I Have Always Wanted To Build An Ultima Or Caterham

[Roy]

But because i am ordinary with spanners...not sure i would trust myself after watching this

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/16/watch-a-shelby-cobra-do-cartwheels-at-130-mph/#continued

[tweety bird]

i'd build one, it's no difference really to restoring a car or rebuilding a car.

Edited January 25, 2012 by tweety bird

[boxheadmr]

nasty crash and good to see the guy was ok afterwards.

I have had my front suspension break after coming over the bridge at Oran park before, no rolling off the road but i reckon if it happened at speed on the straight i would be in the same boat and just a passenger.These were tein coil overs so it can really happen in any car either kit or something you buy from a major manufacturer.

I also was driving a car "somewhere" where we had been doing top speed runs in a 350kw light weight car and as i slow down and take a corner, the rear toe arm snaps and i come to a tire smoking spinning stop.

Just be careful to use quality parts and check over things regularly especially if you take it to the track often. Don't give up on your dream as i reckon building a kit car would be awesome

[MattR]

ive thought about building one of these;

http://www.ultraracecars.com.au/ (track only)

or

http://www.pumaclubman.com/ for road and track.

[Nee-san]

I've built a powerboat, and a vintage fire engine.

Out of lego.

[MBS206]

I gotta say... In that slow mo, it looks like his harness is loose as when it flips!

[r32-25t]

Harness defiantly wasn't tight enough, but then again he survived

[Fatstig]

Those ultras are cool I have one being built at the moment for my 427 c5r engine..

I drove the first one too....

[BunsenBurna]

Will follow this thread to see if anyone gets a build underway. Anyone getting close?? Very keen to build something like a Clubman with my old man.

[Roy]

Ultima is genuinely on my one day list of things. I have the bucket R32 fun club car. Now have the Sierra Cosworth to break down on me and leave me stranded in places. Now I just need a big house/garage to move on to one more project before the Ultima. That is getting a gig in Europe and bringing back the uber personal import

[N1GTR]

Likewise a bucket list item for me too. The recent engineering rule changes in NSW may put an end to that though which will be a shame.

Nothing too wild, just the basic kit, silver gel coat, black interior, AP brakes, 6.2L Chev engine around 300rwkw will be plenty

Always loved this pic speaking of Ultima's;

[GTRNUR]

If you look around you might be able to pick up someone else's 1/2 finished Caterham project. You'd be surprised how many people start projects like these and just leave them un-finished in a shed. You can pick them up cheap once they have been sitting a few years.

[tweety bird]

http://ninemsn.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11138870&__Ntt=unfinished&__Qpb=1&__Dx=mode

somethink like this nur?

you could also get somethink like this to roy.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/corvette-/130645303363?pt=AU_Cars&hash=item1e6b112043

the steering wheel's on the correct side too.

[Roy]

That Corvette is pretty cool. I love Vettes, but know them well enough to know many are garbage. From memory the 84 Vette has 185hp And being the first of C4s they are pretty rubbish. 89 - 94 is what I would be after.

But the biggest problem is housing prices in Aus, I cant afford a house for the toys Hence the plan to get to Europe with work, get the dream car. Import dream car and then when in 4-5 years when I am around 40 build a Caterham with S2000 running gear or Ultima, depending on cash, and what my 22yr old Russian bride prefers

[tweety bird]

yer, the emission regulations really hurt those Corvette , most people just take them off and be dune with them.

most cops have never seen a Corvette so it's not like a skyline.

[SRS13]

If anybody is after a pretty well sorted Clubman, check this out;

Clubman

A friend is selling it. Makes 130rwk, weighs 550kg, does easy 1:08's at Wakefield and will go quicker.

Only reason for selling is that he bought a brand new one.... a MNR with a 'turbocharged' Hyabusa engine, dry sump, sequential box, digital dash etc = 220rwk and 500kg!!!

BTW if you contact me first, we can definitely do something about the price to make it very attractive...

Edited February 9, 2012 by SRS13

[BunsenBurna]

Has anyone looked at the STOHR vehicles? www.apracing.net.au

They look impressive for a track only option.

Anyone got an idea around cost? I see the closed wheel version also 'for lease' on my105...

[tweety bird]

it would probably be easier to get a old formula ford and race it.

[blackrex]

Stohr's are quick, Adam Proctor won the Sports Racer series in his this year, however he had all of the best gear on his car (it won the DSR championship in the USA the previous year) and it had a modified motor when the Speads and the West's ran stock motors.

I have heard from people who run them and race against them in the States that they are somewhat more fragile than the West's and the Speads, as everything on the car has been reduced to the minimum size needed, and there are a number of parts like rod ends that are considered throw away items in the car.

[The_Seth]

To be honest if you wished to walk the path of making a kit car, you couldn't get a batter start then Caterham (there are plenty of companies within australia that sell very nice replica kits for much cheaper). I've used to work for a mob that built them for the road and track and they are just awsome, they are very simple to put together with many people out there who will be more then willing to lend a hand, especially if you start getting some track time.

There are a few reasons why you should build a caterham well before trying to build something more crazy like an ultima/cobra/gt40, this is because it's relatively cheap to throw together (so if you give up like many others you haven't lost much), it will give you a very good understanding of what it takes to build a truely balanced vehicle, and it may very well be so much fun that you won't even want to move to something more expensive.

You have a large amount of engines to choose from depending on what you want, be it a nice NA like a 4AGE (a very common choice), or maybe something turbocharged like a SR20, or supercharged like a 4AGZE, or just go all crazy like and throw a Rotary in there. Actually there isn't many things you cant change on this car depending on what you want....

All in all i highly suggest you go for the caterham, then sell if off if you want more and then move onto your next project.