help a newbie choose a kit

Izyan Jaidin · 06-10-06, 03:07 PM

hi all. i'm looking to take on my first kit car build and i want it to be a gt40. bear with me, i think i'm gonna ask quite a few newbie questions, but i couldn't find the answers i need from searches.

now, before i commit, i need to know a few things. i have some mechanical skill and i have had some experience repairing and rebuilding cars. what i do not have experience with is welding. is this something i will need to be able to do to complete a build? also, will i need a mill or a lathe?

secondly, and i'm sure this question has been asked a hundred times, but which kit should i go for? ideally, i would like to be able to visit the factory and maybe have a sit in one so i can be sure it'll feel right for me (although i doubt i'll have a problem since i'm only 5ft 7). now, since i'm in Brunei, this is gonna be a problem for me. i only see myself being able to fly out of the country when i go visit my sister for her graduation in the UK (but thats gonna be about 3 years from now, which will give me plenty of time to decide). so this means i can only visit UK manufacturers.

now, i'm looking for a high performance road car which is most probably going to be used every weekend. it doesn't have to be "competition class" if that's going to compromise its lifetime. because of my location, i'll need all my parts to last as long as they can.

(phew) so in summary i need a kit from a UK based manufacturer, who makes a high performance road car which lasts a long time (or at least has parts that are eay to source), and it would be helpfull if i don't need to do any welding for the build. currently i'm looking at the Tornado kit. are there actually any other alternatives for me?

thanks

Keith Hardy · 06-10-06, 04:14 PM

Sigh.....

Chris Martino · 06-10-06, 06:24 PM

MDA are based in Devon - www.mdagt40.com for more info-

Chris

CliffBeer · 06-10-06, 10:17 PM

Izyan, I just posed this very question a few days back - please go to the general forum and review. I think we're wearing on the patience of the more senior forum members here who has seen this question asked a hundred times....

David Morton · 06-11-06, 01:40 AM

Depends only on your budget.
You could buy a really good turnkey car if you want to spend the required money. If you really want to partly build one, look at RCR from the USA.

Frank Catt · 06-11-06, 03:51 AM

Izzy, three years is a very long time in this industry, and a lot of manufacturers will come and go in that time. They will also make lots of promises that may or may not be upheld when you need them, so my advice is to start your research now, not just by talking to manufacturers or reading their ( sometime ) exagerated websites, but also talk to builders and owners of each particular make, ( and more importantly ex owners who will not have such a need to protect their investment ) Look at and follow all of the threads on this website, you will soon get a feel for the truth of whats going on, and in three years I am sure that your initial ideas and thoughts will have condensed into a pretty good idea of which way to jump. Frank

Peter D · 06-11-06, 08:37 AM

Izzy, if you can go to the UK in 3 yrs time, and then afford a GT40, how can you not spend the small extra $ to visit DRB in Queensland, Oz (or the reborn RF in Victoria) ?

Its a relataively small detour on the way home, & might add some viable options !

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

Andy Sheldon · 06-11-06, 11:14 AM

Izyan

If you need any further information on the TS40 just drop me an email.

Thanks

Andy

Izyan Jaidin · 06-11-06, 04:52 PM

thanks guys. and yes, sorry for the very newbish question. i actually did read your other thread CliffBeer, and from what i got from it the general consensus was that you need to be specific about what you want in order to make an informed decision about which kit to get. so here i am, trying to be as specific as i can. in retrospect though, i guess i should have just added onto the end of that thread rather than make a new one.

oh and i actually was looking at the MDA kit too. not really sure how i forgot to mention that.... (in my defence i was up watching the world cup, and you need to be up at 2am to watch it live here :P )

i'm not really interested in turnkey cars cos i really want the experience of building one for myself. plus, if i build it myself, then i'd definitely be able to fix it myself should something go wrong.

the budget isn't really something i've thought about yet. i thought i would get a good idea of what i want first, and i could spend the next 3 years saving up for it.

i'll keep the Oz idea in mind. truth be told, it was my original plan, but i was just a little iffy about visiting a place i've never been to before (but thats just me being immature)