Kit cars

[wemorgan]

Get a Cobra replica then...

Too large, too heavy. Fussy bugger I know.

Sylva / Ginetta still look favourites to me.

 

[Dieselman]

What about a riced up Nissan Sylvia 200SX, they can really cut the mustard one blown and Nox'd.

Rice it, race it, blow it..

 

[wemorgan]

Nice idea. I see a fair few at track days, so there must be something in them.

For no particular reason I think I'd have a RX7 turbo if that were the route I went down.

 

[Dieselman]

Here is your answer:-

Lotus : Lotus Esprit Turbo SE

It's still plastic, but it certainly handles.

I saw one at the M1 Services yesterday morning....broken down...

My mates didn't handle a stone wall too well...

 

[Red C220]

I saw one at the M1 Services yesterday morning....broken down...

My mates didn't handle a stone wall too well...

You're a real cup half empty kinda guy aren't you

 

[Dieselman]

You're a real cup half empty kinda guy aren't you

What do you mean...???

Ok, I'll re-prase for the modern day PC brigade.


Yesterday I saw an Esprit, not broken down, but with the engine cover up and not running...

and


When my mate took his off the road on the twisties and took out 30' of thick stone wall, the car was only a little bit f*****d...

 

[wemorgan]

Either way, an Esprit is not on the list, sorry.

 

[Dieselman]

Either way, an Esprit is not on the list, sorry.

I don't blame you, they really live up to their moniker.
Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious.

One mate had one three and they were all bad, another had one and it was terrible, problems ranged from worn out crank and bearings, many electrical failures, none starting and fire before being stone walled...

A few years ago someone came to visit me and the evening before had borrowed his brothers Esprit, which also set fire as he was driving along the A52 near Nottingham. Bye, Bye, esprit..

 

[wemorgan]

I found my Elise quite reliable, which goes against the grain I know. A leaking radiator was the only expensive issue I can recall. The build quality was so-so but the performance made me soon forget that. 0-60mph in 5s, 40mpg and £165 tax

 

[grober]

Speaking from a safety point of view [ I seem to have my "Mr Safety" hat on today] Kit Car construction is woefully inadequate for today's traffic conditions. Fiberglass tubs/ Backbone chassis/ Spaceframe body construction perform poorly in collisions. If you want a sporty lightweight car as has been suggested , strip out a sound existing monocoque sports coupe = lighten it with alloy or perspex+ install racing seats + firm up the suspension +tweak the powerplant a bit---- much safer proposition and still fun

 

[wemorgan]

Fair point Graeme. Part of the problem is that so few mass produced cars are genuinely lightweight, or have the capacity to be lightweight (<1000kg).

I'm ideally after a front engined, rear wheel drive car 600-800kg with 150-200bhp.

Even a modern Elise is close to 900kg, compare that to 700kg when it first came out.

I've read that the next generation MX5 has a target mass of 850kg to return it back to the spirit of the original. But that'll be too new and expensive.

With some lightening I could make my MX5 ~900kg and with a supercharger 200bhp. Fast enough, but that would cost £2k. Which returns me to my original post. There's only so much money worth throwing at the car.

 

[Charles Morgan]

£2k to supercharge and lighten your MX5 Will is probably less than you would spend finding, fixing and fettling anything else and it still would be a long way off the performance of yours. Given it is effectively an updated Lotus Elan (without the body and reliability issues) the only car to get close to that would be a Caterham or equivalent, and they are pretty uncivilised.

 

[Druk]

I remember at the Classic Show at the NEC a few years back asking someone on the Morgan stand where I could buy one of their kits from.

Exit stage left after some serious ear-bending.

 

[bolide]

£2k to supercharge and lighten your MX5 Will is probably less than you would spend finding, fixing and fettling anything else and it still would be a long way off the performance of yours. Given it is effectively an updated Lotus Elan (without the body and reliability issues) the only car to get close to that would be a Caterham or equivalent, and they are pretty uncivilised.

I think that about covers it. Decent depreciation as well

BBR, makers of the original MX5 turbo kit, have put it back in production. I would think the originals are quite sought-after now

http://www.bbrgti.com/product_details.php?id=11646

Nick Froome
the independent Mercedes Estate specialists

 

[stroudwaterboy]

I have a westfield that I built myself over one Christmas, very simple with a Pinto engine, race cam etc etc.

Yes its basic, weighs 500kg and is brutal, well up to 85mph then the lack of aerodynamics take over but its a great drive.

Keeps me busy every Christmas when I do a bit more "improvement" this year it was lightweight racing seats.

 

[Dieselman]

With some lightening I could make my MX5 ~900kg and with a supercharger 200bhp. Fast enough, but that would cost £2k. Which returns me to my original post. There's only so much money worth throwing at the car.

If your existing car is in decent condition I would be tempted down this route.


Go mad on lightening it, add the blower and some NOx, change the diff and have fun.

 

[Benzmanc]

I'd be buying this, strip it of the fat then go have fun

1991 NISSAN 300 ZX 3.0 V6 Targa 3dr Coupe

 

[wemorgan]

^ a lot of car for the money. I don't know much about the 300ZX. A quick wiki shows me 1500kg 300bhp, makes me think it's a decent GT car, if not such a track car.

I'd be open to a Japanese car, but something more along the lines of a CRX, Integra, but RWD. A S2000 looks good, but everything I've read questions it's limit handling, pity.

 

[cliveyboy8]

Here's one I made earlier.

 

[312 Sprinter]

Buy the book and build a Locost.