...on here these days, compared to the good old days at least 
It's nice to see a lot of the old faces are still here though and I am enjoying
being back.
Are less people building the 'Locost' cars now and instead going down the route of the manufacturers spin offs? Or is it just quiet like a
lot of forums due to FB killing it off a bit?
your not alone in thinking its very quite here 
I think its a "generation thing" as in the kids today want everything given to them NOW, and building a car is
in some case a 20+ year project, not a buy it now option
Also, an awful lot of us, and I know this does not include you , grew up with Lego, Meccano and the like, so building a car is an extension of our
childhood, well it is in my case, as im still a child at 59
Most of the younger generation only know Faceache, mobiles, and play stations, and wouldnt even know what a spanner is
To sum up what ive said above, my Son is 42, and wouldn't even know how to open a bonnet of a car, as that's what garages do when its
serviced
My Grandson is 19, and ive only seen him once this year, as he lives 24/7 apart from work in his bedroom
The only way my Daughter can get him downstairs for food or whatever is to turn the router off in the lounge
says it all really
steve
There's a lot of people posting on the Haynes Roadster Facebook group - but it seems to me that the general level of knowledge and advice kicking
around on that group is less than on here.
Personally I mainly use Locostbuilders (and the Haynes forum) as places I can *search* - in almost every case the my questions have been asked and
answered by others before - I just don't see the FB groups as useable in that way.
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey
it's really quiet...
quote:
Originally posted by Nile_rt
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
I've been sidetracked by an Austin A35 project !
Shhh, we're sleeping
I've noticed it as well - I think when the original book(s?) came out it was quite a novelty to build a scratch built car; the donors were
plentiful, really cheap and there was a lot of people who were keen - hence this website has been so popular.
Now all the Escorts are worth the price of a small house and the Sierras have been scrapped, parts aren't so readily available and those that
are, are really expensive.
I know there are BMW/MX5 etc based kits around but I tend to agree with the comments about the youths of today - our two are (as are all their
friends!!) glued to PCs/consoles all the time.
I started doing the Scimitar but couldn't get "into" it (state of mind didn't help) so abandoned it. I restored a velosolex which
was fun but quite a quick process which suits my impatient mentality.
Still, going to make a project out of my Triumph Daytona - but buy a spare engine to build everything around. Turns out my neighbour has a contact who
drag races a turbo bike so that'll be the electronic side sorted out
S
quote:
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
Yep, a bit quiet as of late but some of us are still here trying to fulfil an ambition to build our own car.
My life took a turn about 12 years ago, as in divorce/loosing my house & everything else but I've still got my chassis etc & continue to
buy the odd bit here & there when I can afford it.
I've slowly rebuilt my life & finally managed to buy a house again after 10 years saving for a deposit & getting back on my feet.
My current wife is very supportive of me in my hobby but unfortunately she was struck down by the dreaded Mulitple sclerosis so funds are tight with
just my wage covering most things at the moment.
I will be here as long as the site exists & I will hopefully post up pictures of me sitting in a road registered car I've built myself at
some point :-)
[Edited on 15/3/19 by Andybarbet]
IMHO, the cost of building a car has increased a lot! The IVA is another set of hoops to jump through which puts a lot of folks off, plus for those
wanting a nippy open top car, you can pick a budget, and buy something already built...by a major manufacturer. I know that's not the point of
the Locost but it's what folks see.
I'll still be scratting about in the shed building dodgy piles of crap from random bits of detritus.
I've noticed there isn't as much content as there used to be. I've still not finished my Avon that I started about 12 years ago. Life
and other projects get in the way but I now have a 7 year old trainee locoster who want to help when I jump back in. I spent just over a year making
him a toy crane.
https://youtu.be/tTejbZVkb3Y
Also did a milling machine restoration/ conversation
https://youtu.be/0_HNFg1L9Vs
Oh and I built the garage.
Well, for me, less traffic is an indicator of the amount of knowledge covered already.
I would post more pictures to show how I have made some stuff, but still can“t...
quote:
Originally posted by Nile_rt
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
quote:
Originally posted by Nile_rt
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
Exactly that is the main reason.
I think the older generation posting here that paid 30k for a good sized house when they were younger don't realise,or don't want to know,the cost of just living these days compared to what people can earn.
A kit car sat in the garage is a massive luxury!
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
quote:
Originally posted by Nile_rt
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
Exactly that is the main reason.
I think the older generation posting here that paid 30k for a good sized house when they were younger don't realise,or don't want to know,the cost of just living these days compared to what people can earn.
A kit car sat in the garage is a massive luxury!
I think you may of got your figures wrong slightly, as my parent house cost £8500 in 1969, when the there total earnings a week came to £125, and that equats to about 17 times my Parent salarys and not guaranteed, and the house was paid for in 1980
My house at 2005 equated to 8.5 times my salary, all paid for now
My Son and wife earn 75k a year, but cant afford to buy a house. ?????????????
They can afford a £750k place, but its not good enough for them, plus to my amazement, they spent there deposit on a Brand new car ???
That's why the modern day youngsters cant buy a house, as in there pathetic minds, they HAVE to have a new car, phone, fashion etc, yet somewhere to live doesn't come into the equation
Yes they do, but there salaries in the South east are not unusual, and neither have particularly good jobs, but their expenditure stlll out weighs
their income, and their lifestyle also, hence no house
I still believe, that the current "youngsters" require an awful lot of possessions in their sweaty palms before even thinking of were they
could live
steve
Our two (18 and 16) both have part time jobs and do quite well at birthdays and xmas and I keep telling them (for the last couple of years), they need
upwards of £40 grand for a deposit on a house and they really should top squandering their money.
They don't listen but hey...
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
quote:
Originally posted by Nile_rt
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
Exactly that is the main reason.
I think the older generation posting here that paid 30k for a good sized house when they were younger don't realise,or don't want to know,the cost of just living these days compared to what people can earn.
A kit car sat in the garage is a massive luxury!
I think you may of got your figures wrong slightly, as my parent house cost £8500 in 1969, when the there total earnings a week came to £125, and that equats to about 17 times my Parent salarys and not guaranteed, and the house was paid for in 1980
My house at 2005 equated to 8.5 times my salary, all paid for now
My Son and wife earn 75k a year, but cant afford to buy a house. ?????????????
They can afford a £750k place, but its not good enough for them, plus to my amazement, they spent there deposit on a Brand new car ???
That's why the modern day youngsters cant buy a house, as in there pathetic minds, they HAVE to have a new car, phone, fashion etc, yet somewhere to live doesn't come into the equation
£125 per week is an annual salary of over 6k. So your parents house cost less than 1.5 times annual salary. Today the ratio is closer to 10 times if
you're buying by yourself.
Please don't generalise all youngsters as materialistic w*nkers just because your children are.
Its not just the cost of a house its also most affordable house bont come with driveways or garages. A few years ago when i want to start building i did have the money or the space. I lived in a flat and was saving for a house, when my now wife and i bought a house it had no drive and a garage in a block away from the house. That was 12 years ago and its only got harder for people since then, so new kit cars enthusiasts have to wait longer in life to have the money space and time. From personal experience buying a house later in life means starting a family later, so heading towards mid life crisis time at rocket speed speed, comfort and bolt-on ability are desirable so lots of would be builders buy a fast tin tops and go on track days.
Wow. This thread went completely differently to what I expected. I was going to post the problem with this site is it doesn't work with a phone.
That pushes people away. Other forums like migweb are still popular.
However I generally agreed the disposable income. / House cost has a massive impact on this forum. Combined with less people being practical and more
buying solutions than fixing means this heads to bring more and more niche.
Guess I'm lucky with my kids. Daughter (24) and partner have just completed on their first house. 3 bed with garage.
Son (22) will probably buy with his partner in the next 3 years. That said neither of them wanted the terraced type house my wife and I bought as our
first and yes they both have latest phones etc. Daughters car is 3 years old, son until recently had a Golf R bought new but has now seen sense and
bought himself a mk 2 MX5 which he is super charging. Neither have huge salaries.
I've seen both sides of the not knowing one end of a spanner from the other. Son has huge engineering knowledge covering CNC milling, turning
setup, design, electronics, plc programming, welding (mig & tig in all weldable metals). He loves what he does. The apprentice we have is the
opposite end of the scale. No real interest, can't use a screwdriver.
Son wants to build a car but may well have to wait until he has a house as the garage has my bits in. Despite his abilities he is likely to go the GBS
route rather than locost. There is still the want it now streak which does exist in the younger generation. He struggles with the idea that I am in no
rush to build and for me the enjoyment of the build is as important if not more so than the finished car.
I'm late 50's and only just started my build. I've wanted to build one for decades but was held back by not having the facilities or
equipment to create the car I wanted. Sure I could have built on years ago but would have been disappointed with the result. Following redundancy from
my IT career and a move in to engineering (work for same company as son) those barriers no longer exist.
I'm not very active on here atm as build is in very early stages. Also spent time rebuilding old equipment at work that was no longer used and
had sat outside for many years (chop saw and grit blaster) which will be useful during the build. I don't think anyone would be interested in
that stuff or the rebuild of the engine which is what I'm doing atm It's a standard forge build of Mazda BP4W. Chassis should be built over
easter at work then progress will be more rapid, interesting, frustrating and I will post more.
Younger generation don't tend to use forums. If son wants to know how to do something he hits Youtube which I admit is very good as long as you
have enough knowledge to know when the info being presented is bull crap. Knowledge on here I trust so please keep looking all you experienced
builders as us rookies still need you.
Maybe we should all post more ! To be fair fb has a fair bit of kit crelated traffic maybe we should start pushing the site on FB? All of us with
accounts could do that?
Dan
[Edited on 17/3/19 by Bluemoon]
This forum still runs on coal!
I've given up on trying to upload pics anymore,unless you send a photo in via Royal Mail you can't get any on here!
pics aren't a problem :p
It's dead obvious to me what's wrong with Locostbuilders... It's not a community anymore!
I resigned up yesterday after years of being away, took half an hour out of my day to write a catch up and collate pictures, and literally no one said
hello. I'm not here for your praise but some acknowledgement wouldn't hurt.
Building cars is a lonely antisocial hobby. It requires hours and days alone working on something that most people think is a waste of time. It verges
on obsession. This should be a place for friendly like minded people.
So I'll say again, hello?
[Edited on 17/3/19 by G13BLocost]
Hello 
I can't comment on what the forum used to be like but in its defence I will say any questions I have posted have been answered very quickly and
provided the info I needed.
Have fun converting from race to road.
quote:
Originally posted by DavidhMX5
Hello
I can't comment on what the forum used to be like but in its defence I will say any questions I have posted have been answered very quickly and provided the info I needed.
Have fun converting from race to road.
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
quote:
Originally posted by Nile_rt
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
Exactly that is the main reason.
I think the older generation posting here that paid 30k for a good sized house when they were younger don't realise,or don't want to know,the cost of just living these days compared to what people can earn.
A kit car sat in the garage is a massive luxury!
I think you may of got your figures wrong slightly, as my parent house cost £8500 in 1969, when the there total earnings a week came to £125, and that equats to about 17 times my Parent salarys and not guaranteed, and the house was paid for in 1980
My house at 2005 equated to 8.5 times my salary, all paid for now
My Son and wife earn 75k a year, but cant afford to buy a house. ?????????????
They can afford a £750k place, but its not good enough for them, plus to my amazement, they spent there deposit on a Brand new car ???
That's why the modern day youngsters cant buy a house, as in there pathetic minds, they HAVE to have a new car, phone, fashion etc, yet somewhere to live doesn't come into the equation
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
This forum still runs on coal!
I've given up on trying to upload pics anymore,unless you send a photo in via Royal Mail you can't get any on here!
quote:
Originally posted by G13BLocost
It's dead obvious to me what's wrong with Locostbuilders... It's not a community anymore!
I resigned up yesterday after years of being away, took half an hour out of my day to write a catch up and collate pictures, and literally no one said hello. I'm not here for your praise but some acknowledgement wouldn't hurt.
Building cars is a lonely antisocial hobby. It requires hours and days alone working on something that most people think is a waste of time. It verges on obsession. This should be a place for friendly like minded people.
So I'll say again, hello?
[Edited on 17/3/19 by G13BLocost]
Nope, they are definitely there
quote:
Originally posted by DavidhMX5
pics aren't a problem :p
[img]
quote:
Originally posted by Angel Acevedo
quote:
Originally posted by G13BLocost
It's dead obvious to me what's wrong with Locostbuilders... It's not a community anymore!
I resigned up yesterday after years of being away, took half an hour out of my day to write a catch up and collate pictures, and literally no one said hello. I'm not here for your praise but some acknowledgement wouldn't hurt.
Building cars is a lonely antisocial hobby. It requires hours and days alone working on something that most people think is a waste of time. It verges on obsession. This should be a place for friendly like minded people.
So I'll say again, hello?
[Edited on 17/3/19 by G13BLocost]
Hello..
Funny, I search for your posts and there appears to be none, even though on your post count shows 4?
Did you deleted them?
quote:
Originally posted by G13BLocost
It's dead obvious to me what's wrong with Locostbuilders... It's not a community anymore!
I resigned up yesterday after years of being away, took half an hour out of my day to write a catch up and collate pictures, and literally no one said hello. I'm not here for your praise but some acknowledgement wouldn't hurt.
Building cars is a lonely antisocial hobby. It requires hours and days alone working on something that most people think is a waste of time. It verges on obsession. This should be a place for friendly like minded people.
So I'll say again, hello?
[Edited on 17/3/19 by G13BLocost]
It should be called highcostbuilders although the whole premes of it was based on a lie to sell a very misleading book
quote:
Originally posted by G13BLocost
So I'll say again, hello?
[Edited on 17/3/19 by G13BLocost]
quote:
Originally posted by jps
quote:
Originally posted by DavidhMX5
pics aren't a problem :p
[img]
Is that because you've put it somewhere else and linked to it? I can't get the photo uploader on here to work...
I still read daily and have done for nearly 16 of my 28 years!
P.s. Here's what i've been upto this weekend....
[Edited on 17-3-19 by phelpsa]
You see that picture my fellow old gits - that proves it!!! A lovely garage and a half built car and he is staring at his phone......
quote:
Originally posted by Theshed
You see that picture my fellow old gits - that proves it!!! A lovely garage and a half built car and he is staring at his phone......
Nice chassis! MX5 rearend?
quote:
Originally posted by G13BLocost
Nice chassis! MX5 rearend?
I have to agree with whats been said here already.
The world has become an instant gratification type of place for people now.
I see it in cars and down the gym.
First question form an colleague was, whats the bhp and what does it do 0-60 in ?
It's all about pub numbers now. What they don't realise is that lack of power AND weight keeps it nimble and you brake later.
You can very easily go out now and buy a tin top with 300+ bhp and hassle most kit cars and thats what people want.
Its getting the same with our cars too. You see threads asking whats a good power output and how much power do i need.
Theres more and more supercharged and turbo cars appearing as everyone wants more power. So its not just the kids.
Its also getting generally quiet on all the forums, maybe fewer people have the time to take pics and write up what they've been doing as it all
seems mundane.
Who wants to see pics of me bleed the brakes or tidy up the wiring? Maybe we all feel that everyone know how to do these bits and will only post the
interesting non standard bits. I'm enjoying fury rebuild thread and the other fury rebuild website, as they're two builds that are very
different to whats been done before.
quote:
Originally posted by pigeondave
Who wants to see pics of me bleed the brakes or tidy up the wiring?
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
P.s. Here's what i've been upto this weekend....
[Edited on 17-3-19 by phelpsa]
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
P.s. Here's what i've been upto this weekend....
[Edited on 17-3-19 by phelpsa]
In case anyone is interested, here's what it's been doing 2 months later.....
It takes me 2 months to find a spanner!
If you had put the phone down and got on with the rebuild you could have done it quicker
When I first came on here that was a lot of discussion about various design aspects - people trying to decide if round tube or square was better,
exhaust tuned lengths etc etc, but mostly people can just search the existing forum discussions to get the answer now, so less of that sort of
question.
I think people do not accept the cheap bits that were used at one time - builds seem to be about 12k with most bits bought rather than scavanged and
that must put people off.
The discussion on whether people can afford a house has interested me a bit, as the flat which was my first home was sold last year. Since I am an old
git and an engineer I did some calculations to see if this is true: the price had increased by 4.5*, but that doesn't mean you need 4.5* the
salary!
I graduated in 1985 with a degree in chemical engineering at Birmingham university. I started on quite a bad salary for my degree, but got pay rises
at the end of the 3 months trial, 6 months and 12 months, at which time my salary was £7000pa
I paid £40000 for the flat, last year it sold for £180000, so apparently a 4.5* increase. (I could only get the mortgage as my girlfriend (now wife)
had a job offer and only a couple of months from finishing her degree). One of my friends was 'rather well off' and his mum bought him a
bedsit in Kensington which cost £250k in 1985 and now about 1.2 million, so I suspect 4-5 times multiplier is normal.
In the same time the 'cost of living index' has gone from 55 to 137 a 2.5* increase.
In the same time the 'retail price index' went from 96 to 285.5 a 2.97* increase, so I suppose everything should cost 2.5 to 3
times as much in pounds
However income tax, NI and interest rates have changed a lot since then -
'basic rate' tax started at £2205 pa and was 30 %, now £12500 and 20%
'NI allowance' was £35.50 per week and rate was 9%, now £166 pw and 12%
I paid 10% deposit and 9% pa interest rate, so crunching all the above numbers I had £5396 pa after tax/NI and paid 9% on a 36k mortgage over 25 yrs
=3634 pa, so my disposable income was £1768 pa - I did a lot of overtime for the few months until my other half started working!
To do the same with the same flat now - 180k minus 10% deposit, interest rate 3.9% as first mortgage = £711 pcm or 8532 pa. allow for my'
disposable income * the highest of RPI/CLI' and you would need an after tax salary of £13765 or a gross salary of £15041.
Minimum wage for 21-24 yr olds £7.70 per hour, so full time with paid holidays is 16k, so in full 'grumpy old man' mode, someone on minimum
wage working full time, could buy a home as "easily" as I could. Ok, that is in Luton which is not the most expensive place to live
obviously.
Or, you could say lower end graduate salary for my course now is £25000, = 20400 after tax, minus 8532 mortgage gives disposable income of 11.8k
which is actually equivalent to about 70% of my net salary back then allowing for RPI, or support a mortgage now of £320k and be as badly off as I
was! It might be a little tricky arranging a mortgage at 12* salary though.
Conclusion:
Grumpy old git mode justified :-)
It would be interesting to see how other peoples numbers turned out.
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
P.s. Here's what i've been upto this weekend....
[Edited on 17-3-19 by phelpsa]
In case anyone is interested, here's what it's been doing 2 months later.....
quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
quote:
Originally posted by Nile_rt
I think you're being a bit harsh on the "younger generation". Most people I know in their 20s and 30s struggle to afford to buy a house. Building or even owning a kit car is a luxury most young people can't afford.
Most of them have the latest phone that needs to be surgically removed!
It's not just the Locost forum, it's the Locost scene in general.
Remember the pub meets, the BBQ's, and all the shows we met up at. There was something every few weeks.
Virtually nothing now, in fact I haven't bothered to tax & insure the Suttol this year, although before the insurance expired I did MOT
it.
We held a village "Cars on the Green" show last summer but that was the only outing the car had. 1 mile there and 1 mile back.
I think if I read another post blaming the "young generation" I am going to spit out my cornflakes.
I am probably one of the youngest members on this forum and I am going on 30!
The world is a very different place from the one where you could build a sports car for £250 and all it required was an MOT.
CARS have changed. You can't by a Mk1/Mk2 escort donor for £50 anymore and get everything you need to put a car on the road. A carb'd
crossflow was an easy engine to get running and given you HAD to work on them most people weren't scared of them and had a loose knowledge of how
they worked.
I think the IVA test, and distantly the SVA test, has had a large role to play in crippling the scene and raising the cost of building a car. This was
never going to be apparent the day these tests were implemented, people who had been building their car for 15 years weren't going to stop right
there on the spot, but what we are seeing now has been a long delayed response.
Why build a Lotus 7 when you can by an MX5 for cheap that is already on the road? In hindsight, I wouldn't.
If I hadn't fallen in love with these cars watching them at Silverstone I could have saved myself an incredibly large chunk of my life!
I'll take a moment to reply to each point and you will have to spit out your coco pops
Firstly do you really believe that even when the Ron Champignon book came out in 1996, that you could build a sports car for £ 250? If uncle Jim was
scrapping his mk2 escort so let you have it for free and Aunty Sally had moved out of her caravan so you could have it for the aluminium panels, I
doubt even then that it would be possible.
If the book was titled "Build your own sportscar for £ 2,500", how many copies do you think it would have sold? In case
you haven't figured it out, the £ 250 is BS.
Also bear in mind that £ 250 back then is more like £ 500, still woefully inadequate.
The techmology, in particular in engine management, has moved on over the intervening years with electronics replacing carburettors.
Yes, ofcourse it is more complex but there are options to either use the donor or after market, the popular models of the latter
have their own support forums. That is a massive help and can be overcome.
Back in the day if you needed some information, you had to read through the Haynes manual or if you were lucky, could ask your mate Tony, now you
search the now you can search the internet or can post a question on one of the many forums and it would be very rare not to have an answer and pretty
quick too. Back then if Tony did not know or it was not covered in the Haynes book, you were stumped.
IVA and SVA are unfortunately necessary evils, would you be happy sharing the roads with dangerous cars, or be driving one?
Admittedly there are tests that IMO are a frankly ridiculous, namely sharp edges but overall it is not a bad thing.
I will agree that it has put up the cost of building and there was a noticeable drop in builds post IVA, not much we can do about but I guess grateful
that it is still possible to build your own car, many countries in Europe won't allow it.
Ultimately it is down to time and money, it does take some effort and it will cost, both of which you have some control over.
Anyone can buy a cheap MX5 but very few can say they've built their own car, isn't that something to be proud of?
Instant gratification seems to be the order of the day now.
I don't know any young people but from what I can see, they spend most of their lives with their noses at their mobile phones.
For crying out loud, look at the real world around you, life is too short to be living it out on Facepage, Instaphoto or whatever.
As time goes buy, interests and hobbies change, how many practise the longbow nowadays? Building a car is too much like hard work so why not buy one,
after time in the garage is time not tweeting.
Personally I believe that the manufacturers have to take a share in the blame. Far to many are engineers and spend little or no time marketing their
companies. Todays marketing scene is extremely aggressive and the kit car scene just doesn't do it. The only company that has a decent
marketing department is Great British Sports Cars and they have even managed to turn around the stigma of Robin Hoods reputation.
Just look at how many posts there are on here about manufacturers not even answering the phone. Where I work the boss sometimes rings from a random
mobile and if it doesn't get answered within 6 rings someone gets a verbal warning. Last time I phoned my own manufacturer he told me he
doesn't normally answer as he has greasy hands!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey
...on here these days, compared to the good old days at least
Are less people building the 'Locost' cars now and instead going down the route of the manufacturers spin offs? Or is it just quiet like a lot of forums due to FB killing it off a bit?
Modern cars with all their gizmos are hard to compete against.
Plus there is so much choice of fun second hand sports cars available, really it's hard to justify (in most peoples minds) spending hundreds of
hours and thousands of pounds turning a rusty MX5 into something which in many aspects is an inferior car to the donor for the same price as just
buying a nice MX5 in the first place...or any of the current hot hatches
[Edited on 18/6/19 by Mr Whippy]
Just a thought, cheap kit Car (Road legal) on eBay is £5000. A cheap Porsche Boxster is £3000.
I love kit and race cars, but at prices like that it's a bit of a no-brainer for someone who just wants to have fun in a car.
Lots of sensible comments here, and it's hard to argue about it being possible to buy a good ready-made car for less than the cost of doing it
yourself.
However, actually making the car was where all the fun was for me - when I started I was working 40 hours per week behind a desk in London, testing
software (60 hours, if you included the commuting). I desperately needed to do a project that was not even barely connected with software and
computers, and involved actually creating something real that I could touch with my hands. Although I finished it ages ago I still enjoy driving it,
and even now I like making bits for it. I don't think I'll give it up just yet, although I'd love to convert it to electric... (ducks
down beneath the parapet, ready for all of the incoming missiles! ).
Now that I'm retired I'm still designing and making things: I tried making multirotor aircraft, but all of the recent nonsense with drones
has killed that for me. Now I like to put together designs using my 3D printers - very little to do with cars, but still very hands-on. The design
tool (OpenSCAD) requires a lot of programming, so that gives me the computing fix!
Here's the latest project I've published on Thingiverse (a website where designers can share their latest ideas)
Geared tracker for astrophotography
star tracker
well that's the thing, the cost is the cost of a hobby and you time is your own
As my wife's Granddad said "at least you know where he is and he's not in the pub..."
I love the building things and driving something you have actually put together yourself. I said I was finished with working on cars but can't
wait to get going on this reverse trike, once I have finished designing it...
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
well that's the thing, the cost is the cost of a hobby and you time is your own
As my wife's Granddad said "at least you know where he is and he's not in the pub..."
I love the building things and driving something you have actually put together yourself. I said I was finished with working on cars but can't wait to get going on this reverse trike, once I have finished designing it...
quote:
Originally posted by Doctor Derek Doctors
Just a thought, cheap kit Car (Road legal) on eBay is £5000. A cheap Porsche Boxster is £3000.
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
[Finally when you drive in your kit car people wave and smile whereas in a porsche they give you the circle made with thumb and first finger followed by shouting what sounds like a reference to the weight of a pinto.