Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89726 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
An absolutley brilliant read for anyone even remotely interested in cars, engineering, high-performance track machinery, engine suspension tuning or garage projects in general. Turns out Keith's a fine, often funny writer with a wonderful, practicle, nuts and bolts grasp of things...Better yet, he puts it inot words and phrases that an average joe can undrstand. And enjoy. ..Buy yourself a copy now --Grassroots Motorsports

This book is in sections rather than the more usual chapters. This makes it a bit difficult to find information quickly. You need to look at the index first. It starts with finding a donor car and moves almost immediatly into putting the car together. This book is much more of an overview compared with some of the books I have reviewed. Most of the information is there if you look for it. The car itself appears comparable to the similar English version you see so often being driven around on sunny summer days. --Model Engineers' Workshop

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. --American Motors

Synopsis
The dream of building a sports car with one's own hands is nearly universal among automotive enthusiasts. This book tells the story of one man who actually did it - and did it for cheap! For roughly 20 percent of the cost of a Caterham Lotus Seven replica (think about $7,000), Keith Tanner built his own Seven-like sports car that is faster than just about anything else on the road. "How To Build a Cheap Sports Car" entertains the reader as they watch a car being built. The reader shares in the trials and tribulations of turning a bare frame and wrecked Miata into a little racetrack demon. Tanner's direct writing style and commonsense approach to the challenges of the build make for an enjoyable and informative read.

Customer Reviews

A good resource for Locost Builders
I read the book during a long flight from cover to cover. It is no way a replacement for Ron Champion's book "Build a sports car for £250" but it does go in to much greater depth on key issues in developingsolutions for various issues like the question of bump steer, brake system design from hyraulic basics and many more. It is a valuable source to learn more about what you are actually doing rather than just following the "recipie" in Ron's book that is becomeing more challenging due to the decreasing availability of the Escort parts that his design is based on. I would highly recommend reading this and the "How to build a Tiger Avon Sportscar" to anyone contemplating a locost build now, the more reading and knowledge you gain before you start the easier the selection of parts and construction will be.