Has anyone made there own kit car?
 

I couldnt decide on a car I want, all the ones I really wanted were futuristic concepts that most likely wont be manufactured anytime soon..

I was wondering if anyone has designed there own kit car?

I like how this Fiat Phylla looks, and would love to make my own kit car similar to this or other concepts out there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q99lD...eature=related

if you notice in the video the 1:40 they have a foam life size version

and at 1:45 they have the outter shell of the car and the frame seperate.

Im still researching but im pretty mechanical, I checked in on how to fiberglass or make carbon fiber panels. Anyone else out there try anything like this?

I figure using an existing chassis from a crx or something or even make one from scratch and convert it to an EV and change the whole car basically to some futuristic looking car which would way lighter and more aerodynamic then the previous shell.

I feel like car manufacturers are taking forever...so I rather build one myself.

heres another lil video I wanted to share of 4 Renault EVs driving around a city and recharging...I hope some time in the near future it will be like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpUn-...eature=related


I know this seems like a lot but I was also looking into how the guy made the ETV and thats basically what I want to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qn9d...eature=related

Ill start researching for now...and see what else I can gather on DIY and prices of things. I would ideally like to use recycled materials as well.
Iv also been working on an ev conversion I wanted to do with a battery charging device to help extend miles.

Thoughts, Opinions, Ideas welcome :thumbup:

EcoBill -

If I were to do a kit car I would *want* to make this work for me :

Perry Ds,Inc. 550 Spyder

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...550-spyder.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...spyder-kit.jpg

It's designed to be bolted onto a stock VW Beetle chassis, so it's longer than the original Porsche 550 Spyder.

To make it more aero, I think you could come up with a low-slung hard-top for it. The 550 Spyder was raced with rear wheel skirts and a passenger seat cover :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...er-15-avus.jpg

CarloSW2

EcoBill -

Looking for 550 Spyder pictures led me to this example :

Brusa Spyder Shares the Thrill of Coming Electric Sports Cars | GreenCar.com - May 2009
http://cdn-www.greencar.com/images/b...usa-spyder.jpg
Me likey power to weight ratio.

CarloSW2

I like that green one, it could be the cheaper DIY version of the Tesla Roadster
they make that green one as a kit car?

so i just noticed that the ETV car is a Chevy Aveo hacked apart. I would like to do something similar. I think i want to go with a CRX donor. Im going to draw that up on AutoCad and see what type of body I want to make for it.

http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_lrg...icle-etv-8.jpg
more pics of this ETV are here
Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle: A Chevy Aveo of the Third Kind - Carscoop

anyone have any sites I can look at on DIY Kit cars? like how these ppl make them from scratch?

EcoBill -

I doubt it will ever be affordable. I am guessing they are marketing to the Porsche/Tesla crowd.

CarloSW2

EcoBill -

Ok, now I get it. The Brusa ESpyder was a proof of technology to sell the drivetrain, in this case to Volvo :

Volvo electric C30 employs BRUSA drivetrain
Sorry to mislead you, I saw another spyder and thought it could apply.

CarloSW2

Kit cars of all types have been made for decades.
It is expensive and a lot of work to build even a simple one.
What is it that you want to achieve?
There is probably an existing car that is close already (except that ETV, never seen anything like it actually on the road before, quite something)

You might want to check out this site. It might give you some ideas. Some stuff is dated but I think there is some good info. there. Product Development Design Consultancy New Project Engineering Do It Yourself DIY Plans

> I was wondering if anyone has designed there own kit car?

EcoBill, are you looking for a car kit that somebody else manufactures, or are you considering manufacturing a car kit for sale to the public, or are you thinking about building yourself a one-off custom car of your own design? I know "kit car" means different things to different people, sometimes it's just generic for not-a-factory-built-car, I'm not sure where you're headed here (and thus not sure how to answer) but I'm sure I'm loaded with opinions, whichever it is. :)

Not really true. Consider the Locost: is there anything remotely like that on the market (except of course the Caterham Seven)? For that matter, how many 2-seat cars with decent performance are on the market for under - oh, say $40K? AFAIK, only the Miata.

Then we can get into the whole fuel economy thing, like for instance the Riley XR3, or what Jack is doing.

Then there's my own "dream machine", which might look like the lineal descendent of the Stutz Bearcat, designed to be able to travel on dirt roads without being a jacked-up Jeep or SUV.

Building one from scratch is hard, to be sure, but one of the most rewarding things I can imagine! Jack M is a REALLY helpful resource, Hi Jack by the way, weve spoken a time or two from the Lotus forums.

Here is one that I did a while back a hack of a CRX, Im on my 4th scratch build now, a diesel electric hybrid, I say if you want one you cant buy, build it!

There are people out there, me potentially, who will build you a relatively safe roller and you can build the body to your liking.

Exactly, there are thousands of "kit cars" of all types and kinds already,
Unlikely there isn't one already that will suit someone needs.
Now that ATV thing, never seen anything like it.
While it looks aerodynamic, it probably isn't, a AVEO probably is better because its smaller!

As for OEM, there was the Plymouth Prowler, I see one for sale today
for $28k.
There is also the Chrysler Crossfire. The Honda Insight. The CRX.
The RX7.

If someone wants to build their own custom body, I would qualify that
as a "need" for a custom body. As I often say, if you want to build a sailboat, build one! If you want to go sailing, buy a sailboat.

Where is more details on the custom 3-wheel CRX, that looks cool!

btw, I am also another "Jack M"..

i would like to build one my own, make it sustainable as possible and "eco-friendly". Its pretty much for myself -- make it aerodynamic, make it have good mpg-use a renewable type of energy to power it...maybe a bio-diesel hybrid? or electric? and make a charge station, make it cheap to build and if ppl actual end up liking it, them possibly manufacture it in future


iv been seeing alot of 3 wheel designs and more flexiblity as far as designing and getting it on the road(since its considered a motorcycle)

Bill, I am building such a car (trike) and will be making its measurements etc available on this site once I know it works :-) just do a search for Belaero.

I am building an epoxy fibreglass body for my Geo Metro with pink styrofoam for the core material.

Instead of a custom made bubble, I am using a standard small airplane bubble.

There is a lot of info out there on making composite bodies.

Here is a good project.
AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 1
AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 2
http://us1.webpublications.com.au/st...ics/110990.jpg

Volkswagen L1 is another great design.

do you have a thread on your fiberglass body your making? I would be interested in seeing the process

yea I saw that green car the Australian school made, pretty cool...glad to see a build from start to finish, helps me get a better understanding in whats involved.

Now that VW L1... is WOW, I really like the silver one. I would love to make something like that

No, but I am taking pictures and will do a write-up when it's done. I am using pretty much the same method as the Aussies, except I am using all the steel structure from the Geo, with the outer body panels and roof cut off.

One I'd like to build that is labeled a 'kit' is an Ultima GTR, not for fuel mileage purposes though.

Build it with a Warp9 motor, Zilla controller, and a set of Lithium batteries!:thumbup: