Kit Cars

Way back in the early 1980s I went to the Car Show at the NEC with my wife and my Dad. We came across a stunning car called a Madison - a 30's style roadster. I was absolutely blown away - and then I discovered this was a kit car, a car you build yourself! My flabber was officially ghasted. I didn't know there was such a thing - but my interest was piqued and I wanted to know more.

On looking further into the area of kit cars I found out there were lots of different models of varying quality and styles - 30's style roadsters, Lotus 7 style (LSIS's), supercar copies, jeep styles, E-Type copies, Cobra copies ... I was going to have to do some research. I wanted this. I wasn't mechanically minded - I'd never even done any DIY car maintenance. Everyone said I didn't have the time - but I'm a tenacious so and so (some call it stubborn) and I was determined. One thing was certain - it was going to have to be a 30s style roadster so the first step was to research the market and the obvious starting point was the Madison

I did have photos and/or brochures of each of the following but I'm going to have to do some digging. If/when I find them, I'll add them in here.

The Madison

The Madison was very quickly rejected when I found out it was based on a VW Beetle floor pan. Beetles were popular donor cars as, in many cases, they were just rebodied. However I've never really been a fan of the Beetle and I didn't like the idea that the engine would be in the back of a 30s style roadster. It just felt so wrong. The engine needs to be under the bonnet!

RMB Gentry

isn't this cute? The Gentry was a copy of an MG and so was appealing, however, it was based on a Triumph Herald donor and I had an aversion to breaking a Herald.

JC Midge

The JC Midge was a cute car - you actually bought plans and made it from plywood and aluminium and put it on a Triumph Herald chassis. with my lack of mechanical experience I thought this was probably going to be a step too far for me.

Moss Malvern

This was another one that was based on a Herald. There were a number of Moss models and they were all fairly close copies of Morgans. They were nice kits with a good reputation and best of all one was a 4-seater so was definitely of interest. Another bonus was that, being based in Sheffield, they weren't too far away. Sadly they had a fire at the factory during this period so the idea of building a Moss was dropped.

JC Wyvern

This became one of the front runners - the JC Wyvern. It was Vauxhall based. The quality of the GRP was very good and the build was said to be straightforward. It was definitely a contender. It's a good-looking car - until you put the hood and side screens on. It isn't unusual but the hood and sidescreens certainly detracted from the aesthetics of a a very pretty car.

As it made it onto the short list, I'll do a separate page about it with copies of articles and the brochure.

As things turned out, not buying the Wyvern was the right move. They used the wrong donor from a long term perspective in choosing Vauxhall and there don't seem to be that many about. I'd still like one, though. Now if I could find one (cheap) that needed rescuing ...

Wyvern more ...

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Spartan

This was a very popular kit at the time. What went against it for me was the fact that it was Herald based and I really didn't like the angular lines. I preferred something more 'flowing'. There's still a lot of them about and a thriving owners club.

Merlin

This was a smart looking car - flowing lines, low and with a Morgan-style grille but very raked back, and it was this that spoilt it for me. We had a friend who had a Merlin and it was a nice car, but there was something about the raked-back grille that put me off

Marlin

This was another very popular kit at the time and there are still lots about. Like the Spartan, there was something about the angular lines that didn't appeal to me and so this option was rejected, too.

JBA Falcon

Then we encountered the JBA Falcon at a kit car show. This wasn't a copy of anything. It was Cortina-based and looked awesome! The only thing was, I didn't like that the boot lifted up. I would have preferred it to be a 'butterfly' type, more in keeping with the style. Then we found out JBA were launching the Falcon 2+2 with 2 kiddy seats and a butterfly bonnet.

The name JBA was derived from the owners - Jones, Barlow and Ashley. They had been designers for British Leyland and wanted to design their own car, so they did. It wasn't a copy of anything in particular - it was their take on a 30's roadster and the result was stunning, a superb quality kit.

Unlike the Wyvern which, I think, was a single piece body, the Falcon 2+2 was a spaceframe chassis that needed to be panelled (later models utilised a body tub).

We visited the factory at their open day- it seemed the most professional operation we had encountered and the quality was superb.

I was hooked. This was the one.

We placed the order!

The Build

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