whats cheaper a kit or starting from scratch (25.5)
11-30-2007, 02:26 PM
#1
7 Second Club
Thread Starter
iTrader: (42)
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: paducah, ky
Posts: 4,558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
whats cheaper a kit or starting from scratch (25.5) one of my friends here in town has a tubing notcher, sheetmetal break, CM bender... all the stuff needed to build a tube chassis car...
im wondering if you any of you have found that its cheaper to start from scratch or buy a kit from Vanishing point RC or some other chassis shop that sells a unwelded 25.5 kit.
im wondering if you any of you have found that its cheaper to start from scratch or buy a kit from Vanishing point RC or some other chassis shop that sells a unwelded 25.5 kit.
11-30-2007, 02:31 PM
#2
TECH Fanatic
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Ventura County, California
Posts: 1,129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you have the tools and are competent at fabricating and plan to do all the welding yourself assuming you can acquire the tubing at a low price it would be much cheaper doing it yourself.
Get an sfi book on the cage you want which would be a 25.5, plus looking at a lot of other 25.5's is always a good way to come up with a great fitting, nice looking style that you like.
Plus you can make the tubes longer so they stick through the floor down to the subframes you make and then you can lower the cage down and through the holes you cut in the floor weld it on the top, having an extra couple of inches makes a ton of difference when you're trying to weld up the top of the cage, unless you don't mind cutting off the roof, but personally I'd prefer not to if I was doing it to my car.
Get an sfi book on the cage you want which would be a 25.5, plus looking at a lot of other 25.5's is always a good way to come up with a great fitting, nice looking style that you like.
Plus you can make the tubes longer so they stick through the floor down to the subframes you make and then you can lower the cage down and through the holes you cut in the floor weld it on the top, having an extra couple of inches makes a ton of difference when you're trying to weld up the top of the cage, unless you don't mind cutting off the roof, but personally I'd prefer not to if I was doing it to my car.
11-30-2007, 03:47 PM
#3
7 Second Club
Thread Starter
iTrader: (42)
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: paducah, ky
Posts: 4,558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i will be paying my friend by the hour... should have mention that... but it wont be quite the expense as if he wasnt a friend.... bending and notching can be quite a grueling process but i think i'd rather start from scratch also... jigs are good but not always perfect...
11-30-2007, 04:58 PM
#4
TECH Fanatic
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Ventura County, California
Posts: 1,129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I look at it this way lets estimate 100 hours to build it and weld it.
You take 100 hours pay your friend 30 bucks an hour thats 3,000.00
Plus you have the price for the tubing.
A kit is about 1,500 - 2,000 I would imagine. Which would take less than 1/2 that to install.
If you're going to pay some one to help install it having a kit to start with would be cheaper I think, especially if this isn't something you've done before.
I can't say for sure, I never charged my friends to help on the car, usually the going rate is lunch and diner for a days help.
You take 100 hours pay your friend 30 bucks an hour thats 3,000.00
Plus you have the price for the tubing.
A kit is about 1,500 - 2,000 I would imagine. Which would take less than 1/2 that to install.
If you're going to pay some one to help install it having a kit to start with would be cheaper I think, especially if this isn't something you've done before.
I can't say for sure, I never charged my friends to help on the car, usually the going rate is lunch and diner for a days help.
11-30-2007, 07:12 PM
#5
LS1TECH Sponsor
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Down in this area, taking a car to a chassis shop completely stripped and having a 25.5 cage put in it will cost 6-8 thousand dollars. There is ALOT of time involved with building one of these things.
Trending Topics
12-01-2007, 05:20 PM
#9
One day I'll buy a tig and get it down good, I just never used c-moly that much to need to tig it much, most stuff I did welding with a tig was making brackets out of aluminum.
12-01-2007, 06:12 PM
#10
LS1TECH Sponsor
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
TIGing really isnt that hard, but it takes alot of practice to do it properly. All of your fitments need to be really tight too, no bit gaps in your joints.
12-02-2007, 05:33 PM
#12
Plus you can make the tubes longer so they stick through the floor down to the subframes you make and then you can lower the cage down and through the holes you cut in the floor weld it on the top, having an extra couple of inches makes a ton of difference when you're trying to weld up the top of the cage, unless you don't mind cutting off the roof, but personally I'd prefer not to if I was doing it to my car.
Here you go buddy 
I'll take the keys and call you a cab
12-02-2007, 09:00 PM
#14
Having built many tube chassis cars and countless back halves I feel Your concerns are not warranted. A competitive 25.5 car is not a budget build, the 6 to 8 grand installed price someone mentioned (a steal!) is peanuts compared to the expense of the rest of the car.
You should sit down and make a projected expense sheet for the finished car being honest with your expected ET's and what it cost to do that...once.
Then the learning curve of breaking parts, wearing out tires and clutches not to mention racing fuel, oil....You see where this is going.
I'm not trying to bust Your dream but trying to prevent another unfinished project from occuring.
I would like to see Your projection. My sig. may be comical at first but it is the truth.
Good Luck.
You should sit down and make a projected expense sheet for the finished car being honest with your expected ET's and what it cost to do that...once.
Then the learning curve of breaking parts, wearing out tires and clutches not to mention racing fuel, oil....You see where this is going.
I'm not trying to bust Your dream but trying to prevent another unfinished project from occuring.
I would like to see Your projection. My sig. may be comical at first but it is the truth.
Good Luck.
12-02-2007, 09:15 PM
#15
Having built many tube chassis cars and countless back halves I feel Your concerns are not warranted. A competitive 25.5 car is not a budget build, the 6 to 8 grand installed price someone mentioned (a steal!) is peanuts compared to the expense of the rest of the car.
You should sit down and make a projected expense sheet for the finished car being honest with your expected ET's and what it cost to do that...once.
Then the learning curve of breaking parts, wearing out tires and clutches not to mention racing fuel, oil....You see where this is going.
I'm not trying to bust Your dream but trying to prevent another unfinished project from occuring.
I would like to see Your projection. My sig. may be comical at first but it is the truth.
Good Luck.
You should sit down and make a projected expense sheet for the finished car being honest with your expected ET's and what it cost to do that...once.
Then the learning curve of breaking parts, wearing out tires and clutches not to mention racing fuel, oil....You see where this is going.
I'm not trying to bust Your dream but trying to prevent another unfinished project from occuring.
I would like to see Your projection. My sig. may be comical at first but it is the truth.
Good Luck.
12-03-2007, 08:29 AM
#18
7 Second Club
Thread Starter
iTrader: (42)
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: paducah, ky
Posts: 4,558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Having built many tube chassis cars and countless back halves I feel Your concerns are not warranted. A competitive 25.5 car is not a budget build, the 6 to 8 grand installed price someone mentioned (a steal!) is peanuts compared to the expense of the rest of the car.
You should sit down and make a projected expense sheet for the finished car being honest with your expected ET's and what it cost to do that...once.
Then the learning curve of breaking parts, wearing out tires and clutches not to mention racing fuel, oil....You see where this is going.
I'm not trying to bust Your dream but trying to prevent another unfinished project from occuring.
I would like to see Your projection. My sig. may be comical at first but it is the truth.
Good Luck.
You should sit down and make a projected expense sheet for the finished car being honest with your expected ET's and what it cost to do that...once.
Then the learning curve of breaking parts, wearing out tires and clutches not to mention racing fuel, oil....You see where this is going.
I'm not trying to bust Your dream but trying to prevent another unfinished project from occuring.
I would like to see Your projection. My sig. may be comical at first but it is the truth.
Good Luck.
i know what this stuff cost... thats exactically why i got out of the LSx stuff and moved back to BBC and stick shift...
the guys around here dont charge an arm and a leg to do stuff either cause most of them are my friends and do it on the side for their race car money.
i just want about a 468-509ci motor and my jefco tranny with a small kit and i'll find a 5.5x pass pretty quickly and on a decent budget...
12-03-2007, 09:49 AM
#20
im not looking to be a competitive EZ street car or NMCA car... i will end up running about a 5.6x this next year and dont want to build a 10point cage when it will be useless with any faster speeds.....
i know what this stuff cost... thats exactically why i got out of the LSx stuff and moved back to BBC and stick shift...
the guys around here dont charge an arm and a leg to do stuff either cause most of them are my friends and do it on the side for their race car money.
i just want about a 468-509ci motor and my jefco tranny with a small kit and i'll find a 5.5x pass pretty quickly and on a decent budget...
i know what this stuff cost... thats exactically why i got out of the LSx stuff and moved back to BBC and stick shift...
the guys around here dont charge an arm and a leg to do stuff either cause most of them are my friends and do it on the side for their race car money.
i just want about a 468-509ci motor and my jefco tranny with a small kit and i'll find a 5.5x pass pretty quickly and on a decent budget...
I wouldn't build a 468-509, if you can afford an aftermarket heads and block I would at least go 540-580" on a big bore short deck.
You'll have more room to grow later.
My vote 540-560" with a brodix BB-2X head or dart 360 head. Should be good for 850-950 hp on the motor revving it to about 7k.
Or can build it mild and do a small shot. Either way I think a little bigger motor is a better foundation, you could always lean on it a lot harder later.
What's the motor budget? I have a few engine builder friends.
I live by kenny duttweilers shop, the turbo guy and my other friend builds motors also.
The one he built for our buddies car it is running 9.70's in a nova N/A with a 406 SBC. We still haven't even tuned the motor or chassis yet and we're only running 32* of timing.
Maybe I can see what parts they would recommend for the money.
