Cheap Kit Car

Not having to meet California standards - CHECK.
 
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LoLPilot said:
Does Factory Five make a drop in LS kit? I thought they were designed for Fords.
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I think they do make adapters and kits for some different engines, and would probably work with you on other engines, but with a $10 k total budget it might not work.
 
Anymouse said:
I keep telling myself that I'm going to build my own car, rather than buy one with all the nanny and spy stuff on it. Still haven't done it. However, I've been a fan of these folks...

https://www.factoryfive.com/

$20k for the kit (MK4 is what I'm looking at) and you still need to provide an engine/transmission/rear end, wheels/tires, and paint. It's that whole engine thing. I really have no clue how to get one, let alone install it.

Just looked. It seems that they have a recommended dealer for engines. Getting something from them (looking at the Ford 427) will set you back another $20k.
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Oooh !
That WRX based roadster looks like a barrel of fun. Just need to find a WRX that hasn't been modded to death or beaten into the ground by some 19 year old.

How does this work with a 'experimental amateur built car' ? Can you get something like that registered for street use ? Maryland has a vehicle category called 'street rod' which is exempted from rules that the wheels have to be covered by fenders etc. I wonder whether something you built in your garage would qualify for that category.
 
weilke said:
Oooh !
That WRX based roadster looks like a barrel of fun. Just need to find a WRX that hasn't been modded to death or beaten into the ground by some 19 year old.

How does this work with a 'experimental amateur built car' ? Can you get something like that registered for street use ? Maryland has a vehicle category called 'street rod' which is exempted from rules that the wheels have to be covered by fenders etc. I wonder whether something you built in your garage would qualify for that category.
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You live in Maryland? How unfortunate for you.

Kansas. FTW
 
Ted DuPuis said:
You live in Maryland? How unfortunate for you.

Kansas. FTW
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I split my time between North Dakota and Maryland. I am married to someone who is by what she does professionally limited to working in DC or NYC. I'll take living in the Styx in MD to accommodate her professional needs over the alternatives
 
Ted. My old race car cost about $5000 as a roller. You can build it from scratch for less and make it street legal with a few mods.

Check out drchassis.net
 
Ted DuPuis said:
So let's say that I want to build a kit car. Not something that I put on the body of a Fiero or a VW Bug. Let's say it's actually building something. Want it to be fairly easy and inexpensive, let's say I want to be in it for $10k or less. Preference is not a 4-cylinder for a powerplant. V8 is ideal.

Throw out suggestions with links.
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Why not rebuild a classic car or build some kinda cool hotrod?
I'm about to pick up a really nice AMC Gremlin with a 383 small Chevy. I'm gonna either put a big nitrous kit or hang a turbo on it :)
 
I know it's not what you want, but I've always had a soft spot for the classic dune buggy ever since I had the Cox version as a kid...

kick_web.jpg
 
Not what you’re looking for and twice the price, but if you want a good deal on a high speed fun car, caddy ATS ain’t shabby, RWD or AWD

If you want full ground supremacy you’re talking a ultima GTR

Ultima-GTR-Car-7.jpg


But for just north of 10k not sure how’d you do better then then exo
 
James331 said:
Not what you’re looking for and twice the price, but if you want a good deal on a high speed fun car, caddy ATS ain’t shabby, RWD or AWD

If you want full ground supremacy you’re talking a ultima GTR

Ultima-GTR-Car-7.jpg


But for just north of 10k not sure how’d you do better then then exo
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Talked about it with the wife tonight and she's in favor of building a car, but she's always loved the Cobra. So if we go through with that, I think we'll go with the base kit for an "on the cheap" build with a donor 5.0 Mustang and give it a shot. One nice thing around here is that there's not much snow, so finding a mostly rust-free example is quite doable. I'd start with an '87-'93 Mustang, although probably try to source some parts from a newer one as well (brakes, most notably).
 
You might have her actually ride in one to see how much she’d enjoy it. Remember, it’s almost a full blown race car, so comfortable isn’t top on the list of adjectives I’d use for a Cobra.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
SoonerAviator said:
You might have her actually ride in one to see how much she’d enjoy it. Remember, it’s almost a full blown race car, so comfortable isn’t top on the list of adjectives I’d use for a Cobra.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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She's flown helicopters to big rigs in near-hurricane weather. Laurie's not fragile.
 
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Ted DuPuis said:
Well, wife wants a Cobra.

Decision made.
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Might want to drive one first. We wanted one and went to look at a very nice one for 65k. loved the look and sound. pulling out of the parking lot it stalled. I then realized that my left foot wasn't on the clutch but rather on the brake pedal. In attempt to get better weight distribution they pulled the motor way back and widened the transmission space between driver and passenger feet. This shifted the pedals towards the left side of the car. to drive it you needed to sit with your feet towards the left front wheel and rotate your torso to look forward. It was uncomfortable and so overpowered I was sure I would end up inverted in a fireball if I bought it. Very different from the Ferrari I had that would corner like a go kart. cornering like a go kart was very fun.
 
SCCutler said:
She's flown helicopters to big rigs in near-hurricane weather. Laurie's not fragile.
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Lol, understood. I just meant that sometimes people like the "idea" of driving a cobra or similar roadster more than they like actually driving one. If I were building one of the FF Roadsters, I'd either go with the Coyote 5.0 or an all-aluminum 408w or 427. It'd be tough not to drop the Ford Racing 427 (600HP) in a Cobra, but that's just stupid amounts of power in a car that light.
 
I would definitely drive a Cobra or any kit you’re interested in before investing in it. The Cobras look beautiful, but like Forane said, it may not be exactly like you think it will be.
 
Brad Smith said:
I would definitely drive a Cobra or any kit you’re interested in before investing in it. The Cobras look beautiful, but like Forane said, it may not be exactly like you think it will be.
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Loud, jarring ride, windy and very fun. My friend's FF coyote cobra has about 470 horsepower that will definitely put the rear wheels in front of the front wheels in a heartbeat at pretty much any speed if you don't respect it. He told me the other day he was shifting from 2 to 3rd on a few days before, put his foot in it too heavily and the rear end loosened up, that woke him up with a shot of adrenalin.
 
James331 said:
Not what you’re looking for and twice the price, but if you want a good deal on a high speed fun car, caddy ATS ain’t shabby, RWD or AWD
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Didn't you mean to say CTS-V? :D

And 'wagon', and 6 times the price?

3 pedals only.

I'm in my first automatic in a decade...company vehicle...against my will...and I find myself constantly cussing at it. I'm guessing the transmission programming is all boogered up/tied to emissions stuff, but it's logic outside of normal acceleration shift points is literally nothing like I drive all my other vehicles where the transmission logic is between my ears.
 
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weilke said:
Oooh !
That WRX based roadster looks like a barrel of fun. Just need to find a WRX that hasn't been modded to death or beaten into the ground by some 19 year old.

How does this work with a 'experimental amateur built car' ? Can you get something like that registered for street use ? Maryland has a vehicle category called 'street rod' which is exempted from rules that the wheels have to be covered by fenders etc. I wonder whether something you built in your garage would qualify for that category.
Click to expand...

I have been thinking about getting a dedicated track car in a couple of years, and have been looking at different options. The 818 appeals to me because it has a mid engine, and IMO mid engine cars are the most fun to drive around a race track. Unfortunately, the choices for mid engined cars is limited. The only recent production mid engine cars that aren't crazy expensive are the Boxster/Cayman, and a 10 year old one of those is pushing $30,000. I'd really prefer a coupe to a convertible, and the 818 offers that now. So, I went to the Factory Five's configurator and spec'd up a modest one, which came to $20K. Now I need a donor car. I have no place to strip an old car, but someone will buy and do that for me for $6000 - $8500. I'd want the engine and transaxle rebuilt and I'll need a set of wheels and tires. Now I'm past $30,000, the same place I was with the Porsche, and the 818 won't be nearly as well sorted. That money would also get a new BRZ or Toyota 86.

This is still a couple of years away, but I'm thinking that a four or five year old BRZ is a better option. Not mid engined, but still very well balanced.
 
SaltH2OHokie said:
Didn't you mean to say CTS-V? :D

And 'wagon', and 6 times the price?

3 pedals only.

I'm in my first automatic in a decade...company vehicle...against my will...and I find myself constantly cussing at it. I'm guessing the transmission programming is all boogered up/tied to emissions stuff, but it's logic outside of normal acceleration shift points is literally nothing like I drive all my other vehicles where the transmission logic is between my ears.
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Nah, at that point just get a vette

The ATS4 coupe is pretty fun, especially if you live somewhere with snow, kinda like a WRX for grownups
 
James331 said:
Nah, at that point just get a vette

The ATS4 coupe is pretty fun, especially if you live somewhere with snow, kinda like a WRX for grownups
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No snow, and we rented a '15 Vette 7spd for 5 days and decided that we loved it... But it's more than a little impractical. 2nd gen CTS-V gets you a little closer on practicality and 100hp more than the base Vette to help carry that extra weight.

On the kit car front, sounds like a Cobra replica was decided upon, but I'd second (or third) the motion to get a popular older platform and stick an LS in it, monkey with the suspension, interior, etc. to your liking, etc.

'66 C10 in my driveway is hopefully... One day... Headed that direction. My buddy turbocharged a junkyard 5.3 from a truck/Tahoe and put it in an s10 for essentially no money and that thing will scare the heck out of you.
 
SCCutler said:
She's flown helicopters to big rigs in near-hurricane weather. Laurie's not fragile.
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Her new saying is she’s fragile like a bomb. ;)

She likes her Mercedes, but she’s not fragile at all.

FormerHangie said:
Here you were asking us and the answer was right across the kitchen table.

You married well.
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Yes I did.

FORANE said:
Might want to drive one first. We wanted one and went to look at a very nice one for 65k. loved the look and sound. pulling out of the parking lot it stalled. I then realized that my left foot wasn't on the clutch but rather on the brake pedal. In attempt to get better weight distribution they pulled the motor way back and widened the transmission space between driver and passenger feet. This shifted the pedals towards the left side of the car. to drive it you needed to sit with your feet towards the left front wheel and rotate your torso to look forward. It was uncomfortable and so overpowered I was sure I would end up inverted in a fireball if I bought it. Very different from the Ferrari I had that would corner like a go kart. cornering like a go kart was very fun.
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@bradg33 told me that Factory Five was here at Osh, so I went buy and they let me sit in one. I fit in it fine, and Laurie would too.

Now to order. Unfortunately they don’t have any Osh specials or I probably wouldn’t ordered one today.
 
One thing that surprised me in looking at the Base Kit of the Factory Five replica is just how much it included when looking over the parts. They even include the steering wheel, which is a very nice one. So, I do believe them when they say that if you buy a base kit and a Mustang that you have everything you need... surprising.
 
DaleB said:
That car is crying out for gold or purple metal flake paint.
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You can order them like that. Meyer's buggies aren't painted. They're made like boats, so the color is a gel coat and they definitely do big metal flake!

17505201_1262159370486272_1366113458152020955_o.jpg
 
10220ABD-DAED-4518-9E3A-C879B0906A2D.jpeg $10k, full interior, street/strip. You too can build one or buy one cheap. That is if you like G-body GMs.
 
5E4100D2-B644-41E9-B7A9-C13E55AE201E.jpeg I built my “4-wheeled motorbike” in the late ‘80s. Total cost then about $30K.
Love the experience both building and driving.
A bit less Testosterone driven than a Cobra, but to each his/her own.
 
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wrbix said:
View attachment 65397 I built my “4-wheeled motorbike” in the late ‘80s. Total cost then about $30K.
Love the experience both building and driving.
A bit less Testosterone driven than a Cobra, but to each his/her own.
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I like the Lotus 7 and that was a consideration as well, and yours looks very nice. There are a few things about the Cobra that I like better. For one, you're sitting a bit higher off the ground. In a street car, this is a positive to me. I also specifically want a V8 in whatever my project is. The Cobra is easy in this regard since that's exactly what it's designed for. I'm just not much of a 4-cylinder fan and I've wanted to do a basic carbureted and distributor V8 project for a long time.

Lastly, the more I learn about the Factory Five Cobra, the more I like it. There's one guy who's put over 200,000 miles on his since he built it, driving it all over to racing events. I'm sure it's not been trouble-free in that timeframe, but the fact that it's done that at all is astounding. Another one is safety. No, I wouldn't fool myself into thinking it's as safe as our two Mercedes or the truck, but the founder of the company rolled his over during a race. He was fine, they flipped it back upside right, duct taped the body, and he finished the race. Plus they designed it with side impact beams and crumple zones. Stuff that you hopefully won't need, but I like the fact that they put it in.
 
FormerHangie said:
The only recent production mid engine cars that aren't crazy expensive are the Boxster/Cayman, and a 10 year old one of those is pushing $30,000.
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Where does that number come from? You should be able to do much better than 30k. I figure my cherry low mileage 03 Boxster is only worth a third of that.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Where does that number come from? You should be able to do much better than 30k. I figure my cherry low mileage 03 Boxster is only worth a third of that.
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I agree, I could get a Boxster for within the originally stated budget. In fact, I test drove a Boxster about 3.5 years ago when I was looking for a replacement for the VR4. I liked driving it other than it was slower than I was looking for, and maintenance on it seemed to be difficult to perform (at least that's what a friend of mine who used to own a Porsche racing shop told me, so I figured he knew).
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I agree, I could get a Boxster for within the originally stated budget. In fact, I test drove a Boxster about 3.5 years ago when I was looking for a replacement for the VR4. I liked driving it other than it was slower than I was looking for, and maintenance on it seemed to be difficult to perform (at least that's what a friend of mine who used to own a Porsche racing shop told me, so I figured he knew).
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That was a quick search on Auto Trader. There seems to be a significant premium on the later cars, especially 2009 and later. The newer engine design and the greatly reduced production rates seem to have driven used prices way up.
 
Deposit made. Cobra kit should arrive sometime late September.
 
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