sen2two

so i came across this..."Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as £250" by ron champion (google it)



i found most people spend around 2-10k depending on how far they take it. i spend that just on parts for my cars...



and as long as you follow all the DOT guidelines you can get it legal for the road with a VIN. also, i have this Renesis sitting on an engine stand that i planned on putting in my 1st gen just because its light and relativley easy. but it just seems like a waste since its almost like dropping in any other 13b. i wanted to do a Renesis for more of a challenge and to get more fabrication time in. building a car from the ground up seems like the way to go...



but i dont really like the look of the one listed above. anyone know of any others that are better looking?

Lynn E. Hanover

Are you after a styling exersize? A take on suspension? I have a set of molds for a McClaren M8A CanAm

car. The Lotus Super Seven (similar to the car in the book) is an easy build. My friend Gutted a Mini Cooper



Built a sub frame with an 8 inch Ford rear. The front was a Fiero front subframe. And a Mazda Pport rotary.

I built the engine for him. The Fiero subframe was the last car to use that subframe. It was used on the Chevette, and the Corvair. Bolts on with 4 bolts. Has all of the suspension and steering in one package.

Often used by home builders. He let the engine sit for three years before he ran three autocross passes with no oil pressure. Then he took that out and installed a small block Chevy with powerglide trans.

Perky little devil. And good looking. He was a body man.



It is better to start out with a real car to keep the title and tags thing simple. From scratch is a pain as each state has differing rules. Usually a picture log book and bills of sale for every damn piece you buy.



You can Gut any small car and go nuts with your own ideas. There are kits to install Chevy engines in just about anything, like RX-7s and Miatas. Jaguars and others. A Triumph TR-7 looks good, but the engine sucks. They are dirt cheap. Cheaper with a dead engine. A 69 Camero rear fits perfect. A chevy or big buick engine fits fine. It will burn rubber until there is none left.



You can buy a huge junker and make a miniature car from a full sized car. If you do great body work, chop narrow and so on. Whole rotary driveline. Grassroots Motorsports did a project car that was a 13B in a Triumph Spitfire. Makes a hell of a sports car. Many modern cars have the motor in front of the trans,

in the front of the car. These can be moved to the rear, for a mid engined car. I have built 17 cars so far, but I'm slowing down now. Lots of folks start on a kit car and never finish it. Look in the kit car books and news groups for sale cars.



Lynn E. Hanover

sen2two

some great info there...



im just building it to look good, and be a fun driver. i dont plan on entering any races.



the "locost 7" is a replica of the lotus super seven. from what i have seen, people are actually building these for 2k. at most 5k. buying a kit car set up is usually exspensive.



im most likely going to use a 1st gen as a donor car. but that fiero sub frame sounds nice, think it will work nice with the locost 7 build?



heres the chassis build dimenensions and drawings: http://www.mcsorley.net/locost/

j9fd3s

my friend, who is a suspension engineer, has been looking at that, the rx8/2006+ miatas, at least the front, is all self contained on the subframe. geometry is good, parts are inexpensive.



maclaren m8a huh? that would be too cool!

sen2two

most of these guys claim 1000-1500lbs complete. that would be nice with a stock block Renesis.

sen2two

lynn...



you have a shot of the fiero sub frame bolted up in the kit car???



i found some good info on using the complete rear sub frame from the miata. fits nice in the locost 7 (lotus super 7 replica). wanted to see if using the front sub frame from the fiero would make this build even easier. since fabbing steering suspension is one of the harder parts.

TheRX7Project

The Fiero front subframe would be for a mid-engine, RWD car only, just an FYI.

sen2two

the front sub frame. not the rear...FYI



rear i'll most likely use the miata sub frame.



this would eliminate fabbing both front and rear suspension components. only having to make mounting points. the miata has been done a few times. but i havnt seen the fiero done. but lynn said hes done it, so...its do-able. but i dont know it its do-able on the "locost 7"

TheRX7Project

I forgot that the Fiero was a parts bin car... thought it actually had a mid-engine front subframe. I forgot that it was actually just a RWD subframe. Which was why it was garbage.

Lynn E. Hanover

It was not all that bad. It was scrapped when the V-6 version cut into Corvette sales. Another feature was that it mounted plastic panels to machined blocks of plastic, for a perfect fit.



Many folks made great looking bodies to fit that chassis. Lambo and Ferrari copies.. There are many each year at the SCCA National at the Pocono race track. They have their own show for kit cars and alternative power and so on.



Lynn E. Hanover