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chassis prices?
daniel mason - 8/1/10 at 10:19 PM

can you buy just a chassis from any kit manufacturers? if so what price do they come in at?
bare powdercoated chasis with full cage!
mk,mnr,mac#1,dax,

scootz - 8/1/10 at 10:20 PM

Sure... most manufacturers will sell you any single part you want!

As for prices... you'll get an indication (if not the exact amount) on the manufacturers you've mentioned websites!

daniel mason - 8/1/10 at 10:21 PM

could not find a price on mnr, just for cages and roll hoops

nick205 - 8/1/10 at 10:24 PM

MK were certainly prepared to sell me an Indy chassis although I didn't in the end. I'm sure most other manufacturer's would be happy to sell you one as well - e.g for a rebuild after a crash.

I would expect to pay anywhere from around £450 upwards for a bare chassis, more if caged and powder coated.

nick205 - 8/1/10 at 10:32 PM

Example - Aries Motorsport list their bare (un-coated) chassis @ £575

http://www.ariesmotorsport.co.uk/

Steve Hignett - 8/1/10 at 10:35 PM

I think the £450/£500 for a chassis price are a thing or the past. The long past if I was being totally honest!

I think the cheapest chassis on the market without cage nowadays comes in around £600 ish (Aries), but at what point would you put the basis of the corner point of the handling and performance of your performance car down to the cheapest chassis option.

I am not one to talk, I spent a lot of time, effort and a small amount of cash on carbon fibre stuff for my first manufactured kitcar, when the chassis itself pointed way off to the left, crabbed down the road, and had absolutely way off geo for the front end.

Looked good mind!

The chassis is the start of the handling of the car, second (IMO) are the wishbones (Some see as part of the chassis), then dampers/springs then brakes, then engine...

Not that I am someone who knows everything about making a car go fast, but I've got a glimpse of an idea...

Steve Hignett - 8/1/10 at 10:37 PM

Scott, did you delete a post whilst I was typing, or have the Smirnoff monkeys' caught up with me at last?

scootz - 8/1/10 at 10:40 PM

Lol.. The Smirnoff-monkey's are behaving themselves Steve! I went to edit the post and hit the 'delete' button by mistake! DOH!

nick205 - 8/1/10 at 10:46 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Hignett
I think the £450/£500 for a chassis price are a thing or the past. The long past if I was being totally honest!

I think the cheapest chassis on the market without cage nowadays comes in around £600 ish (Aries), but at what point would you put the basis of the corner point of the handling and performance of your performance car down to the cheapest chassis option.

I am not one to talk, I spent a lot of time, effort and a small amount of cash on carbon fibre stuff for my first manufactured kitcar, when the chassis itself pointed way off to the left, crabbed down the road, and had absolutely way off geo for the front end.

Looked good mind!

The chassis is the start of the handling of the car, second (IMO) are the wishbones (Some see as part of the chassis), then dampers/springs then brakes, then engine...

Not that I am someone who knows everything about making a car go fast, but I've got a glimpse of an idea...



I think you're right on the pricing - just looked at MK and they list the standard Indy chassis @ £745.

I'd also agree with getting the best possible chassis you can afford as the start point and worry less about the shiney bits to finish it with.

Richard Quinn - 8/1/10 at 11:03 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Hignett
I think the £450/£500 for a chassis price are a thing or the past. The long past if I was being totally honest!

I think the cheapest chassis on the market without cage nowadays comes in around £600 ish (Aries), but at what point would you put the basis of the corner point of the handling and performance of your performance car down to the cheapest chassis option.

I am not one to talk, I spent a lot of time, effort and a small amount of cash on carbon fibre stuff for my first manufactured kitcar, when the chassis itself pointed way off to the left, crabbed down the road, and had absolutely way off geo for the front end.

Looked good mind!

The chassis is the start of the handling of the car, second (IMO) are the wishbones (Some see as part of the chassis), then dampers/springs then brakes, then engine...

Not that I am someone who knows everything about making a car go fast, but I've got a glimpse of an idea...
The Aries chassis is actually pretty good and straight compared to some. Price isn't always the only indication of quality.

Steve Hignett - 8/1/10 at 11:07 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Richard QuinnThe Aries chassis is actually pretty good and straight compared to some. Price isn't always the only indication of quality.


I wasn't trying to say it was Rich, and I happen to think that the ST/Aries Chassis is amongst the best/straightest out there, it's just that I feel that after all the effort I put into modifying an already built car to perform and handle well, then am now building my own car, I just feel that you get what you pay for in most cases, and it's not always as clear cut as people think...

austin man - 8/1/10 at 11:08 PM

from what Ive seen and read I would recommend buying a bare steel chasis, preparing it yourself and then having it powdercoated.

Many of the powdercoated chasis are let down by poor preperation prior to powdercoating. they look good for 6 months then the rust starts to creep underneath

Richard Quinn - 8/1/10 at 11:33 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Hignett
quote:
Originally posted by Richard QuinnThe Aries chassis is actually pretty good and straight compared to some. Price isn't always the only indication of quality.


I wasn't trying to say it was Rich, and I happen to think that the ST/Aries Chassis is amongst the best/straightest out there, it's just that I feel that after all the effort I put into modifying an already built car to perform and handle well, then am now building my own car, I just feel that you get what you pay for in most cases, and it's not always as clear cut as people think...
I'm with you up to the "you get what you pay for" bit. I think that there are some good "cheaper" chassis' and some excellent expensive chassis'. However, the middle ground is a bit of a minefield and you don't always get the quality that you think that you are paying for.
My advice would be to look for either a competition chassis specialist or someone who outsources their chassis fab work to a professional outfit that knows what a proper jig is.

ETA - Not wanting to sound patronising but it is worth considering that a lot of builders are potentially capable of taking the straightest and best designed of chassis and turning it into something that won't handle but that is generally recoverable.

[Edited on 8/1/10 by Richard Quinn]

scootz - 9/1/10 at 05:28 AM

quote:
Originally posted by austin man
poor preperation prior to powdercoating


lol... try saying that after a babysham!

Very good point though... also very true of chroming - it's all in the preparation!

wilkingj - 9/1/10 at 08:29 AM

quote:
Originally posted by austin man
from what Ive seen and read I would recommend buying a bare steel chasis, preparing it yourself and then having it powdercoated.

Many of the powdercoated chasis are let down by poor preperation prior to powdercoating. they look good for 6 months then the rust starts to creep underneath

It's been said SO MANY times before on here...

It's ANY finish... and it is ALL DOWN to the PREP work.

I would have the chassis Sand or Shotblasted BEFORE applying ANY type of surface. Especially Powder coating or Chroming. Its well worth the additional cost to end up with a good and Durable finish.

You need a good keyed surface for the powder coat or paint to bond to. Just washing and dipping the chassis is not really good enough on its own (IMHO).

Of course if you only use plain chassis paint, you can always scrape it off and touch up.

I have always used Agricultural Chassis Black on my Land Rovers. Good durable, and Pig Piss Proof. Doesnt look bad either, but there are better finishes

rusty nuts - 9/1/10 at 09:41 AM

quote:
Originally posted by austin man
from what Ive seen and read I would recommend buying a bare steel chasis, preparing it yourself and then having it powdercoated.

Many of the powdercoated chasis are let down by poor preperation prior to powdercoating. they look good for 6 months then the rust starts to creep underneath


Seconded, I'm in the middle of stripping off the powdercoating on mine after stripping to the bare chassis. Have looked at shotblasting it off and have been quoted £1.10 per minute but also told that it's not the easiest stuff to blast off. Stripping using paint stripper and scrapers etc and then blasting should be more locost.

ali f27 - 9/1/10 at 10:15 AM

Speak to mark purdy he would mabe make you 1 daniel

spud69 - 9/1/10 at 11:03 AM

Daniel,

Have a look on the Saturn site, www.saturnsportscars.co.uk they can supply the full chassis to the Haynes Roadster spec from bare chassis to full chassis powder coated, the chassis is fully chemically treated prior to coating then e-coated and black powder coating to finish.

Regards....AndyH

spiderman01980 - 10/1/10 at 09:35 PM

There`s a guy on ebay that sells a full chassis with front and back wishbones am not sure if he does rear uprights but its worth having a look its all to the haynes roadster book same as saturn sports cars!!

hes called TALON MOTOR SPORT just search for (haynes roadster chassis) on ebay the good thing with that chassis is there is a lot of companys that sell body work and pedal boxes and so on for it
i.e saturn sports,alcorn engineering,3G components,GTS tuning and so on!!!

spiderman01980 - 10/1/10 at 09:39 PM

Sorry i forgot to say the price for the chassis and wishbones is £900

Talon Motorsport - 11/1/10 at 09:41 AM

Who needs to spend money on a website and advertising? not me clearly.
BTW he's NTDWM but thanks.

[Edited on 11/1/10 by Talon Motorsport]

procomp - 11/1/10 at 12:08 PM

Hi

Jesus the Westfield chassis kit is looking like a real bargain considering the accuracies handeling resale value support / backup etc etc . Lol

Cheers matt

TimC - 11/1/10 at 04:40 PM

I wouldn't advise anyone on what chassis to buy unless they are absolutely clear on what they want it for.

Horses for Courses: What I'd want for road use, I wouldn't dream of using extensively on track and vice-versa.

franky - 11/1/10 at 07:23 PM

quote:
Originally posted by TimC
I wouldn't advise anyone on what chassis to buy unless they are absolutely clear on what they want it for.

Horses for Courses: What I'd want for road use, I wouldn't dream of using extensively on track and vice-versa.


very true..... also remember that every company selling chassis/parts/cars will claim that there's is better than others, that other chassis don't have this, don't have that..... blah blah blah

Just buy from who will give you the best support.

daniel mason - 11/1/10 at 07:53 PM

was mainly wanting to know how they varied in price, was able to find a few but not most.

Talon Motorsport - 11/1/10 at 08:01 PM

Most kitcar manufacturer's will have a contact phone number or email address. Talk to or email any and every company and ask them how much their chassis is and what you get for your money. If their looking to make a sale then ask if they can knock any percentage off the price or what discount you can get for further purchases in the future. Remember it's your money and you have all the power in your wallet/credit card!