First kit car build?

[SlopeSoarer]

Well.... I have no previous experience of building a kit car or real car mechanics but have the desire to build a kit car.

I don't want to strip a car down and refurbish parts. I would prefer to where possible and finances permit use new parts.

I would prefer non Q plate but not a deal breaker.

I want something which is relatively simple to build but at the same time have a decent reputation. Easy to work on.

My intentions would be to use it on the road with the odd track day here and there. It doesn't need to be practical... I.e. carrying shopping!

I would like to limit my spend to around £10k if possible.

Am I a tinkerer? No not really but I would like to build something which works well, is reliable and easy to maintain.

Would I want to continually upgrade? I don't thinks so but who knows:-)

I'd like a Raw Striker but not sure it could be done in budget. What would you suggest?

[MKnight702]

If you hadn't said the budget was £10k I would suggest one of the Westfield complete kits. Everything you need, brand new to bolt together ready to IVA and drive, benefits from a new registration not Q.

For the budget, I can't think of anything that won't get a Q plate and need some refurbishing of parts to complete. What about buying second hand and just enjoying the driving? Then upgrading at some point in the future, believe me, you will get upgradeitis.

[jamesG20V6]

MKnight702 said:

For the budget, I can't think of anything that won't get a Q plate .

I disagree with this, Q plates are only issued where you use a number of second hand parts from different sources.
You can still use second hand parts and avoid a Q plate by using parts from the same donor car, in which case you would end up with an age related plate. Q plates are not the norm in kit far building anymore.

At 10k it can be done all new if you look around the budget end of the market - up it to 12-15k and you will be spoiled for choice.

[SlopeSoarer]

jamesG20V6 said:

I disagree with this, Q plates are only issued where you use a number of second hand parts from different sources.
You can still use second hand parts and avoid a Q plate by using parts from the same donor car, in which case you would end up with an age related plate. Q plates are not the norm in kit far building anymore.

At 10k it can be done all new if you look around the budget end of the market - up it to 12-15k and you will be spoiled for choice.

I'm interested in which kits you class as budget and also what you would include if my budget went up to £12k. £15 and I may as well by a used Caterham as they hold their value so well!

[dai1983]

Buy a striker second hand and already road registered. Spend the rest on refurbishing it.

Same with a Fury

[SlopeSoarer]

dai1983 said:

Buy a striker second hand and already road registered. Spend the rest on refurbishing it.

Same with a Fury

I can see what you mean but I think I'd sooner start from scratch... but then! I'm in the research phase so I suppose it will do no harm to look at used options while researching!

Do you think I'd get better value for money by going the second-hand route? In answer to my own question it would depend on what I picked up and how well it had been previously put together!

It's an option

[ugg10]

As a rule of thumb I would say a godd, wel buikt second hand kit car woukd be about 65% of the self build cost, for a start you do not have the approx £1k iva costs (test + fixes + retest + transport).

For £10k you can get a top build striker, there are two nice ones up for sale at the moment

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Cars-Motorcycles-Vehicle...

Or a decent zetec Westfield

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/w...

Or for a tad more an older k series Caterham

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...

This is an intersting one, old chassis but some very nice bits on it and it is a caterhan, but zetecs in caterham tend to be lower price as they were not a standard fitment.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...

Happy hunting.

[SlopeSoarer]

Thanks for the input guys.

I didn't realise it could get so expensive do an IVA!

There's a nice R1 Raw Striker on another site but £2.5k over budget. What are bike engined kits like to live with? Are they simpler or more difficult to build and maintain?

[MarcDrury]

After reading the original post I can fully relate! I went to install some downlights at a woman's house about 5 weeks ago and came away with a Westfield Seiw that had sat for 10 years. I spent about £300 on getting a professional mechanics tool set and boom, away I went never having worked on a car before! Within 3 days the car was fully stripped down and then a further week later I had done basic service stuff on the engine and she started. I'm sure that every restoration isn't this simple but having never done anything like this before I was pleasantly surprised how much a good bit of commitment and elbow grease can pay off. I can only talk from experience with my Westfield but everything unbolted and was so simple to remove and refurbish. I'm not saying I've done a fully professional job but I can honestly say I've put my all into it and now the MOT is booked and I couldn't be happier! I'd certainly recommend a Westfield based on what I have experienced. Good luck!

Edited by MarcDrury on Thursday 23 June 08:42

[Fastdruid]

SlopeSoarer said:

I didn't realise it could get so expensive do an IVA!

In theory it's *just* £500 but that assumes you pass first time! Then there is a re-test fee if you fail, IIRC about £100.

You can drive to the test but transport might be more suitable depending on location/ type of vehicle/weather.

[CrutyRammers]

Fastdruid said:

In theory it's *just* £500 but that assumes you pass first time! Then there is a re-test fee if you fail, IIRC about £100.

You can drive to the test but transport might be more suitable depending on location/ type of vehicle/weather.

Yep, 100 pound a retest, give or take a pound or two. On top of that you've got insurance if you're driving there, trailer if you're not. It aint a cheap business

[emwmarine]

SlopeSoarer said:

I can see what you mean but I think I'd sooner start from scratch... but then! I'm in the research phase

I suspect you're really in the dreaming phase.

If you haven't got experience of working on cars then I think it's a tall order. Ebay and people's garages are full of unstarted and unfinished kits. I bought the Dax Rush i'm building as pretty much an unstarted kit for around 3k with all the original build pack invoices at over 9k.

You need to have space to work that is warm and dry in the winter and pretty comprehensive set of tools. I imagine some kits like Caterham and perhaps Westfeild are 'bolt together'. Most others require a level of improvisation and, to a degree, fabrication skills.

I would suggest that you first of all buy a completed kit to see if you like driving them and are able to get to grips with the mechanical side. Maybe as a next step then buy a kit.

In terms of budget, i've never dared add up the cost of my projects. The 20 quid here and 30 quid there and 150 quid here really add up. It's best not to.