Kit cars - anyone built one?

[CaptainSensible]

After a couple of drives in Caterhams last year its really got me thinking about getting something similar at some point in my life. The bang for buck on offer is awesome, supercar performance for just a fraction of the cost. The thought of building my own car really appeals as well, although I have next to no mechanical ability (or tools for that matter!)

 

I was up at the Autosport show a couple of weeks ago and was really impressed by the Westfield stand. I though the cars looked great, not a good as a Caterham but a good budget option.

 

It's a bit of a pipe dream at the moment, I'm planning to buy a house this year (with garage) so not in a positon to do anything until then. So just interested to hear of anyone's experiece of building a kit car, escpecially if like me they had no mechanical knowledge before building. From everything I read the Caterham and Westfield Kits are just like big meccano sets which sounds like a lot of fun!

[Freebird]

As part of the course im on, a group of us had to build two caterhams last year. I always wanted to do this however its not for the faint of hearted in all honesty. Not a lot from the factory seems to be right and nothing just seems to go together as easily as you would expect. I will just say we were lucky to be in a full workshop in order to complete the build, as some things need altering in order to fit. Since building one, id personally never own one the quality is just poor in my opinion and caterham themselves didnt seem to care that the kits were not right either

 

That being said if i was going to build a kit car I would definitely look into a westfield megabusa, and I too was at autosport and saw the westys from a distance and they looked rather nice it must be said. But I didn't get a chance to get a closer look.

[CaptainSensible]

Thanks for your comments. That's interesting because of all the kits out there the Caterham's are supposed to be the best quality, hence why they are so pricey. I'd never a expect a kit car to be anywhere near a mainstream car in terms of build quality (especially if I'd built it!) but I'd expect them to bolt together without parts needing altering.

[rabbitstew]

I have considered this several times as I have a fully kitted out workshop and more tools than you can shake a stick at. Ive always done my own mechanics since I was 16 and have rebuilt a couple of cars.

 

I think for someone starting off, buying all the tools and equipment would be expensive. Ive amassed mine over my lifetime and dread to think how much they would all add up to.

 

The biggest problem with cars is that more often than not nothing is simple. What in theory may be a quick & easy job always has the potential to be a complete nightmare. Take for instance when I swapped my zed`s exhaust over last. Now, on other cars ive done this in ten minutes. On the zed, in theory you just undo 2 bolts after the Y pipe, undo the back box and pop it off. On mine (22k mile car), the bolts were all siezed, 1 sheered off and had to be drilled out, the back box wouldnt come undone and after spending about 4 hours under the car grinding / drilling and swearing, I just got the angle grinder out and cut the whole exhaust off.

 

With a new car, you shouldnt have that problem, but holes may not be in the right place, and you would have to do things in certain orders to get correct. You also, like learning anything, will make mistakes, and sometimes they can be costly. Also, it sometimes can be hard to keep your motivation up, especially in the cold winter months. I currently have 4 projects on the go in my garage, none of which ive had the time to work on for ages.

 

In some ways, its easier to buy one which is already build. Most of the hardwork has been done then, and you can always amuse yourself by rebuilding it, or overhauling it at a later date.

[JetSet]

No, but I did seriously consider doing it in the early 70's. This was in the days before V.A.T so you could save yourself a considerable amount of money as you didn't have to pay the purchase tax which was in force at the time. The car I wanted to build was a Lotus Europa, from the top of my head the purchase price was about £1500 and the self build price £1300. I went as far as visiting the Lotus dealer in Chester, at that time a company called Mangoletsi, getting a brochure and contacting a few mates but in the end just bought a second hand one . However, I do know 3 people who tried this with varying degrees of success. One guy I knew built a Lotus Elite from a kit back in the mid 60's. He managed to get it on the road but sadly the Coventry Climax engine blew big time and he was unable to get it back on the road again. He only sold what remained quite recently. My best mate also attempted to build a replica MG using a Triumph Herald engine....he started this in the mid 80's and has yet to finish it . Finally, another guy built a Mini Marcos back in the 70's but managed to set it on fire with a welding torch while assembling it .

 

Pete

[NeilMH]

I have had 1 Westfield and 2 Caterhams all of which were built from kits but not by me.

 

I was member of both forums and followed many build diaries just out of interest. I am not sure that my knowledge is completely up to date but it used to be the case that the standard Caterham (CKD) kit used to be quite a bit easier to put together than the Westfield with components like brake pipes already in place. The estimates used to be about 70 hours for a Caterham and 150 hours for a Westfield but there can be huge margin for differences/error depending on what options people go for and in what state they buy the kit - I believe you can still buy kits in the form where you source some components yourself and re-condition them, in which case the timescales would be more.

 

There were few build diaries I studied where there weren't some components missing. In most cases that seemed to be resolved quickly but in the odd case it causes a longer term problem. I have sat and watched a substantial part of a Caterham being built and it looked largely straightforward but it was being done by experienced people. It didn't put me off and I'd like to do it one day.

 

To own, the Caterham feels and looks quite a bit less kit-car like than the Westfield but prices reflect that so it depends on what budget you have. I also think the Caterham looks prettier. My budget didn't run to one initially and I never regretted owning the Westie for a second plus I found the club and company to be very friendly and helpful.

[leonk]

Freebird said,

Not a lot from the factory seems to be right and nothing just seems to go together as easily as you would expect.

 

That's a shame. I built a Caterham Seven nearly twenty years ago and felt that the quality and assembly was very good. Every time (and it was a lot) I phoned Caterham they were always very helpful. It is the only car I have ever owned and regretted selling.

 

If I were to build something again it would be a Dax Cobra.

[rtbiscuit]

as someone said above, it might be worth buying a part finished project, one that someone started but didn't finish.

 

or you can buy them direct from westfield in varying part built setups if i remember rightly, but the cost goes up the more they do for you.

 

i plan to build something in the not too distant future, currently trying to save for a 3 wheeler but not the kind that comes with

 

Trotters

Independent

Traders

 

on the side

 

 

i've been looking at something like this the rayvolution

 

 

or the marotti

 

 

 

there is method to my madness, i'd love a bike but i know i'd kill myself in a week, this should give me at least 2 weeks before i go out in a ball of flames.

 

also my single garage is only just big enough to get a car in, it would be an arse to try and build one in there. something like this will take up less space, and also being bike based it will have less parts and should be easier to work on. and is possibly more likely to be finished, and not sit unloved behind closed doors.

 

if all goes well i might progress from there on to a caterham, and then from there on to a GT40

[BulletMagnet]

I have built a full JTCC R33 Skyline before.

Stripped out interior, roll cage, race spec dash and pedal box.

 

 

 

Was a 1:32 scale kit from Tamiya tho :lol:

[marzman]

I agree with freebirds comments. My brother built (is still building!) a caterham 7 around 15 years ago and so many things were wrong with it. 1 example of a problem was the fuel tank... It was too small to fit in the location it was meant to, so my brother had to fabricate a whole new mounting bracket to make it work! Not very meccano-like...!

[CaptainSensible]

Sounds like a pre-built could be a better option then, and then spend any spare cash on upgrades. Thanks for all the input.

[NeilMH]

You can hire a Caterham from Caterham cars. This gives you more chance than a test drive to see what you think about it in day-to-day use.

[max]

I built a westfield along with my brother in 1992, i'am not a mechanic but know a left hand spanner from a right, the only problems i had were with the cooling which we sorted. It was also the quickest car i have driven on country lanes, i have also had the plesure of owning a Dax cobra. If you have the time and space go for it.

max.