New non-owner, but looking to build one

[Self Made Man]

Hi Guys, Gals, and everything in-between,

I'm totally new Kit cars, In fact, I'd never even really considered building one being a possibility until a few months back, when someone made a passing joke to me about it whilst my head was under bonnet of my car, and a broken alternator in my hand. Before then, building my own car was nothing but a dream.

Like every young guy I love tinkering under the bonnet of my car, changing bits here and there, although on my first two cars I have to admit most of my 'mods' were more show, and less go...

I'm not really sure what car I want to build yet (although I have a few models in mind), but I do know I want to build one!

Current limitations are time, money, space and ability  But at least I have the motivation lol


I hope you're all well, and I look forward to getting to know you all, both over the forums and maybe eventually even in person!

Cheers

Jon

[Bulldog Bri]

Welcome to the club Jon. I'm sure there will be plenty of advice here for you. Though most will probably recommend the car they have. Lol. I for one love the old traditional style and old skool mechanics and pre injection cars plenty of those using Ford, Triumph & Morris bits. If your looking for more speed and track ability then there's the 7's and the like using very up to date tech. The choice really is yours.
Come and find us at a meet sometime. We're always up for a chat about our cars

[Self Made Man]

I don't know if this is all a bit ambitious for a first build, but I quite like the Marlin 5exi and similar 'faux exotics' Although, I've never really been interested in modern replica's such as ferrari or lambo designs. Another design I like is the Cobra, But i'm not 100% sure i can see myself in one.
I never used to be interested in 7's I always thought they looked a little old and before my generation, but they seem to be growing on me, and I think as a first build it might be worth it, just because theres so much literature and knowledge about them that I can turn to when I need to.

I've worked out that by next spring i'll have around 10k in the bank to spend on a car, and I've always thought this would be a good first build budget, so still a while to choose

[Moleman]

Well welcome Jon. well you have plenty of time to decide then. So come to a few of our meets & events which will help you decide. 
It really does depend on what you will like to do with it once it is finished. Some like going on trips & shows, Some just like to track it & some like to do both.

If your not doing anything there is a kit car track day at Llandow this Saturday. Plenty of kits to see. I even know of a  Marlin 5exi that will be there. 

[Bulldog Bri]

The kit car market is chaging more to body panel kits this also avoids the dreaded IVA.  MEV cars are a great company using MX5 chassis and just changing the top. There are also the Italian supercar body panel kits using MX5 or MR2.  Youve just missed the Stoneleigh show where you could have seen all of these there. 

[Self Made Man]

I'm absolutely gutted I missed the show, I kept meaning to sort out tickets and stuff, but by the time I got round to it it had already been and gone. As to this saturday, unfortunately they've got me in at work all morning, and its a bit of a treck away aswell

I'm probably going to be heading to Kitfest in July though, being only 15 mins away, so if I haven't met any of you by then, It'll be nice to get properly introduced and have a little looksie at your cars 

Until then Google shall be my friend 'till I decide what kind of car I'm after

[Iancider]

Hi Jon, Welcome. 

There wil be no shortage of advice or help but the final decision will be yours abd that can be a lonely place when you can't make your mind up.  Kit fest would be an excellent starting place because you will see every variety there. 

I always ask - do you want to go out in the rain?  That will give you around 100 driving days per year as opposed to the roofless types who only see about 20.  Adding a screen add wipers and about £1,000 to your project and the hood would be about £600-£1200 on top of that.  Next eliminate most of the market by deciding what you cannot afford.  For instance your budget will not get near a Cobra - think £25k and upwards for a new one.  You budget would support a basic all new car or a locost.  for a locost you need a lot of skill and time.  Building new will involve an IVA test at £450 plus registration fees - when you buy secondhand you can avoid that.

As Bulldog Bri says body-kits are simple and relatively cheap to make a tin-top into something special and you could enjoy refurbing the base car to make it like new again.  And then there are a whole bunch of cars that use the Mk1 MX5 as a donor.  The rule usually works like this - buy a cheapie for £500, strip it and refurb and then sell the leftovers on -bay for about £500.  The starter kit will cost about £2,500 and the completed vehicle will cost about £6,000 for a sunny day car.  Turnkey kits can be build in a year, complex projects take three years.  You will also find plenty of unfinished projects on ebay - well worth considering - they can be bought for less than the cost of the parts but with 50% of the effort already invested.

Come along to some of our meets and you will likely be offerred a ride to test your preferences.  You will enjoy the lifestyle.

Ian

[YellaBelly]

Hi jon, and welcome to the club

Sounds like you've come to the right place! Everyone in the club has got knowledge in one area or another, some even have knowledge in ALL areas! (not me I might add). Bulldog Bri is in the last stages (yeah right!) of building his Locost 7, I built mine over about 7 years, and it is now in the loving hands of Chris61 in the club and getting lots of TLC

IVA is a PITA! as those of us that went through it will tell you. If you really want to 'build' a car, you're better off doing as the guys suggest and getting a second-hand car that is already OTR and stripping/rebuilding to your spec. All the joy of the mechanical stuff without the headaches and cost 

Enjoy the club, and hope to meet you one day. (I am now down in sunny Cornwall but still keep in touch with the club)

John (JB)

[CC Cyclone]

Go for it. Seriously (most) kit cars these days are well engineered and go together in the most part relatively easily. If you can change an alternator I dare say, providing you take each stage one by one, you can build a westfield. If you stray into the lesser popular kits do some serious research as a first time builder you probably won't want to get into engineering bespoke solutions to issues that have not been fully sorted due to small number of cars sold etc although this is quite rare today.

Just one note of caution on 'panel kits' and to put the other side of the argument forward; getting GRP body panels to fit well is arguably the hardest part of building a kit and bonding / bolting/ adjusting/ gapping / filling / grinding grp panels to fit existing structures is actually very time consuming and skilled. I know one or two people who have given up and sent them off to a bodyshop at quite considerable cost. Did anyone see the shocking fit and finish of tribute automotve's 'panel conversion' car on their stand at Stoneleigh?!

IVA isn't that much of a pain actually, it costs about £500 (last time i checked) but that could easily be spent trying to get a GRP door moulding to fit, and all the major manufacturer's products are designed to pass the test.

[Camber Dave]

Hi Jon

I am also 15 mins from Castle Combe.

I know of a 5Exi for sale in Bridgewater.
If you go onto the Mad about Kitcars/5exi builds you will learn all you need to know about the car. I have sorted a few of the ones there.

The Bridgwater car is owned by poster EA555 or similar. His name is John and is a member of the Apple County Kit club. There will be pics of his car there. I spoke to him on Tues.

I also know of a Rolling Chassis with a VW/Audi turbo engine installed. Search on this site for info.

Anymore info needed get in touch

Dave

[Pilgrim Anna]

Hi Guys, Gals, and everything in-between,

I'm totally new Kit cars, In fact, I'd never even really considered building one being a possibility until a few months back, when someone made a passing joke to me about it whilst my head was under bonnet of my car, and a broken alternator in my hand. Before then, building my own car was nothing but a dream.

Like every young guy I love tinkering under the bonnet of my car, changing bits here and there, although on my first two cars I have to admit most of my 'mods' were more show, and less go...

I'm not really sure what car I want to build yet (although I have a few models in mind), but I do know I want to build one!

Hi Jon welcome to the kitcar club! You sound very enthusiastic about building your own kitcar. Good on you.  . I love the old roadster style cars as they are very practicle and easy to fix if they go wrong, well some of them. Not the Gentry though! Well easy for Bri to fix for me LOL. Plus if you build one that has a roof you can use it all year round. Depends what your looking for. We use our cars as everyday ones so we need warmth and to stay dry! .


Current limitations are time, money, space and ability  But at least I have the motivation lol


I hope you're all well, and I look forward to getting to know you all, both over the forums and maybe eventually even in person!

Cheers

Jon

[Grin-a-lot]

Hi and welcome, I didn't (and some would say still don't) have many skills for building cars but I've got an old westfield and just tinkering has taught me so much - this is a really helpful club as well for the times that you bite of more than you can chew!

don't wait for a kit to be able to come to a meet, come along in anything.  Sure you'd be able to go for a spin in some of our cars.

[Pilgrim Anna]

Hi and welcome, I didn't (and some would say still don't) have many skills for building cars but I've got an old westfield and just tinkering has taught me so much - this is a really helpful club as well for the times that you bite of more than you can chew!

don't wait for a kit to be able to come to a meet, come along in anything.  Sure you'd be able to go for a spin in some of our cars.

Welcome for a ride in my Bulldog. Its not fast though! More of a touring car.

[Self Made Man]

Wow, there still is tonnes to learn!

I probably should of made it a little more clear, although I will have 10k to spend on the starter package of the car next year, I'll still be earning and putting money aside for it, so I'm estimating an extra 5k+ that I can use to buy stuff as I go along.

Ian: I definitely plan on going out in the rain, not just for extra days driving, but being out in wet weather can also provide much more fun and I've always thought of a windscreen and hood a must for me (although not a permanent roof).

I'm thinking a Locost is well above me at the moment, I definately don't have the skill to sort out all the right measurements, connections etc and feel that I would end up getting frustrated and giving up halfway through. Although I want to build a car, I want to walk before I can run lol. So for now, I think I'll stick to a basic kit, (screw A into B kinda thing)

As to panel kits, again I think I would struggle producing my own panels and getting them all to fit together, and If I just bought the panels, It's not really getting greasy enough for my liking, and I would know myself that all thats underneath is what has always been underneath.

Although trying to keep an open mind, I do always seem to keep coming back to the 5exi, they seem reasonably cheap and simple for a first build, but i need to do alot more research, as they seem to have a lot of reliability issues and seem to depreciate FAST.

[garry h]

Hi Jon and welcome to the club.As you can tell you are definetly in the right place for information as well as inspiration good luck with your search.

[peterw]

Hi Jon, I was gutted as I missed Stoneleigh as well but that's another story, welcome to the club

[Bulldog Bri]

There's always next year Pete