The kitcar business

[Rory's Dad]

Here's a proper car borrowed from a a story in Auto Addicts where on 4 & 5 August the Vintage Sports-Car Club celebrated their 80th Anniversary since the Club first ran at Prescott in 1938. 

[Kingster]

2 minutes ago, Rory's Dad said:

Here's a proper car borrowed from a a story in Auto Addicts where on 4 & 5 August the Vintage Sports-Car Club celebrated their 80th Anniversary since the Club first ran at Prescott in 1938. 

Stick 13” wheels and a ZK body kit on it and you’re sorted!

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

I have a feeling that I've seen that in action somewhere. Brighton Speed Trials maybe? 

[stephenh]

How on earth does that get through scrutineering?Or maybe it wasn't a speed event, but more like a trackday, like we had last year?

[CraigHew]

Not much in the way of driver protection, apart from the 6 foot spike attached to the steering wheel...

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

41 minutes ago, stephenh said:

How on earth does that get through scrutineering?Or maybe it wasn't a speed event, but more like a trackday, like we had last year?

Ah, it's a historic, so anything goes, don't you know. Have another read of your yearbook and Historic cars are pretty much exempt from everything. 

[Exitus]

I think a lot of it comes down to cost. I'm technically a millennial, though wouldn't call myself one given the choice!

The whole 'car being a ticket to freedom' bit still rings true for me - my friends and I all got licences as soon as we possibly could, as we live in a rural area, and so without a car you can't do anything. Not having a car only works if you live in a decent sized city.

Nowadays, I still have lots of friends who love cars, of my age and younger, and they are fascinated by the Westfield. A number have said that they would love to build one. They just can't afford it. Motoring is so expensive for young people - the day that my insurance dropped below the £1k mark was a good day indeed, and I was nearly thirty by that point. My brothers insurance on his 4th hand Ford Ka when he passed his test was £1600 - more that the value of the car. So my mates can afford a Golf GTI or something similar, with the insurance, but couldn't begin to afford a second car literally as a toy. And that's even before you get to the cost of the tools and equipment required, which most young people just don't have either - as mentioned above, cars and hard to service now, so people don't have those skills or tools.

So I think that car culture is very much still there - just look at the proliferation of youtube videos on all things motoring. Everything from supercars, to Project Binky. For a lot of us though, we just have to appreciate from afar, and hope we can afford to join in practically at some point!

[DamperMan]

Cost has always been an issue 26 years ago @ 17 my insurance via the least reputable cheapest possible 3rd party was 400 on a £300 mini. My first word according to my mother was tractor.   We had lorries, a tractor, digger and a forklift at home and I loved driving them all at any opertunity.   Also any opertunity to weld, grind, or do any thing mechanical was a highlight.   13 I got my hands on a step through Suzuki 80, which was driven as often as possible for hours... my father never had any petrol for the chain saw ever again...   My kids don’t have the motor opertunities as me but also are uninterested.   iPads, Nintendo, phones, fortnite, minecraft... etc are  way more exciting for a instant kick.   Having a car was massively important for me and it was where my social life started.  They are in constant contact with their mates and their phones are pinging all the time.    I lived 3 miles out of town and most of my mates where 6 miles the other side so wheels where important.  Before passing my test  I’d converted £50 broken automatic mini to manual and rebuilt the engine.  Being a mini it demanded constant fettle.   Front drumsneeded adjusting weakly, grease nipples, rust, regular points , condencers, tune ups, all part of life.  I loved that car...  I learned so much..    far more than watching YouTube or playing a computer games.   

[cast iron]

As someone who relies on new car sales to stay in work this makes interesting reading, but it is just reading, I get to see the figures monthly and have exposure to the trends and future new models

all I will say is it’s a rapidly changing and challenging, industry, and it will be survival of the fittest 

[Blatman]

On 03/01/2019 at 16:46, Exitus said:

cars and hard to service now,

No, they're not. There are different procedures and there are more systems to go wrong but doing things like oil, plugs, coolant and pads should still be in range of an average home mechanic. Yes the occasional special tool may be needed but anyone with Sierra calipers on the back of an SEi already has the wind in tool. It's about a tenner. Or a good pair of long nose pliers and some elbow grease will do in a pinch.

And as much as I dislike Mile Brewer I am quite fond of watching Ed China work his way through an issue on what most laymen would consider to be an impossible problem. May favourite was the S2000 with malfunctioning VTEC. The S2000 enthusiast that Mike bought it from couldn't figure it out. Ed applied some logic and followed a process and got it sussed for almost zero cost. Yes I know Ed has every tool under the sun but even without,opening the fluid pump and seeing full of goo would tip off most of us even though on the face of it the VTEC system is thought of as hugely complicated. When Ed broke it down it was beautifully simple.

My point is, much of it is do-able without breaking the bank. All it needs is a little effort, a logical mind, a workshop manual and the internet!