And another one.....

.....from down under.

G'day from Auckland in NZ. A mate and I are about 3 months into due diligence (usually conducted once a week in the pub) on a build. We started with a fairly wide list of options, but have essentially narrowed it down to either a Hawk or Lister Bell Stratos build, but with an interesting wild card lurking in there.

We've been in regular touch with both Hawk and LB, and on a purely technical basis reckon we'd choose the LB (we're not so worried about an exact replica), however the lead time seems to be well into next year. Gerry is pretty adamant he can get a kit to shipping stage in about 12 weeks. At this stage Hawk has got the lead by a nose...

The wild card is this: http://www.carteroni.co.nz/lancia-037-recreation

It's a NZ-built car, and a prototype (it's being compliance tested as we speak) and potentially comes with a whole lot of complications in its own right (would need a lot more fabrication & sourcing of parts cf Hawk/LB). But it is a very cool car, and probably even rarer than the Stratos (including replicas). I've sat in the car, and on Thursday we're going to spend some more time with the 037, in the company of a Hawk HF that's being built here in Auckland, so we can do a real apples-with-pears comparison.

We're not exactly stressing over this, as I can think of a lot worse things to do than sit in the pub with your mate debating what toy we are going to build....but we'll keep you posted!

It's a difficult choice! I've had a Hawk for 25 years now and wouldn't be without it. If Gerry says a lead time is 12 weeks I;d believe him, he usually quotes around 6 - 8 weeks but I guess shipping that distance he'd want to be sure it all went in one go.

Before you make up your mind which route you're going to go try to decide what you want to do with the completed car. Both the LB and Hawk are surprisingly practical with a cavernous boot that allows enough luggage for two people for two weeks touring plus there's usable space up front too. That's probably not going to be the case the 037 Replica but don't let that put you off, just take into account the fact that you're likely to be limited to what you can stuff behind the seats, in the doors and under the passengers legs!

Anyway, glad to hear you're sitting in the pub debating it! Just hope you're not spending too much of the build budgets on beer!

Keep us in the loop as you make your decision and if it's the 037 let's have a build thread so we can follow your progress!

Guy

Thanks for the thoughts Guy. The car is probably not going to spend a lot of time in touring mode, probably weekend blasts, track days, maybe the odd tarmac events and hill climbs. The 037 is definitely short on storage space thats for sure, but that wouldn't be a big selection factor for us.

From what I've seen there's a lot more fabrication and difficult to find parts with the Hawk over the Lister Bell kit that will more than offset the waiting time of the LB, that made my mind up. I haven't seen the LB kit in the metal yet (not too far off I hope) but from the correspondance I've had with others that have, including a work mate that saw it first hand on holiday, the quality is of a very high standard. I haven't seen the Carteroni 037 yet, it would be a cool project. I've heard it's a bit rough though

Thanks Paul. I think the other half of our build team (Simon) might have been in touch with you? The 037 is definitely a work in progress, and is not yet a developed product. When I saw it and sat in it at the Speedshow at the weekend, the core engineering looked pretty good, and the panel work was surprisingly good, but it was certainly not refined! Your points about the LB are well made, and those points are what is keeping us from committing to the Hawk at this stage. We have noted your wait however!!

Although I can't speak personally about the Hawk (I'll leave that to others more informed), I took delivery of my LB from Craig just over a week ago and after what seemed like an eternity of a wait I can only say that the wait was more than worth it.
Absolutely over the moon with the quality of the car and how it drives.

Maybe someone that's had the opportunity to look and drive both the Hawk and LB can give a more balanced view, all I can say without fear of contradiction is that you would not be disappointed in the LB ............ it may even give you more time to debate the build while sitting in the pub.

All the best with the build regardless of the route you decide to go down.

Yes, I've been emailing Simon, thought it must've been the same people. I do know of a Hawk being built in Christchurch, I'm sure the owner would be more than happy to let you have a look, Simon said he passes throught from time to time.

i dont suppose Simon sings in a pink floyd covers band does he???

No he's more of a Buzzcocks sort of bloke..

OK. Decision decided. We're going with the Hawk (sorry Paul). We actually have found a bloke in Auckland with a 7/8 finished Hawk in his garage (in fact he's built 3 over the years). We think the quality of the fabrication and body work looks fine, and while agree that the technical specs of the LB kit are great, are just not prepared to wait what could be over a year to get a kit delivered from LB. Gerry is still guaranteeing 12 weeks, and including shipping, we will be building by Christmas.

We have bought a low km Alfa 2.5 V6 donor ex Japan, and it is on the boat as we speak.

Nice work, looking forward to seeing progress posted on the forum.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Q_Cars

Gerry is still guaranteeing 12 weeks, and including shipping, we will be building by Christmas.

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So how is the build going?