possible new car/design build your own?
 

I've had a bee in my bonnet for the past 3 years about needing to add to my range of parts and products. I have in the next 6 weeks tubular fabricated parts coming out and these will be offered on my website but I want to offer some thing of a different flavour.
I'm thinking some thing along the lines of a Riot,Mojo or Midi layout with simple Roadster type body work and rear engine, rear wheel drive using Roadster based wishbones.
Options could be either using a transverse engine and gearbox or even a bike engine with an electric reverse, I know there the Midlana plans but you still need to make your body work so why not use half of what we already have drawings and parts for?

Use Haynes chassis and move driver and passenger forward to engine bay and use rear space for eng/box

Yes that is what I had in mind, some thing a little different from yet another 7 but some thing that could be made cheap.

If it was me id go with the audi longitudal engine front wheel drive set up where the engine is infront of the gear box so in a rear setup it would essentially be creating a mid engined car.
Also parts and doner cars would be cheap and 1.8 or 2 litre turboed petrol engines are common
Also they are surprizingly compact

To put this in some sort of context of what I have in mind...
A whole Roadster can be built at home with fairly cheap tools every thing from the chassis to the body work can be home made because it is simple to make. By wrapping sheet steel/ali around the sides/rear of the chassis you have instant body work, I did the same with my bonnet and scuttle with a simple frame work. If I make a rear engined chassis and go with say a Ford or Vauxhall transverse set up the back of the car can be kept simple and easy to make with out it looking like it's a sports pickup with a table top cover.
If I go the mid engine route with an Audi type engine in my mind it's in danger of starting to become more of a proper sports car that requires it to look better than it could. This means expensive shapely GRP body work and puts it more in kitcar money rather than self/scratch build pocket money area.
I think it has to be down to the end styling of the car and weather you can make you own body work and the result being acceptable or wether you buy it in GRP and go with pre set styling.
Would people be interested in the chassis and running gear plans knowing that at the end of the build you still have another £800-1200 worth of GRP to buy? But I guess if you just put 3 years and £3000 plus in to it already the body work is only a small part of it???

But with the audi set up you would have better weight didtribution as it would be on the centre line and slightly forward instead of it all on top of the rear axle so it would handle better
And to be honest there probably isnt a huge difference length wise

Ah fair point with the weight distribution.

Said this before and will do again,body in a Can Am style,Sports 2000 look,WLR.

Would it be practical for the road though? I mean would it look as good if it has to be jacked up for road humps ect?

You would be surprised how low some vehicles are normally,my TT is low and goes over speed humps no problem,and no speed bumps on major roads.
Body would hide chassis height,the likes of the road going WLR etc are not mega low and do look mean as fook.