Previous years Xmas avatars were posted up in November and loaded straight away.
Here we are with just five days to go and still they are yet to appear.
Paul G
Over all the years i have been a member of Locost i think this is the slowest i have ever see it for questions and answers,
It has the same questions on the front page for days unlike when i first joined in 2004
are others thinking the same ?
Jacko
I'd imagine there's a lot less builders these days!
Every time I can't connect, like the site isn't available, I think its closed down..
Yeah, I think its slow for answers, but then also a lot of times you ask a question, stating a possible solution that you know won't work, then
everyone suggests trying it, eg indicators flashing too quick, but there's no resistors in the circuit as you've got an electronic led
relay, first suggestion, try an electronic relay, or fit resistors
It's just a lot slower for responses, less questions being asked but then very few scratch builders these days I would say.
Or it could be that most questions have already been asked and so there is a whole weatlh of information, if you do a search first before posting a
Q.
I found that to be the case on my build.
It is indeed very slow this year.
Previous years Xmas avatars were posted up in November and loaded straight away.
Here we are with just five days to go and still they are yet to appear.
Paul G
I've noticed this Graham since coming back on over the last month . I guess kit car building isn't as popular as it used to be;-(.
By the way how's things with you Jacko.
I'm planning a new project in the new year. Given the prospect and cost of an IVA, I'm probably going to do a modification rather than a scratch build. Another kit would probably be more IVA friendly (you'd hope) but a bit out of my price range these days. If others feel the same way, that's perhaps why there are fewer people on here.
Yes, seems slower to me to 😒
quote:
Originally posted by 907
It is indeed very slow this year.
Previous years Xmas avatars were posted up in November and loaded straight away.
Here we are with just five days to go and still they are yet to appear.
Paul G
Plenty of people lurking about, 200 guests and 30 members at the moment
Ditto.
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
quote:
Originally posted by 907
It is indeed very slow this year.
Previous years Xmas avatars were posted up in November and loaded straight away.
Here we are with just five days to go and still they are yet to appear.
Paul G
I don't know what you mean... mine's been there a while!
quote:
Originally posted by monkeyarms
Or it could be that most questions have already been asked and so there is a whole weatlh of information, if you do a search first before posting a Q.
I found that to be the case on my build.
I think its cause there's a canny few new members.
Or maybe cause peeps are not spending as much? I've not touched mine for nearly two years now, spending my cash on Lego train sets... Although
I am gathering parts and eager to start the midi build.
I know that feeling Steve, mines sat untouched for a while now. Just simply can't find the time.
Maybe there is a market for a locost builder team who actively go round the country starting/finishing builds!
Suppose the fun comes from building yourself - to be honest I am sure I'd be having more fun now if it was finished.
If this team have nothing to do.... I have loads of jobs that need finishing
Same here, due to heavy work commitments I was away from the site for most of 2015, now things have slowed down and I have started to be interested in my car again I have revisited the site and I was amazed how very quiet it was.
I've been in the kit thing since 1990, and since then there has been a shift in peoples general attitudes.
They want it now, and don't want the hassle of having to actually make it from scratch.
It'd be interesting to get the figures on how many new full builds compared to kits, that the mfrs sell these days.
Also a lot of people find it less hassle to buy an older car and mod to their requirements. It's also much cheaper, and people don't seem to
have the disposable income they once had.
Just a big indicator of changing times.
Cheers,
Nev.
quote:
Originally posted by Neilwilson
Maybe there is a market for a locost builder team who actively go round the country starting/finishing builds!
When i started on here in 2001 ,the "book" said you could build a car for £250,my first cost about £1000 and had a 1600 Xflow like most
other people.
these days the build cost is many thousands with people putting bike engines ,V8,s and all manner of exotic iron under the bonnet.
when you add it all up,it is a lot easier to buy a ready made car for a lot less money,modify it to suit if you want.
i have sold all three of the cars i built and now have just as much fun without all the worry in my £500 MX5,add to that i now have a heater and a
roof and can use him as a daily driver,cant do that in a 7 with no roof
I seem to have a bit of a history. I had an old wooden sailing dinghy that I enjoyed but had more fun repairing than sailing. I bought 'the
Book' and used it as the basis for my 2CV special that I drove a bit but never really finished. Then I spent 8 years building my Locost.
It's been on the road for 6 years now and I struggle to find any enthusiasm for driving it. This year I built a wooden Canadian canoe from
scratch. Wonder if I'll ever get it wet!
Mr Toad?
I commented on this a while back. It seemed to me there was a drop of building after IVA was introduced coupled with the recession (or mini recession
if you prefer) which I still think were are in.
At the time I was completing for SVA in 2007, there were loads of MK Indy builds hence loads of posts, every other month there'd be a moan about
GTS etc .... that kept the forum buzzing.
The weather has also been a major factor for me this year - occasionally we've had decent driving weather, but usually I have a list of household
jobs that need doing "when the weather gets better". Since August we've had very few decent driving days, mostly because it's
been raining, is threatening to rain, or has rained recently and the roads are covered in mud (my car's still filthy after the last time I took
it out).
In the past I've enjoyed winter driving on those excellent cold-but-sunny days where the engine thrives on the cold air, but I've not seen
any of those this year so far.
When the forum started there was plenty of "locost Builders" building from scratch, as the years have gone on I think far less people build
from scratch and buy kits, it was a much smaller group than now with regular regional meetings and a fair few events when people on here traveled the
length & breadth of the country to meet, everyone knew everyone.
As the forum as grown regulars have moved on, meetings faded away ect, shame but time stops for no man.
quote:
Originally posted by Jon Ison
When the forum started there was plenty of "locost Builders" building from scratch, as the years have gone on I think far less people build from scratch and buy kits, it was a much smaller group than now with regular regional meetings and a fair few events when people on here traveled the length & breadth of the country to meet, everyone knew everyone.
As the forum as grown regulars have moved on, meetings faded away ect, shame but time stops for no man.
I think that there may be another factor in the decline of kit cars - most people I know who have built their own cars are "of a certain
age" who, in their early days, were taught how to use tools and make stuff. This may have been in school (like me) or in their working careers
(also for me, in my very early working days). How many kids since the 60s or 70s have had much exposure to the pleasure of building things? Not that
many, I suspect.
Obviously there are exceptions - I know that there have been a few young builders on this forum, and good luck to them, but most I've met have
been late 30s, many much older. Some of this is to do with having built up a career so that they have some spare cash, but mostly (I believe)
it's because few younger ones have had exposure to the fun of making big and complex things with their own hands.
It's all a bit depressing, really...
Never mind, soon be Christmas!
I would throw into the mix the impact that the Haynes (car and forum) had had on LCB. This forum has suffered from very little investment/updating, meaning it now does not work well on mobile devices, which is an oversight imho. There have also been some very public altercations on the forum over the last few years, and that has helped to push regulars away. Honestly speaking. Lastly, as annoying as it can be, the default answer of 'use the search button' has meant many people shy away from asking questions, so the front page just is not as interesting as it once was. Shame as LCB was my second home for quite a while, but it just isn't what it once was..
I agree David. I was one of the younger ones when I sold my 1st mnr,(mid 20's) which I bought mid build and took to Mnr for sva. I then decided
it would be fun to build one so bought another Mnr in kit form and plonked a Honda S2000 f20c lump in it. It was pretty early in the build where I
realised I didn't have the skills needed,or the time as the limited skills I had meant every job took twice as long as it should.
In the end It never made it through the the Iva and was sold as a track car to France.i was pretty happy to see it go really even though I had
hundreds of hours invested in it.On the plus side the car was faultless on track for the buyer and other than pads and oil it needed nothing.
I can't see myself building another unless I ever have children wanting to build with me, and I now much prefer competing on the hillclimbs than
I ever did building!
[Edited on 23/12/15 by daniel mason]
quote:
Originally posted by twybrow
I would throw into the mix the impact that the Haynes (car and forum) had had on LCB.
Facebook groups & social media is why forums are slowing down, i use them far more than this forum now
quote:
Originally posted by Jon Ison
When the forum started there was plenty of "locost Builders" building from scratch, as the years have gone on I think far less people build from scratch and buy kits
quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68
Would a change of the forum's name help attract broader interest, I wonder?
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68
Would a change of the forum's name help attract broader interest, I wonder?
I've had people ask me if I was a brickie or a plasterer when I was wearing my LocostBuilders T-shirt...
quote:
Originally posted by 907
How strange !
Where your trousers half way down your a*** at the time ?
There is a bit of a theme, people build them, drive for literally a few miles then sell .... Usually at a loss so interest wains.
Quite often they even get chopped up for bits.
The long term posters are the ones that derive pleasure through the driving, time for everyone to get on the track and play.
If I had £5000 - £8000 to spend I would purchase a road car, under £1000 then MX5