Hello all

New to the forum.

Looking for a new toy (had an S2000, Elise, Boxster, z4) and have fancied a lotus 7 style car for a while, but have a couple of questions.

I have no technical skills and really looking for a car that I won’t need to tinker with (haven’t done any work on a car since my first car - a mark 1 Ford escort 30 years ago)

I’m 6ft and a little overweight , will I fit ?

Is there a good time to buy ?

Fancy a BEC , am I likely to kill myself, would I be better off with a lower powered engine to start with ?

Just seen a Fireblade engined car on eBay with paddleshift but no reverse , is adding reverse a relatively easy job for a garage - any ideas on how much it would cost ?

Have looked on the normal places here / eBay / piston heads , anywhere else worth keeping an eye on

Will 7k get me something decent (happy to spend less)


Cheers
Toby

Q: I’m 6ft and a little overweight , will I fit ?
Yes, some 7s are bigger than others, search on here a bit and you’ll find other asking similar questions.

Welcome

I always advise that potential owners take a passenger ride if possible in the type of car they are thinking of owning or at least go and see a few before buying
I've taken a few folks out and afterwards they've said "thanks for that, but these cars are a bit too raw for me..."
Others have loved it and gone on and bought or built one

BEC's aren't for everyone, but some folks love them

The best time to buy is the winter, but a lot will hold onto their cars until the spring, where they fetch more money

Reverse can be fitted later

7k will buy you a car, BUT do your homework and make sure what you buy is correctly registered for what it is...

Thanks both

Reason I fancy a seven is I loved my Elise but it was just too small for an everyday car, I now have another car as a daily drive so fancy something that is just about driving no compromise needed.


On one of your points, I have seen a lot of adverts saying correctly registered etc , I assumed to be road legal they would need to be registered correctly , what is it I need to look out for ?

Cheers
Toby

Check what's its registered as on the V5

Eg if its a 7 but its registered on the V5 as say a 'Ford Escort', leave it well alone

Any queries just ask on here with a link to the advert

Welcome to the best car forum on the net. I saw this for 2 reasons. 1) se7en style and other fully bodies version generally covered on this site are driver's cars. When doing 30mph is still fun because your @rse is 4" from the floor and you can smell if your radiator fan has kicked in. 2) We are a pretty friendly and helpful bunch. Not question to stupid, and over the years I have tested this lot. . .

So back to OP. No you are not too big, get your self out in a car and ask some questions face to face. If you find something you like the look of post it in here and ask for advice. Someone may already have history on the car but no doubt someone will sniff out if something is not right.

Good luck and enjoy.

Thanks everybody

Very helpful

Cheers
Toby

If you're not going to maintain your car yourself it could end up being very expensive and most garages are not familiar with such cars. Chances are it will need constant tlc if only to check nothing vital is about to fall off.

size?


mahoosive

viento vs book locost

Yes there's one you'll fit into.

Personally I'd say most people who have one are more than prepared to get their hands dirty and tinker with/maintain their own cars. They're not factory built dealer serviced cars afterall, more a collection of parts from a collection of deiffent donor vehicles.

I found (like many I'm sure) building my MK Indy was as much fun as owning/driving the finished car. The car was never really finished either . There were always bits I wanted to change, improve, tweak, modify etc. I made friends along the way and acquired new tools and skills as well.

In the main - go into it with enjoyment as the priority!

Hi Toby,

If you don't want to tinker. I don't think a kit car is the right product. It will just frustrate you and most garages don't want to work on them.

I don't blame them, as no two kits are built the same and what may be a simple job on a tin top, may not be so straight forward on a kit and hence they will likely have had bad experiences or customer expectations.

Unless you want to start tinkering and learn?

It’s like folk who buy a classic Landrover after reading the magazines… no garage, no tools, no experience working on cars, never actually driven one, oh boy I have known a few like this and they could not get rid of them fast enough when the bubble burst just a few weeks later. I did warn them.

IMO if you want to get your hands dirty, soaked and cold buy a 7, if not buy an MX5 as you'll have a much better time





[Edited on 10/11/20 by Mr Whippy]

I don’t think I would have the bottle to drive anything I have tinkered with but know what your saying

I did contemplate another Elise but 2nd hand prices have gone through the roof. MX5 never done it for me it seems like a backward step from the S2000 / Boxster. My dream car would be an atom but that’s a long way from my budget

The only real way of not needing to do self maintenance in reality is to buy a Caterham, but for the type of money you would like to put in, is probably going to be a dog, and need serious maintenance, triple your budget would get quite a nice car

Ok as part of my education

This looks alright , owner said it’s in great condition

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284076392632

Looks like a cheap intro to lotus7 style driving , has 12 months MOT , what could possibly go wrong

Also this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184531576066

I know people are often dismissive of Robin Hoods (and a lot do look rough), this looks nicely put together , I understand the chasis isn’t a patch on a decent locost / Westfield etc , are they worth looking at or should I quickly turn the page when I see the name Robin Hood

Guess my priority is some kind of reliability and decent performance, based on other cars I have had 0-60 in under 6 seconds would seem ideal, would probably not last long in a sub 5 second car

First one looks like a Locust, this is not a Locost it's a plywood tub on a ladder chassis.
A well built Robin Hood would be fine for a Sunday blast.

Neither of these could be advised as low maintenance drivers cars

quote:

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Originally posted by big_wasa
First one looks like a Locust, this is not a Locost it's a plywood tub on a ladder chassis.

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Where are you based ? I would see if any of the guy's on here are local and go see there car and maybe go for a blast, you will soon see if its for you or not

What looks like a Triumph front axle is good indication.

Have a google and read about them. A nice one again would make a good Sunday afternoon car. ( that’s not what I mean by a good one )

Cheers both

I’m in Devon , guessing a covid lock down isn’t the best time to be looking for a car and asking for a test drive.

I'm in Cornwall and if you're still looking when my car is finished (hopefully Spring) I'd be happy to take you out in it. I'm not anticipating it will be a maintenance free vehicle though - I expect owning it to be more like a classic car, i.e. great fun, very impractical, constant tinkering and occasional frustration when (just for example) it won't start and you're on a campsite 100 miles from the ferry you need to be on.

But I'm sure you could learn on the job! Then in a few years with all those new skills you can build your own

As for the Robin hood 2b I'd sum up the car as being very heavy due to the use of so much stainless steel for all the metal body panels. The nosecone/bonnet/skuttle combination is so heavy it needs either two people or gas struts to lift safely which is madness for a 7. The lower part of the rear floor is devoid of any chassis structure to bolt either seatbelts or seats too. The engine bay is not sealed off from the footwell so an engine fire will spread into the compartment immediately. The general design of the body panelling is very incompetent.

Good points are a very well made chassis which is predominantly made of stainless steel. It's quite roomy inside for it's size and that's about it...

I'm rebuilding mind just now but replacing all panels with Aluminium, building a new skuttle and rear floor/chassis structure. After that I'll be delighted with the car



[Edited on 13/11/20 by Mr Whippy]

quote:

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Originally posted by Stuart Walker
I'm in Cornwall and if you're still looking when my car is finished (hopefully Spring) I'd be happy to take you out in it. I'm not anticipating it will be a maintenance free vehicle though - I expect owning it to be more like a classic car, i.e. great fun, very impractical, constant tinkering and occasional frustration when (just for example) it won't start and you're on a campsite 100 miles from the ferry you need to be on.

But I'm sure you could learn on the job! Then in a few years with all those new skills you can build your own

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Ive had a couple of BECs and also a normal car engine car so can offer some opinions.

My first BEC was my "toy".

It was track only with a GSXR1100 wp engine. No reverse or lights etc. The pain was having to trailer it everywhere. Any work i did, i couldn't test it until i got to track

The 2nd BEC was a single seater Roadrunner Racing SR1 with an R1 engine. Again no reverse but fully road legal so any work i did i could test on the road. Having a bike engine car was very cumbersome on the road at low speeds. Using your foot as a clutch takes some getting used to.

My car engine car is an SSC Stylus and for me is the best of the cars ive owned as its a car engine in a car. It works as it should and takes loads less fettling.

This was the track only car.


This was the Roadrunner racing SR1 road legal







[Edited on 14/11/20 by number-1]

Nice cars, bet you get a reaction when you drive the yellow beast on the road

Can somebody give me their opinion of this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264940630564

Looks nice (apart from the interior ) , anybody spot any warning signs , anybody know how spacious they are.

As always any advice appreciated

Thanks
Toby

quote:

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Originally posted by Ybotc
Can somebody give me their opinion of this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264940630564

Looks nice (apart from the interior ) , anybody spot any warning signs , anybody know how spacious they are.

As always any advice appreciated

Thanks
Toby

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quote:

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Originally posted by obfripper

It's registered as a f27 which is a good start.
It's been mot'd as a westfield, not a major problem but worth getting corrected to save agro if you get stopped/involved in an accident.

Dave

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