Raw Striker?

[DeanD3W]

Hello - I've been lurking for a couple of years, but this is my first post. Good forum. Great cars (ok - great forum too :-). In '95 I put a lot of hours in on the Oregon State U. FSAE car. I just sold my 2001 VFR 800 and '88 BMW M5 to make room, time, and money for se7en type cars in general. In the LocostUSA forum's racing category you might have seen a discussion about a North American versions of the UK series 750 Formula. We're planning to call our hoped-for class "Formula 993" (we're using Geo Metro I3 engines with 993 cc displacement). I'm collecting parts for a F993 design & build. I plan to build the car for

 

To provide street fun and a toy to give my family rides in, I'd like to assemble a sevenesque kit before I really get going on the F993. If I can find a good alternative for a low enough cost I think I can make this happen. I've looked over all the alternatives for about two years now & have settled on the Raw Striker, which was brought back to mind by a recent article in Kit Car Builder magazine.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the Raw Striker kit? (See http://web.mac.com/rawuk/iWeb/Raw/Raw%20Striker.html). I like most everything about the car & I'm seriously considering purchasing a kit. Their LHD chassis will have the engine offset to the right, so I may choose a right exhaust engine such as a Duratec 2.0L or a Honda F20C, but their normal power plant in a Toyota 4AGE. If I go with a 4AGE then I think the engine offset may push me towards a hole in right side of the "bonnet" for the intake system.

 

I've exchanged emails with the company & all seems OK so far. Even with shipping and the cage with side bars that I want, the cost will still be lower than the alternatives.

 

I think between Sylva and now Raw there have been about 600 built world-wide, so some must be in the states..?

 

Sorry for the long post.

 

DeanD3W

Camas, WA

Edited March 25, 2009 by DeanD3W

[Kitcat]

The company gets a brief mention in Dennis Ortenburger's "Lotus Seven and the Independents". It confirms what you say.

 

Hard to believe you can beat a Stalker's price structure, tho. How do they compare?

[TheDingo8MyBaby]

Their LHD chassis will have the engine offset to the right, so I may choose a right exhaust engine such as a Duratec 2.0L or a Honda F20C, but their normal power plant in a Toyota 4AGE. If I go with a 4AGE then I think the engine offset may push me towards a hole in right side of the "bonnet" for the intake system.

 

Are you referring to the USDM intake manifold that came in the AE86 or the ITB version that came on the later japanese corolla 20V.

[Mondo]

Good luck, looks like a great car!

 

Reminds me of WCM's S2K... engine offset, independent suspension.. hard to tell but it looks a little smaller. Didn't see a price for the kit, just the motor options.

 

I know it said it's a lot of Ford parts but don't know how that relates to American Ford (nowadays, with the internet don't know if it's an issue) but the Stalker and WCM are made of parts readily available here.

 

I think the new Fulcrum looks awesome too (just a little more rollbar please)!

[DeanD3W]

The full Striker kit price is $8725 at the current exchange rate, including their sales tax (VAT). They also have a "Chassis, Suspension, and Body" kit that is $4610 including VAT, but for my purposes for this build, I want the full kit. They will include all the needed Ford Sierra donor parts for about $900 more. The estimate for crating & shipping the full kit with donor parts is about $2000. The Stalker kit price is $9900, I believe. Since I live in the Northwest, shipping for the stalker might be about $850 (?). So, to get the crate with what I want included in it to my town would be about $10,750 for a Stalker, or about $11,625.

 

To make the Stalker kit equivalent to the full Striker kit I would need to add coil overs $795, headers $545, mufflers $182, and roll bar, with diagonal $250. I would also need to add many other small items since the steering wheel, windshield glass, brake and fuel lines, brake light switch, fuel tank, hand brake with cable, aluminum radiator, wiring loom, front and rear lighting, dash switches and warning lights, and electronic speedometer, water temp, and fuel gauges with senders (Lucas ? :\), and fasteners for apparently the whole car (except drive train) are all included with the full Striker kit.

 

So, it seems that the Stalker would cost ~$1000 more up front, with much more time and money needed for all the small items. If I liked the Stalker better, I'd still buy it with the cost a few thousand higher, especially since I've met Dennis Brunton and liked him very much. I like the Striker better overall though (IMHO), so better and cheaper makes the choice easy.

 

The Stalker, MK Indy, WCM S2K, and Westfield are all viable alternatives (others are either too expensive, or not giving me a warm enough production reliability feeling), but I personally like the Striker best and the cost is lower than all but maybe the MK Indy.

 

Regarding the Toyota 4AGE intake to hood clearance with their LHD chassis, according to Mel Coppock, at Raw, whether the Silver/Black Top (20V) or a 16V, there will be a need to put a hole in the right side of the hood. That may be OK, but I think I'd prefer to choose another engine that doesn't require this.

 

Yes, the Striker does use some non-US components, but if they'll include the Sierra components at a cost of around $1100 (added price + added shipping cost) that does a pretty good job of solving the problem and saves me the time needed to gather parts.

 

Hmm - Another long post - Sorry again :-}

 

I know I seem pretty sold, but I'd still appreciate any opinions, especially if anyone has first hand experience with Raw or a Striker. I realize their older, flat sided triangular scuttle may not be viewed as pleasing by some, but with the full cage I want I like it better than a conventional scuttle with the cage bolted on from outside, looking like a giant spider is riding along.

[SkinnyG]

How does the pricing of the Leitch compare?

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~earleymotorsports/id8.html

[powderbrake]

The full Striker kit price is $8725 at the current exchange rate, including their sales tax (VAT). They also have a "Chassis, Suspension, and Body" kit that is $4610 including VAT, but for my purposes for this build, I want the full kit. They will include all the needed Ford Sierra donor parts for about $900 more. The estimate for crating & shipping the full kit with donor parts is about $2000. The Stalker kit price is $9900, I believe. Since I live in the Northwest, shipping for the stalker might be about $850 (?). So, to get the crate with what I want included in it to my town would be about $10,750 for a Stalker, or about $11,625.

 

.

 

I didn't realize that you had to pay the VAT. When I bought things in the UK, I saved receipts and got a VAT refund.. Also do you have to pay the duties, or are they in the price?

[DeanD3W]

Thank you - I can't believe I forgot the Leitch... I actually like the Leitch better than all but the Striker. The cost is about the same, the worksmanship may be better with the Leitch, based upon the comments I've heard about Graham Earley's car (Though I haven't seen either in person). I think the shipping would be even more with the Leitch, and IRS is and extra $2850. Especially since I still remember having a large deer jump from road-side brush right in front of my '75 Dodge PU while I was going about 65 (I hit it hard enough to flatten the truck's nose and push the radiator into the fan - wouldn't have been pretty if I had been in a non-caged se7en) , I really want a full cage. The Striker's unusual scuttle lends itself to the a-pillar tubes of a cage so well, & Raw will add the cage with three-point bolt-on side impact bars on both sides for about $1600.

 

Thank you also for bringing up the VAT and duties questions... I need to look into all of this. The VAT is about $1000 so it's significant.

[DB6]

The value added tax applies for UK residents only, you can get an exemption at time of purchase (easier for the company you are dealing with to do) , or pay it, then submit receipts and claims thru HM Customs and Excise.

Edited March 26, 2009 by DB6