scoobyjimbo

Guys
has anyone got any experience of buying and building a lotus 7 type kitcar - i owned a robin hood 3 years ago but looking to build one this time and use for track use, have so far looked at tiger (avon / cat), R. Hood lightweight , sturat taylot, mk etc..

anyone recomend one for ease of build and quality etc.. any opinions welcome.. would be looking if possible to put a bike engine in it possible..

cheers in advance
J

cat7

Built mine is 6 weeks during weekends and after work, its like a giant mechano set only easier. I'd never lifted a spanner before!

ninjacost

built my locost from scratch including chassis,got most of bolt on parts from ian gray at stuart taylor ,he's a good guy and knows his stuff.mines got zx9r in it ,runs 13's at santa pod so not too shabby.

scoobyjimbo

thanks for the replies.. ninja what sort of budget did you go with on this car if you dont mind me asking?

cat you have PM
j

Jamesemt

Did you have much help? Any advice for someone in a similar situation?

Dream Weaver

The Robin Hood lightweight looks good, and only £3k for the base kit.

billythekid

I have built my last one (Caterham R300) in 50 hours, which was just over 10 days. I did have some help but mostly at night time, so probably about 75 man hours. I took 2 weeks off work to do it. Was a great experiance. Just in the process of re-building my race car too. Its all good fun. Caterham and Westfield are the best for instructions and parts / technical support.

PM me off line and I will send you my build diary.

Also, please check out www.seventorque.com and www.blatchat.com

BTK

phelpsa

I agree, Ian Gray is the man, but don't be put off by his bluntness, he's a busy man.

I'm building a Locost from scratch with a Suzuki GSXR1100 engine.

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk is the place to be for 7 style cars.

cat7

However theres loads of on-line stuff that explains the jargon and it really was quite easy. I was worried about the engine and gearbox fitting etc and in fact this was one of the simplest bits, just read through other peoples experiences and then plan your action. I did the whole thing myself, could'nt wait for people to lend a hand and in the end I didn't need it.....blatchat is a great resource....what are you building?

billythekid

It is just like a giant lego technic kit, TBH I found the hardest / anoying bit fitting the wings and seats. The mechanical bits are very easy as all the right nuts / bolts are ready for you in the sealed bags. Caterham are only a call away or TechTalk on BC.

scoobyjimbo

I guess you gets what you pay for, caterams are more pricey in kit form than say tiger/RH/MK etc but they are more established and sell more kits hence their instructions and kits themslves are better quality.

Has anyone used cheaper kit provider and found their parts and build manual to be well produced etc?

J

ninjacost

Built it for about 6k mate but still spending just upgraded brakes to four pots
,wouldn't make chassis again ,took me too long, best way to go i think is to buy one ready to bolt everything on to.

hades

IMHO, Caterham are amongst the best, but not cheap. The locosts are obviously cheap, but not as good.

Personally, if I was doing it for cost/quality, I'd look to a Sylva Striker. Not quite a 7 look-a-like but very similar style, and from my experience of kitcar trackdays, results from 750 motorclub races etc about the only one with a chassis that's a match for a well sorted Caterham. Have been on a track with a 350kg lightweight striker special with a fireblade engine and very sticky tyres, which was comfortably blowing away superlight R's etc (as in several seconds quicker over a 1:10 lap)

There are various other variations on the striker which all have fundamentally the same Jeremy Phillips designed chassis, which is generally top class. I can't remember all of them, but I know the Fisher Fury is one (a bit more body than a 7-a-like, only fractionally heavier and a bit more aerodynamic) My brother built a Fury in 8 weeks from first part arriving to passing SVA. Cost on the road for that was IIRC 6 and a bit £k on a 2L pinto (although that grew by nearly £2k when he upgraded the engine to a 2L zetec running throttle bodies, custom ECU etc)

Brendan Hughes

We built a Pilgrim Sumo (Cobra replica) in the early 90s. Manual looked fantastic and very clear and convincing, but when you applied brain it was all the wrong way round - it asked you to fit the diff and propshaft before telling you to run the brake lines along the prop tunnel, IIRC, something like that. Dad phoned the mechanics at Pilgrim - "The manual? Nah, that's just to keep clients happy." Er, OK.

Jamesemt

I have first refusal on a work mates abandoned locost project - completed chasis and nosecone for £250...

He's lent me the book 'Build a sports car for £250' or something like that.

Still debating wether its worth going down this road or not - I have loads of time (get a minimum of 9 days off every 2 1/2 weeks) and few grease monkey-mates.

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Slightly off topic, but that is an absolute cracker of a book!

I know nothing about how cars are built, but I've read it now and I reckon I could probably swing together a lo-cost if I had the right tools and some spare time :-)

Brendan Hughes

Little tip. If you get the chance of a custom loom for the kit, jump at it. So many people build their first kit car as they think they know the mechanics, and they totally ***** up the electrics.