At what point does it become a kit car?
03-12-2011, 11:19 PM
#22
Le Mans Master
How about its only a kit car if it starts as a kit. Now days you could probably build a brand new 69 camaro from the ground up using all new parts, not a single one of which ever saw a GM employees hand, would that camaro be a kit car?
In my mind no -
Kit cars usually (at least with the better ones) come with the majority of the parts required to complete the build - minus the engine, sometimes you have to have a donor car for things like suspension and steering gear, but the donor car is never the same thing you are building a kit of.
Example:
The sterling, was a VW based futuristic exotic, when you purchased the kit in varying levels it had most of the stuff you needed minus the vw pan and motor. A completed sterling is a kit car, a kit of parts from a single source to fit on an owner provided chassis to achieve a vehicle not in existance.
The Factory Five AC cobra above:
Its a kit car (arguably one of the best on the market) it can be built to be nearly indistinguishable from a real cobra, yet it will never be a real cobra.
A heavily modified Corvette is just that, a heavily modified custom corvette, it is not a kit car. The Daytona used in miami vice - THAT was a kit car, a kit of parts fit onto a donor chassis built to emulate a different vehicle.
I cant think of a single kit car that you start with one car and when your done, you have the same car....
In my mind no -
Kit cars usually (at least with the better ones) come with the majority of the parts required to complete the build - minus the engine, sometimes you have to have a donor car for things like suspension and steering gear, but the donor car is never the same thing you are building a kit of.
Example:
The sterling, was a VW based futuristic exotic, when you purchased the kit in varying levels it had most of the stuff you needed minus the vw pan and motor. A completed sterling is a kit car, a kit of parts from a single source to fit on an owner provided chassis to achieve a vehicle not in existance.
The Factory Five AC cobra above:
Its a kit car (arguably one of the best on the market) it can be built to be nearly indistinguishable from a real cobra, yet it will never be a real cobra.
A heavily modified Corvette is just that, a heavily modified custom corvette, it is not a kit car. The Daytona used in miami vice - THAT was a kit car, a kit of parts fit onto a donor chassis built to emulate a different vehicle.
I cant think of a single kit car that you start with one car and when your done, you have the same car....
03-12-2011, 11:23 PM
#23
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A similar question but not about a corvette. I have an uncle that builds very expensive 'street rods' as a hobby. They start as fiberglass bodies, w/ a tittle and a vin. He purchases the body, builds the frame, orders or fabricates all other parts, then completely assembles the vehicle. Now the only thing actually purchased as a 'kit' is the body. Is this considered a kit car?
03-12-2011, 11:52 PM
#24
Le Mans Master
My vette is not a kit, its a hobby Corvette that IMO is better than the original due to the improved ride and handling, better performance, improved braking, better MPG due to the overdrive transmission, etc. It's still a Corvette that has been improved by technology that wasn't available when it rolled off GMs floor 
03-13-2011, 12:07 AM
#25
Race Director
A similar question but not about a corvette. I have an uncle that builds very expensive 'street rods' as a hobby. They start as fiberglass bodies, w/ a tittle and a vin. He purchases the body, builds the frame, orders or fabricates all other parts, then completely assembles the vehicle. Now the only thing actually purchased as a 'kit' is the body. Is this considered a kit car?
I see it as a reproduction body and not a "kit car" by any stretch of the imagination.
04-12-2011, 11:37 PM
#26
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St. Jude Donor '11, '14
I beg to differ on the original frame issue. A C3 with tubular frame, C4 or C5 suspension, LSx engine and a Kiesler 5 speed running Vintage air, a DeWitt's rad, Wilwood brakes, TT2s and Fiero seats surrounded with an Ididit column and Autometer gauges; freshened inside with Corvette America parts and sporting an Eckler's replacement hood and Greenwood widebody kit cannot in any fashion still be referred to as a Stingray simply because the VIN tag says that's how it was born. It is now so outside the realm of "original" that the term "kit car" seems an apt description.
Rob
04-13-2011, 12:05 AM
#27
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I agree with Markids77. If you take the vintage Corvette of your choice replace the chassis, brakes, suspension, steering, engine and drivetrain, electrical system, instrumentation, interior, etc, then you no longer have a Corvette - but it's not really a kit car either. You have a custom car with a Corvette body.
I'm not exactly sure where I'd draw the line, but replacing the chassis would certainly be over it in my opinion.
This is the same axe George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree. It's completely original except I've replaced the blade and the handle.
I'm not exactly sure where I'd draw the line, but replacing the chassis would certainly be over it in my opinion.
This is the same axe George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree. It's completely original except I've replaced the blade and the handle.
04-13-2011, 07:15 AM
#29
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Interesting comments, I am just sitting back and trying to decide how much I would pay for a modified vette and what in my mind would set that line. I know how much it would cost to put in a new tube frame f.i. new C4/5 suspension etc. and whether I would be willing to pay more for these over an excellent condition properly maintained vette and not an NCRS top flight one. Bottom line for me is that I would pay less and in many ways that is what matters, what each of us is willing to pay for the modded vette. Some would be willing to pay more, I went through the whole debate this winter in going to a new LS engine add a.c. new suspension etc. etc. and just decided I like my vert. the way it is yes it needs some cosmetic work and a bit of engine work but if I really want all those other creature comforts I might as well buy a new vette. I just don't put enough miles on it per year to worry about all those other things, I wanted a C3 not a Cxxxx with a C3 vert body on it when I set out to replace my 911 in '97. Those that modify/customize their vettes thats great as it's your car, the same goes for those of us who tend to keep them closer to original. If we all liked the same things it would just be a bloody boring world.
04-14-2011, 09:20 AM
#30
Melting Slicks
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A similar discussion occurred at the truck body shop I work at. One fellow, in his off hours, 'builds' street rods for those folks with deep pockets but are all thumbs. The other fellow called them "UPS cars" cause every part is delivered by the big brown truck and is already engineered somewhere else and only needs to be bolted in place...no fabrication or welding needed. I agreed. I think the same rationale applies here...if every mod is just bolted in place, you can just as well call it a kit car.
