writer: Frank Zupan Jr.
Proper Parts
Typically, a kit car consists of a bunch of parts that you, the owner, put together to get a running vehicle at the end. Generally speaking, the manufacturer or supplier of the kit car builds only a portion of the vehicle-usually, the fiberglass body and the frame-while supplying other components for the kit.
You are responsible for the rest. That can also come to mean that you have to supply an engine, transmission, and even wheels and tires to complete the kit.
Among the most common conversions, rebodies, and replicars are clone Cobras, Daytonas, GT40s, MGs, Healeys, Hummers, Lotus Super Sevens, Lamborghins, Mercedes-Benz SLs, Porsche Spyders and Speedsters, Jaguar XKs, SS models, and C-types, and dozens of kit rods, kit trucks, and original-design models, given here, just to represent the genre.
The kit, or replicar, comes delivered to you in what is known as a pallet kit. The pallet usually consists of a partially assembled vehicle, including the frame, suspension, molded body, and some accessories. The state of assembly will vary according to the different manufacturers out there. Typically, a kit that has more components already installed will cost more than one that is literally in pieces. Again, if the manufacturer supplies the engine and transmission, you should expect to pay more. Sometimes it may be cheaper to source a used engine and transmission locally from an auto wrecker. If you are planning this route, you should have the components checked over and rebuilt or refurbished before you put them into your new car.
If you are looking at different kits to build, you will probably bump into a number of Cobra replicas being offered. Carroll Shelby called the Cobra "the undisputed darling of the kit car industry." It is estimated that it makes up 60 percent of all kit cars sold-an astounding number. Although there are roughly only 1,000 original Cobras, there are, conservatively, more than 40,000 replicas on the road. Although they may all look similar to the untrained eye, replica Cobras can range from $20,000 for a basic car, all the way up to $100,000 for near dead-ringers of the original cars.
Two of today's most popular donor cars are the Pontiac Fiero V-6 and the Ford Mustang 5.0. Kits that use the Fiero require that the stock body panels be separated from the chassis and the kit body be mounted on instead. Often the Fiero's V-6 will also be replaced by a V-8, resulting in breathtaking acceleration. The manufacturers who use Mustang mechanicals usually ship with their own racing-type tube chassis and trash the stock chassis.
In the past another very popular vehicle for conversion has been the original Volkswagen Beetle. That market has understandably slowed down of late as there are fewer and fewer frames available for conversions. The early dune buggy is probably the best example of a kit car derived from the lowly Beetle. Older VWs are now sometimes more valuable as restoration projects than as donors for a replica.
If you do not think you have the necessary mechanical aptitude or patience to build a kit car, you can order a turnkey car. Some manufacturers offer turnkey versions of their kits. Others offer only turnkey vehicles that are not available as kits. Not all turnkeys are built using all-new parts-often they are put together after harvesting donors. There are also shops that assemble customer cars, filling the gap for manufacturers who do not assemble and customers who do not want to build a kit. It is a cottage industry that is thriving nationwide to help service the kit car industry.
While harvesting donor cars is an historical and nostalgic means of beholding project cars, and often the most economical way to proceed, there is something to be said for all-new parts, new technology, and products dedicated for the job at hand, rather than older parts that are modified or used to do a job on a project for which they were perhaps not intended.