classic sports cars / kit cars

Hiya

I have a (very*!) long term ambition to have a second car - a classic car or a kit car.

As I begin the many-year-long saving for one... Im reading around in anticipation (we all know thats the fun bit anyway!!)

Thing is, I dont know much about cars at all.

My favorite cars that Im looking for something similar to, or a kit version of are...
(in decending order of preference..)

1) AC Cobra
2) TVR Cerbera, Tuscan.
3) Ford GT40
4) Vintage Porsche, like the speedster

Heres some pics

AC COBRA


TVR TUSCAN


GT40


Porsche Speedster


Well, I have dreams of owning (probably a kit version of one of these, apart from the TVR) when Im fat elderly and balding, and rich enough to buy one!

Which kits are any good though? Are the vintage prices as horrendous as I think they are going to be?

Hope you like my dream

Chris

 

cobra and gt40 origionals are 50k+ at least. tuscans aren't really vintage and are still pricey - you may want to look into the older tuscan racer, these can often be found for 15k. not sure about the speedster.
take a look at the renault spider too it wasn't that successful as it came out at the same time as the elise but it's a good car and probalby quite cheap now.
if i were you i'd go for one of the lotus 7 clones (westfield / caterham) as these are dirt cheap, fun, reasonably practical and are easy to build / maintain. i think there is even a book called 'build your own sports car for 250 quid' (may be more now) that was based on building a 7 clone for 250 quid.
good luck with it
cheers


julian

 

Nice dream to pursue, I'm also a fan of old Porsche cars, mainly the 912.

Have a look at these guys they make some really nice kits.

 

I think a company called GTD40 do some pretty good GT40 kits, which arent that cheap, 20 to 30K at a guess, price varies according to spec, of which there is a great deal of choice.

Mind you, this is much cheaper than an origional!

The speedster is surely a very different car compared to the rest, and is less brutal and more about finesse.

The price of early tuscans is down to about 30k maybe a little less now i believe.

How about a mk1 capri with a small block ford V8 dropped in? could be quite a beast. They sold something similar to this is south africa, but apparantly they can be constructed reasonaby simply.

or like julian says, a seven would be great.

 

I thought about a caterham.. the only thing that put me off is that maybe the are just a bit TOO much open to the elements.

(and an AC cobra isnt!??)

If I put 50p aside each day, maybe when Im 217 years old......

 

yeah, i went round snetterton as a passenger in a genuine AC cobra once, and i could have lent out and lit a match around the corners!

 

chris,
7 clones come in so many different flavours from screaming hyabusa powered track specials to widebodied versions that even i could find comfortable. that said they look minging with the wet weather kit on. for looks alone i'd go with the cobra or a reasonable facimilie thereof. another thought is how about something a little off the wall and slightly more attainable like a classic porsche, a renault / alpine gta, a bmw m635i (jules like a beemer? shock horror!!) or perhaps a delorean?
cheers


julian

 

Hi Julian!

I saw most of those at the national car exhibition in New Forrest. Have you been? Its an amazing place.

There were world record land speed cars like the bluebird (put back together), genuine ac cobras, gt40s, delorian, F1 cars, ... comedy cars like the 'trotter mobile!' from only fools, and there was this big white thing that used to belong to Marlene Dietrich (sorry about spelling) that was just amazing.

Its about a 2 - 2.5 hour drive mate, and its a brilliant place.

Anyway..

the one I keep coming back to is that Porsche Speedster... that link you put up Ang is amazing. Its incredible the quality of car they put together for that much money. Maybe its a little underpowered to do the mad overtaking thing, but the looks.. oh man the looks...

 

Fiat Barchetta? LHD only...haven't seen one of those in ages and supposed to be good little motors. produced iirc 94-98 ish

recommendation of Renault Spider seconded altho theres no hood or windscreen iirc, necessitating goggles

 

The Spider looks cool - kind of a Lotus Elise type thing going on.

That Barchetta though, looks like a hairdressers car, MX5 type thing

 

How about one of these:

THe E9 aka CSL was, IMO, the only BMW worth owning (though not in batmobile form, eh) and the original Autobahn Blaster. One of these briefly passed through my hands in the late 80s. Very stylish it was too.
I think the Renault Spider has been mentioned, even better is this

Which is a classic, and sadly now seems to attract "classica car" prices. It's a nice motor, much more attractive in the flesh than in this photo.
Or if you're feeling really barmy, one of these:

:notworthy

 

There was a kitcar company doing the D- type Jag at one time