New to the forum. My name is Bryan, came across this site while doing some research for my car project.
About my project:
Target is a Locost (Lotus/Caterham) Super 7. Currently still in the very infant stage of planning. I've always loved lightweight performance cars, Lotus is the company that I love very passionately. Importing one is not permitted and purchasing one from a BC Caterham company is out of my budget (starting price: $50,000+). I have always thought the 7 is a track only car in Canada until a few years ago I found out that Lotus 7 kit cars/ home built cars CAN be licensed in Ontario as road cars, that reignited my passion for the car.
The overall build is actually quite simple, a lot of frame schematic diagram out there for me to follow. Engine, gearbox, front & rear suspension, LSD, break systems can all be reused from a donor car, which in my case will be a mazda miata 1.6L/1.8L. However due to my lack of knowledge in welding, the whole project will be on hold until i can sharpen up my skills. Or until I can find a reliable friend that can help out :0)
I've seen a few guys on different forums with finished 7 but cannot contact them since most have not been active since 2007 :(
Anyways, just wanted to say HI to everyone, any advice, suggestions, comments are welcome.
Bryan
Current: 2012 Mitsubishi Evo X
-- Edited by icecube172 on Wednesday 13th of September 2017 10:51:28 AM
there used to be lots of replicas in the 70's finding a decent project shouldn't be to hard or expensive
I'm addicted to 2.2 chrysler turbo motors myself and even stock one should haul that little car around like a track monster
the 2.2's also came with a head by lotus in the iroc r/t and sprit r/t of the early 90's 225 hp stock but the lotus heads have issues all their own apart from the old fwd mopars .. and their a little pricey to build - that will get you a dodge 16 valve by lotus valve cover
and , the 2.2 WILL make big power if you want it a dakota bellhousing and a supra or 5 cylinder Colorado truck trans will work (the trans are both the same design)
Since you are building it from scratch, I am guessing you will be going with a specialized ownership (like homebuilt) where the gov't supplies you with a serial number/vin number and ownership papers that correctly reflect what your car is (once finished). Do yourself a favour and get bills/receipts for EVERYTHING and keep them. I have read that the gov't can require proof of purchase for stuff that you'd never think of, even the tubing used for the chassis. If you buy stuff from a flea market, get the seller to write you a bill. If you use a Mazda for a ton of stuff, you will need proof of ownership of that car, unless you buy all the parts separately (off Kijiji or a flea market) where you should get bills for everything. Some will argue that it isn't needed, as mentioned I have read that it is (I researched this type of project quite a few years ago).
Make sure you can title it for the road, make sure it can be titled legally and make sure it can be insured (and insured at a reasonable cost too) before starting in ...
I spent several years working on and off on a Manx dune buggy. I then went on to find out that using the ownership of the VW bug that I used as a base for the project is not technically legal, getting an ownership for a Manx dune buggy proved to be an absolute nightmare. Add to that the fact that I found out it is virtually impossible to find insurance for a street driven dune buggy in Ontario. To make matters worse, I had a full cage I installed ... which is a HUGE no-no on a street car, as viewed by insurance companies. I realized way too late that I was in for a losing battle in my attempt to register and drive this thing legally, here in Ontario so ... I parted it out and lost a good bit of change while doing so.
In your case, there may be a legal way to register your car but you need to find out EXACTLY what it's going to take.
There are plenty of dune buggies using the donor cars ownership/serial numbers to enable them to drive on the street BUT, and this is only a but .... IF a cop or the MTO ever decided to dig a little deeper, there could easily be charges for fraud, misrepresentation, failure of the insurance company to pay due to "we insured a 1968 VW Beetle ... what the hell is this thing? We certainly never agreed to insuring this mess and sure as hell won't be covering it (or you) now that you've been in an accident". I was not willing to take that risk which is why I suggest you find out exactly what is required to LEGALLY register, title and insure your Super 7 here in Ontario.
Best of luck ...
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Actually, in real racing ... it IS how fast you went.
Thanks everyone for your quick reply and support. I am truly glad to have friends in the same geographical that understand the difficulties of building, insuring and registering a home built vehicle.
@fraso, @Pete Moss, you guys are absolutely correct, MTO can be a pain when it comes to registration this type of vehicle. Receipts for every nut and bolt of the project is crucial, then comes signing an affidavit swearing everything said is true, then getting special VIN and safety, its going to be a long haul. SAVO is connecting with MTO regarding having home built vehicles exempt from the new safety standards outlined in 2015 which require vehicles to have electronic stability control systems, ABS and etc. most are too complicated for builders to install. As of right now, the super 7s cannot be registered in Ontario :( but we will see if that can be changed in a few years. However, my build plans WILL continue, upon plan completion if it still cannot be registered as a road car, I will build it as a track dedicated car. I WILL NOT BE STOPPED! LOL
I forgot to mention that you will quite possibly have some emission control hurdles as well if this is to be street driven (although not sure on that if it's titled as a home built.
Track only can be fun but any lapping day on the big track at Mosport does not come cheap. Not sure about the cost of the Mosport DDT.
I kinda think I remember Locost being out of Quebec ... wonder if they have some info on how to do things?
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Actually, in real racing ... it IS how fast you went.