needing REAL advice

[AdrianBurton]

Be honest with yourself on the intentions of your car, if youare going to build a "race car" then the tube chassis is the way to go.  If you are after a cruiser with the occasional hi-way blast use a donor, you get all of the systems ie: brakes, ac, cooling, steering, suspension etc.  That can get expensive really quick example brakes can range from 3k to 10k plus.

Since you have been in the racing environment, you know that you can easily overpower your chassis, so add lightness and great brakes and you will have a ball with it.


Welcome to the forum, this is going to be a fun ride for you, lots of great guys here

[jbeubanks]

I live in knoxville...

[ron4130]

where are you at in tennessee

[MDMurcy2]

My 2 cents,

Great to have you on board.  Any new build is always interesting to follow.....So the best to you on your project when you do get started. 

I've been building using a CKI body.   The price was great.  The body and parts were delivered as promised and on time as quoted.   I personally got into this body knowing, like you, that I could handle the bodywork and fiberglass work involved.  I've worked with fiberglass for a long time, and I also do body work on cars and aircraft alike.   SO....I wasnt a bit ready for the reality of the amount of work that it has taken me to get my body to where it is today.  I am not a expert mechanic, so my build is simple and just plain functional......and I really expected to wiz through the part that I felt I had the skill to complete, the bodywork.   I have to say....knowing what I know now.....CKI bodies are do-able.  But like the warning given earlier......Its a ton of work to make them presentable.  Far more than can be imagined until you finally get one and get started. 

By no means am I saying its not worth it.....But the true cost of saving $$ on a less than great body will be your time, sweat and sometimes almost overwhelming aggravation. 

Best of luck to you and cant wait to see what you decide to build.

Mitch

[jbeubanks]

hey guys,this is why I like this site...a man ask for advice and he get's it....thank you all and also a lil history on my experiences with fiberglass...I had a shop building parts for dirt track cars like late models,open wheel modifieds and others...but the class I raced the most in was a class called the classic car series here in Knoxville TN....our bodys are 100% fiberglass and believe me when I say that dirt track racing and fiberglass do not mix all that well..lol...so I do have quiet abit of knowledge doing ALOT of repair work on my own body's....I darn sure are far from being the best at it,but I can get it done with help...At this time I'm currently building a new fab shop strictly for this build,cause I do not want anything else in the shop but parts and pieces for this project (plus we all know,that we do have buddys that don't own a tool,but love to "borrow" and then amnesia sets in on them when it's time to return what they "borrowed''...lol)...after so far what I have read on here,seems that building from the ground up is the way to go..once again,thanks for all the feedback and I'll keep everyone informed on whats happening..thanks,Jay E...

[Scorp31]

I am pretty new to this also. But I would recommend asking around builders for some info...I know from research carkit kits while cost isn't bad you have to be great with fiberglass while others that are more have a lot less work. I recommend checking http://lamborghinireplica.com for parts also they have a good aventador kit on there but be warned I haven't seen or heard of anyone finishing a interior yet. Murci build would be a lot easier and cost for pieces cheaper.  You could put more money towards chassis and real interiors pieces that way.. Btw way a couple guys take a fiero chop the back and front off and add tubular or custom frame to the chassis to cut down the work and you still have parts from the fiero you can use like gas tank and other things.

[notnilc20]

There you go. You and Armyman can help each other through your build. That will be a huge help as two heads are better than one and he says he's built other cars in the past as well. 

[armyman]

Ha now that's funny. That's my kit, I watched him make that video, then I loaded the kit up and left. And the kit it self isn't that bad, the only drawback is that it is in 1000 pieces.

[Tusabes]

The Cki kit is an Eddie body , and Eddie bodies need tons of work

Even if you fabricate a perfect chassis are you also a master with fiberglass ? You'll need to be. There is no complete aventador kit out yet .

[notnilc20]

Carkitinc.com in Alabama is still selling from what i can tell. He just put this video of the aventador kit on youtube a few days ago.

http://youtu.be/nPIKX0j5crY

Good luck on whatever you do.

[Tallon]

Exactly my thoughts, build something something someone has already built that way you'll have lots of help along the way

[Digibeam]

my thoughts,  i would go with a ground up build,  but for a first car i would build one that has already been built and has a history...
the Aventador is still in such an infancy stage  you would have zero assistance at this point to help you along.
i have a ground up chassis build of a heavily modified G28 body with Oem body parts fitted and the body re-sculpted.  i am tipping 3 years at it now  and cost is way over most all others but i am not worried too much about cost i am just doing it cause a guy here named RT who said it best and inspired me to start... "you have to Want to build a car" and that is what i am doing...
this is also what you have to decide, are you willing to invest the time and money... ?
the budget does not exist with these builds... once you get bitten, trust me when i say you will find a way to justify the upgrades...
all the best to you, i look forward to seeing what you come up with...

[jbeubanks]

Hello everyone,I'm a new guy on here and I feel like this has been the best site to join in on and share my thoughts and I'm gonna need some serious and real advice on what I've been wanting to do for a long time...Ok here goes...about myself,I'm a proffesional welder for dupont bio-sciences and married with 3 kids...
my dream car has been a lamborghini but i'm like alot of guy's, I have big dreams but back pocket is limited and truthfully I can't afford the real thing...A good friendof mine bought a real lambo murciaglo but toatled it out not to long ago (geico was super pissed after only insuring it for less than a year,and having to pay out on it) he bought a gallardo this round and all I can do is slobber...The reason I have always wanted a lambo is ultimately the beauty and sleekness that seperates itself from other cars...I'm not to much after the speed of a lambo,but I will admit that I don't want a grocery getter either....soooo the advise that I need is,,,,would anyone recommend building a clone from the ground up?...or buying a donor car and going that route?...what I can do is,give you all my pro's and con's on either route and you all give me feedback on what your experiences have been with any type of build on the lamboorghini....BTW,my firm choice of body is the aventador...

pros of building from ground up...
self accomplishment
knowing the true saftey aspect of all the welding and fabrication
knowing of all the material and parts used in the build
and that everything will be new material or darn close to new..

cons of building from ground up...
cost of certain material or parts
time consuming
it being my 1st build of this caliber
where to buy parts from and not get ripped off or butt raped on prices

pros and cons of building from donor car....
not sure what would have to be modified to make body fit
finding a perfect donor car..
wich donor car to use in a build
how would one register a kit car to get vin tag or the license plates for it.
now on the pro's end,it might be quicker to finish build process
may be a lil easier on the wallet
...thats all I can think of for now,but two last things...if I were to build from the ground up,wich chassis plans are the most used? the naerc or I think some from a guy called mikes chassis works?...also I seen where a guy in alabama was getting some friction from lamborghini,but is he still selling bodys or do you all recommend another company to get one from?...thanks for all your help and I will be doing a detailed pictorial on my build and would love to share it with you all when I get started!!!!..lets see what a tennessee guy can do when it comes to building a EYE-tallion sports car..haha...