What was the "lightbulb" moment that made you build a roadster.

[twinturbo]

As per title what was it!!


I had always loved the 7 from looking at which kit when I was 16 and seeing Hoods for what seemd like easy money.. that was ~1990.. Scroll forward to ~2004 and I had the Ron Champion book, and then bought a second hand locost chassis. Life problems, time, etc... saw that sold off ~2005... ( the guy who bought it emailed be lst year to say it was finsihed!!! )

I bought the roadster book when it was new and thought that would be good one day..

Then, the BBC started showing Waybaloooo on the bedtime hour for kids, it was BAD!! so we flicked and discovered "Quest" and "a Chopper is born" after wathcing that we then saw Mark Evans's " A racing car is born" where he builds a Westie... Me and my 6yr old watched it and I dug out the book..

3 Months later I had bought my S/H chassis..

TT

[trick-kit]

Originally Posted by AdrianH

Turning 48 and deciding I needed a mid life crisis and being handy with metal.

Adrian

Why do they call it a mid life crisis? There's nothing wrong with wanting to make stuff, for me, it's just got bigger over the years, Tamiya, motorbikes, cars, when I hit 48 it'll probably be an aeroplane.

TK

[robo]

Having piles of bits left over from building to many cars for years and wondering what best to do with them.

Bob

[vmax1974]

i have kinda always been interested first at 16 i went to the motorshow and saw (i think it was) a caterham and loved the look so had a close look and spent the next few years wishing a had the funds as a student then bought the ron champion book and bought the steel cut the chassis and found the donor but my brother being a classis car nut said "your not pulling that apart" and quickly bought the lot off me (at a profit may i add ) so having trouble finding another donor a few years later i gave up.

then came accross the Chris Gibbs book and bought it when it first came out but had nowhere to build the car so gave up for a few years then i moved house had a garage and all my tools ammassed during my racing days so started thinking about the book again but could not find it so off to the shop i went to buy a new one then the old one turned up in as is usually the way the most unlikely place (bread bin) then having a search of ebay led me first to the locost builders forum and then on to here so just collecting parts and trying to raise (between bills and more bills) enough cash to get the car started and built

long winded but there you have it

[brainbug007]

For me I always wanted to learn to work on cars and started looking at ultima's... I quickly realised it would cost way too much and was digging around when I came across the book and the rest is history so to speak

[twinturbo]

Ultima to a roadster, a nice logical leap there

TT

[brainbug007]

Well forgive the pun but the roadster was the ultimate diy kitcar in my opinion Not having been in an ultima I can't say for sure but I wouldn't have thought they'd be that different in terms of performance as aren't they alot heavier which is why you have to put such a big engine in them?

[Johno]

Well I had a choice...
Summer house or car....errrrrrr.... told missus I got a book to build a sports car on a budget (your fault Tony) wife said go for it...Lol
The problem I have now is I didn't tell her how "BIG" the budget needs to be......
Now when I ask her to order a part all I keep getting is "HOW MUCH"

What should I do and is this common? (not told her about shocks/seats/bodywork....etc)
I did think about trading her in but milage is too high and body work was too rough... If she reads this I'm in dep s**t.
So guys how did you overcome this major problem, can't find it in the Haynes book anywhere.....

Thanks Johno

[baz-r]

no light bulb for me realy. mine started meny years ago when i must have been somewhere between 15-17 years old i thort it was a great idea to build a kit car from a old rusty relic.
all i had to do is wait 15 years until i had a house with a garage to be able to build my own one but buy that time a kit would not have scratched my itch. i seen haynes had redone the old locost book and about 3 months before i was moving to our new home i treated myself to a copy and also at that point all the main parts where availble from 3ge that where only 10 miles away so i thort it would be a great option to suit me

[Cyberbeej]

Id have to say mine was when i was about 14 when i my dad didnt allow me to use power tools.
I build GoKarts from prams etc.
Came across the problem of drilling a hole throught the 2 bits of wood to fit the steering bolt. Problem solved by using a drill bit in a pair of Vicegrips and a hammer, It consisted of tap turn tap turn. Eventually got through.
Since then i've never looked back, currently building my 3rd kitcar and i've certainly got the can do attitude. Nothing that can't be achieved with a little research.