Build Time

[Guest tom-zero]

hi guys im not expecting everyone to have kept a exact record of the build times, but in about 3 weeks my kit will be ready, and it will be time to start lol

 

i was hopeing some of you have possibly got a rough idead of build time in hours, week, months or even years lol

 

i no its not the best of questions but i would really like a rough idea of what im getting into

 

thanks Tom

[Guest TerryBarry]

Just don't lose heart !!

[Guest mcramsay]

it all depends how you build the kit, i made loads of mistakes and it ended up taking 3 years! but i totally went down the wrong road if im honest.

 

my best advice would be to get the brake lines and wiring loom in and clipped before any of the panels go on, one of the first jobs i did was to put the side panels on, and then when i went to run the brake lines it was pretty difficult to get the drill into certain places!

[Guest scrabster]

hi tom, my build time was 9 months from start to sva, spent most weekends and more or less every night in the garage.to be honest i could have done it a bit quicker if there was a build manual not just some repeated out of focus photos,so there was plenty of calls to richard at gbs and trips to factory to get things that were missing or broke.when you pick your kit up take as much time as possible looking over the parts ,make sure everything is there.enjoy.

hth,jess.

[Guest boggybogstar]

give me shout if you want to pop round to see mine and get some piccies/ideas

 

i bought mine in July and had finished in December and worked on it most weekends and 'some' evenings, things have changed considerably since my build in 2009 though, the chassis is completely different, for example i spent an entire weekend fitting the radiator at the right angle for the nosecone to fit but now the bracket is part of the chassis so effectively a 10 minute job, i made my own wiring loom which took weeks but now its just plug and play (and neater)

 

dont rush it though, youll regret it, pm me if your interested, its best to contact me on the skcc site though

Edited April 9, 2012 by Tony B

[Guest Sharky]

Mine has taken three years, but I have had stages where I wasn't able to do anything for large blocks of time due to being away (for work) and this last year I have only had one day per week. As most people say, don't rush it, think, hava a brew, think again then make your cuts! Most of us would agree that building is just as enjoyable as driving, so take your time and enjoy it!!

[sj-bradley]

I would agree with all the comments. Enjoy the build and walk away if you start getting frustrated. You Will !

 

I took just under 12 months from pickup to IVA and I'm still building after IVA 3 months on. (The build gets slower after IVA

as you tend to drive it as well )

 

Simon.

[MarkBzero]

Its been nearly three years but 6 months was stripping and preparing the donor. It has always been at the bottom of thing to do list with SWMBO I have a priority list garage time is almost a reward. Work/Family (joint first), Fostering, MSc, House DIY, Holidays with family, Maintaining family and friends cars then the kit car, if the grass doesn't need cutting. On a few occasions I have gone 3 months without opening the garage door.

 

Time is priceless, I could of taken a few short cuts like buying a loom rather than making good the old sierra loom, use ali instead of stainless steel (horrible to work with) but that said I am enjoying the build and wouldn't change anything.

[David S]

To put it in perspective, the factory can build one in 120 hours, so 8 hours a day for 3 weeks (or so I was told). The shortest private build I came across was 3 months. It took me 15 months from collection to delivery back to the factory for IVA. In hours, perhaps somewhere around the 400/500 mark, but that is a guess as I didn't record it.

 

The reality is that it depends on how much time you can spend on it. Llike others have already said, enjoy the process and don't rush it. You will spend as much time deciding what to do and getting advice from blogs and this forum, as you will doing the actual build, that is part of the fun.

[Guest tom-zero]

thanks for your answers guys it would be nice to have it on the road for next summer im hoping to have all my donnor bits sorted and ready to go b4 the kit even arrives lol

[Guest iank]

I picked up my kit in November and have been building it up since then. I reckon I've spent around 180 hours so far and its about 4 weeks away from being completed ( I hope).

 

The first few weeks seemed like I was getting nowhere. I took the approach of not actually fitting anything permanently for ages, essentially dry build. This seemed to pay off since quite a lot and more especially as I approach what I hope is the end of the build, I lost count of how many times last week I said, "I'm glad I didn't fasten that panel in".

 

A couple of points I learned during the process:

 

1. Start from the centre of the car and work outwards

2. Don't fix anything permanently until you absolutely know you wont have to take it out again.

3. Take note of what Simon said about patience and walking away - you'll get quite a few enforced patient spells

4. A pack of size 4 screws helps a lot since they are the same size as the rivets but you can take them out again - and they are dirt cheap

5. When you get fed up - have a seat - the one behind the steering wheel is my favourite

 

Ian

[Shaft]

Mine took 4 days shy of a year from collection of the kit to the IVA pass.

 

As mentioned above by numerous people already, take your time, think, think some more, buy a kettle for the garage and if you have space..... an old armchair is a must! Works wonders in greasing the wheels of thought when coupled with a fresh brew!

 

Remember to read all the build blogs and browse the pics available... not every body does it the same way, but nobody does it the wrong way.

 

[Guest tom-zero]

my main concern at the moment is the brake lines for example i no they must run down the tunnel with the wiring but drivers side or passenger side ?? and inside the tunnel near the prop shaft or out side tunnel in the passenger area ??

 

thanks Tom

[Shaft]

In the tunnel, secured with plastic p clips... Put them where you fancy.

IVA are only looking for the possibility of them chaffing or coming into contact with other moving parts.

[richardm6994]

Hi Tom,

 

I was fortunate enough to buy a full dismantled car which had already been SVA (now IVA) and registered.....as such I had the enjoyment of building the car without the worry of SVA.

 

Rather than looking at the project as a "whole", I simply treated each aspect of the car as a "mini-project". Once I was happy with each mini-project being as good as I could get it, I'd then move onto the next and so on...... I found that the important thing was to not get ahead of myself....or start bitting and bobbing at different things.

 

In the end, I had the car on the raod and MOT'd in 6 months.......but you will find that once you're on the road and see other people's cars, the "jobs to do" list becomes never ending!!!