I am currently 20 (21 in about 3 months) and have about £3000 to spend on a caterham "type" kit car. I would ideally be looking for one that I can insure on classic car insurance! and as its a second car to my Alfa 156(for cost reasons).

I was wondering what the best cars for the job are? I have seen Robin Hood/ Tiger/MK cars e.t.c which seem good value, are they as fun as the caterham?

Any tips/pointers e.t.c would be greatly appreciated!

Also what would insurance costs be likely to be for a 21 year old?

Thanks!!

[Edited on 19/2/06 by DelboyMatt]

22 R1 MK four hundred quid!

and they dont use your no claims

quote:

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Originally posted by zxrlocost
22 R1 MK four hundred quid!

and they dont use your no claims

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Best place to get a MK is MK. Great bunch of guys and enthusiastic and helpful.

http://www.mk-sportscars.fsnet.co.uk/

[Edited on 19/2/06 by stevec]

[Edited on 19/2/06 by stevec]

I would be looking at a pre built one really, as much as I would love to build my own, I simply dont have the time or space

when i was 19, my premium was £827.40, so it should be less than that.

i'm wondering what renawal's gonna be like with a fault claim to my name? i don't suppose it matters though if they never pay out, as they haven't done. it's been 3 months, 3 days. no resolution.

don't expect things to happen fast with kit insurance.
tom

This would make a good cheap starter kit...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sylva-Leader-400-1600cc-Twin-Cam-Twin-40s_W0QQitemZ4614740987QQcategoryZ29750QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

matt thats an r1 bike engine

your price bracket may need looking at though mate

might get one if your lucky for 4k

bike engine ones 6k upwards

a minter bike engine one 8-9k

quote:

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Originally posted by zxrlocost
matt thats an r1 bike engine

your price bracket may need looking at though mate

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its not finished yet if you have a look in the BEC section Ive just put some pics up under r1 widowmaker

but yes they are very quick 0-60 in under 4 secs

and that sound

quote:

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Originally posted by indykid
.....i don't suppose it matters though if they never pay out, as they haven't done. it's been 3 months, 3 days. no resolution.

don't expect things to happen fast with kit insurance.
tom

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quote:

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Originally posted by Hellfire

quote:

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Originally posted by indykid
.....i don't suppose it matters though if they never pay out, as they haven't done. it's been 3 months, 3 days. no resolution.

don't expect things to happen fast with kit insurance.
tom

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Tom, we were insured through Adrian Flux and were paid out within three weeks of having the accident Who are you with??

Matt, with a budget of around £3,000 I doubt whether you'd get a road going MK. If you're lucky you just might be able to pick a decent Locost up for that amount but forget about bike engined. If you can't stretch your budget, it may be worth keeping an eye out for a part built kit car and completing it as and when funds allow.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Phil

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id aim to spend 2k on a genuine homemade locost, and leave a grand to cover insurance and a few simple mods. Job done.

how about a dutton phaeton? not the prettiest but can be bought pretty cheap like this one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dutton-Phaeton-kit-car-1600cc-Not-a-Q-plate_W0QQitemZ4614990008QQcategoryZ29750QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

take off the mecanno spoiler and maybe change the wheels for some nice ones and away you go, maybe even put a 2.0litre pinto in once you get bored of the 1.6

That'll be a locost P.O.S model with household copper piping for the coolant system and a lump of smokey pig iron under the bonnet then.
If you dont know the arguements between an MK se7en and a Caterham Seven then I think you'll need to do your homework first.... one is triple the price of the other......

Whatever people say about Caterham owners being tossers, the cars are usually properly spec'd up - a friends Superlight has AP brakes, bespoke caterham gearbox, quaife LSD diff, genuine carbon fibre wheel arches, nose, dash and tillet seats, all from the factory!
After 9 years of use, it still holds its own on any track.
Servicing needed nothing more serious than a new clutch release bearing, 2 clutch cables and a steering rack in 60k miles! (oh and many, many sets of tyres of course!)

If you're worried about the cost of insurance and on a budget of only £3-£4k, then I'd either stick to your 90's hot hatches or get a sports bike, (which'll be as fast as you can go for the money - my old 1999 ZX6R cracks 168Mph by the book and only cost £500 to insure with no NCB on my *first year* - oh yeah, and it'll reach 60 in low 3 seconds, in 1st gear!).
I built a Dax Rush with an R1 engine and that doesnt nearly give the same sense of speed and adrenaline thrills as my bike, and it cost well over £13k to build!
Could have bought 2 new 600's bikes for that price!

I started off thinking of a 4K budget. I realised quickly the 5 - 5.5K was more realsitic for what i wanted. Ended up costing just over 7K on the road. I did some deals and sold some surplus bits etc so i only spent 6K in cash if you know what i mean.
At 4K there arent many new kits you could build. This throws you into unfinished kit territory or locost.
Other option is to spend your 4K now on starter kit plus some extras to get you going over the first 3 months and spend the rest over the next 12 months. If i tried harder i could have done mine easily for 5K. I spent £1500+ on digidash, fancy exhaust, new brakes, wheels/tyres, Samco hoses, head porting and cam, savage switches, fancy seats etc etc . If i took longer to find cheap parts off ebay etc, used more donor bits (switch gear, clocks, engine without mods etc) or fabricated my own then i could have spent a lot less.

I have been very impressed with my ease of build. Mac#1 is a well sorted kit. The bits i wasnt sure of were quickly dealt with by Mac#1 (in terms of advice and assistance). Initial spend with Mac#1 is slightly higher than others but overall they come in at roughly the same cost. I cant fault the quality of the bits i got off them and i have been known to liken their customer service to legendary status - but i wont say that again as it provokes reaction from other builders who havent experienced it first hand


TotalkitCar live at Oulton park is highly recommended to visit so you can see many marques and do some comparisons. You might even get a passenger ride in some demo cars.

I thought that price range was reasonable, esp 4k as I saw a stunning black westfield at a classic car show last year for around £4k and that had been totally overhauled and looked (Might even still have the pics on my PC somewhere with the original advert). I presume MK's e.t.c have the look of a caterham but parts such as brakes from donor cars like sierras and the like? I've driven my friends caterham 7 and that was a lot of fun. Lots of my friends are bikers and I was tempted by a little Cagiva Mito to start off with, but I am a car man through and through. Not a fan of hot hatches, as I just get ideas of chavs and the Alfa I have is a great car, but I just want the absolute rawness of these lotus 7 type cars

[Edited on 20/2/06 by DelboyMatt]

quote:

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Originally posted by joetait
That'll be a locost P.O.S model with household copper piping for the coolant system and a lump of smokey pig iron under the bonnet then.

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Rescued attachment dony_-_isonblade_in_pits.jpg

Just done a quick scan of findit, most a bit above your price range, but at this time of year you never know what someone might take.

http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/305353.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/477419.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/437427.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/378090.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/projects/298826.php

[Edited on 20/2/06 by Wadders]

So what's the blury / shiny photo supposed to show?!?
What is the build quality like?
What Engine, Gearbox, Diff Brakes? - has any thought gone into the design and prep of the chassis or is it a cheaply hammerited mesh of poorly welded assortment of steel tubes?
No offence, but £3k - £4k wont buy a used kitcar of any quality that you'd want to keep..... especially if your mechanically inexperienced.

quote:

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Originally posted by joetait
So what's the blury / shiny photo supposed to show?!?
What is the build quality like?
What Engine, Gearbox, Diff Brakes? - has any thought gone into the design and prep of the chassis or is it a cheaply hammerited mesh of poorly welded assortment of steel tubes?
No offence, but £3k - £4k wont buy a used kitcar of any quality that you'd want to keep..... especially if your mechanically inexperienced.

---

Not had any trolls on here for a while.....

quote:

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Originally posted by Wadders
Just done a quick scan of findit, most a bit above your price range, but at this time of year you never know what someone might take.

http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/305353.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/477419.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/437427.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/378090.php
http://findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/projects/298826.php

[Edited on 20/2/06 by Wadders]

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Caterhams still look very old fashioned most with massive headlights. which looks stupid

robin hoods dont look the best but are cheap

MK MAC1 and MNR are the way forward

but seriously the budget will need increasing for one

my MK R1 has cost me over 8k so far

theres lots of little things that add up that you dont think of pre build

quote:

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Originally posted by zxrlocost
Caterhams still look very old fashioned most with massive headlights. which looks stupid

robin hoods dont look the best but are cheap

MK MAC1 and MNR are the way forward

but seriously the budget will need increasing for one

my MK R1 has cost me over 8k so far

theres lots of little things that add up that you dont think of pre build

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delboymatt if you decide to get one whatever it is itll be great fun just keep your eye out for your budget range and see what comes up!

I suggest you check your facts before ranting and frothing at the mouth!
ZX6R G2 official top speed, not just my own vague estimate is 168MPH, and MCN verified 0-60 is 3.1 seconds from a standing start.

Also, the guy clearly states that he doesnt want to build a locost, he simply want to buy a prebuilt one of some varient.

Joetait - sounds like youve been reading the book 'How to win friends and influence people'. I was going to go off on a rant but its not worth it. Please dont alienate the community by a few ill used words.

At the end of the day this site is for the locostbuilders whose ingenuity is certainly applauded by me. I treat my membership as one of a guest in awe of their skills and feel priviledged that im allowed to use their knowledge base. Iam a self confessed chequebook builder and wouldnt for a minute dream of making such bold and derogatory statements.

What does P.O.S. mean by the way????
What are you building?

[Edited on 21/2/06 by DarrenW]

I just finished building a Dax Rush which I dropped a carb'd R1 engine in - Dax certainly wouldnt be classed as one of the finest quality manufacturers in the world, but it is one of the better se7en clones out there.
None the less, the end result is very much dependant on the skill and quality put into the build not just the raw kit.
(However the old adage 'you cant polish a turd' comes to mind when you consider the quality of many kits I've seen!)

POS = Pile Of Shit

I would rant, but I cant be bothered as Mark said what I would have. But if you are going to come on here as a new member, keep your abusive views to yourself, otherwise when you want help, you wont find many willing to help you out.

I am planning on building for around £3.5-4k. And thats from a kit. Currently I am on budget, and the planned spending is looking like it might go to just over £4k. Yes it will have a smokey old engine in, but it will still leave most production cars standing and be a lot of fun to drive as well. OK so I can make various bits at home and have access to some good scrap yards which is a huge bonus, but a with budget of £3k you CAN build a very nice car, which will probably keep up with your expensive Dax and for 1/3rd the price. Its all about what and who you know

As for the point of this thread... As others have said, its unlikely you will get a completed car for £4k, but it depends how nicer example you want, you could pick one up for about £3k (that will be a proper Locost though) that needs some work doing to it, but it would get you on the road until you could afford to upgrade it.

David

[Edited on 21/2/06 by flak monkey]

quote:

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Originally posted by joetait
(However the old adage 'you cant polish a turd' comes to mind when you consider the quality of many kits I've seen!)

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I enjoy driving my pile of shit.

for some reason nobody told the car it wasn't supposed to be fun.

So keep it to yourselves if you're within earshot of the blue thing.

I don't want her to find out.

Cheers

Chris

Lets start off with the Tiger kits shall we....
I went over to their 'shed' next to the service station in Cambs to take a look at their BEC version at one point...... some of the worst fabrication I've ever seen!


Ok, signing off for good now guys - sorry to have expressed my honest opinion earlier on; I didnt realise that political correctness had reached as far as the bowels of the kitcar forums......

Whatever you've got, make the most of it and enjoy it before we all get Red taped off the road! Driving seems to be considered todays greatest evil both by those governing us and those policing us.......

Its not really a case of political correctness, more a case of offending a few people for what seemed like no good reason.

Its not a good idea to generalise and slag off all home built cars on a forum where the majority of the members have scratch built their cars...thats all.

David

goodbye, don't think you will be missed too much.

quote:

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Originally posted by Jon Ison
goodbye, don't think you will be missed too much.

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like diarrhea or toothache . A little constructive criticism never did any harm did it?

Tone and general demeanour very similar to 'Considerably'? Have we just been had?

I see your not a "man" of your word then..................

I don't think Mr Tait has the knowledge, intellect or tact that 'Considerably' has.