Getting very close

Well only four days left until the drive to the UK. The trailer is sorted and Jörgen my very kind brother in-law has agreed to lend me his Ford Mondeo estate because my VW Sharan is off the road with engine troubles. It's a long trip I'll be taking with Freddie my youngest son. Hopefully by Friday next week the trailer will be full of kit car and donor parts and we'll be heading home to Stockholm.  

Another challenge

I thought I had better check to see if I could get a trailer sorted for when I fetch the kit and donor parts. Well in Sweden just now it's winter and in winter it seems all the trailers available for rental have winter tyres with spikes. That's okay in Sweden but in Europe spiked tyres are not allowed! So what do I do? Wait until the 1st of April when the tyres are changed; like hell no! So far the solution is to hire a 9m³ trailer with spikes which also has with it summer tyres and then change to summer tyres at the border! It's a real pain but definitely doable and probably the only choice I have. I’m not sure of the consequences if I drive without changing them and get caught!

Donor sorted!

I´ve had problems finding a donor BMW 318is in Sweden either too many owners in one case 23! Very high mileage or just too far away to collect so contacted Ian at Bridgend Recycling BMW Spares in Charing Kent. They just happened to have a 318is 1,9 liter M44 almost the same as the M42, physically the same size at least so should pop nicely into the 4 cylinder chassis. Price very reasonable too apart from the UK VAT laws. If one buys the whole car one doesn't have to pay VAT, if the garage strips it you then have to pay VAT on the parts! I still plan to drive over the first week of January to pick up the kit and donor parts.

In the mean time I have cleaned out the garage and planned how I shall get the car out once it's built. Overall it's a great size 6 x 4 meters so should be plenty big enough to build the car. The garage had a proper door and exit earlier in its life but part of the land was unfortunately sold and became the next door neighbour. The previous owner of  our house then decided there was no further need for a full garage door hence the door we have today is only 79cm wide. Hopefully it's wide enough to get in the chassis as well as all the parts, engine etc. Once it's built however I'll need to remove part of the wooden wall, wide enough to get the car out as well as being high enough to also get out my motor bike, approx. 140cm. The red rectangle in the picture shows the area I'll need modify into a door.  I’ll also need to fix the garden to add a slope out and up to the right between us and the neighbour. That job is way down on the list!

I've always had trouble getting the bike in & out

Kit Ordered!

Talked to Peter today to iron out the last of the details and finally made the order. Hopefully it'll be ready to collect the first week of January 2011. I don't have a donor car yet so that's next on my todo list. Anyone got a 318is going spare? Actually the next thing on the list is to start fixing the kitchen!

Finalizing the order

I realize the longer I wait to order the longer it will be before the kit arrives but I need to get a couple of small details sorted out. I contacted Peter today regarding the possibility of getting hold of some heated seats. I confirmed with the SFRO (Sveriges Fordonbyggares Riksorganisations) that a catalytic converter is not a requirement for kit cars so that’ll save a few kronor. Peter mentioned whether 2mm thick box section for the chassis was a requirement in Sweden and I found out that it wasn’t but they did advise it so that’s what I shall be going for. I’ll obviously take the left hand drive version too. Perhaps by mid next week I’ll be ready to take the plunge and order!

Steve's escape begins!

I've been interested in building a kit car ever since I was about 16 when I sore a yellow Beech Buggy parked in Maidstone. 

This is the actual Beech Buggy photographed way back when - Quite ugly now I think about it!

Back in those days or at least when I was 17 I bought a green VW Beetle 1303S which I eventually had painted black. 

My beloved Beetle having a car wash at the old British Telecom depo at Tovil in approx. 1977. I remember the rear number plate light being ripped off by the rolling washer. Where is the car now I wonder!

As my mates would verify I had that engine out just about every weekend to sort out various problems. It used to be a case of going up the Cock at Boughton Monchelsea, down five pints, back to my parents house, four would lift up the back of the car and I'd remove the four bolts holding the engine to the gear box - bobs yer uncle out popped the engine!



A few years later here I am! I can actually thank Kev for putting the idea back in my head after we stayed with him and his family this summer (Anette you can blame him!). Now I need to persuade Anette that we can actually get the kit car as well as fix a new kitchen - it's about compromise you know!



After much deliberation I’ve decided, not to build the Beech Buggy but to build a GKD Legend from GKD Sportscars in my old home town of Maidstone. A few details have to be sorted out for example what engine to put in it, what options are needed, how to get it back to Sweden etc. but no challenge is insurmountable. Only time, patients and good planning are required.



(I'd like to thank crazydavesdeathtrap for inspiring me to start a blogg of this exciting journey)