END OF KIT CARS? (Page 8/60)
dratts JUN 23, 12:30 AM
I'm just a car guy. I have fiero addictions turbo n*, a fiero roadster, a fiero based n* 355, and my current favorite a fiero based murcielago with a turbo boosted ls4. I hang with fiero guys and we accept each other. I appreciate mads cars. They're great examples of what you can do and still stay fiero styled. From his comments I think he has a little bit of tunnel vision regarding replicas. Like rundlc has posted, the term kit car is a missnomer and I believe a bit of a put down. They are hand built and require a lot of skill, time and money to complete. My Murci has a 20,000 mile drivetrain, held suspension and brakes and we're looking for 640hp+ when we get it tuned. It is 300 lbs lighter wet than a Murci dry, and not geared for 205 mph. Can you imagine what that ticket would cost, or where you would run it at that speed except bonnevile. Anyway my fondest hope is to find a real Murci to run against, take him and then explain to him that he just got beat by a Pontiac in sheeps clothing, and that I don't have to spend $15,000 for a tune up, and I can find a low mileage replacement motor in the junk yard for $1000 if I blow this one. It is bone stock with the exception of the turbo. It's looking pretty good now but like you guys, I'll be upgrading for years and having a ball doing it. The odds of me finding a real Murci to run against are pretty slim. They only made 4009 of them and most owners put about 1000 miles a year on them. In a lot of ways I regard the Fiero as the modern version of a 32 Ford. Look how many different engine options they both have for a light weight car. I actually saw a mid engined 32 ford for sale at the Sandpoint "lost in the fifties celebration" two weeks ago. We can do anything we want with any of our cars and get respect from other car guys if we do it right. My Minnie van is stock except for a 42" LCD tv, activsion tracking low profile satellite receiver and tempurpedic mattress in place of the rear seats. Wherever I go there I am. With my bedroom on wheels. OK, I admit it. Iramble on a bit. Peace out!
John Miller JUN 23, 03:20 AM
Anyone who talks down on "kit cars" hasn't built one. They don't snap together, you will use every skill you have and the time investment is substantional. There's a reason most people don't finish their kit, and the ones that have completed a kit know exactly what I'm talking about. Like everyone on this forum that has performed a major undertaking (chop top, lambo doors, widebody, engine swaps) the ownership principal is the key. When I hear comments like "it's a kit" or "it's just a Fiero" there usually from a young kid that doesn't have the first clue what fabrication really means. But my Honda has a triple wing and a performance muffler tip. Yea, you don't have a clue, I think your moms calling you. I walk by my countach every day, no it's not finished, however when I pull open that garage door and people's eyes roll back in their head, and their at a loss for words - I know why I keep plugging away. And if I've offended any Honda owners, so what.
madcurl DEC 14, 01:02 PM
The best looking replica ever made IMHO. Makes all other replicas look stupid. Notice the details, the frame, the body, the windows, and last if not least the engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...NR4s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watc...lpp_video&playnext=1

I think he missed the mark on the hood vents, but you're thrown off by the build., but seriously, if you're trying to fool somebody at least get the exterior right and never leave the 2.8 in the back.
dratts DEC 14, 03:32 PM
Makes all other replicas look stupid? That remark makes you look stupid! It's a very nice car. Very very nice! I like turboed ls engines and the twin turbo thing makes great show, but you don't need two turbos now a days. Turbo tech has advanced a lot and turbo lag no longer needs to be adressed by adding turbos. Anyway I'm not putting down his engine. It looks like a great car.
ferrobi DEC 14, 03:56 PM

quote
Originally posted by dratts:

Makes all other replicas look stupid? That remark makes you look stupid!



I AGREE
Bloozberry DEC 14, 04:36 PM

quote
Originally posted by madcurl:

Makes all other replicas look stupid.



Wow. There are many shades of grey Madcurl. You have beautiful cars that have borrowed design elements from many cars. How is that so different than the guy with a beautiful car that borrows the design elements from a single car?
Francis T DEC 14, 05:12 PM
As a Fiero parts vendor it's not hard for me to see why so few people are willing to risk $$$ thousand to create and market a new Fiero based kit. The market is just too small to insure to any degree that you'll even get what you invest in it back, much less turn a profit. All lot those crying for new kits, simply don't have the money to spend on one, especially a well made quality kit. We almost made a custom rear available.but the numbers just would not add up.

------------------

trueleo.com
RSpiderII@aol.com

madcurl DEC 14, 08:30 PM

quote
Originally posted by Bloozberry:


How is that so different than the guy with a beautiful car that borrows the design elements from a single car?



Well that's easy. One is enhancing the design elements that are already there whereas the other isn't.

Nobody is running around saying that the IMSA Fiero is a Lamborghini. The IMSA is based upon a Fiero that enhances what is already there by over exaggerating, enhancing, widened, and hardened the original body lines of a Fiero, but in a more aggressive form. The MadArch follows the same principle and at the end of the day you have a enhanced Fiero. Thus it is what it is-a Fiero.



However, replica kits do not follow this rule. In fact it is the opposite. The goal of all replicas is to create a build that closely follows the original. Depending upon how closely the kit is followed will determine how good the kit is or how stupid the end product may look.
Rick 88 DEC 14, 09:28 PM
I have a lot of respect for people that build really nice kit cars themselves.

Lacking both the time, and talent to do so, I took the easy way out and purchased a one owner 5-speed 88 Mera.
Having always liked the 308 look, this car fills the bill nicely. Plus, I can drive it daily, (try that in a 308 without high maintenance cost). My car also has all the Mera
emblems intact, and I have a lot of fun explaining how these cars had to be purchased new thru a Pontiac dealership.

My favorite body kit for the Fiero was the 355 Berlinetta. I have seen some very nice examples on this forum.
dratts DEC 14, 09:44 PM
Madcurl, I like your cars and your choice of engines. Two of my cars are N* powered. I have listened to your put downs of replicas for a long time. Now you've said that my car is stupid. I no longer have any respect for you. There is no need for you to put down other cars in order to get respect for your cars. They can stand on their own. You however have a problem. This from a long time fiero lover.