It's looking very bare here , SO !
Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 9:59 am
Well I have to admit that ' kit cars ' have changed a lot since I first fancied building a HAMBLIN when I was 14 years old. Got as far as stripping off the body from a 1933 AUSTIN 7 , rebuilding the engine(full strip down) with advice from my Uncle ex- REME , then drove around the farm sitting on a plank tied to the chassis with rope !!!!! Ah well !
Since kit standards changed , even faster since SVA came about , more kit manufacturers have popped up with a RACE or RALLY connected background.
Just look at the standards of the ULTIMA , ADR and now KELL FORMS fantastic almost '' Birdcage '' chassis . Chassis welding standards also are vastly better . I think this is as much to do with the changing market as SVA. Where a few years ago , your average well off guy would buy an ELISE or TVR for his weekend fun or track driving , increasingly they are realising how quick '' KITS '' are and for less money than they thought. It has of course bumped up the prices for the rest of us who would like to build a kit but hadn't compared the cost to an ELISE etc etc. So £20,000 plus , if it is BLOODY quick, is still a bargin for some. £10 to £15,000 is probably more like it for most of us . When I built mine at £16,000 (planned at £8,000) people were still expecting to build a kit for £5,000 !
Having said that , I wouldn't like to have driven some I've seen or own up to ownership !!!
Since kit standards changed , even faster since SVA came about , more kit manufacturers have popped up with a RACE or RALLY connected background.
Just look at the standards of the ULTIMA , ADR and now KELL FORMS fantastic almost '' Birdcage '' chassis . Chassis welding standards also are vastly better . I think this is as much to do with the changing market as SVA. Where a few years ago , your average well off guy would buy an ELISE or TVR for his weekend fun or track driving , increasingly they are realising how quick '' KITS '' are and for less money than they thought. It has of course bumped up the prices for the rest of us who would like to build a kit but hadn't compared the cost to an ELISE etc etc. So £20,000 plus , if it is BLOODY quick, is still a bargin for some. £10 to £15,000 is probably more like it for most of us . When I built mine at £16,000 (planned at £8,000) people were still expecting to build a kit for £5,000 !
Having said that , I wouldn't like to have driven some I've seen or own up to ownership !!!
