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Car built over several yrs........caution required ?


Eastwood

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Have found a car that seems good on paper and ticks the boxes in terms of spec, but it transpires that the kit was bought from Westfield in 2007 and the car was then built over several years and finally registered in 2015.........only 2k miles covered.  It’s been with the same owner throughout.

I guess this may not be unusual and have heard that for some owners it’s all about the build, sometimes more than the driving when it’s complete.

Should I be concerned.........is the lengthy build time likely to present any issues, compromises, etc ?

Would appreciate views, experiences, etc..........I’m planning on viewing the car this weekend.

Many thanks.

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It’s not uncommon. In fact one member Steve has just bought a project that was never finished and in fact barely started from well over a decade ago. His car will no doubt end up really well built.

So, as with any of our cars, age is less important than condition, build quality and component choice. These are the things to look for in my opinion.

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I would imagine that tyres would be hard as nails if the originals and perhaps worth looking at calliper and brake/clutch seals as they may have gone hard? 

Other than that it wouldn’t bother me subject to build and spec as above 

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That’s not a long build in more general kit car terms. (Westfield perhaps on average get built a little quicker than some brands).

It’s  only a longer build when the years get into double figures!

The two main catches with longer builds are, IVA regulations changing and affecting compliance Of previously acceptable items. But you say it’s registered, so that’s not a problem,

And the other is things like tyres and rubber pipes/seals etc degrading. A visual inspections for general leaks and any cracking on hoses will tell you the state of them. It’s been on the road a while though so if there was a problem it would have probably shown up by now.

Tyres, is the trickier one to judge by the time they look bad, they’re really bad! There are date codes on there that will give you an idea of tyre age, but I’d probably just look to replace as a matter of course - perhaps a good bargaining chip?

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I'd be more focussed on the build quality and standard more than the age of the kit.

As Chris says I've just bought a kit that was bought in 2001 and will probably end up being registered in 2019.

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Be interesting to understand from the builder what he did, and when taking into account any fluid that had been used and when especially in regard to the perishable things like rubber pipe work etc.  General mechanical build work should not really be affected by time and as Roy's Dad says 2 heads better than one especially when considering matters of the hart that we all put into these builds.

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Usually you find this where people have minimised the number of parts purchased direct from the factory, probably a more enjoyable/fulfilling build experience, but it can then take a long time to source and purchase parts, as opposed to opening a box and finding everything you need.

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