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Thread: What's your kit car owning history?

  1. #11
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    Pete (Phubb), it was after, and I left the flesh on there as a warning to everyone not to get too close...well, till I got fed up of the cloud of flies in the garage every time I went in, then I scraped it off and gave it to the cat.

    Pete C - Volksrod and Marcos 1600 are great - was always tempted by the latter but never took the plunge. I was always torn between that and the TVR Vixen!

    Frederic, ta for the kind comments I took the Cobra to a kit car do at Oulton Park in 2006 (a few from here were there too) and was asked by a guy if it was a genuine one. I told him no, it was a replica, and he was blown away by it - he told me he'd got a "real" Cobra and couldn't tell the difference!
    Now of course I'm close to getting what'll probably be my final kit car, the Yellow Peril LB
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  2. #12
    SEC Member Guy Mayers's Avatar
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    My history is 34 years long now... But it's with the one car albeit it in multiple guises from RHD Stradale with Volumex to RHD Gp4 with Stradale interior & Alfa V6 to RHD Gp4 with Gp4 interior to LHD with Gp4 interior.

    Second car will be RHD Gp4 round arch but I don't anticipate having it for long once completed.

    Third car? Who knows. If I could find a Hawk Minisprint...

  3. #13
    SEC Member renmure's Avatar
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    Quote Originally Posted by Stratos Fear View Post
    Volksrod Beach Buggy

    Marcos 1600GT (with twin cam engine)

    now an LB Stratos STR Stradale

    - sorry cant find pics of the first 2 and quality not good anyway.

    Jim - BTW your photos of the Ultima are really good - I love the twilight shot in the road.
    I would love a Beach Buggy!! The owners club display at Stoneleigh always seemed to have dozens of them and I really loved seeing all the different variations. I also live about 8 miles from a huge beach with loads of dunes. But, I also know I'd probably drive it a couple of times a year at most so it's probably best that I don't meet my hero.

    I can't take credit for that pic although I do enjoy a bit of photography. One of my mates is pretty handy with a camera and has taken a few decent pics for me.

    Slight diversion but...






  4. #14
    SEC Member David J's Avatar
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    My story is the same as Guy’s and spans 34 years. Went down to Bushey Herts with a trailer and picked up my Allora on the 27 Sept 1987. Purchased a donor vehicle a 1978 Beta Saloon for £150 that supplied engine gearbox and a myriad of other parts plus the registration.

    First MOT was on the 20 May 1989. Over the 34 years the car has undergone a constant cycle of development, all the original suspension was re-engineered and replaced. The engine has been upgraded to a Guy Croft unit running on R1 carbs on a Volumex gearbox.

    The final icing on the cake the car now has Historic status. I have kept with Lancia twincam as it is old school and simple to maintain. It ran faultlessly all the way to and from the Le Mans Classic in 2018.
    Last edited by David J; 25-02-2021 at 15:30.

  5. #15
    SEC Member tomsredstratos's Avatar
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    What a great idea for a thread.

    So in 1986 my Uncle passed away and left me £3500. So aged 18 and wanting my first car I can clearly remember reading the Kit car mags in WH Smiths and seeing a Rawlson 250LM for sale.
    Quick trip up to Norfolk and the car was mine. And yes,my uncle would have approved of me spending the money within a couple of weeks.

    Does anybody remember the Rawlson 250? They made six of them based on Beetle floorpans.
    The company made CanAm and race cars in the 70/80's. Now run by the son I believe.
    I changed the engine for an Alfasud 1.5 using an adapter plate and a front mounted radiator.

    Car was great fun at that age. I seem to remember that it was cheap to insure too.
    Two years of ownership and an AlfaRomeo dealer in Devon offered me 8k for it!
    It had to go. And that money got me in to Porsche's and TVR's etc.
    I see it was last taxed in year 2000. Wonder what state its in now?

    A GP Spyder came a bit later. Ally paneled the inside and built a tuned engine for it but never really gelled with it. I really wanted a 550 Spyder but bought that because I couldn't find one.

    And of course my Allora that I bought in 2000. Its been a great project over the years and I still find/make jobs to do on it.
    Had some great trips in it and Im using it for my commute this week. Its a car to keep now.

    Just spent an hour going through my old photos of Stoneleigh and Newark in the early days of the shows.

    I know Craig told me not to but if an Ultima MK1 was offered to me......
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  6. #16
    SEC Member LPH_UK's Avatar
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    LB is my first one. Never built anyhting before but have modifed cars to varying degrees.

    Mind you a lot of people thought my 340R was a kit car.....



    How I wish my garage still looked that tidy!
    Last edited by LPH_UK; 25-02-2021 at 00:24.

  7. #17

    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    Including my LB I have two. My first was a GTM coupe. I still own this car and it is enjoying a complete nut and bolt rebuilt. I bought it already built in 2005. It had been modded with a Vauxhall 2.0XE twin cam and F20 gearbox rather than the usual mini engine/box combination. One day, I turned up to work in it and smoke started pouring from the dash, so off went the battery cut off and out came the loom, and I haven't driven it since. It's a rolling chassis again now, and my brother in law is rebuilding the engine. It's on hold now because of the LB, but I see that as a positive because I'm learning so much about how things should be done after seeing how the LB goes together.

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  8. #18

    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    Just remembered, we did have a kit car previously. We bought it built in 1970 and used it to do club rallies in at the time. It had been built by the son of the proprietor of 'Motorsport', chassis No 7, the first one with a 998cc engine and it was only sold because it had had terrible trouble with over heating. Reversing the direction of the radiator fan cured that!!!! It was bought as Carols daily car just after we got married, and kept it until Children came along as it was somewhat impractical then.

    We had just done a Morecombe rally when this was taken and were visiting my mother after who lived in Cumbria. We had a frightening trip home after that down the M6 in thick fog looking below the centre line of the lorry wheels along side. I recon it was lower than a Stratos. Andy Dawson was going to borrow it to do the Manx in, but he was offered a Clan and took that instead.

    Just checked the reg on the DVLA and it has reappeared!!!!!!! I wonder where it is now?
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  9. #19
    SEC Member Stratos Fear's Avatar
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    What a great thread this has turned out to be - some really interesting cars and stories . Let's see some more !

  10. #20
    Site Supporter NoCorseChris's Avatar
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    Re: What's your kit car owning history?

    All modest stuff for me, as befits my low-rent background!

    Started in 1990 with a crappy Cobra kit. I naively thought I could turn a sows ear into a silk purse by using good bits. I was wrong - this thing was shockingly fundamentally flawed but I was young and stupid then. Just old and stupid now, but at least I know a fraction more than I did back then, or maybe I'm just more jaded?? Anyway, I got rid of this as soon as I could. Sold to a couple of friendly German lads at Stoneleigh for a large carrier bag of £50 notes...I kid you not. I lost a lot on it but just wanted it gone. I wasn't popular with the other people selling similar cars that day...... It looked nice enough but the chassis was shockingly flexible with the results you'd imagine.

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    Then whilst in the middle of that, the Westfield came along. The Cobra got put on hold (mainly due to lack of funds) while I built the Westy for Vickie. We still have the car although it is rather a Trigger's Broom version now - different engine, gearbox, screen, wheels, brakes, suspension, colour..... You've all seen a Westy though.....it makes an appearance shortly along with the next which was purchased built but in need of TLC, a Marcos Mantula Spyder with a tired Rover 3.5 V8 in it. Initially, I tarted up the motor with a new cam and 4 barrel Holley, as well as sorting various leaks and problems it had. Main one was comically deadly front bumpsteer. A modified rack and wishbones sorted that. It also got wider front arches around that time as I increased the front track.



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    Unsurprisingly, this got turned into a kit after a while. Replaced the 3.5l with an EFI 4.2 and got to work on the shocking rear suspension. This was a live axle car and the ride and handling was appalling. I tweaked it to accept a slightly narrowed Jaguar XJ IRS unit. Transformed it.


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    Not all that long after this rebuild a front upright snapped (Triumph Herald items) so I converted the front to take Cortina uprights. Much better.


    We kept the Marcos a good few years but it got tatty and needed a respray and new interior and I just couldn't face working on the darn thing any more. Sold it to a dealer from Holland.


    Then this happened.....

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    And finally, this.


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