Come have a read!!!

bit_burnt · #1 13th June 2009, 09:59

So hi all, new to the site, new to all things kit. so im 21 love messing about with cars, i know jack shite about kit cars bar the fact they look awesome and ive always wanted one. extremely mechanically minded but no guru.But due to buying a house 2 years ago the whole car scene went out the window and somehow ended up with a red 206cc lol. so heres my story! my mate had a kit car in his garage, im really unsure what it is but some kind of caterham 7 rep. He has the paperwork for it. and basically his garage got burnt down, and ive bee asking to buy it for ages and now his garage is gettin demolished in 2 weeks he said i can have it for 200 quid, its a full built rolling shell, all the fire dmage was to the inernal wiring and seating, back tyres, rear wheelarch covers and probably everything else from the dash back, so ive basically got a rolling shell with a 2.0 pinto engine in it. Im not sure how extensive the damage is to brakes and other bits and bobs, but i can see where i have to go with it, so all i want to know is where do i get everthing from, do wiring comes as kits or do i have to make my own, errm is there any guides available to work from. and thats about it really, just want a bit of an insight to what ive let myself in for

limpabit · #2 14th June 2009, 08:26

Hi and welcome to the forum.

My advise. Stay well clear of it. Some materials when exposed to fire, can be poisonous. So even removing bits can be dangerous. Ask yourself. Would you buy a normal car to do up after a fire?

Parts wise. Depending on the manufacter and whether they are still producing the car. Get in touch with the manufacturer.

bit_burnt · #3 14th June 2009, 10:44

well you wouldnt buy a normal car thats been fired due to the fact it would cost more than the cars worth, seems as 90% is plastic, fabric etc etc, lol. ill wear a dust mask lol, the car is just going to get stripped and then dipped. powder coated and then start from fresh.

bit_burnt · #4 14th June 2009, 10:45

a kit car and a normal car are to completely different things

peterux · #5 14th June 2009, 22:03

Not impossible but you'll be taking on a huge task unless you are sure that the manufacturer of the kit are still in business and supplying bodywork parts, etc. My guess is you'll waste a lot of time trying to sort out this wreck.

Like you said ; a kit car is nothing like buying an ordinary car!

My advice, save your £200 and start looking for a new kit that you really want to build. If you're on a low budget then look at MEV or GBS (Robin hood)
...peter

JG · #6 15th June 2009, 21:27

Any chance of pictures to get a good idea of what you are up against.

John

bit_burnt · #7 16th June 2009, 06:08

god what is wrong with you people. u all afraid of getting dirty, its about getting mucky and a challenge. buying out of a box is easy, wheres the challenege in that, i dont have a big massive stack of cash to thorw at this straight away so ive got all the time i want, unsure what make it is till she gets dropped off, my mate has the paperwork and is going to have a look through when he gets a chance!!

chrislandy · #8 16th June 2009, 07:08

these people have a lot of building experience, often multiples - I for one have built/rebuilt/restored 5 cars to date - I personally wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. When a car (doesn't matter if it's kit or production) is fire damaged the chassis can warp and steel changes its strength & ductility won't be consistant throughout the chassis.

You said yourself that you haven't got much money to throw at it, believe me it will be a money pit. By the time you have re-jigged that chassis, replaced half of it, powder coated, replaced all the seals on the diff etc, replaced the brake lines, rebuilt the wiring loom and spent 2 years trying to make the bodywork you might as well have bought a new kit and started from scratch or rebuilt one that was road registered already.

bit_burnt · #9 16th June 2009, 07:17

no its literally surface burns, not full blown blaze fire, where the metal has turned to dust, even if it needs replacing its only box section, no i mean i havent got 4-5k to go out and buy one, like i said i have no rush, its like startin a fresh only ive got to spend a few days stripping the engine, diff and other bits off, while it gets the frame dipped, so its only another couple of day work compared to a new build, plus the engine is already in, so i can see where i am going from there, and it already is road registered, do these things just go for a standard mot yeh!

bit_burnt · #10 16th June 2009, 07:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterux

My advice, save your £200 and start looking for a new kit that you really want to build.

thing is i have my heart set on this kit, it looks a challenge but i can do it, yeh its a bit burnt, but nothing thats not surface, and wont clean up.

chrislandy · #11 16th June 2009, 07:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by bit_burnt

thing is i have my heart set on this kit, it looks a challenge but i can do it, yeh its a bit burnt, but nothing thats not surface, and wont clean up.

Actually, steel doesn't have to be carbonised to loose it's structural properties, the "surface" fire damage will have damaged the inherent properties of the steel, so if you want know you have a safe car you will need to replace every part of the chassis which has been subjected to high temperature.

peterux · #12 16th June 2009, 08:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrislandy

- I personally wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. .

ditto