All of you guys that said you’d build a caterham for $40k are silly…you can build one for $5k.
Well they probably meant “build one the correct way”
I highly doubt you could build a complete FF GTM for $40k.
I’d say its quite unlikely also, paint alone “could” cost 5-10.
Mendeola trans are going for about 5k. Factor in motor (2-3) granted you are going stock block/heads/etc. a donor c5/c6 vette. (10k?) and the actual kit from gtm ha.
It may be close actually…
you’re already north of 50k there, and assuming that is literally everything you need. Realistically, other odds and ends will end up costing you another 5k. $60k is going to end up being the minimum to get one built.
so maybe if you could do all body work yourself, and all fabrication bits and odds and ends yourself, you might be able to squeeze into $50k budget, but it’s still unlikely.
care to elaborate there? It’s not an expensive car…the whole purpose of them is to be cheap performance…you can download the build specs/plans online for FREE…it’s about $300 in steel tubing, buy a chop saw and a welder, a $1000 donor car for drivetrain/brakes/suspension componants, and spend the last $2k in misc hardware and bodywork…I don’t see how this makes it NOT “the correct way”
I invite you to read a book called “how to build a cheap sports car” if you have not already…it’s THE book on building a caterham. I have it. When someone refers to their locost/caterham/super7 build as using a “book chasis”, they mean the plans included inside this particular book.
If by correct you mean order the “assemble your own” directly from caterham in the UK where the parts are all bolt-in to a premade chasis…then yeah it’ll be more than $5k…but that’s also not “building” it…that’s buying it and assembling it with some bolts and hand tools.
It’s been done…
Yes I have been watching the values go up. A clean 3000 would exceed 40k easily.
Yannick has been feeling kind of worn out on all the normal blah-blah and says, “No one has been building anything really cool. They say they want Pro Touring or whatever, but it’s all heavy cars with a lot of power and not enough brakes, and nothing is really different. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Chevelles and those. But I just had to get out. I had a break in my workload and wanted to finally put together something unique that connected an IndyCar look with rat rods. Rat rods are fashionable and everything, but they don’t really perform and are uncomfortable. I wanted a car to be reliable and really work and drive anywhere.”
Read more: http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0909_custom_speed_buggy/viewall.html#ixzz2Uh6D1Jgg
Twin engined tube chassis. Maybe put some doors on it… maybe not.
This would be fun. 
Have YOU actually build one for 5k? If not (neither have I) than you really have no idea how much it will cost.
I am just speculating.
Building yourself requires you to buy tools…yourself.
You will simple spend enough money on tools in order to fab this shit up.
And I’m talking tools. Not harbor freight tools.
Lets get crazy.
Paint/supplies/ equipment
Lets say the make a wish foundation have you everything. Mickey Mouse would at least charge ya $500.
And you know damn well you can’t buy paint and supplies for under $500, let alone a grand.
Motor/trans.
Wether it be a miata/f20/sr/ka whatever. It WILL cost you real money to buy it and get it to your house.
Lets call it $500 just for laughs.
Grand total being 1k
Drivetrain-
No idea what you would even use. Don’t care. You aren’t getting it all for under $500. But we will call it that.
$1500.
Fab tools.
1k
Wheels/tires.
Lets just say you are building the car for racing, since that what these things are for.
Good wheels and tires will cost you a grand.
So we’re at 3500.
Locust body- no idea. I’ll guess 1k? Correct me if wrong.
That’s 4500$$$$$$$
Odds and ends-
Plates,reg,bolts, steering wheel, pedals, seats, gum.
$500.
Regardless of all the time I just wasted punching this out on my fucking iPhone…it’s close to 5k. If you HAVE tools, GET bro deals and are smart. But, like most you only posses a few of these attributes. Therefore, you gotta have some money.
And I just realized how pointless this was, Xander drives a Porsche, he has a Established grey hairs and a good job. He doesn’t fuck around.
Which is why he would never build a $5,000 Ronald McDonald car.
You’re pretty close…and you ended up at $5k…with waiting to score deals on donor parts and buying good namebrand tools second-hand it can be done cheaper…or even BORROW tools. I wasn’t directing this at Xander, I was directing it at the 4 or 5 others who said if they had $40k they’d build a caterham…I wouldn’t…I’d build something way different for $40k…a caterham is something you build on a budget, not when you have an expendable $40k laying around
Ugh. Waiting for deals sucks, sp does borrowing tools.
But you’re right. It wasnt directed at Xander. But it in his thread.
Personally, I think those locust/Chatham whatever the hell cars are the anti poon.
Those numbers are still wayyyy low
Decent brakes is 1000
Decent suspension at least 1000
Decent motor/tranny 1500+
Body + paint 1500+
Wheels/tires?
If you’re going to build a custom car with lack of safety features why would you half ass stuff?
I would still build a proper caterham. The difference would be using nice good quality items and not just what was found as cheap as possible. This is the difference between the builds that last and the builds that are garbage after a short period.
The GTM FF kit is $25K.
Add in the trans $4000
Junk yard 6.0 $1000
C5 parts $5000
Misc parts $500
PlastiDip Camo Paint $500
That leaves $4K for a custom turbo. Bam
SDR V-Storm and I’d take the extra money for more suspension work, a few more ponies out of the motor, and a boatload of race rubber. Then I’d weld a trailer hitch to drag race rubber behind it on a small tire trailer and hit up a bunch of road courses.
buy a viper
Considering the JUNKERS go for $12k-18k now, you might as well just accept the fact that if you want to do that you should buy a Sebring replica. The big healey market went insane a few years ago. My dad has been casually looking for one for a vintage racer and we know it’s going to have to be a barn find/not advertised for it to even be remotely reasonably priced.