To BUY or TO Build

[willieworld]

ok all here is your chance for some positave imput to the folks that are considering BUILDING or BUYING  i will at the end try to tie everything together   thank willie buchta

[WildBro]

Buy close to what you want and rebuild it to suite you.  This save a lot of money!
Bill

[Viking Biker]

My dad always told me if you can buy what you want that will always be cheaper than building it.

If you can't buy it...well I guess then you have to build it.

[Dr Goggles]

Hey Viking Biker , what is that in your avatar?.....
DrG

[Roadsters.com]

My dad always told me if you can buy what you want that will always be cheaper than building it.

The people whose wisdom, patience, and generosity enabled me to learn how to do some things myself have made it possible for me to build or improve some neat things that few people I know could afford to have built for them.

Doing your own work when you can gives you complete control over the end result. It's also far more satisfying to build something instead of buying it.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

[Roadsters.com]

Buy close to what you want and rebuild it to suit you. This saves a lot of money!

On the surface that can be a good plan, especially if you're buying a serious race car, but every time I've owned a car that had been modified by other people, most of my work has focused on undoing what had been done. Generally speaking, I'd rather start with something original.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

[Peter Jack]

I've found that often you can get a lot of good parts at a reasonable price by buying a used car but I've also found that I'm better off building a new chassis from scratch rather than trying to modify the existing piece to do the job that's required. An example is using an oval car to supply the parts for a road racer. For a lsr car it's likely that starting from scratch would be the best approach as probably not many of the parts from another class of car would be used for that project although a drag car might be a useful contributor. An oval track engine might be a useful piece as they're usually much more durable than one intended for drag racing.

Pete

[RichFox]

I bought a real nice roadster some years ago. It's worked out well for me with required updates. I built the Vega. Haven't really seen a car that I wish I had bought instead of building the Vega. Guess either way works when it works.

[Dean Los Angeles]

To buy or build is a question about money, resources and talent.

To build your own takes a tremendous amount of knowledge and skill. Not everybody has that.

Buying gives you a base to improve upon, but comes with limitations. It will never be the perfect answer.

And always, it boils down to cubic inches and cubic dollars.

[JimL]

It sure is fun to build...and you can work on your tan by welding in short sleeves!

(had a busy day today hanging the engine in my APS-PG-500 project!  Tried to post a pic from a while back....it's got a lot more tubes, now)

JimL

[grumm441]

Hey Viking
is your avatar  a bicycle?

[Milwaukee Midget]

What's your goal?  Most solid drivers can coax speed out of a fast car built by somebody else.  But the build experience has become, at least for me, a wonderful challenge.

If you're buying a proven car/bike, that might alleviate a lot of trips to the flats/airstrip sorting things out. But caveat emptor, mate - make sure you're comfortable with the vehicle.  I suppose it's possible to buy a car that will get you a record and/or a hat.  If you know the builder and are comfortable with their work, it'll put you in the game.

On the other hand, and I'm finding this out, there is a huge satisfaction in making every decision from the ground up and knowing every nut and bolt of the car.

If you want to go fast, buy an established vehicle.

If you want to learn how to be fast, build it yourself.

 

[836dstr]

I'm surprised that Sumner hasn't jumped in here.

One factor that also enters the money/talent equation is TIME. Modifing a car can take a lot less time completing a project, but only if it is close to what you want to end up with.

I bought a "Street" Roadster that still holds the F record @ El Mirage. I joked with the previous owner that the only thing I didn't change was the car number. Not far from the truth, but a good base car to start with.

Tom

[SPARKY]

I started out being an engine partner in Skips 4400 car.  He retired and moved---I was left with an eng and nothing to run it in..I bought a car that  the only thing that I havent modified is the Upper Cage. My skills were very low to non existant when I started with Skip in '99. They would still be considered barely existant by professionals.

If you are going to try build a very fast car that is out of the "NORM" you had better have a "BURNING DESIRE" to see it completion and a VERY tough skin to boot.  My experience is you are going to need both to hang in there long enough to see it through required modifications being able to bring a car to inspection that will pass with flying colors; well amost, four small gigs that were addressed in about 45 min. at SW.. 

The UP side:  I have a much beter handling car, my construction skills are light years better,  my engineering knowledge is much better---and I have learned a TON about the construction, handling, and Driving of a 300MPH lakester.

Last year I went home from speedweek really disappointed in MYSELF, I had hat fever so bad I had overdriven my car and the coarse--and recieved a red tag---a lot of soul searching followed:

MAJOR redo this spring---but the feeling that came over me on the drive home this year, was "strange"---I would be driving along and all of a sudden I would be aware that I was pulling a NA Gas Lakester that had qualified at 295, with over 300 exit speed and 303.9 in the last mile on the back up that resulted in a 299.6 red hat----not only that ---I had built and rebuilt it in my back yard with the help of my next door neighbor and two guys from my welding class.. 

FOR me the destination is somewhat rewarding but the SATISFACTION has come from the journey!!!!!!!!!!!--ie the building and almost achieving a personal goal.

[Loose Goose-Terry#1]

  Buy off the shelf parts when you can. Build everything that you can't buy. Do the design work before you start your "build" so you don't end up wasting time, money and materials. Then assemble everything that you bought and fabricated yourself.

There is no greater pleasure than designing and building your own race car or bike...unless maybe setting a record with it.

Build, Build, Build

Terry