Practically Classics Forum

Hi
I'm not sure how 'kit cars' are generally regarded on this forum. 'Kit car' so often seems to be used as a derogatory term. This is sometimes justifiable but I have to say that most kit cars require the restoration of the donor car, and a huge amount of creativity on behalf of the builder. There are not many kits about like the original Lotus 7 that could be completed over a weekend. My car was very sad when I got her with her 13" alloys, home made seats, sidewinder exhaust and knackered cortina suspension etc (not that I realised the full extent) and I embarked on a long rolling restoration. I'm not aiming for concours winning levels but want to have a lot of fun with her (which I already have had to be frank). She is meant to be a 'homage' to the Jaguar SS100. I would love to own an original but it ain't going to happen and I wonder if I would really enjoy taking a car that's worth a 6 figure sum out. I wouldn't dare leave anything that valuable unattended. I took her to a show last year and let some youngsters sit in her to have their pics taken. I would have thought twice if it had been the genuine article but it was worth it to see their smiles.
This winter I have undertaken a major strip down leading to a respray in a week or so. Still undecided on the colour. Either Old English White or BRG. I'm having trouble choosing the green though. I tried solid Arden Green but it looked too dark on the car and have tried to get Mazda MX5 HU BRG (Neo Green) mixed up in an aerosol locally (Carlisle) but they can't seem to do it. Halfords say they can but didn't fill me full of confidence and it was very pricey. Any suggestions?

BTW anyone interested in the Carisma Century or similar SS100 style replicas may find my blog interesting http://carismacentury.blogspot.com

I for one have no problem with "Kit Cars" having, as I do, an early "Gentry". Even MG Car Club members are begrudgingly beginning to accept and appreciate cars like the Gentry so opinions are softening slowly but surely.
I'm very impressed with your Century. It looks like the designers have taken on board the problem shared by a number of "Tribute Cars" and have been careful not to produce a car with distorted proportions that can sometimes spoil the overall effect of the car.

Like yourself, I'd probably be a bit too precious with the original vehicle that the tribute is based on, and get infinitely more enjoyment out of my lowly replica. It's allowed me to experiment with different engine, drivetrain and suspension set-ups without feeling like or being accused of acting sacreligeously, like I would have with an original MG T series.

In addition, these replica cars often give an opportunity of saving the donor cars from the scrappy while freeing up useful body spares that can be used by drivers of the cars in their original form. You can't argue against that can you?

It looks like the designers have taken on board the problem shared by a number of "Tribute Cars" and have been careful not to produce a car with distorted proportions that can sometimes spoil the overall effect of the car.

I totally agree that kit cars are 'green' from a recycling point of view but the proportions did look a bit odd when I first got her. She had 13" alloys, a sidemount and no rear mounted spare.So the boot IMHO looked a bit odd.
The bumpers were worse than useless and the rear lights didn't do her any favours either. I looked at a lot of Gentries on EBay prior to buying 'Carrie" and I felt that the devil was in the detail. (Any pics of yours on this forum?) Some looked great and some totally wrong and it was often the little touches that made all the difference. For example I think mine has been transformed with a rear mounted spare (see below)

Ah, well you see it's like this officer.... I posted a picture of my Gentry on the Gentry owner's forum and they thought I was trying to sell a pile of spares

I blame the feller that built it using untreated internal ply as the substrate for the ally/GRP. When I bought it the bottom 8 inches was sawdust. I'm afraid the Gentry will take as long to restore as my VW camper. That hasn't moved much since the last century either

I'll take a picture of a couple of lumps draped in tarpaulin if you like

Looks like you've got your work cut out. I've got an old Commer J type horsebox (former library van) rotting away on a friend's farm. Must get round to EBay'ing it. Used to have a 60's VW camper before they were trendy. Never camped in it though. Had a brew when we went to a wedding once and carried my daughter's pram in it - She's over 30 now. Happy days