Customer Reviews

How to Build a Cheap Sports Car (Motorbooks Workshop)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

A more accurate title of this book should be "Keith Tanner's Lotus 7 Replica Build Diary"

As another reviewer has mentioned, this is more of a companion book to Ron Champion's book. That statement shouldn't discourage anyone from purchasing this book though.

Champion's book was more of a how-to cookbook, whereas Tanner's is a variation of the recipe. It is quite interesting to see another build, especially a US-based build (Champion's being basically a UK build).

This Miata-based build diary is a great way of seeing a different kind of variation. I, for instance, am building one around a Toyota 4AGE powerplant, and it is good to see how Tanner was deviating (and working around) the cookbook approach that Champion did. With a little ingenuity, one could use the "problem-solving techniques" that Tanner did.

That is not to say that Tanner outlined any techniques; rather, his diary was exactly that: a build diary. He shows what problems he encounters, and how he goes about solving it. The reader then has to infer what thought processes Tanner used, and the reader should be able to come up with his own.

I would have given this book 4-stars for the content, but it earns an extra star because of the way Keith Tanner writes. He manages to inject a lot of humour and wit in his writing. So when the time for your build comes and when the frustrations start pouring in (and believe me, they will start pouring in), go re-read this book and enjoy.

You will also notice that the author has this stupid grin [hey! His words, not mine... I think...] plastered on every picture that he appears in. You can even see that silly grin through one of those pictures where he's wearing a full-face helmet. Can't blame him though, as that Seven sure looks like it will plaster an idiotic grin on anyone. Heck, as I read the book, his infectious "stupid grin" has migrated to my face as well.

There is a child-like enthusiasm that Keith Tanner has, and it shows on practically every page. And it is contagious -- after all, I think boys will be boys, and this is one helluva toy. I wonder how many times the author has written VROOM-VROOM in this book? I could remember quite a few. :)

If you are building a Seven, and especially if you are building a Seven in the US, this makes a great read. It is a worthwile companion (not a replacement) to Ron Champion's book, and any builder should have this in his library.

I bought this book after looking over Keith's website. If you approach the book more as a miata-based build diary, rather than a how-to book, it is a great book. The pictures and information are well put together. I am in the process of my own build, using a pre-made chassis from coveland7.com, and reading Keith's book gave me a realistic idea of what to expect during the build process and provided the information that I needed for my own planning process.

I also have the Ron Champion book, which goes over how to build the actual chassis. Since I am planning on buying a pre-welded chassis, this book is less of a use to me than Keith's book.

Thanks to Keith for putting together a well written book. If you are going to build you own locost project, I would recommend buying this and the Champion book.

-Brian

The book was an interesting read. I nice overview of a start-to-finish build of a lo-cost. The author does a good job and the results are entertaining. The book itself, too, is genearlly well written and of high quality. The publisher puts out a nice product, with high-res color photos and high quality materials.

The biggest problem I had with the book was simply that I wanted more. I wanted to read much more detail and get more information than what was presented. With a title like "How to Build..." I expected (and wanted) more "how-to." Instead, the book is primarily a description of what was done, not why.

All in all, the book is interesting but not particularly useful

This isn't REALLY a step by step how to book. It's more of a philisophical how to book, it's a cronological saga of the author's adventure building a Locost (Lotus Seven Style) race car. This book is best for getting you excited, convincing you that you can do it too and giving you a better understanding of the process. He does not cover forming parts, installing, design or anything like that, it's just about the process, and for what it is, it's a lot of fun and pretty informative too.

Keith Tanner, like most of us reading this, dreamt of building his own Lotus Seven replica. He finally bought the Tamiya 1/12 scale model and once he did, there was no turning back. Keith bought a spaceframe from Champion Motorcars, and sources a wrecked Mazda Miata for parts. He then wrote a book and set up a website to chronicle his build process.

The resulting book is full of full colour photographs and insight into his project. A worthwhile book for all Lotus Seven/Caterham Seven/Replica/Kit Car enthusiasts, but bear in mind there are no drawings or plans for the spaceframe, wishbones, etc. It's more like a walkthrough of a replica build project and if you keep this in mind, it's an enjoyable read.

Nobody should buy any single book and expect it to answer every question they have. People planning to build a Locost should expect that they are going to be swimming on their own once in a while. Yes, this book doesn't show you how to build a chassis from scratch. It doesn't show you plans for mounting a Miata dif. It doesn't tell you a lot of things that you'll want to know. Champion's book is missing a lot of useful detail as well. No book is going to answer all your questions, which is why there are so many different books available for sale! Keith's book answers a lot of questions for me and gives me plenty of ideas that I'll use on my own build. I wish other builders would publish similar books - I'd buy them in a heartbeat!

This book is an excellent place to start if you are considering building a locost. It is sort of a broad overview, as this guy bought a kit, but then methodically turned it into a supercar. The execution of the build is top notch, and I certainly learned a lot from the down-to-earth, yet genuinely entertaining writing style. If you think you may be ready to build a sports car of any variety, I would consider this book a necessity.

Great book to read before bed. Has a lot of day to day info, as well as some interesting in depth discussions of car issues, which is nice.

I enjoyed reading this book as it tracks most of the build out of a Lowcost seven and as that's what I'm building it has been helpful in figuring out some of the subtle problems that frequently pop up.

This is a very well written book. I bought the book after reading the entire build diary on the website and so did not have the disappointment of it not covering the chassis build. It puts a lot of perspective on the trials and tribulations of a kit car builder and how to think "outside the box" to solve the glitches that come up.
This website and book have combined to inspire me to actually start building my own LOCOST (after buying a chassis kit, just like Keith did).
Thank you Keith, for inspiring me!!!