Lowest Cost Build ?

[jaykay]

Hi,

While looking to carry out a budget build, what is a realistic cost ?

Clearly the old £250 aint gonna happen, but what has been built for a low cost ?

Cost and spec/pictures would be great. :p

Theres not much I cany do, and have most tools already, so just the actual car cost is what interests me.

Thanks

[ginger nutter]

Mine is looking to come in about 3k on the road using a cvh (might blow up and have to replaced with a zetec post iva). :)

[Talonmotorsport]

I sat and worked this out when I first started on my build. By being sensible using the doner engine, all new materials instead of spending weeks hunting in scrap bins, second hand/moded GRP parts you could in theory build a car for £1600-1800.

[MarkB]

The best one I have seen cost 5k on the road and that is the green meanie built by Gus..:cool:

[HandyAndy]

Mine owes me £2461 as it stands now ( finished ) ,

just the expense of the IVA test, reg fee, transport cost to take to IVA , road tax & number plates to pay for now :eek: :D

With factoring in a £90 retest fee I reckon £3100 on the road.

cheers
andy

[carlknight1982]

I think you should read this months complete kit car theres a section in there on budgeting a build. if i remember correctly AshG built his for around 3.5K On the Road. im sure ash will be along to correct that soon.

[David_17]

Mine's on track for about £3500 on the road. That's with a 2.0 zetec on throttle bodies.

[shh120m]

ive spent so £2100 so far, Iv just got the expensive bits to buy now such as shocks, wheels prop etc. I reckon il get it on the road for just short of 4k. Over two years thats £38 a week. I could have spent more than that going to the pub! You can really spend as little as you want, its all about how long you want to take to build your car. Cheapest way is to buy a donor or find a project that someone is selling up part build.

[gaz05]

When I started mine I thought I might do it under £3K. I'm pretty sure that by the time it's done it'll be closer to £4k and I haven't even bought any of the expensive stuff yet!

[leroybrown911]

I would budget 5k, inc iva etc...

[monsterob]

ive spent £1684 to get to get to where i am now thats sat on suspension too im aiming for less than £3k all in but who knows :D

[deezee]

Mine has cost me around £3,900.00 at the moment. Still have to do the IVA and a a few other bits to buy. I would have though £4,750 would be a correct figure for me. Could have done it MUCH cheaper if I'd used the donor engine, instead of another engine.

[AshG]

If you make everything. Wishbones chassis Ali panels etc you can do it for 3k. If your buying everything in then budget 4k.

[baz-r]

i would say it would depend on your skills, tooling and time been the main factor
i have worked in the motor and engineering industry and i would say its saved me a fortune been able to rebuild my own engine weld my own chassis know where to sorce parts at a fair price etc

i never put a cost on my build as things and ideas can change as you go along

[jaykay]

I am looking for a budget car that will be great fun to drive. I am setting a target of £2500 ready for iva. I am surprised at some of the costs quoted, but guess they are really sweet pieces of kit. I will have a go at anything, so should keep the costs to a minimum.

Where do the largest costs sit if you have spent £4-£5k ?

I will be using the doner for as much as possible to keep costs down. The doner will either be the sierra or mx5. I like the idea of the Mazda if I can find a cheap enough example.

I'm looking forward to the show at Newark, as I havent really seen one in the flesh. :D

[AshG]

If your aiming at 2.5k the mev exocet is the car for you. its 100% mx5 and a real doddle to build.

[shh120m]

I am looking for a budget car that will be great fun to drive. I am setting a target of £2500 ready for iva. I am surprised at some of the costs quoted, but guess they are really sweet pieces of kit. I will have a go at anything, so should keep the costs to a minimum.

Where do the largest costs sit if you have spent £4-£5k ?

I will be using the doner for as much as possible to keep costs down. The doner will either be the sierra or mx5. I like the idea of the Mazda if I can find a cheap enough example.

I'm looking forward to the show at Newark, as I havent really seen one in the flesh. :D

I think the cost goes into all the little finishing bits, have you seen the price of a nice steering wheel and dials these days!

[gus]

I have a 4 page record of everything i bought , some of the largest cost

Full body kit and seats £1000
IVA and re test £510
Shocks £345
2nd hand wheels + shot blasting + painting £210

Gus

[davedew]

A lot depends on how fancy you want to get.
If going for bike carbs / TB's you have the cost megajolt / ECU & rolling road session etc.
Digital dash if not using donor, fancy brakes etc etc.
I think it all boils down to if you are just building it to get it on the road asap, and then alter it later. Or whether you build it from the start how you want it.

My personnal choice is to do it right from the start even if it takes longer & costs a bit more.

[CTWV50]

If your aiming at 2.5k the mev exocet is the car for you. its 100% mx5 and a real doddle to build.

But it only drops the weight of the standard mazda by 300kg and then you have to refurb the 20 year old suspension! :)

[MarkB]

If it's a cheap sports car you are after then buy a cheap Mx5 strip all the heavy bits off then...bingo!!!!!! a cheap sports car that goes round corners:)

[jaykay]

If it's a cheap sports car you are after then buy a cheap Mx5 strip all the heavy bits off then...bingo!!!!!! a cheap sports car that goes round corners:)

Mark,

I have an mx5 in the garage which I am planning to sell to help fund the roadster. I want the satisfaction of building it, as its easy to modify an existing vehicle. I love the styling of the 7 type cars and the fact that they are so simple and light.
I am a qualified mechanic and painter so can tackle most things and I have a huge workshop at home doing nothing.

I am swaying towards an mx5 doner(mine to good to break I think. But mot Sat) as I think I can use seats etc as well as it having good performace and great tuning ability. I could do to see a pinto and mx5 roadster in the flesh and on the road to compare.
I think the resale value of the bits I dont use will be higher on the mx5, thus bringing the overall cost of the build down. If I went with the sierra route, the leftovers would likely be scrap.