Kit Cars - who owns one?

Reading a few threads, particularly one new member thread where he showcased his kit car.

I've always wanted a kit car and mainly looked at Westfields and Caterhams, I think Robin Hoods were about at some point and not seen a Dutton for a while. apart from knowing that I will struggle to fit in one, I don't know much else. so what have you got, whats your experiences, is it a second car and garaged or is it a daily and sits on the drive?

im attending the Stoneleigh Kit Car show in the next few weeks just to get close up with some of the vehicles as ive never seen one up close and had a good long look.

when looking to buy it will definitely be a second hand kit car, preferably factory built and be for road use.

anyone going to Stoneleigh?

cheers

Get yourself over to Locostbuilders and blatchat, wealth of knowledge in there

I had a Westfield SE, with a 2 litre Red top in it (I won’t bore you with the specifics, kit car folks can be as nerdy as watch geeks if not worse), was great fun, I actually shared the car with a friend and his personal situation changed so the car had to go but I will replace her at some point

Westfield and Caterham are a bit like Nikon/Canon or Xbox and PlayStation, you are one or the other and normally remain very loyal to the brand whilst looking down in the other like it’s a second rate cousin

Generally Robin Hood/Dutton/Tiger (plus a million others) are regarded as the home built options, be very careful when buying as more often than not they have been assembled in garages from bits and bobs over many years, which is fine if done properly, I have seen some great Robin Hoods and Tigers (Duttons not so much lol) and also some shockers

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b04a922245.jpg


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The Stoneleigh Kit Car show is the best place to compare the range available.

Factory built is what I'd recommend for a first-timer and be prepared to fettle the car, they are after all a mixture of different items from different manufacturers and cobbled together. ;-)

KC's are usually a second car, they lack a lot of the comforts we've come to expect from modern cars, the soft tops are rarely waterproof and the heaters are inadequate in cold weather.

Notwithstanding the above they are great fun to drive and relatively cheap to run.

R

My friend has a lovely Westfield which he is plowing money into :D

I have just picked up (another!) MX-5 after having owned one years ago, this time I am looking to convert it into a kit car there

I have looked at the Westfield kits and also one called an Exocet, I think I will go for the latter!

Not to put anyone off but if you're thinking about building a kit car, or buying one that's part built or been finished be aware of the changing laws regarding historic vehicles, substantially modified status, MOT exemption and the potential for the kit car industry to be caught up in the outcome. Moving forward it is going to be essential that kit cars are correctly registered

Buy one built. Building one is good fun but getting through the tests is a pain in the hole and as stated above, its only going to get worse.

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I built mine 3 years ago, and I’d recommend it! Apparently there are a lot of half built caterhams out there... My brother put together this time lapse of the build (I feel he should have sped up the earlier bit, and it had better music but copyright!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76hJJjaYEr8

At the moment it’s more of a weekend away car, as it’s garaged in London 15min walk away so not that convenient. The dream is a house with its own garage/drive, then I would definitely use it more often.

You have to get inventive with the limited storage space (eg behind the seat fits 6 bottles of wine and a suit carrier hanging from the roll cage) but else it’s great and surprisingly practical.

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Originally Posted by mowflow

Buy one built. Building one is good fun but getting through the tests is a pain in the hole and as stated above, its only going to get worse.

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Yep VOSA was stressful as hell


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Don't be shy with the pictures guys!

Anyone going to Stoneleigh from here?

Sorry not posted pictures on here before, but here is a link to mine:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...type-r/7631618

Rolled it around the country lanes yesterday for the first time this year. Despite owning it since my early 20's, it still brings a massive grin to my face. The first full press of the throttle, once fully warmed up, never gets old.

I haven't been to Stoneleigh for over 10 years, but it was always a great show in the past. Glad to hear it's still going.

This show is more local to me at Harpenden:
http://www.classicsonthecommon.com/
Just enthusiasts showing off their pride and joys. Always an eclectic mix of vehicles and a lovely way to while away a midsummers evening.

Not sure if my Rochdale Olympic counts? Probably not the sort of thing you mean.

I built a beach buggy in the '70's if that counts? :pig:

Things were much more lax in those days though.

I owned one years ago. An MK Indy which started life with a fireblade engine and ended up with an R1 engine. Here I am chasing down a 911 GT2.

https://youtu.be/nL0gYxNVLi8

I would also recommend locostbuilders as a resource. You can see what’s popular and also start to assess quality of builds. The cars are so simple it is easy to distinguish a well built example once you know what you’re looking for. Don’t discount the smaller brands as they are often the choice of an enthusiast. I won’t spell it out but you’ll soon see where the smart money and time goes.

My MK was flawed in terms of ultimate handling but for the £ it was excellent and never ceased to be exciting. I did a lot of the spannering myself but I also got some brilliant help from the kit car community nearby.

Someone else has mentioned the use case and I’d also echo that. Have a good think about what you want and why. No point having a track focussed screamer with sequential box if you’re just after sunny evenings out to the pub!

Built a Westfield SE 18 years ago with my now departed Dad. Great fun solving problems, interweb was not as it is today.

We put a 2.1 super stox tuned pinto with twin 45’s in the front which put 173bhp at the back wheels through a rocket box, tick over was painful.

Superb thing to do both with the build and on the tarmac, and would urge anyone to do it if money and importantly time allowed.

Pitch

I have my Doon that I built a few years ago, I was at Stoneleigh last year but I won't make it this time. It's probably cheaper to buy a built car, but there is immense satisfaction in building your own...

http://i.imgur.com/ZVQanzBh.jpg

I've had 3 x 7s ( but not a 21 ) :smug:

By far the nicest on the road was a Westfield SEiW with 2.0 red top in it with the SBD 208bhp throttle body injection kit.

Nippy, ( relatively) comfortable and 100% reliable.

Factory built Caterham. In terms of costs though I reckon it has only lost about £5,000 in the now 11 years I've had it. I service it. Insurance is cheap.

Overall, an easy car to own from a financial perspective.Attachment 13913

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Caterham but a Kit, it isn’t really much cheaper than buying factory built but it’s a great
experience and huge sense of achievement. All parts are new includes a post build check to make
sure you didn’t .... anything up and they will put the car through the SVA test for you.

I built and ran a Sylva Striker. Had great times in it - track days, run down to Le Mans and back, country road blasts etc. I sold it when I realised that I had not used it for months, and when I did there was a high chance that I would kill myself. Its ability on track was just astonishing.

Pete

Had a Westfield Seiw with red top Vauxhall and 45’s , lots of other mods, my friend had one too.we started hill climbing them ‘‘twas good fun and actually made money on that car .then moved to the Elise /Exige .mine was totally reliable and parts were reasonable

I built one with my Dad, it took years to finish but was worth it. The kit car shows are really interesting and give you a chance to see various manufacturers, as well as owners' cars. They tend to be really good for spare parts and accessories.

One thing I would say is to do as much research as possible and look at as many cars as possible. Before we started our build I remember seeing some cars and thinking they were amazing but on closer inspection with more experience at a later day, you can identify certain things that should have been done differently or better. A factory-built car is a good way to go about it.

As others have said, you can't beat the power to weight ratio and the cost. Most cars these days are fully electronic and kit cars take it back to basics!

Enjoy!

http://www.reay.org.uk/e/cobra/frontn.jpg
http://www.reay.org.uk/e/cobra/side.jpg

I had this Fisher Fury many years ago... great fun... had to wear ear plugs as it was ridiculously loud though. It was built by someone else and I bought it from the Scottish Fisher representative who was then using it as a demo. The builder had fitted a rather well built Venturi system to aid downforce with the air flow under the car.
Ended up trading it for a TVR S1... which was rather sedate by comparison.. but had similar build quality.
https://image.ibb.co/mtiKn5/kermit_photo5.jpg

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Originally Posted by hansblix2001

I built one with my Dad, it took years to finish but was worth it. The kit car shows are really interesting and give you a chance to see various manufacturers, as well as owners' cars. They tend to be really good for spare parts and accessories.

One thing I would say is to do as much research as possible and look at as many cars as possible. Before we started our build I remember seeing some cars and thinking they were amazing but on closer inspection with more experience at a later day, you can identify certain things that should have been done differently or better. A factory-built car is a good way to go about it.

As others have said, you can't beat the power to weight ratio and the cost. Most cars these days are fully electronic and kit cars take it back to basics!

Enjoy!

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Looks like a Pilgrim Sumo but I could be wrong. Built a Sumo with a Rover V8 and 5 speed box some years ago. It was an interesting build to say the least. Mostly enjoyable though and result was worth all the work. Had it sprayed professionally though as not a fan of the gel coat finishes. Although the finish was good on the body I think a paint finish is always better.

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Originally Posted by oldoakknives

Looks like a Pilgrim Sumo but I could be wrong. Built a Sumo with a Rover V8 and 5 speed box some years ago. It was an interesting build to say the least. Mostly enjoyable though and result was worth all the work. Had it sprayed professionally though as not a fan of the gel coat finishes. Although the finish was good on the body I think a paint finish is always better.

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Spot on! We did everything ourselves except the wiring and the paint which were done professionally. Ours has a modified Range Rover V8 and TVR gearbox.

I agree the build is interesting and we had to custom make a fair few minor parts. We managed to pass the SVA/IVA first time which was a relief.

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Originally Posted by hansblix2001

Spot on! We did everything ourselves except the wiring and the paint which were done professionally. Ours has a modified Range Rover V8 and TVR gearbox.

I agree the build is interesting and we had to custom make a fair few minor parts. We managed to pass the SVA/IVA first time which was a relief.

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Same experience as you really, did the wiring myself but on hindsight should have had it done professionally. Everything worked fine and was good but was hard work for my limited ability!!

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Originally Posted by oldoakknives

Same experience as you really, did the wiring myself but on hindsight should have had it done professionally. Everything worked fine and was good but was hard work for my limited ability!!

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That’s impressive! I laid the loom and started doing connections, then saw a thread about a guy who’s car caught fire and melted and thought my ability did not match my ambitions...

When it comes down it you’ve got a car you made yourself which is a massive achievement if you ask me.

Maybe not quite what you had in mind but I think this looks glorious. Not a prancing horse in sight so not really trying to be something it isn't. Interior needs making a bit more "special" maybe but its a good shape and the quality looks fab.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ferrari-2...wAAOSwcSJa2Jqs

I went to Pilgrim's factory about 15-20? years ago and even got to the point of buying a donor Ford Granada to build one, but the friend I was going to build with pulled out in the end.

Still trying to talk the wife into the idea of getting one, but our young son gets all our spare cash! Maybe I'll build it with him :)

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Originally Posted by DavidL

Maybe not quite what you had in mind but I think this looks glorious. Not a prancing horse in sight so not really trying to be something it isn't. Interior needs making a bit more "special" maybe but its a good shape and the quality looks fab.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ferrari-2...wAAOSwcSJa2Jqs

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That actually looks stunning, I’ve always hankered after one of these https://www.gdcars.com/media/gallery/

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Originally Posted by DavidL

Maybe not quite what you had in mind but I think this looks glorious. Not a prancing horse in sight so not really trying to be something it isn't. Interior needs making a bit more "special" maybe but its a good shape and the quality looks fab.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ferrari-2...wAAOSwcSJa2Jqs

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It does look fantastic from the outside, but I agree the interior really lets it down.

27k for a twenty year old Z3 in a new body is a lot of money though.

Always fancied a Lancia Stratos replica, but never found the time to build one. Beautiful looking cars though.