So Thinking of Building a Kit Car?

Introduction

So whats this blog all about? Well its a complete record of my attempt at constructing a Lotus Seven replica kit car. As I get more involved with the world of kits cars its plain to see there is a mass of information to help you, a lot of it very conflicting, so I thought I would get my two penneth in as well. I've found it helpful when trawling through the mine of info on the Internet to see how people have dealt with real problems. I wanted to contribute with my account and a build diary of the whole project may help someone else.

So lets get started. Which car to build? The main restriction on my choice of car is money. Not being a millionaire or earning £35K a year I am limited to the budget end of the kit car market. Also neither do I have a degree in engineering, so Ron Champion's Locost solution is also out. Whilst making facinating reading Ron's book is for the real hardcore, welding my own chassis may be fun to do, but I am not convinced I have the skill, nor the patience to make it work. Most kit cars that end up for sale are either because the owner has run out of time, patience or money, so carefully selecting a car that provides me with enough of a build challenge to make it worthwhile, but will not see me quit in desparation within two weeks is an important factor.

My budget for the project is a maximum of £5,000, this includes everything needed to complete the car, kit, engine and drive train and all donor parts. It is possible spend anywhere from £250 to £40,000 on a Seven kit car. An important factor to consider is value for money based on the application, obviously the more expensive cars offer a higher level of performance but you can be surprised at how small that gap can be especially with the wide range of engine and suspension options available, it all depends how much extra you want to spend to go 1, 2 or 3 seconds faster. A recent DVD I watched showed a £35,000 car with twice the power of the cheapest car, be only 4 seconds faster (and the cheapest was in the wet).

Another extremely important factor in choosing which car to build, is the application, although all based on the Lotus Seven each kit is unique in its own right, some are larger, more of your touring type, with plush interiors adding to their weight. Some are bare bones simple cars weighing next to nothing giving a good power to weight but offering less comfort. As with everything I had to complicate matters by throwing the 'Racing' spanner well and truly into the works. The best feature of the Seven is their versatility, all forms of racing have been developed around the Seven, mainly due to its low weight and excellent handling and power to weigh ratio, it really is the cheapest way to go fast. I want the car I choose to be as versatile as possible so whilst I could do Track days, Hill Climbs or Sprints in most Seven type cars, the ideal one will have a race series associated with it, so when I am ready I can go the whole hog and take it circuit racing. This helps add to the longevity of the project, so hopefully I will never get bored with it.

So what cars are we talking about here? Well the following is a brief but by no means exhaustive list of the top contenders in the kit car world.

• Caterham Cars - The original decendents of the Lotus Seven. Has a hugely successfuly racing academy
• Westfield Cars - Probably number two in the kit car world, has a racing series and a huge following
• Tiger Sportscars - Has a huge model range to suit all customers, provides a one make racing series and cars with an excellent whacky styling, including the mad Z100 twin bike engined car.
• Dax Cars - Main model is the 'Rush', probably the most outrageously styled Seven replica
• MK Racing - Another single model company, the MK chassis has many good reviews, very popular with the blackbird motorbike engine.
• Stryker - Solid kit car, resembles the original Seven in appearance.
• Robin Hood - Cheap and cheerful Seven replicas, in many respects the MFI of the kit car world, the engineering is basic but so is the price.

Manufacturers that are out straight away!

I will talk you through the cars I have discounted briefly, these are solely my personal tastes and reasons and does not reflect the cars in any way.

Caterham
Its simply far too expensive, the racing academy is extremely appealing, however mustering the 13K required for the basic model is just beyond my capacity. On a more personal level, most mechanics will sympathise with me in that the Rover K series is a disaster waiting to happen, its not a kind engine to the budget customer who would be looking to rennovate and existing engine. Although innovative in design it can be costly to maintain, there are cheaper and more reliable ways to go as fast.

Westfield
Like most kit car builders 'A Race Car is Born' is a permanent addition to my DVD collection, Mark Evans documentary on building a Westfield SEi and then taking it racing in a wide variety of disciplines is partly the inspiration for me wishing to build a car in the first place. However again, the cost is prohibitive. The base model is just about affordable, but looking at the specification you aren't getting a lot for the money, cart sprung live axles! it really is for the purist.
The SEi is the most appealing model, largely due to the 1800 Zetec racing series however this series is largely oversubscribed, so the racing option is negated as I would never get to take part.
On a personal note, Westfield have quite the most confusing and contradictory pricing policy I have ever seen, several sessions with a friend trying to work out what cost what left a slightly bitter taste to what is otherwise the most glamourous of the companies.

Dax Cars
Wow, I love the look, I love the range of engines and technical specification. The Rush is a superb blend of original Sevenness, with post millenium modern styling touches. The camber compensation system is quite ingenius. The suspension actually adjusts its geometry during the corner ensuring the tyre has the best contact with the road.
The Dax is much cheaper than the other more established brands, but its still just a little too far outside my price range.

MK Racing
The Indy is a well put together chassis with some nice styling tips. Its largely based on the Blackbird bike engine, although other engines can be fitted. Its difficult to discount the MK on anything other than personal preference. Tiger offer a similar car for slightly less money and greater manufacturer support. Its still a fab car with a small but growing following

Manufacturers that are in!

Robin Hood
Located in Nottingham, Robin Hood are the mass produced low cost manufacturer. Robin Hoods don't come with to many bells and whistles. Its basic engineering. Robin hood offer two main models, the Lightweight, which is the cheapest factory supplied kit car I have found you can buy, based on an Aluminium monocoque design and the 2B (tubey) subtley nicknamed because it is constructed from bent stainless tube rather than the more traditional 1-1.5 inch box steel.
Robin Hood have had some terrible press over the years and the general feeling througout the kit car community is that you are biting off more than you can chew with their cars. Often their have been complaints about the fitting or fabrication of additional parts that aren't mentioned. Also their aftersales and technical services are not highly praised. The lightweight car is extremely new, the downside to this is, no-one has built one yet!

Tiger Sports Cars
Tiger really have acquired a reputation for as the people's kit car manufacturer. Their approach has been to supply you with as much choice as possible, the range is quite staggering with 8 distinctly different cars, from the mad twin engined Z100 (holder of the 0-60 record), to the original Super Six live axled car, B6 and R6 race cars, Tiger Avon and three variations of the Tiger Cat E1 tourer.
Of the cars they supply, the Tiger Avon and Tiger Cat E1 are both within my price range.
Researching further and there are many positive comments about the cars and the technical service, although a few comments suggesting that perhaps the build manual is a little lacking!