Kit Car Heaven...Or Hell..You Decide
 Oct 11th, 2001
(Oct 12th, 2001)
Advantages:
A good introduction to Kit Cars
Disadvantages:
None that I can think of .
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
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  Possom
About me:
I am 31, married and have one son, aged 2. Just buying my house so no doubt I will have some opinio...
Member since:11.08.2001
Reviews:11
Members who trust:5
Review rated by 11 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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Read Comment
It's 12:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and I am channel hopping the satelitte and I notice that Discover Home & Leisure are re-airing their series on building your own kit car. I have already watched Mark Evans build his car and a plane (subject of a future op.) but am keen to build my own car so I have decided to watch the series again.
Essentially, Mark is building a Cobra replica using a Ford Sierra!! There are various ways of buying/building a kit. You can buy the bits and pay a specialist company to do the whole lot; you can buy a rolling chassis and have to organise the bodywork, upholstery etc.; or, like Mark, you buy a kit which comprises of the chassis, fibre glass coachwork, lights and all the gubbins like that, and you also buy a donor car which will provide the mechanical elements such as wheel hubs, steering etc. In this case, Mark is using a Ford Sierra as his donor car and has bought his Cobra replica kit from a company called Pilgrim cars (www.pilgrimcars.com).
The show takes you from the very beginning of choosing a kit to the car taking it's SVA test (Single Vehicle Approval) which cost you about £165.00. This is like an MOT on steroids. Basically, you get the MOT and other little things like the height of your lights from the ground, the field of vision from your mirrors, that there are no protrusions which may injure pedistrians etc. All cars on the roads in the UK have passed this test as every new model brought out is subjected to it, and as long as the mass production model is built to the same spec., it is deemed to have passed. You will see all of the jobs involved in building a kit - cleaning the donor parts, cutting the donor parts down to fit your new chassis, putting the bits on, wiring the electrical looms, upholstering the dash, preparing the bodyshell for spraying, fitting the fule tank and line, fitting the engine and transmission, fitting door, mounting and conecting the various instruments etc. The list is endless.
The show gives the novice (me) a good insight into the process of building a car and the skills you will need to have or learn as you go and has certainly made me want to do it myself. The only problem is the cost. For a replica classic sports car with a beefy 5.7ltr chevvy engine (Mark's preffered choice), £15K isn't a lot; however, as a hobby for weekends, it is a lot to front up.
Pilgrim cars do a staggered payment of 3 instalments; at each payment you get the next lot of bits from them you need, leaving the body to last. Throughout the show, you get the opportunity to visit members' of the public who have built kits and MArk chats away - this is a good way to see different kits, and the difference in price (£2k to £50K).
This show is a good introduction to the field of kit cars and I feel will serve you in good stead, so, if you have cable or satellite - enjoy!! If not, ak a friend who does to tape it!
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18.10.2001 10:29
really kewl sounding show - i shall give it a look out just fro a gander - great op, but as for the building? i fink i'll stick to lego, yeh! Daysleeper x
14.10.2001 19:35
Good op I look forward to seeing the end result?.....maeib