Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[admin]

There are some decent replicas around, built to original dimensions, correct powerplants, spec, detail design, and so on, and importantly (I reckon) built from the correct material, eg aluminium for a C Type.

Then there are the duff ones, Cobras spring to mind, with poor fibreglass bodies harnessing puny amounts of BHP from a weary Cortina or Marina engine, jacked up at the back, and looking like a sick bag of bolts.

Other horrors that spring to mind include a kit to 'convert' Ford Capris into Aston DB V8 lookalikes, or to make a Toyota MR2 look like a Ferrari. Perhaps worst was the kit that converted an innocent TR7 into a Ferrari F40, still powered by a lumpy old Dolomite engine.

Why bother? anyone with half an ounce can spot a bad fake from 50 paces, usually coz they look really really bad. If you can't afford a real Ferrari (I know I can't), why take an 800 quid shed from the classifieds, bolt on some GRP rubbish, and pretend that you're a top team footy player?

Does anyone here see much point in a cheapo fake (as opposed to something thats been well engineered) ??

R

[xkjaguar]

well I like my aristocat
plus it has the benefit of when i thrash it round thruxton and damage it, i can get spares, and i can fix it, and i'm not bankrupted by the exercise.
mind u the owner of the db6(real one) that shunted me last time looked a bit sick as he ran thru the cloud of fibreglass i left behind

my bill (rear wing and repair to boot) a smige over 300 quid
his bill (bonnet, front wing, grille, light and indicator, radiator) pounds lots

[xkjaguar]

heres a couple of pics sorry a bit grainy but the scanners on the blink and i haven't taken any digital ones yet

www.picasaweb.google.com/xkjaguar/aristocat

its a bit wider than a real xk120 and bog all ground clearance (140mm)! mind u tats better than the 67mm it had whe i first got it, it would bottom out on a cats eye.

[admin]

importantly, it makes the right noise too!!



I guess its XJ based? the cars I'm not keen on are like the aforementioned make-me-a-Ferrari kits for MR2s and the like (shudder)!

Rick

[Stuchamp]

hmmm, could be a touchy subject!
Shelby & AC Cobra replica's over here sell very well and some have very good replica fiberglass bodies along with the correct chassis and Ford 427.

Years ago Ford Motor Company built and sold a replica of the Ford Model A convertible. The body was fiberglass and it was powered by a Ford Pinto engine. They also built '57 Ford Thunderbird using the 302 engine.
Both sold fairly well and are highly collectible today.

There are also many steel body replica's available including the '69 Chevy Camaro and the '32 Ford in different body styles. A '57 Chevy convertible has also just become available.

Fiberglass replica's include the 1955 Chevy, 1923 - 1932 Ford, 1940 Willys, and many others. A lot of these are used by the hot rodders but I've also seen stock examples built.

Now the worst examples have to be just about anything built using the VW Beetle platform, except for the original bug itself. I love the Beetles and Beatles myself!
see this site for some kit examples. http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/4570/

[xkjaguar]

well i quite like the AQUILA out of those but the LASER is so hideous it qualifies as a work of art
I'll have 3 please

[admin]

hehe wow stuchamp, some of those VW-powered creations do take a little getting used to eh!!

Homebuilts are fine in my book (I've had some Ford-based specials that use Pop running gear), and a few of the VW ones (that are cars in their own right, rather than 'replicas') look quite smart.

But to call a rear engined, VW powered, fibreglass-bodied creation a 'Frazer Nash' or 'Bugatti' replica seems a bit wide of the mark. If they were just smart little sporty cars in their own right then fine, but making out that they replicate (ie are a copy) of an original, is stretching things a bit

Rick

[Stuchamp]

Told ya this could be a touchy subject!

[admin]

hehe I could hear the can of worms opening when I typed it

Rick

[Uncle Joe]

Personally, I think that if a car is a fake, its a fake. As such, it doesn't matter if its well engineered, or otherwise. For me, its still worthless!

This is what is known as fuelling the fire!

[xkjaguar]

burn baby burn

[admin]

hehe not so much fuelling, more like dousing it with 40 gallons of 4 star

Like I said, my personal bemusement is with things being sold as replicas but where no effort at all has been made to fit it with correct parts, or use a layout in sympathy to the original (back to the rear-engined VW powered '30s Bugatti rep' again as a perfect example).

Stuchamp's TQ Midget for instance is a re-creation, but I know he's looked high and low for correct period carb setups (and quite a few by the sounds of it) and so on, making it as close as possible to how they were 'in period'. I'm hoping he'll start a thread in the Your Restorations section about it sometime as it'll be a neat machine when complete, although I know he's been busy lately with grandfathering duties

Rick

[Uncle Joe]

Stuchamps Midget does look very nice, and when finished will be a true replica, ie undistinquishable from one built "back in the day."

Sorry in advance for upsetting anyone with this comment, but as a track day car, it will be a lot more fun than most!

[Stuchamp]

Hi Joe
Don't think you upset anyone as you were just stating an opinion.
As far as my TQ, if I ever get it to any shows or vintage race meets it will always be presented as a copy or replica.
Is it worthless? Well, it will never be worth as much as an original with track history but I look at as what will it be worth to my granddaughter some day knowing that I put a lot of the car together and gave it its final look.

[buzzy bee]

If it was handed down to me, I would treasure it, Sentimental value is much more important than money! Your onto a winner!

Cheers

Dave