be much detail for the car engines. The diff in the prototype is a Sierra unit modified to chain drive, I'm hoping to include modification details for the Ford escort/fiesta diff as well. The front and rear uprights are fabricated to take ford hubs."

[andy97]

47GT said:

pablo said:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Single-Seat...

released in October apparently. anyone have an early indication as to whether, like the infmaous build you own sportscar for £250, it relies on your having a motorbike in your grage ready for stripping? presume its abox section aluminium chassis and a bike engine in the rear, donor car?

Sounds like a new 750MC Formula for the 2012 season may be on the way!

No need, such a thing would already fit in to F4 or Monoposto 1000

[anonymous-user]

quick update but the last rumour i heard was the donor car would be a fiat cinquecento!, hurrah, there are plenty around and they are dirt cheap.... publication date for the book is now Apr 2011.....

[procomp]

Would need a bit of research into the FIA / MSA regulations regarding new single seaters and FIA crash testing. Anyone tried to get a new design single seater past the new regulations yet. ?

[anonymous-user]

i believe one of the formula ford manufacturers (Mygale?) have been successful

[Sam_68]

DBSV8 said:

Xanthos will build you a Lotus 22 for 35k

You can buy a modern wings-and-slicks bike engined single seater from the likes of OMS, or many others, for about half that.

[AndrewM]

Got mine on order from Amazon - they reckon April for delivery... Something to look forward to then!

[DBSV8]

Sam_68 said:

DBSV8 said:

Xanthos will build you a Lotus 22 for 35k

You can buy a modern wings-and-slicks bike engined single seater from the likes of OMS, or many others, for about half that.

yes but they look ste

[Sam_68]

DBSV8 said:

yes but they look ste

You think?

Personal opinion, obviously, but I quite like the look of some modern hillclimb single-seaters (and I like the '60's stuff as well).

Whatever, it gives you some indication of how over-priced the Xanthos is: there's no reason it should cost significantly more than a carbon fibre OMS.

[Forbes82]

You could just about buy a REAL lotus 22 for that much and race it.

[DBSV8]

Sam_68 said:

DBSV8 said:

yes but they look ste

You think?

Personal opinion, obviously, but I quite like the look of some modern hillclimb single-seaters (and I like the '60's stuff as well).

Whatever, it gives you some indication of how over-priced the Xanthos is: there's no reason it should cost significantly more than a carbon fibre OMS.

yes

its my opinion

you get what you pay for , in the same way I'm sure a lot of people would say a Rocket is overpriced ?

[DBSV8]

Forbes82 said:

You could just about buy a REAL lotus 22 for that much and race it.

not quite ,

Most cars if your lucky enough to find one for sale are going for 40 -60k depending on Race history

example the one that was used in the Grand prix movie was sold for 45k

[Forbes82]

Well there is a well known reliable 20 for sale on the FJ website for 36k and a recently restored 22 for 35k. While a proven front runner might cost more like 50, you can get a running 20 or 22 for 35 grand.

[Sam_68]

DBSV8 said:

you get what you pay for...

Except that with a Xanthos, clearly you don't?

DBSV8 said:

...in the same way I'm sure a lot of people would say a Rocket is overpriced ?

Not that I'd necessarily disagree that the Rocket is over-priced, but there are at least the justifications that design and development costs had to be amortised and it uses a lot of top-notch and very expensive components (secondary gearbox, brakes, dampers, etc.).

At least when it's built to authentic specification, any 22 replica is going to be a very simple car indeed... the only expensive bits I can think of are the rear uprights, wobbly web wheels and (if you build to an authentic specification) the pre-Crossflow engine. Hell, you don't even need a Hewland Mk. 8 for authenticity... you can claim original spec. with an old Beetle transaxle!

Last time I looked, Triumph front brake discs were £9.50 each, which I suspect compares rather favourably with the Brembos on a Rocket!

[Sam_68]

DBSV8 said:

and excatly how many of these and which models have you driven to offer your opinion ??

I've driven the Xanthos 23. It's a very nice car, but it's just a copy of the Lotus 23. I've also drivne the Sutol 23 and the Noble/Auriga 23. Both also very nice cars, and both considerably cheaper, in their day.

...in the same way I'm sure a lot of people would say a Rocket is overpriced ?

DBSV8 said:

are you the type of person that takes a MK1 ford Escort removes the parts secondhand add a bodyshell , bit of filler , GRP and makes a bitsa

No, I'm the sort of person who owns, and is happy with, both original Lotus' and modern kit cars.

I'm also the sort of person who doesn't pretend that one is the other in order to try to inflate its status, provenance and value.

[Sam_68]

DBSV8 said:

so you havent driven a single seater 22 then !! only a 23 which is a different beast entirely in both chassis layout and driver feedback

Nope, I haven't driven a 22. I haven't driven a bike engined fake of one, either, though I've driven plenty of other bike engined single-seaters.

If you knew anything about Lotus', you'd know that the 23 was basically a 22's spaceframe, widened in the central bay to create a 2-seater. The suspension geometry, wheelbase, track, etc. are identical, hence handling and driver feedback are very similar indeed.

In fact, since it shares not only geometry but engine and gearbox (hence virtually identical polar moment, gearchange, gearing and torque characteristics), the driving characteristics of a mechanically accurate 23 replica are closer to an original 22 than your bike engined replica will be.

DBSV8 said:

...as for mine its an original Peter Denty chassis

So it's an original fake then, is what you're saying?

If I were to build a 22 chassis (quite easy to do; the drawings are freely available and it's only a simple brazed spaceframe), it would be an original Sam_68. It would still be a fake Lotus.

[Forbes82]

To be honest i don't get the point of a road going 22, with an engine, gearbox and road tyres that couldn't be much more different to a real one. It's hardly a 22 replica because it won't feel or act at all like one. That it costs similar to the real deal blows my mind.

Each to thier own of course, but i've never been keen on people putting Lotus badges on things which are not Lotuses.