Beginner on a limited budget

Hello,
I am new to Kit Cars and have been doing some research on them recently, but I seem to be running into a little bit of a wall. I would be interested on building a kit car but am on a very limited budget. I do not know much about kit cars, but I enjoy learning new skills and am willing to put time into learning a new skill. I have read that if you can build a chassis you can save a lot of money. This does not interest me due to the fear of messing something up ad then having it fail on me while driving the car. Please respond to me with any car ideas or a book or anything to help educate me and guide me in this process.

Thanks,
Jim  

Hi Lucktennis what your refering to is a scratch build ther are skills you have to know  not that someone cant learn it many have ther is a scratch builders forum on clubcobra.com Steve Smith has some books on chassi development.Im mostly a racer that loves to drive cars and my skills were limited thats why I chose to buy a kit that was allready mostly worked out.So assembling the kit and doing the body work was much like building a race car,getting the detials right has been my challenge going beond race ready to refined.Do you weld?If you can read a blue print and have a flat place to jig up a chassi it might be a neat project.ther are books on building a body buck to form a body over,you can buy most all of the bolt on suspension parts even designing them around OEM peices to make it less expensive.I beleive the build is worth the jurney and the driving is like the frosting on the cake.good luck... WB3  

I do not currently weld and have heard before that if i can learn the skill it will reduce the price greatly, rather than having to buy a pre-built chassis. I do have some friends that weld that would be willing to help teach me the skill. Do you feel this is a necessary skill or am i better off just buying a pre-built chassis?

Thanks  

I would vote for buying a pre-built chassis.  There is a ton of engineering goes into designing a chassis.  You need to make numerous fitments for attaching suspension parts, all must be pretty darned precise.  By the time you get all the engineering done, build a jig, and make one chassis, you will be an old man.
I vote for using the engineering and jigging from someone else that had a goal of making many more, and get on with your project details, which will be plenty to keep you busy for a long time.  I am a certified welder, but I don't want to make any chassis for my kit cars.  

I agree with TXDon. For your first build, you should take it easy on yourself. Building a car from scratch is not an easy undertaking. A good place to start would be to go through the 2008 KIT CAR Buyer's Guide. There's an electronic copy of it on this website. Browse through the various companies and write the web address and phone numbers of the companies that have car kits that you'd be interested in building. Do some research and discover the company and kit that you think would be the best. You could purchase a roller and simply install the engine and transmission. Or, you could build an entire kit. There are a myriad of kits available for purchase. Do the legwork of selecting the one that's best for you. Remember, you want to pick something that you'll finish. You don't want to get half done and then be forced to sell it. Happy hunting!    

I would also advise initially trying to keep your costs down, commensurate with what turns you on, nothing worse than $40000 worth of parts and you are in far over your head.  Not sure what trips your trigger, but stuff like the old Mercedes Gazelle, Bradleys, and a few more are always on EBay dirt cheap.  You can't really lose money, just finish assembly and sell it, profit from your fun, or decide it is not for you. I still suggest something like my ol SL500 or something similar that is at $1775 on EBay, one you can drive and have fun with even as you finish it!  

I would have to agree with these gentalmen this is a huge undertaking with no experience.Plus the results may be disapointing for you and push you away from further building in the future.Its no small thing to build a complete car even with a large instruction manual I had many ????? Im sure if you take your time and hunt around something will catch your eye that will be good for your skill level.If your still shure you want to go for a complete build I would go spend as much time with a Qaulified welder as posible and get every book on chassi building I could lay my hands on,  remember its your butt in the seat if it fails somehow  so be carefull...WB3  

thanks for the advice guys, and I have purchased a couple of books on kit cars just to make sure I know what i am getting myself into before I start it...the building my own chassis had been a part that I have decided to try and avoid due to the fact that if I mess something up and it fails then there goes the car, and I'll most likely be in quite a bit of pain...and I have checked ebay for a starter project, or something similar to that, but haven't been able to find anything, any ideas on what to search or what fields to look in??
thanks  

All of them are listed in the heading "replica/kit", you can set your options to get an email whenever a kitcar is added to the auction.  I love to follow the auctions just for fun and games mostly, there are usually around 80 projects in various states of abandonment or completion listed.  Here is a link, http://search.ebay.com/replica-kit_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQfromZR40QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQsatitleZreplicaQ2fkitQQsbrsrtZd
I see there are 85 listed this morning.  

Hey guys. I know this thread is actually ancient, so I doubt anyone will respond. However, I'd just like to thank lucktennis for asking this question. Ive been searching Google for guides on building kit cars for about a month now. All I find are stores selling specialized parts that are used to build a kit car, but for all I know it could just be a bowl of cream cheese. I'm not totally sure what I'm looking for so the amount of options that I seem to find are slightly nauseating. Ive always been into car modifying, but i want to start a kit car project. The information here is a great help. I also found a lot of information on this Hayabusa engine, it looks fantastic. Ive got a Suzuki Alto and Ignis just now, im thinking of dropping a Hayabusa in the Alto as another project. Also, I have a question for anyone who might find this. All the body parts Ive found look similar in that they are fashioned in a type of roadster Caterham style. However, on youtube Ive noticed kit cars fashioned as Mini's, cappuccino's, smart cars(totally mental)and even body kits that look like posh cars such as Porches and Ferrari's. Whats the catch here? Are these totally custom? Also! lucktennis, its been like 3 years now since you started your kit car plan. How did it go for you?  

Hayabusapushbike_omg 1st off welcome to the forum you can get alot of books on the subject try differant ways of Google searching try  any application then narrow it down the books are out thereyour particular build is a differant 1 you may never find anything as specific as that type of build. Try some of the kit mfg.s sites they often have "how to build a ____" you fill in the blanks type of book. Good luck. "Fill Your Library Before You Fill Your Garage"  3836bbl/Budnicks  
Buy the book "how to build a _______" or "how to tune a ______" you fill in the blanks.  3836bbl/Budnicks

3836bbl - I'll have a look around Amazon and some other book retailers on pay day and see what i can find. What sort of projects have you completed in the past? Just looking for inspiration for my first build. Cheers!    

Hayabusapushbike_omg man you need a shorter name LOL. I have built many cars some from the ground up like drag cars, I have built 26 race cars & some 70+ something other cars, mostly muscle cars & rods you name it from a Ford 23 T, 27 Ford, 33 Chevy coupe, 34 Plymouth, 49 Ford Busniessmans Coupe tube chassis slamed tubbed blown BBC & a stock looking V8 Pinto to a Pro-Mod you name it. I am currently trying to talk a neighbor into selling me his 32 Bantam that has been sitting for many years. I want to make a street version of an old 60's style fuel alterd. I also have a 68 Road Runner pro-touring/resto-rod that is going on a 6 year project now, it never ends.  3836bbl/Budnicks  
Buy the book "how to build a _______" or "how to tune a ______" you fill in the blanks.  3836bbl/Budnicks

Haha. Sorry about the length. Hayabusa was already taken, so i thought i'd add some comic to it. Can you imagine a Hayabusa engine strapped to a push bike? Would be Satan's get around. I'm amazed at how many cars you have built! Since i posted the first comment here, Ive watched a few episodes of a TV show aired in UK about building a kit car. Its quite inspirational! And the idea now feels less daunting. I really cant wait to start my first project. I work shifts, so i always have at least 3 days off per week. Every second week i get 4 days off. So im planning on using most of those days to build my first kit car. With 14 days a month, how long do you think it would take me to build my first kit. Bear in mind im going to go for something quick and easy with a low budget for my first build. Looking to spend 3k - 5k on my first, don't know if that's any help. I live in UK so that's in pounds. Think converted it would be around 5K Dollars - 8K Dollars. THANKS MAN!  

Haya------ there it's shorter LOL. 1st thing that is a lofty goal money wise for any build let alone to try to build 1 from the ground up or your 1st build. I don't think I could build a car from the ground up for $5K-$8,000.00 but don't let that discourage you. I'm kind of anal about my builds & have to have all of the trick stuff or I end up building it twice. Take my advice don't go cheap even if it takes longer to build, by quality it will pay off in the long run, do your research & build it once not several time. The time frame is a hard one to predict. I have no idea what your abilities are, if you can weld that will help, If you can't take a course & learn. If you have some mechanical ability that will defenitly help, if you don't take a course. Buy every book you can on what ever type of car it is you would like to build, get an idea of what is involved. Buy more books on the subject, then buy more. Do you see where this is going knowladge is king, with out it you will be spinning your wheels mediforicaly speaking. Get as much info as you can before you turn any wrenchs. That brings me to the next subject, TOOLS you will need alot of them, complete wrench, ratchets, breaker bars, sockets 3/8"& 1/2" drive deep & std., screwdrivers of all kinds, electronic diagnosing & testing lights for electrical, hydraulic floor jack & atleast 4 jack stands, mig/tig welder, ox/ex torchs & bottles, air tools & compressor aren't nessesary but will help. Fill your garage with tools, then your library with books, then you garage with toys, in that order. Your best tool is your knowladge. Good luck happy motoring.   3836bbl/Budnicks  
Buy the book "how to build a _______" or "how to tune a ______" you fill in the blanks.  3836bbl/Budnicks