What's your kit car owning history?

[Normb666]

Wow Jim, that's some thin glassfibre on that there Ultima - you can see right through it when the light's right! It's no wonder you're not driving it much cos just the trip to Stoneleigh and back must have left you eating gruel for ever after paying for juice...

Caterhams are funny things cos they get under your skin (as well as under car park barriers...how do I know this?...hee-hee!) I took my Prisoner car down to Portmeirion, y'know, like ya do, thinking it might be an appropriate place to go. Absolutely no-one paid it any attention at all while it was there. Some people have no idea of place, or maybe none of them ever had a telly. Culturally bankrupt, the lot of 'em.

Frederic, that GT40 is fab. And the Cobras...this one was mine, but not a kit - it's a Superformance.


Funny story about that is, it was supposed to have a 4-speed "toploader" gearbox. I'd had the car about 18 months when I discovered a "false" gear position opposite reverse when moving it about. So out of interest I lifted the clutch and it pulled forward gently...turned out it had a Tremec 5-speeder and I'd been going everywhere in 4th. Couldn't tell cos it had such long gearing! When I started using 5th it was intergalactic - something over 35mph/1000rpm...and better on fuel, strangely

[Phubb]

Norm would that photo be before I lost vast amounts of flesh from my leg on the exhaust - or did you manage to scrape of the burn remains later ??

[Stratos Fear]

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.

[Normb666]

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

[Guy Mayers]

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...

[David J]

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.

[tomsredstratos]

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......

[LPH_UK]

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!

[renmure]

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...