Ultraright Ultralite

Jerry Eddens had two major goals when he retired in 2000. First, he needed to get all the little details involved with the building of his new house (and plenty of garage space) taken care of, and second, he wanted to build some kind of pleasure car for himself.

While the housing project was being completed, Jerry started researching his automotive possibilities. He was open to almost anything, but after much conversation with other enthusiasts, checking a variety of car magazines, and visiting a bunch of Internet sites, he decided that what he really wanted to construct was a kit/replicar.

He also knew that whatever he would select would have to be roadster or convertible, not require a lot of welding or cutting, have ample interior space, and be faster than the C5 he drove daily. He charted the specs on all the cars he had looked at, visited the tuner Web sites, compared all the prices, and, in the end, settled on the Lotus Seven style cars as the right vehicle for him.

They were small, light, and simple cars, and there were a lot of builders to choose from, and that became a major problem for Jerry. He narrowed his choices down to six, and then made a trip to Carlisle in the spring of 2003 so he could kick the tires. After all was said and done, it was the Ultralite S2K that really seemed to have the right combination of quality, performance, low cost, and fun.

The next step was a September trip to World Class Motorsports near Dallas for a little ride-and-drive experience. Well, that was it. Jerry selected a color, picked some options, signed the papers, left some cash, and waited for delivery of his shiny new Ultralite.

Though the selection process was over, the build was about to begin. Jerry's S2K met all the performance criteria he had set. The powertrain he chose is a Honda S2000 VTec engine backed by Honda's close-ratio six-speed transmission. The combination produces 240 hp and 153 lb-ft torque and is capable of 3.5 second 0-to-60 times with a top speed in the 140-mph range. At 1,240 lbs, this car can be a real rocket ride!

The suspension is independent all around with coilover shocks at all four corners. The rear is a 10-link system that controls the 4.44:1-geared Subaru WRX rearend assembly. Up front, a custom tubular A-arm and Fiero spindle arrangement uses an MGB rack for directional input.

The suspension system is well-balanced and provides the right amount of control and ride so that the car is capable, yet not too harsh. The last part added to the suspension system is a full set of four Wilwood 12-inch four-piston disc brakes. These guys can bring an Ultralite down from 60 mph in 100 feet, which is right up there with the best performance cars.

The rolling chassis comes loosely assembled, so by the time Jerry got finished tightening bolts and aligning the drivetrain, he was quite familiar with the mechanicals of the car and ready to move on to sheetmetal and interior installation.

The body sheetmetal and lighting hardware are furnished with the kit, as are all of the interior items including the upholstery and instruments. Of course it's up to the owner to do the installation of these items, and truthfully, it's the owner that makes the car either a stunner or just another kit. In his case, Jerry is a meticulous craftsman who is not willing to settle for just "OK." It has to be right if it is to be on his car, and if it isn't, he is willing to do whatever it takes to make it that way. In the end it took Jerry about seven months to finish his car, which gave him a little time to shake the car down a bit prior to track testing at Run and Gun 2004.

In street trim the car turned a 12.69 at 107 mph on the dragstrip, and took Fourth Place overall in the street competition. If you were to look around, there seems to be an Ultralite revolution in the making, as you can find more and more of these types of kits coming into the marketplace (and more still after folks find out how much fun they can be). And with guys like Jerry and his ultraright Ultralite leading the charge, they have every chance of being a dominant force in the kit car world very soon.