"917" based on 914-6 for sale!!!

[The13Bats]

Timbo,
while we all admit the car is wicked overpriced it's far from crap.
The workmanship and engineering are in par with most all the cars belonging to the people on this forum, in fact if you chill a little with pointless negitivity and look at the chassis and drive train it might impress you if you are in the know about performance and it might spank your own car if you have a high end exotic.

In the USA that Laser would maybe on a good day with a foolish buyer fetch 15-25 grand,

I have a laser nothing like this car just a fun cruiser and now I am in the market for a GT40 I can't afford the high end so I am hunting a Kellison type that I can run mid engine and believe I will do a turbo buick v6 rather than a v8 just to be different

Cheers,
P.

 

[Tim Marshall]

P, my reference (which I did not make clear) is to the 917ness of the car. I am sure it is an engineering masterpiece but it is NOTHING LIKE a 917.

 

[The13Bats]

I agree that the Laser 917 ( and I own a nice one ) is in the same boat as the Fiberfab Avenger and Valkyrie and the Manta cars the Mirage and Montage, these are early grass roots kit cars for people who have far bigger dreams than budgets,
We build our cars with mind and skills over money.

I also know in some cases it doesn't matter how well the car is engineered and built some arrogant ego driven types will trash it just for the sake of trashing something

Now this poor Laser that is in this thread is trashed all over the net,
The engineering is top shelf but the body is not close enough to a real 917 to float this builder should have used the body from Race car Replicas had he wanted something to this level
However,
This is the builders car it is what his dream was and who are we to trash it?

The way it gets trashed is akin to people who call the NAF style GT40 Fiero conversion a "constipated turtle" you know it's too short and too tall to float with a true GT40 purist, but a hell of a nice car.

I am looking for a Kellison GT40 because it has cool history and it looks far better than a Fiberfab GT40 and lastly it will be cheap, I will have less that 15 K in my total build
I will run a reworked Corvair gear box and warmed up Buick v6 I know what I can and cant do, and performance wise it will spank a few cars here but it will never be accepted by the more arrogant GT40 purist and that is fine with me because the car will please me and that is all it needs to do.

People who are into the car hobby for the spirit of it will share in my fun and camaraderie

 

[Tim Marshall]

My car is based on a Jaguar with a lot of Jaguar and Ford parts, it has some Volvo items and I believe the rear lights are off a Mazda. The engine is Cosworth.

 

[The13Bats]

A jag based GT40 can I see pictures sounds very interesting but not a purists dream so you relate to my last post,
Cheers,
P.

 

[W.C.Dilweg]

Pull the body off and use the rest for Becks 904/906 project

 

[The13Bats]

Right on!
Its all about pleasing a person, I actually would love talk with the 917 owner, seems so much money time and skills were poured into the chassis suspension and drivetrain and so many cornors were cut and short cuts were taken on the body work,

A person can make a early grass roots kit body rock with careful planning
Look what LA exotics made the Kelison into and I know of an Avenger that puts some GT replicas to shame

 

[Tim Marshall]

It's not a GT40 or a kit car but it is a purist's dream!

 

[The13Bats]

pur·ist (py‹r“¹st) n. One who practices or urges strict correctness, -pu·ris“tic (py‹-r¹s“t¹k) adj. --pu·ris“ti·cal·ly adv.

By simple definition any car built from this part or that from others cars is no purist dream but rather your own personal dream.

So it's not even a GT40 can I see a picture?

 

[Tim Marshall]

I like it. :heart:

 

[Tim Marshall]

P. You've gone very quiet.

 

[The13Bats]

Timbo,
Sorry I didnt praise your wonderful car sooner,

I saw your list of parts from other cars

"My car is based on a Jaguar with a lot of Jaguar and Ford parts, it has some Volvo items and I believe the rear lights are off a Mazda. The engine is Cosworth."

then I saw the picture of the car you posted and have no idea how that all goes together,

The car you posted is beautiful, I am sure it does what you desire it to do I would love to see pictures of all those parts and how they worked into that project, or could it be none of those parts are on the car in the picture.

But that is no more a GT40 than that Laser 917 is and That is why I was just letting this thread sort of die out,

Have a good one,
Cheers,
P.

 

[Tim Marshall]

When Ford bought Aston Martin the 1995 DB7 was as I posted previously,(with a lot of bits off Ford related cars, mainly Jaguar). Mine is a 2000 Vantage with a Cosworth engine but there are still plenty of Ford derived parts in the car---even the ignition key is a Ford knobbly!

 

[The13Bats]

Timbo,

Its a great car, that Laser 917 will spank it , sad but true,
I think we got lost in this thread,
I love your car it's beautiful and I am sure you love it too,
It's not a GT40 so I really believe we should allow this thread to wither and die.

Hey I am looking for a Kellison GT40K I am sure you can come up with all kinds of ways to trash that.

Cheers,
P.

 

[Mike Christian]

I personally don't find the newer Astons that appealing (the older ones are a different story...). To each their own, right?

 

[The13Bats]

Spydermike...that was one of the characters in the 70's movie Convoy,

Normally what I do when I see someone's hard work being bashed and trashes is try to defend or at least defuse it,

Of course when a person says a blanket statement like a Laser 917 or Avenger is butt fugly then that is about tastes and opinions we all have them,
but as for the laser in this thread I defend it on the engineering under the body,

One way I do that is call a person out of what they built, if it will spank in any way what they are trashing then while I still find the trashing mean spirited but they have been there done that and done better and their opinion holds a bit more merits with me,
Now if the person just went down and bought it or paid a shop to build it that only makes me laugh,

In the case of the Aston, I agree the older ones looked better but I have a thing for older vintage styling,
The Aston Timbo posted will not in any way spank the Laser he was trashing except for maybe looks and that is subject to tastes and doesnt count in the point I was making so I just wanted to bow out of this thread at that point as I believe the Aston makes Timbo happy whether he bought it or built it,

Of course this whole thread is a weird moot point as this is a GT40 purists site. :stunned:

 

[Tim Marshall]

I'm on this bit of the Forum because of my love of Porsche 917s----the greatest sportscar ever built.

 

[The13Bats]

Timbo,
They are pretty hot, I really only knew of them from my obsession with the GT40
I never really knew much about them and know far more about the Laser 917 than the real Porsche 917, I have owned many of what I call grass roots kit cars, I love the cheap exotic fun they can yield,
I was restoring a Motion Performance Mako corvette and was getting bored plus it was a money pit, I sold the vette ,
So when I went looking again for a kit car, I found my Laser 917 built on a full frame,
If you are a purist you are pretty much going to be in deep if you want to own one,
Race Car replicas offers one, very nice and very much a replica they sell it only as a turn key minus so it is way up there in price,
There is a real one floating around for sale the last time I saw the asking price was almost 3 million,
Dan Melson offers his revamped version of the Laser 917 but it will not make the more discerning purist happy,
I wish people were not so fast to jump in with trashing the grass roots kit cars, Okay, if they are hack jobs trash away I do have a hang up on things that are built crappy,
But when I see a car like the Laser 917 in this thread or an Avenger I know if that is built full tilt and built well, the engineering is top shelf and then the only thing a person can bash is the body isn't exactly like the original, that is just lame,
I know jealously plays a factor when some people trash someones project but I believe most people miss one important point,
Elite, Kelmark, Fiberfab, to name a few were not trying to make exact replicas they were making fun affordable cars for peoples whose dreams were bigger than their wallets,
For example the Avenger has roll up and down windows a huge plus for a car you actually get out and drive much, when I build my Kellison it will have roller windows,
Yes, these cars styling hinted at other true exotic cars but since they were not made as replicas they need to be judged by their own merits, of course some bloated ego types will find an excuse to hate them "just because" but when a person can lighten up a little bit they might be surprised by all the fun they start having.
In trying to keep with the theme of this forum and allowing this thread to run its course I invite anyone who has interest in the Grass roots kit cars to come join my group,

GrassRootsKitCars : Grass Roots Kit Cars

 

[Tim Marshall]

I did look at GT40s but decided they would not be very practical and the Aston was in my price range, just 20 miles away so I went for it.
Here's a pic of a queue at a petrol station in Arnage (Le Mans Classic)

 

[The13Bats]

Very wise of you...
Price is one thing but I have lived with cars like a GT40 replica as my mode of daily transportation,
They are not fun in that way, these are for the most part hobbyist cars to drive once in a while, if they dont see track use then you are just posturing anyway