newbie - am I mad?

[colda]

ok - I've always had a passing interest in kit cars (well, bought a few magazines back in the 80's)

Now, I understand the basic concept of buying a kit and having a donor car (and in my case handing over a fair amount of dosh to someone far more qualified than myself that capable of making my project a reality) but, I'm a little lost as to what can be used as a kit car (it's no longer a Ford Cortina!). Taking that comment a little further, I resently ended up with a Proton Persona SDI which happens to be an arse of a car on many counts but in it's favour the fuel economy is fastanstic - in essence, can this Mitsubishi re-issue be used for anything that resembles a roadster?

['The Gaffer']

Hi there and a warm welcome.

Thanks for the interest in our club. As far as donors go there are still a lot of sierra based kits around as parts are still available or remanufactured. Things are moving forward now though with kit car companies offering kits to be built onto BMW donors etc.

Unless you start from scratch and build your own body panels etc to fit your persona chassis, then the easiest way is to buy a donor as recommended by your favoured kit car supplier.

You would have a great deal of work doing what you suggest, even a seasoned pro would probably tell you to forget the idea.

Sorry.

[Bulldog Bri]

Hi and welcome to the club.

As regards donor cars the Cortina and the Escort are now rare and collectable cars so even a rust bucket will be loads of £'s the cars more likely to be use is the Ford Sierra other cars that also are coming up as good donors are the BMW's.

I don't know the setup on the Persona but if it's a rear wheel drive car it could probably be used to some degree other engines in common use are Ford Zetec's.

[Richard]

Hi and welcome !

The link below may be a good place to start if you are coming at it from a donor angle. Never heard of or seen a reference to a Mitsubishi or Proton as a donor before but you never know and if you are mechanically minded of course you can get bits to fit it just becomes a matter of time / money to make it fit.

http://www.totalkitcar.com/tkc_article_306.php

Plenty of places to start, I think a realistic view of your budget would be best place and then from there you can start narrowing the choice down, some kits have low starting price and that is usually for a reason, can just be you have to buy a lot of other stuff yourself of course.

Maybe grab one of the current magazines or come along to a meet and have a look at the little variety we have.

Either way enjoy your hunt for a kit car and enjoy the forum !

[colda]

Many thanks for the replies (and very useful link) - much appreciated

[YellaBelly]

Welcome to the club. And as for the title of your thread.....maybe, maybe not, but it will help if you are trust me

JB