View Full Version : Hard work sure paid off!
I thought i would post some pictures of my wonderful Libra at various stages of completion.
More.......and it finished. The third picture here is it the day before we took it up to the GTM factory so they could set up the suspension before SVA.
Egg Nog
02-29-2004, 05:38 PM
Thanks for the photos, +2 :)
I really like the looks of this car. It must be awesome to have such a rare and unique car in the family. What kind of drivetrain does it have?
EDIT: It won't let me give you +2 quite yet. You'll get it soon enough. :)
Niko_Fx
02-29-2004, 05:48 PM
Beautiful car, congratulations :)
Any pics of the back?
NoOne
02-29-2004, 06:58 PM
Really nice looking car, I know you've mentioned some of the specs in another thread, but would you mind posting as much info in this thread? :)
Thanx
Batmobile_Turbo
02-29-2004, 10:06 PM
that car is absolutely awsome!
Well it weighs about 750kg and has about 150bhp, me and my dad had the flywheel lightened by the bloke who does the Focus WRC cars and an aluminium throttle body. 0-60 should take about 4.8 seconds and on to a top speed of about 150 mph. BHP per tonne is arount 330bhp (i think).
These are the best photos i have of the back at the moment, i will take some better ones later when i get home from school but it is bloody cold out there at ther moment. Plus one of the engine when we had to replace the head gasket.
Egg Nog
03-01-2004, 12:31 AM
So is it a Ford Zetec engine then?
After hearing those power and weight numbers (especially weight), I've fallen completely and utterly in love with this car. Hats off to the British when it comes to making awesome lightweight sports cars. :)
Ford Zetec!? No its a good old British Rover K series 1.8 VVC. Truely a British car.
Egg Nog
03-01-2004, 01:47 AM
Ford Zetec!? No its a good old British Rover K series 1.8 VVC. Truely a British car.
Oh okay, sorry about that. When you mentioned the Ford Specialist, I was lead to thinking that it was a Ford unit...
Bart-AR
03-01-2004, 04:36 AM
Don't they use the same engine (Rover K-series) for the Elise 111 and 111S?
Anyway, the 111R has got a Toyota 1.8 VTT-i (from the Celica), guess it'll be even faster :cool:
Oh okay, sorry about that. When you mentioned the Ford Specialist, I was lead to thinking that it was a Ford unit...
No he is a friend of my Dads. He owns a breakers yard up the road form our house.
Smoke
03-01-2004, 07:08 AM
Your car is awsome.It's beuatiful, and powerful.I bet it cost alot.....
Matra et Alpine
03-01-2004, 07:51 AM
Your car is awsome.It's beuatiful, and powerful.I bet it cost alot.....
SUKA might be too modest to shout it.
In the UK we're really lucky in having an excellent and thriving kit car community.
You can have a car to outdo 50 grand Porsche, BMW, Merc sportscars for 10 grand !!
And double it and you can take on the 100 grand crowd.
It's great at the track when you see a guy in an F40 be blown off by a 10 grand Stryka Fury with Blackbird engine :)
A bit more and you can fit a really nice interior, but most kit builders and owners go that route for performance and handling and don't bother with looks - except for a decent seat :)
The Libra has come to a comfortable 16 grand and that is with spending 500 pounds per wheel with a full size spare under the front.
As promised i have taken some more pictures.
One from the rear, one of the interior (the top of the dash has been removed for the moment so we can install the stereo), one of the seats, these are the only decent ones narrow enough to fit (GTM have promised to get us some racing buckets, the seats have to recline otherwise the search would be easy, Cobra are making some custom ones for them, and another of the front (you can see the tight space we had to work in, in the winter, in the summer we could roll it out onto the drive).
UK CARS
03-01-2004, 10:37 AM
tvr griffin lookalike!
nice mean machine .
Great job you and your dad.
People have said it looks like many different things. For instance one man said its like a mini Ferrari when he saw it drive past, i said i like to think of Ferrari's as large Libra's. lol. TVR Griffin is a new one. I personally like to think of it as "original".
I am just going to continue to post pictures of the Libra since you all like it so much. If anybody has any questions about construction or anything feel free to ask since i at least watched my Dad build the parts i didnt help with.
Well after it being off the road for a few months we have repaired the car and it is back out driving again. The head gasket seams to be doing its job of keeping it sealed. The new remote stat is secured with a home mad bracket and its currently siting out in the rain on some ramps so we can check for blue stuff leaking. Here are a few pics. Sorry about the shoddy quality but its raining and i was shivering.
We went out today in the Libra to find some good spots to get great pictures of the car, we found a Lotus Elan and got some pictures of the two of them. Two fine british sportscars in one picture.
MrVette83
04-03-2004, 08:57 AM
Do you know of any sites where i can get pricing and information on this car for availability in the U.S?
Go to GTM cars (http://www.gtmcars.com) and e-mail them, they can help you out. They are great! The V6 factory built is around 18 grand (pound sterling that is).
Edit: Found the site you need! GTM USA (http://www.gtmcars.com/acatalog/gtmcarsusa.html)
Yet another Edit: If you want a V6 you have to import. Instead the USA market gets aircon and pre fitted sound system which we don't.
Spastik_Roach
04-05-2004, 12:11 AM
The two cars are quite similar when you think about.
On another note, your car is awesome! They are truly an underrated car! It would be interesting to see Jeremey Clarkson drive one on Top Gear. I'm sure he would enjoy it!
(Forgive me if he has already driven one, in NZ we get vastly out of date episodes)
Matra et Alpine
04-05-2004, 12:16 AM
On another note, your car is awesome! They are truly an underrated car! It would be interesting to see Jeremey Clarkson drive one on Top Gear. I'm sure he would enjoy it!
Sadly the UK press ( esp. TV ) don't give any tme to kit cars.
There are many excellent kits being built in the UK.
The closest Top Gear have come to any of them is the Radical - which is more racing car than street :)
Currently unless it has a Ford badge and is called a GT, Clarkson doesn't care !!!
Few fast kits are capable of seating a man of Clarkson's size :( Suka ? How IS the Libra ?? The Rossa's a struggle with the lid on :(
Plank
04-12-2004, 09:30 AM
It would be interesting to see Jeremey Clarkson drive one on Top Gear.
Top Gear drove the Libra at it's launch a few years back. Clarkson wasn't doing the show then, good job.....he's an idiot.
Yes it was, that show was aired on sky only and i never go to see it, DARN. I have sat in the Libra that was driven though. The closest i have ever got to a TV star. lol
Well torching it is looking very tempting at the moment! The water level rises by about an inch when you drive! It makes no sense!
Matra et Alpine
05-22-2004, 04:46 PM
Well torching it is looking very tempting at the moment! The water level rises by about an inch when you drive! It makes no sense!
The water level in thewater coolant header tank I presume ?
You either have an air bubble in the pipes or a slight head gasket leak.
Is the rad at the front ? Where the pipe comes up to the top of the engine, is their a bleed screw or aux cap at the highest point of THAT pipework ? It's easiest to solve this by fitting one.
If there is a tiny head-gasket leak then you would see gas bubbles in the header tank during high revs. A small leak will leak gases into the waterways but not water into the engine. So it fills the waterways and pipes with gas which dispalces the water. After it's stopped running the water will displace the gas - small bubles may be seen in the bottle again - and the water level drops again.
Having 3 rear engine, front-rad setups and long time ago competition Imp, then it is almost certainly more likey just a high point in the pipework with air in it and the difficulty in bleeding long pipework. Drop me a PM or messenger me and I can maybe assist trouble-shooting.
Spastik_Roach
05-22-2004, 04:52 PM
Is it a car you can live with easily, or is it more of a weekends car like a Caterham...
Yup Rad in the front, my Dad is a plumber and knows all their is to know about bleeding heating systems. We are confident their is no air in it, we think it may well be sucking air in somewhere! If like you said it is head gasket failure then me and my Dad know a man who is an expert on the K series, we will take the engine to him and ask for 160bhp that doesn't blow head gaskets!
Normally the car is an everyday car, my Mum used to take it out everyday, down to the shops, out to work, but now that the engine is being a bit iffy she hasn't driven it since before Christmas.
Matra et Alpine
05-23-2004, 04:20 AM
Yup Rad in the front, my Dad is a plumber and knows all their is to know about bleeding heating systems. We are confident their is no air in it, we think it may well be sucking air in somewhere!
It could be cavitating if there are tight corners or restrcitions from the rad.
It's comon to replace the main run pies and first corners with 1 1/2" copper pipe on the Bageera :)
As you say, you're Dad's experience will guide him bets.
If like you said it is head gasket failure then me and my Dad know a man who is an expert on the K series, we will take the engine to him and ask for 160bhp that doesn't blow head gaskets!.
Have you heard of the comon-failure K-series has been getting on some head gaskets ? Sounds likely :(
Nigel
05-23-2004, 09:01 AM
dude, nice car. I am in awe. I figured most people on a forum like this are just wanna-bes, but that is a truely beautiful car.
Just one question: You said 150bhp, and 750kg. You also said 330bhp/tonne. Maybe I have the unit bhp/tonne confused, but shouldnt 150bhp/0.75tonne = 200bhp/tonne. Sorry if this is a stupid noobie question. I suppose it could be calculated not including the engine or something.
Matra et Alpine
05-23-2004, 10:33 AM
dude, nice car. I am in awe. I figured most people on a forum like this are just wanna-bes, but that is a truely beautiful car.
Thanks to the "Egg-Nog official UCP ownership challenge" we tend to have real cars talked about.
Anyone claiming a car has to produce a photo of a sheet of paper stuck over the stick with a hello to UCP written on it. There have been various suggestions on improvments over the months, but the tried-and-tested still remains :)
Just one question: You said 150bhp, and 750kg. You also said 330bhp/tonne. Maybe I have the unit bhp/tonne confused, but shouldnt 150bhp/0.75tonne = 200bhp/tonne.
Yes.
It's the imperial measusmenrents mix getting in the way and .
Weight of 750Kg is 3/4 of a tonne. As often happens in the UK, a mix up knowing there are 2200lbs to a metric tonne, we often will think it's 750/2200 for the ratio :)
He's forgiven - and well spotted - we didn't !!
Sorry if this is a stupid noobie question. I suppose it could be calculated not including the engine or something.
No question is stupid ( unless you repeat it a dozen times but those kind of folks don't last long :) )
Wouldn't let him away with not counting engine weigth :) It wouldn't be a useful measure then.
Some of us are glad the driver weight doesn't have to be included :)
AKlingel
05-23-2004, 03:03 PM
Beautiful car, hats off to your father!
I would like to know if you could describe in more detail the process by which you created this car. I understand the idea of a kit car, but how much of the car comes assembled? How did you get all of the parts, were they all included in the kit?
I have an uncle, no this is not a made up story like many uncle stories :) , and he built a Shelby Cobra kit car. I know he purchased a '80 to '85 Mustang GT for about $500, he took the 5.0 out and rebuilt/built-up it, then used the frame, transmission and many of the suspension components in his kit car. Was your project something like this?
I will but not now, i cant be bothered! I have to go to school now too!
foto_choppa
05-25-2004, 02:53 AM
i can only dream.........*drool* :eek:
Matra et Alpine
05-25-2004, 03:29 AM
....I would like to know if you could describe in more detail the process by which you created this car. I understand the idea of a kit car, but how much of the car comes assembled? How did you get all of the parts, were they all included in the kit?
Different kits provide different ranges of part-built chassis. bodies etc.
The minimalist is the LoCost which in 'true' form starts only as a length of 1" square tubing and YOU make the chassis from scratch !
Then you have kits wich provide chassis and panels.
Other kits provide panels and sometimes complete shells and the chassis is retaind from the donor.
Finally there are kits where the chassis and body are provided as integral componnet from manufacturer and all you do is bolt on suspension, engine/transmission and interior.
The key factor in EVERY kit is the quality of the build manual.
I've seen it range from 1/2 dozone badly photocopied sheets of A4 out to a 100 page step-by-step guide.
One of the reasons anyoen contemplating a kit MUST talk to owners of the car they intned building and learn whether they can realistically tackle it !!
A simple overview of a kit build is at http://www.daxrush.co.uk
If you'd like more detail than the LoCost book is only a few pounds and Champion covers EVERYTHING in it.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hallashome/Locost_files/book.jpg
Maybe SUka can scan and post a few pages from his dad's build manual to show the kind of detail you can expect.
I would if I knew were it was! :D It really was of little help during the build, that is the problem with many kits, the build manual is poor. I would post my build manual for my Luego because that is in .pdf format on the pc but unfortunatly it is 1.02mb.