MadaboutKitcars

Hi

I am thinking about building a Fisher Fury Spyder.

Their website is somewhat limited, so I thought I'd come and ask some questions here.

Donor

1. I am looking to avoid having to buy a full donor Sierra. Q reg issues asside, if I focus on buying second hand items (and some new) individually is this likely to dramatically increase the overall cost?

2. I don't want to use the old Sierra engine. Even if I use a full donor car - would I be Q'd anyway because I used another engine (bike/zetec etc?)

3. If you have stripped a Sierra, what did you do with the remaining bodyshell? Was it easily moveable? You need the V5C for registration so how did you notify the DVLA the Sierra was scrapped?

4. Is it realistic to strip a Sierra in a single garage (2.6 x 5 metres approx) away from disapproving neighbours?

5. Is there much demand for the Sierra items you don't use - i.e. would i make some money back on flogging headlights, seats, engine etc? Is it worth the hassle?

Engine

6. I like the idea of a bike engine because of the sequential gearbox thats included. However, I want to avoid a very loud car. I like a good exhaust note but not a very loud car. How quiet can you make them with a decent silencer and sound proofing?

7. I have read mixed things about the clutch on a bike engined car. Can someone give me the defintitive answer - is it no clutch changing up / clutch changing down or what?

Q plates

8. I, like many, naturally want to avoid a Q plate. Should I really be worried about this? I have seen many smart Q plated cars around, but it just seems better to avoid this if I can although it would be easier to source parts as and when I can, rather than buy a whole donor. Will it affect resale value if I get a Q?

I know many of these questions will have been answered many times... but some help would be gratefully appreciated!

1. Buy the full donor, and keep the V5C when you send the shell for scrap. As long as you can prove you have sourced two major components from the car, you'll avoid a Q.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showpost.php?p=20546&postcount=4

2. No - See above.

3. I didn't strip a Sierra, but the same holds true from my experiance stripping a e30 BMW. I paid to have the shell removed by a local scrap merchant, but I removed all identifying marks from the shell (VIN plate, chassis no), just to stop it from being cloned. I then kept the car SORNd each year, so to the DVLA, it was still around - even if it was in bits in my garage. Once you get through IVA on the kit-car, you will need to take it to your local DVLA office for inspection. It's here that you'll surrender the old V5C and tell them the original car was permentantly scrapped. Word to the wise though - you'll probably get a tax reminder for the donor car a year later anyway. I and another builder did... If this occurs you just need to write to the DVLA in Swansea and tell them again.

4. Yes - I managed to get a lot of the parts of the BMW this way, and then I had a weekend on the drive way to get the major mechanicals out. The shell was off to the scrap yard the following Monday.

5. Can't answer this, but I did manage to get rid of a few un-needed BMW parts this way.

6. Can't answer, as I used the donor engine.

7. Ditto

8. Some people don't mind, some do - I didn't want a Q as I want to be able to put an date-less plate on my car at some point, and you can't change the reg of a Q'd car.

Cheers,

GOO / Jason

[url]www.greatoldone.co.uk[/url]

Thanks for this advise. Interestingly I have just downloaded the build manual. It is all descriptive - "secure upright with X-sized bolt onto Y" with no photos and only a few sketch diagrams. How you're supposed to know which way round things are supposed to be I don't know...

...maybe taking on a can of worms here. Hmmm.

Be thankfull you get a build manual. I got one for my kit, but it was for a different donor - and the company didn't update it when they switched from Ford donors to BMWs...

Thank god for Madabout!