super seven kit cars

[Ian7]

iceberg:

 

While the choice of which vehicle can be highly emotional, I highly recommend looking in great depth at the licensing regulations where you live before committing your $.

 

You might find that buying used (already registered in your province) saves you months (or even years; cough, cough...) of grief.

[Z3 Stalker]

Then how come your turbo Caterham couldn't keep up with a homebuilt or a Westfield at the last Open House?

 

One thing to keep in mind for Canadians is importation. It's not easy to get a kit car into Canada. You can get Westfields there and of course the Deman cars. Caterhams are a bit more challenging and options like a Stalker and Birkin are pretty much out. Used kit cars have to be 15 years old to come in. You could consider a 15-year-old Caterham (or other) from the UK though, there are a lot more to choose from.

 

This will narrow the field somewhat.

 

I'd say, stop by Deman and get a better idea of what you're looking at. Then decide where you sit on the sliding hard work/price scale. The more you pay, the less effort it will be to put your car together. Starting with a frame-and-control arm kit will keep your price low but will require a lot more work on your part to put together, including sourcing parts and probably solving problems. The Deman kits tend to be a bit more complete, but they'll still require more effort than something like a Westfield kit - and they cost less. The Caterham kits don't even make you rivet on the body panels (softies!) but you'll pay more for them.

 

Iceberg,

 

There are 6 Stalkers in Alberta and one in BC, three have been registered, 3 are close to completion and 1 is just starting the build. I believe there is one somewhere in eastern Canada also. If you are interested in finding out more about the Stalker prior to making your final decision give me a call on my Cell 403 816 1468, Stewart.

[Keith]

Stewart - how are the cars coming in? I'm curious, this is the sort of thing people ask me about fairly often and I know that the law's fairly clear about kit cars.

 

From the BC SVA website:

Can I import a "Kit Car" into Canada ?

No, none are admissable. "Kit Cars" are not certified by Transport Canada. Transport Canada defines a Kit Car as a body, chassis and has a working mechanical part which could be as little as a single door hinge.

 

Ah, this is probably it. There's not enough body in a Stalker kit to appear as a complete kit car

Can one import say a tub frame and/or a tub body if one wishes to build a vehicle ?

Tranport Canada defines these a parts and one can import parts.

 

I've been informed by a private email from a reliable source that the Canadian Caterham dealer is currently being sued by Transport Canada and that a "manufacturer" (best guess, Super 7 Cars) in BC is also being investigated. There's also been a fracas between Transport Canada and Superformance which is still in the courts.

[Z3 Stalker]

Keith, you have to speak to the guys in Ottawa. Send a fax with a numbered parts list and a brief description of what is required to install that part. Also list parts that are to be purchased separately i.e.: local auto parts store, junk yard or whatever.

Once you have satisfied them they will give you written authorization to ship the kit to Canada.

 

[Keith]

Fair enough, that's more or less what Westfield and FFR had to go through. In that case, the kit had to be split into a kit and a "completion package" that was sourced from Canada from what I recall. Since the Stalker relies so much more on other sources for parts, the basic kit could plausibly make it through.

 

It does mean that more complete kits are going to have problems, such as the Caterhams and possibly cars like the Ultralite. A Birkin might be able to come in in stages, as I believe they're offered that way.

[Birkin42]

A couple of years ago I brought a Birkin rolling chassis minus tires, wheels and shocks into Ontario from the US. I had the sell disassemble the chassis into 'parts' and small assemblies that could be listed as 'parts' on the invoice and then had him do an itemized list of all the 'parts'. It cost me a few $'s to get this prep work done and packaged. The deal on the chassis was too good to turn down since the former US importer was clearing out remaining stock. It took some time to get it all prepped but it made it in with no hassles. I took the paperwork myself to a Canada Customs office and didn't use a broker. They waded through the paperwork for about 15 minutes and then said it would cost X dollars which was mearly the taxes. I stop sweating at that point.

[Mandurath]

I was on Bruton's site the other day, think they had a Canadian dealer listed now. But, living that close to Deman, I would take a good look at them.

[BusaLoco]

 

I'm very satisfied with my DEMAN Busa SR7 kit.

It's a great bit o kit and a hell of a bang for my buck! ... Just compare the prices and performance options to ... I don't know ... let's say... uh ... Caterham.

If, however, you are looking for the easy "mechano kit" with a glossy instruction manual buy the Caterham.

The DEMAN kit is based on the locost theory and therefore demands a good deal of your own creativity and genius.

In the end the process is more timely but (in my case) exceedingly rewarding.

 

 

[Kitcat]

Caterham has a "Glossy Instruction Manual"? Where do I get it? My Caterham manual is a 3-ring binder with confusing diagrams, and various assembly hints & suggestions. Fortunately I bought the car used and the manual was tossed into the deal and now serves now as my "repair" manual.

[BusaLoco]

I've got a Caterham Manual too ... and I've read it as reference for my build.

By comparison to the Deman manual it's absolutely encyclopedic.

In fact, the Deman manual was written by Dan Man ... a great guy, but his manual is written in British Midlands English. ... Need I say more? ... I needed to get Dan to email me every build photo he had ever made as a reference and I built the car (mostly) based on:

1. the pics.

2. Locost BuildersUK

3. Locost USA

4. Good advise from fellow DEMAN friends (Thanks Peter!)

[Z3 Stalker]

The great thing about the Stalker is if you have a problem give Dennis Brunton or Justin Sims (Brunton Automotive) a call and they will walk you through it. Also all the main parts are GM easy to acquire.

[lowflyer]

There is a Stalker dealer in Canada, and there has been for a while, at least that's what Dennis' website showed when I bought my kit in 2004.

 

A couple of random thoughts... make sure that you will fit into whichever kit you buy. Some of them are quite small for us "full-bodied" folks.

 

Check on the availability and price of the parts you will need to complete your build. This was a major consideration to me. The Stalker uses off the shelf parts, no waiting for a shipment to come from 'across the pond".

 

I looked into a couple of options before I decided on the Staker and haven't regretted it. The factory support and the Stalker's forum for kit owners is also a huge benefit.

 

Just my 2 cents.