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First a little background:
I have never been a motorhead, but at least a couple decades ago I thought if I ever did have a hobby car, I would prefer to have a TD just because I like that body style. A lot.This preference has been persistent to the present.Further, I used to have a car and a brother had several that came from British Leyland Motors so I’ve watched and experienced the frustration of trying to keep them running for more than a week at a time. Thus I decided that one of the kit cars would not only be more affordable, but also be a more reliable driver. The collectibility of a car (or anything else really) has never been an important factor in possessions for me other than an interesting fact of something I already possessed, so having the cool body style on a reliable base that wasn’t “original” I always thought would be a win-win.So the other day I just happened upon a decent deal on a TD kit car. I worked on making the deal but various factors led to it falling through (see post).But now I kind of got the fever. Rather than finding a seller and make a deal, then struggle with importing the title into Kansas (at best very difficult by most accounts), I wonder if it would make more sense to start from scratch and make one for myself. I do enjoy building things and I’m not half-bad at it. Plus, it occurs to me that since the build would likely take quite some time, the overall cost would get somewhat spread out over a longer time and be easier to swallow.But I would prefer not to fabricate the body from scratch as well as the ton of other parts necessary to successfully result in a complete car I can enjoy driving. That’s probably an obvious understatement.Sooooo… are there kits available from a manufacturer anymore or alternatively do kits still sit in folks’ garages which come up for sale? I”m not sure if the titling issue is any easier with a kit bought from an individual if it doesn’t have the proper paperwork, but building the thing would give me plenty of time to jump those hurdles at the same time I’m building it.I’m drawn to the TD body style or the Jaguar pictured in the post linked above, and while I do like, say, Cobra or Jaguar XK bodies as well, I prefer the old-school body of the TD by far, at least if I were to own one myself.Thanks for any replies or advice.Please send money…;)vinito 2015-05-10 13:17:58 Vinito: One company in Canada is making MG TD kit it is Prototype Research. cost is high. Sale of un built kits can be found on craig’s list and e bay. Currently there is an un built Chevette powered kit on e bay in original shipping crate. Kit is located in Ohio. While Cheveete is no longer made and are not found in many places Chevy S-10can be used as a donor engine and trans.
IMHO, it would probably cost less to buy an already assembled and running TDr. The cost of all the “little” things accumulate and add up. Yes, unassembled kits do show up occasionally but they are often missing pieces. For a chrome grill, figure $800, for a new top another $800, side curtains $600, for the VW chassis in good condition, $1,000 to 1,500, a good engine anywhere from $700 to $3,500 tires and rims another $600, upholstery if needed can be easily $1,000. Paint can easily cost $2,000. …..And you still need to buy the kit. I realize that you and others on the site may take issue with some of my estimates. They are all based upon figures that I have seen or been quoted here in New Bern, NC.
I too have always liked MG “T” series and have had many British sports cars. Your observations about them requiring (frequent) attention is spot on. A good VW based replica is about as trouble free as you can get in a replica. VW reliability, no Lucas and no worries about rust (assuming a good chassis).
Building it yourself would certainly spread the cost over time, but the cost would likely be greater than if you just bought one someone else has already put countless hours and $$ into.
I promise, even if you buy a nice one, there will still be plenty of tweaking and dress up stuff to keep you busy.
Here’s one on ebay today. But the owner is not willing to open boxes and therefore you don’t really know what you are getting. ???
I’ve noticed that if you plug the word “prototype” into a description, you’re apparently free to triple the price, hehe. Yea those look like fine specimens, but the cost is awfully pricey.
Actually Roy, your estimates seem realistic to me. I’m sure a guy can search and scrounge and greatly reduce the costs, but to throw money at it for expedience sake does soak more of it up for sure.I think you’re correct. It’s probably MUCH less expensive to find an already-built kit and it probably wouldn’t be much more difficult to happen across one than to find the necessary pile of parts to build a kit myself. I guess if I knew there was a particular one I could focus on and count on a kit being available when I was ready for it, I could acquire a base of whatever type and prepare it for quite a while, then get the kit once that was done and I had the money ready to buy it. But there are a LOT of “if’s” there and much more chance of it not working out than being successful. That approach might suit somebody who is quite knowledgeable about these things already rather than a total rookie like me.I guess the main reason this idea even crossed my mind is the very real problem of the way Kansas is set up to strongly resist transferring out-of-state titles into its borders. It’s inexplicable, but true unfortunately. It can be done, and you’d think the state would be interested in increasing tax revenue and make it a little more sane to do so. I don’t know. Maybe the narrow-minded rural masses that continually herd our legislators down nonsensical paths ad-nauseum assume that nobody should enjoy this stuff have simply successfully pushed to relieve us of this evil vice. Hobby cars being a cottage-industry interest at best, it’s so low on the priority list of grievances that it’s nearly impossible for me to see this title stuff ever ease up in my lifetime, even though it’s possibly the most difficult state to deal with. Kansas legislators seem to be proud instead of ashamed when we are pointed out to be the worst of the 50 states in certain categories. Insanity?Anyway, maybe I’ll just keep a leisurely ear to the ground for a TD in the future. If I find a kit in the meantime I am not scared of taking a build on though. Just have to keep watching I guess.
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