That's pretty much the feeling I have. Most of us have vintage 911s which are arguably some, if not the best car ever made. But even the Lotus Elise I drove was not as entertaining as my 911. So what does one do when they want another toy other than their Porsche?

What I think is funny is how Porsche designed and made a car to suit himself because nobody made a car which suited him.

Speedy:)

I think the thread started out with this caveat, "...whether or not you or someone very well trusted built you a kit car, say like this one:"

And then Wayne said just what I would have said:
If we assume David meant what he said, I'd say with a good going over to make sure everything is tightened as it should be and the brakes bled, etc., I'd take a kit car (should I ever want one).

But something from an unknown source should probably be taken apart to a certain level just to see how well it was done. I mean, I don't really like driving the 911 I have that fast because I haven't been into it too deep yet.

However, what work was done (a lot) seems to have been done by a good shop. I have a thick folder of receipts from the beginning that came with the car. That's somewhat comforting on a high mileage car, like mine.

Trouble with kits cars is that unless it WAS done by a professional shop, there will be no records.

Milt is correct. Predicated on whether the owner (if they have the talent) built the car, or a trusted shop known by the owner, could a kit car be relied upon, particularly more than a newer car built on some ubiquitous assembly line?

Captain Obvious strikes again.

And calibration of said torque wrenches from time-to-time. . .

in a crash, would you trust kit car factory welds, or novice welds? Anyone can lay nice beads, but how do you know you are getting penetration? Answer: years of practice. years of breaking your own welds.

I'm seam-welding my 69, but if someone said, "Here's all the sheetmetal stampings, have at it." even with simple spot welds and proper jigs, I'd have an experienced welder build my car.

I would have no reservation about using a kit car as a daily driver if my husband built it. I have 11,000 plus miles on ours and would walk out the garage right now, put the key in it and drive it from Oregon to Florida with no reservations and no prep work. It's that good.

Conversely, I've seen hundreds of kit cars in my travels and some of them are true horrors. Do not assume because it's a manufacturer's car versus a homebuilt that you will see a difference in quality. There is one builder whose workmanship is so extroardinary that the vehicles produced command roughly twice the going rate of similar cars. When you pick up your new vehicle from him, there are no used parts - they are new. The car has undergone 600 plus miles of HARD road testing and any issues are corrected before delivery. Compare that to recent deliveries from another builder... This 2nd builder delivered a car recently with trim falling off, the steering wheel upside down, a hole in one of the carburetors, unsychronized linkage between the carbs, and engine bay sheet metal made of wood-grained mobile home siding.

Many home builders are true craftsman - my husband is one. Many others are best described as hairless monkeys... If you are a craftsman, and you build the car yourself using proven and understressed mechanicals (as you've posed with this miata based build), you should enjoy excellent exceptional reliabilty from the vehicle.

angela

im building the car i want, not a kit car per-se, but all the things i want , but doesnt exist. i think to be truely happy, i have to design and build it myself, so i dont have the itch to modify too much or the limitations of design of a production car. i am a big fan of building a kit car. would i buy one already made? probably not. if anyone's gonna screw up my car, its gonna be me
http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/p...ytonbigsby.jpg

I was serious about building a Butler Cobra some years ago. Unfortunately, getting the registration and insurance became too much of a hassle for me living in California.

I am not sure what the reg's are nowadays.

Go on Angela post a pic of the 550/6 you have ,

Todd SmileWavy

http://66.236.61.177/showthread.php?t=305033&highlight=wandering+star

angela

Would I trust a kit car? Sure!:D
http://www.gaijininc.com/vehicleimages/070906m121.gif

Yes,
I'd design one with everything I want.


Look how good it turned out for this guy:
http://girtby.net/images/homer-car.gif

Let me know when you are getting close (within a year) to starting a GTM. I would consider selling my 951 to build one. The added benefit is being able to get parts locally...

Slightly off topic,
I saw a documentary on this guy, he would build a car from scratch and go out and beat the big manufacturers. They said he would draw the frame out on the garage floor with chalk then cut and weld tubing and build a car up from that.:eek:

http://oldyeller2.com/historical.html

I'd absolutely take a Noble..!

I'd like a Factory Five Cobra replica built by Tim Hancock......

uncle Carroll 's first car had a chevy V8
he went to GM to show them the car and talk about discounts on quanity motor purchases
GM said NO threat to our vett and GM IS STUPID ect
he pulled the chevy installed the then new 260ci ford
and went to see ford, ford said how many motors do you need, and where do we send them!!!!!!!!!

so history is not against chevy cobras that was the mans first thought
LS6 in one would be cool

I like factory 5 cars, more importantly a buddy who was a shopboy at shelby
in the mid 60's glory days does too and plans to build one

my toy car is a stock looking fiero GT
northstarDOHC V8 5 speed with vett 13'' brakes
custom tube a-arms and anti-roll bars with a 88 rear set up :D

I heard that SC talked with Chevy, but I didn't know that he went as far as actually putting one in a car.......Thanks!

I personally think the 260/289 was a better choice because it was only 450/460 lbs and the SBC was in the neighborhood of 100 lbs heavier. The Ford 427 is around 650 lbs (not sure if that is with an aluminum intake or not) but it wasn't used in the same chassis.