Low Cost Builder's Forum?

would it be possible to have a lo cost room? i'm getting pm's regularly, from lots of builders (there's a lot of people out there with small budgets, all communicating through pm's and emails) with alternative parts to use, 2nd hand parts etc and it would make things much easier, i didn't realise there was so many of us!:idea:
cheers, glen
 
Re: lo cost builders

Hi Glen

I guess you have discovered the locostbuilders.co.uk site? It's mostly 7esqe stuuf, but thier is a lot of help/discussion for midengined car builders in the middy section, here

LocostBuilders

Cheers

Fred W B
 
Re: lo cost builders

cheers fred, i just presumed it would be all 7ish.....
i'll have a browse. but this site feels like home!!!:cry:
 
Re: lo cost builders

Glen:
Would it not be better to have a scratch builders info thread? All scratch builders could share information that they have found useful during their build regardless of the project budget. For instance body sources, parts sources, Radiator sources and on. It could possibly save alot of the same questions guys answer over and over again here on the forum.
 
Re: lo cost builders

i think a scratchbuilds room would be great! it would save alot of searching, which accounts for 50% of a locost build, great idea!
 
Re: lo cost builders

I love the idea of the LoCost / Scratchbuilt room...

Tips and tricks for sourcing.

"Did you know that the radiator on car X is the same as the one from Tornado / RCR/ RF / Whoever... All you have to do is mount a bracket here..." etc etc...

These kinds of tips could save big beans for the less salubriuos amongst us!

great idea!

Graham.
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Re: lo cost builders

Guys,

I'm having a bit of trouble seeing how to justify a "low cost" builder's room. We've got technical forums for about any category of topics on building a GT40 - engines, transaxles, and so on. If you're interested in a transaxle adapter plate ask the question in the transaxle forum - I don't think forum members are concerned if you are a scratch builder or not. But I might not be seeing the point.

On the other hand, if a lot of guys get together and wish to have one it can be done, particularly if the individuals are interested in contributing to the forum. A few of our advertising companies have gone out of business and the forum can use the revenue.

Ron
 
Hi Glen,

To me GT40s.com is great obviously for GT40 and other 60's racer's. What brought me here was it's clearly the premiere site for dealing with north-south mid engine installs.

For other scratch building, fab and general getting it done on the cheap type questions I find the Locost forums more suited.

Each of them have mid engine and other non '7' type subsections such as:
LocostBuilders

I don't mean to take anything away from GT40s.com, I think its great for its purpose and one of the things I do really like about it is its global nature whereas a lot of sites are more country specific.
 
I think a low-cost forum is an excellent idea. As a relative newcomer, I have found a wealth of information on GT40s. You can find just about any bit of information you want; if you can't, post a question and most often somebody will be able to help you out.

However, I quickly found out that many on this forum have budgeted vastly more than I intend. For example, I have heard total cost estimates ranging from $50K USD to $200K USD. I'm planning on doing mine for $15K USD plus the cost of the kit; that's nowhere near $200K. My budget, by the way, was finalized after weeks and countless hours searching GT40s.com (this is where the single location for low-cost information would help immensely).

Transaxles are a good example. At first glance or search, it seems like you have to spend $5K USD on a box and another $5K USD to $10K USD for upgrades. Depends on what you want for an end result, but I have a complete unit for under $4K USD that should handle my planned 400 hp. There are other alternatives for even less money, depending on your intended end result. If you are on a really tight budget, you could probably do your entire drivetrain for $3K USD...just depends on what you want, what you can do, and what you are going to do. (My complete drivetrain will be less than $7K USD, by the way.)

Having a single forum for low-cost ideas/alternatives would be a great information pool for me. I would also distinguish "low cost" from "scratch built;" they are not necessarily the same thing, although not necessarily mutually exclusive either.

Eric
 
Molleur

My drivetrain is:
351W multiport EFI ($400...have)
G50-05 ($3500...have)
Adapter plate and flywheel ($800...don't have, but that is the quote I received)
...and I am allowing for about another $1500 for warming up the engine, but I'm expecting it'll be less than that. This engine is rated at 210 hp and 325 ft-lb out of the box. I may not hit my target of 400 flywheel hp, but it won't take much money to get it in the 325-ish hp range. When you start trying to move up past 350 hp is when you start ratcheting up the cost rather quickly (torque is more my elixir anyway).

(This, by the way, is a great example of what could be posted in a low-cost build forum!)

Eric
 
I think this is a fantastic idea. I, for one, did not choose a career which affords me money to burn, therefore I don't have money to burn. My life revolves around a ministry, so you can see there's no money there . I see where many posters also talk about their Ferraris. Yeah, I have a Lotus, but in actuality, it's a 1971 S2 Europa that needs a total restoration. Still, I love that car. The one asset I do posses is that I can do anything with steel. I happened upon one website out of France which sells the chassis plans. All you need to do is be able to weld and have access to steel. There is also a post on this website where a gentleman has constructed his own mould and laid his own glass for the body. I think it's an open cockpit Lola. As far as parts, just about anything you could ever need could be purchased from "speed" catalogues. Read Hot Rod magazine. Look at the Summit or Honest Charlies Catalogues. When you inquire about a part at your local Autozone, NAPA, Advance, etc..., remember, your looking at domestic, Ford or Chevy items. It's not like your trying to find a veeblefitzer for a $200K Lamorghini. Maybe there could be a forum here that would cater only to us scratch builders.
 
If you are willing to trade your time for $$$ then you can build an "inexpensive" GT40 that is nice and will be a blast to drive! I know this because I have done it but be ready to spend seven or eight years. For me the goal was to have a long term hobby and learn something and building a GT from scratch accomplished that. You don't have to spend big dollars to fulfill your dream!:thumbsup:

Steve
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Maybe there could be a forum here that would cater only to us scratch builders.

I asked the question before and put out a proposal but got no feedback.

We have categories for all matter of technical information. How is a looking for help on a transaxle adapter or water pump setup any different if you are a scratch builder or someone building a kit? Are the people trying to help you going to treat you differently?

And what would a low cost builders forum look like? Many categories? Or just one forum with everything lumped into it? How would it be better than the dedicated low cost builder's forum that exists?
 
How would it be better than the dedicated low cost builder's forum that exists?

Ron

I didn't know GT40s.com already has a low-cost builders forum. I've been looking since your post and can't find one.

To answer your question regarding how the forum would be set up, initially I would see it as a single forum. However, if volume increased to the point where it is justified to break into subforums (low-cost engine, low-cost transaxle, etc.) then that should be considered. Once step at a time, though, right? However, this thread now being in the Paddock means it will quickly fall from the radar and become a dead thread.

To answer your question on how a low-cost forum would be different from other forums, there would be some natural overlap. As you point out, an engine question is an engine question. Where I see the low-cost forum being different is in which options are provided by posters, for lack of a better phrase.

To go back to my transaxle example above, when I began visting this site, that's where I started because I know nothing (or knew nothing) about mid-engine transaxles. The bulk of the discussions in the transaxle forum are slanted to very expensive boxes and components ("expensive" is a relative term, but expensive to me). Honestly, I nearly gave up on this GT40 dream. I was not and am not willing to spend $15K+ on a transaxle. It wasn't until I started poking around on the engine forum that I realized a lot of posters are also spending $10K+ on an engine. Since I DO know engines, I know I can build one for less than $2K (much less if needed). This got me looking at the transaxle issue again, but with a more critical eye, and I learned that I don't have to spend $10K to $15K on a transaxle.

Point to all of this is, if there was a low-cost forum and somebody posts a "which transaxle" or "what transaxle upgrades" question, I would be disappointed if posters move the discussion to the expensive options. Rather, I would expect posters to keep the discussion limited to affordable options ("affordable" is also a relative term, but taking transaxles for example, I would think surpassing $5K enters into the "not affordable" range).

You run a great forum, Ron. I hope my take on this suggestion helps in some way.

Eric
 
And of course there are those of us who regularly have used parts for disposal, which we are not allowed, by Forum rules, to offer to these guys. I give most parts away free of charge, as they only build up to the point where the scap man gets them, but I also have to, on occasion, dispose of more valuable parts on behalf of owners who no longer need them and the income for which goes towards the cost of their projects. Glen has been here and is making use of a lot of suspension parts, and this sort of help is exactly what this enquiry is about - isnt it ?
 

Ron Earp

Admin
And of course there are those of us who regularly have used parts for disposal, which we are not allowed, by Forum rules, to offer to these guys. I give most parts away free of charge, as they only build up to the point where the scap man gets them, but I also have to, on occasion, dispose of more valuable parts on behalf of owners who no longer need them and the income for which goes towards the cost of their projects. Glen has been here and is making use of a lot of suspension parts, and this sort of help is exactly what this enquiry is about - isnt it ?

:icon_bs:

Frank, why are you not allowed to give away parts that are in your possession? As far as I know there are no forum rules against that. You have a part to give away then list them in the garage to your heart's content.

Now, that stuff about "I know a guy who has a car for sale but he won't talk to anyone but me because he's a private guy and I can't list his contact info but you can contact him through me" yes, those sorts of posts don't jive with the rules here because:

a) Member pays a small sum to advertise their car for sale, why should a "private guy" get to do it for free via a forum member?

b) The rules state you must list a contact, location, and price.

A private guy who wants to sell a car via a broker might be better served with the Dupont registry or via anonymous auction, not GT40s.com.

If you have things of interest that you own then list away. But if you're selling the parts as part of your business, no thanks - either become a vendor or don't sell.
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Ron

I didn't know GT40s.com already has a low-cost builders forum. I've been looking since your post and can't find one.

Not here, on the web. Someone mentioned there was already a Low-Cost car builder's forum. I wanted to know how something here would be any different or better?

To answer your question on how a low-cost forum would be different from other forums, there would be some natural overlap. As you point out, an engine question is an engine question. Where I see the low-cost forum being different is in which options are provided by posters, for lack of a better phrase.

I don't know that you can control who posts on what thread. You've got no guarantee that a "low cost guy" is going to post on a "low cost transaxle" topic. Most users look at the "New Posts" listing on the forum and have at it, regardless of where a thread is located. Trust me on that one - 15 years of moderating forums and newsgroups tells me few folks look nor pay attention to categories where threads lie.

I wonder what population of GT40s.com considers themselves a low cost builder?

The thread was moved because it has degenerated into specifics on what engines folks were using, not a discussion about a low cost builder's forum.
 
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