sciff5 Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Hey Guys, I almost bought a Brunton stalker abouy 18 months ago after agonizing over the decision for more than a year. Ended up buying a supercharged Elise project car that I've already put a couple hundred hours into. But I was saying that it was still not scratching the itch and that I still had this ultralight go kart idea in my mind. The next day a For Sale thread came up on a WCM Ultralite. The car looks nice but is way too pricey, so I'm kicking tires and now that WCM is out of business I'm not even sure if you can source parts for them any more. What should I know about them? I'm familiar with the drivetrain, but don't know about the availability of the rest of the parts. If something broke right now I wouldn't know where to look it up to find a replacement. Also I hear they're larger, and have a trunk, 2 things the stalker seemed to be lacking in which would really come in handy. And finally the wind from the full windshield came in around the sides, enough that even shouting at about 50mph was impossible, and uncomfortable. Am I crazy for thinking the brooklands style on the WCM would be anywhere near acceptable? I went on a supercar rally with the elise and still got hit in the head with a couple stones. i can only imagine the brooklands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfonse Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 I can't answer the WCM questions, but will say wearing a helmet in a Seven can be a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciff5 Posted September 4, 2018 Author Share Posted September 4, 2018 Thanks, I'd REALLY really like to avoid that. I think it looks silly to have to wear a helmet in a car but I'm wondering if I should buy the car at any price. Given finding parts may be impossible now. I wish I knew about this model when I was looking at Brunton stalkers. I've heard they're wider even, and having a real trunk area is surprising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfonse Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 (edited) I'd buy one. I looked at them years ago, visited the shop in Texas where they were made. I like the Ultralites and the few parts that aren't standard wouldn't be that difficult to fabricate. The internet is your friend on figuring out what most of the parts are. I just wear helmets when out on the highway or track. For cruising into town for coffee, a hat, ear plugs and sunglasses are fine. Edited September 6, 2018 by Alfonse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciff5 Posted September 5, 2018 Author Share Posted September 5, 2018 What if you get into an accident and need a new front end.. Thats the sort of thing that would total the car I guess unless you could fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panamericano Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 What if you get into an accident and need a new front end.. Thats the sort of thing that would total the car I guess unless you could fix it. That sort of accident totals a lot of cars, with the airbags adding to repairs. You take the insurance payout (agreed value) and get another one. Or you take their money, minus a nominal salvage amount, and keep the salvage. Then go the LoCost route and fix it. Probably no harder or more expensive than it would be with my old (80s) Birkin. My advice: Don't worry. Be happy. -Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderbrake Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 I owned an Ultralite, and I loved it. The performance is awesome, the reliability is solid. The is a "manual" available from ( I forgot the name) here on the USA7s website. The owner of the company is WestTexasS2k here on this forum, and he can supply parts. Steering rack is MGB, spindles are Fiero or Mustang II, diff and rear end is Subaru, brakes are Willwood, drivetrain Honda. I had the "brooklands" style wind screen on mine, and I made new ones about 1 1/2 " higher, and they work great. Drive it, you will love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciff5 Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 I owned an Ultralite, and I loved it. The performance is awesome, the reliability is solid. The is a "manual" available from ( I forgot the name) here on the USA7s website. The owner of the company is WestTexasS2k here on this forum, and he can supply parts. Steering rack is MGB, spindles are Fiero or Mustang II, diff and rear end is Subaru, brakes are Willwood, drivetrain Honda. I had the "brooklands" style wind screen on mine, and I made new ones about 1 1/2 " higher, and they work great. Drive it, you will love it. Powerderbrake I see you sold your car a year ago. If you don't mind me asking what did it go for, and whats the going rate on these cars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderbrake Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Here is a link to my for sale ad. I got a little less than my asking price. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11561-For-Sale-Ultralite-S2k-also-a-7X14-enclosed-trailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciff5 Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 Here is a link to my for sale ad. I got a little less than my asking price. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11561-For-Sale-Ultralite-S2k-also-a-7X14-enclosed-trailer Thanks Jerry I used your car as a benchmark. He wants 30k for his and it just doesn't add up to what the market seems to be on them. He also disclosed, thankfully that he's been dealing with hydraulic issues and a crunchy trans when shifting near redline. So the trans likely needs to get rebuilt. I've had hydraulic issues cause me to start beating up the synchros and that further pushed the value down for me. I was in the lower 20s but the transmission issue pushed me down to 20k even. Which obviously is too far off what he wants for it.... Ohh well... may not be meant to be. I just bought an Elise 12 months ago and I've been putting cash into it to rebuild it ever since, so the wife's already mad. I've struck out twice on trying to get into a Lotus 7 style car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderbrake Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 I was reluctant to state a price, because I did not want to interfere with another owner's sale, but the for sale ad which I had placed was public knowledge. These price issues are better served by a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciff5 Posted September 7, 2018 Author Share Posted September 7, 2018 Jerry if it makes you feel any better your sale was just one of several data points. There have been at least 3 sales that I found within the last 3 or so years and they all sold within 1K of each other. All listed on publically acessible sites like bringatrailer.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 (edited) Like Jerry said, WestTexas can help with custom parts.... most everything but frame and hood can be sourced (wilwood brakes, Summit, Speedway etc..). If you every get one, come back and we'll send you the maintenance/repair manual Bruce put together from all our experiences. Has lots of part numbers and suggested improvements etc.. Edited September 8, 2018 by Mondo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciff5 Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 Like Jerry said, WestTexas can help with custom parts.... most everything but frame and hood can be sourced (wilwood brakes, Summit, Speedway etc..). If you every get one, come back and we'll send you the maintenance/repair manual Bruce put together from all our experiences. Has lots of part numbers and suggested improvements etc.. Thanks so much mondo, the car does intrigue me now a bit. I reached out to WestTexas upon all of the advice I've gotten and it looks like it's been a while since they've been active on the board so haven't heard anything back. I also repaired the fiberglass on both clams of the elise and had to rebuild both the mirror mount and some edges. If I damaged the fiberglass hood I could likely fix it too. Just one of the small repairs I highlighted on my Elise build. This one seemed simple but actually took like 4-5 hours: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGTorque Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 hello sciff5. i too have an WCM s2k. Loren WestTexas is usually very active. i know he has fenders, hoods and lots of other parts available. personally i will be making a few sets of fender brackets and upgraded chromoly lower control arms. Goldie (the poster child WCM s2k) is also owned by a friend of mine and he loves it. the cars are SUPER SUPER easy to work on and you really dont need manufacturer support except for some hoods and fenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemtd Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 That looks really sharp Roman ! Do you have more pics? Did you use bedliner on the rear fenders or something else? How do you find it holding up: my aluminum shields are well sand-blasted with the underlying clearbra in great shape. Cheers p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGTorque Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 actually in the process of reskinning the car as we speak. i wanted to get rid of bunch of dings, nicks, and other mishaps as well as upgrade the roll bar. regarding the rear fenders, i used linex bedliner and it held up perfect. looks like new after many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sciff5 Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share Posted September 11, 2018 hello sciff5. i too have an WCM s2k. Loren WestTexas is usually very active. i know he has fenders, hoods and lots of other parts available. personally i will be making a few sets of fender brackets and upgraded chromoly lower control arms. Goldie (the poster child WCM s2k) is also owned by a friend of mine and he loves it. the cars are SUPER SUPER easy to work on and you really dont need manufacturer support except for some hoods and fenders. Beautiful car . Now I'm watching videos on caterhams and how usable they actually are, and getting bad ideas of selling the Elise and just getting a caterham. I think the full windscreen and doors/bikini top make these cars just a lot more usable in a place like New England where the weather can be hit or miss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 (edited) Some come with tops. I have a top but never put it on... too hot here. Looking to make a half hood just for shade. Pics are not my car. No matter what 7 your looking at, you'll need to be a contortionist to get in/out of one with a top on. You need to see how small these cars are (even though the S2K is one of the larger ones). My babies Edited September 11, 2018 by Mondo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfonse Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I put a zipper in, on both sides, to make getting in with the half hood pretty easy. It is something like this photo from softbits for sevens that shows it on one side: http://www.softbitsforsevens.co.uk/CIMG1239.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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