A strange thing to do

Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start), why try to build a car? Well, I've always wanted to, it's that simple. I've always liked building models, having an extensive Airfix and Lego collection as a kid and always thought building a whole car would be fun, albeit a bit more challenging. A new house now gives me the space to do it and my life savings are ready!

Why choose a Seven-style kit? It's a classic design and everyone knows what it is. I've never really understood the desire to build a car that apes something more expensive, an old MR2 with a Ferrari body stuck on top, for example. I prefer something a bit more original (if you can call one of the most copied car designs ever original!). It's also about ratios: thrust-to-weight and cost-to-fun and a Seven is a whole lot of bang for the buck.

Why a GBS Zero? When I first start looking at kits years ago I thought I would go for a Tiger Cat, it was very cheap and at that time, that was important! More recently I started researching properly and found the Cat was discontinued and nothing else from the Tiger brochure really slapped me in the face. Westfield and Caterham obviously had the pedigree, but that comes at a premium when toting up prices. The Dax Rush has always been lovely to look at, but again it's expensive and Dax have recently sold it off to another manufacturer.

I'm not sure how I originally came across GBS, as they didn't even exist when I first looked years ago, it was probably just a simple kit car manufacturer search on Google. The Zero looked very nice, was very competitively priced and a bit of research online found many happy campers, praising both the quality of the car and the company itself. More investigation was required. The next kit car show was in Exeter, a bit of a trek from Surrey but worth it to chat with Keith from GBS, look over the car and talk to people who had built one. Decision made!

Finally, why write a blog? Well, to start with, the Zero does not come with a build manual! Assembly comes down to knowledge, common sense and help online in the form of forums and blogs. I will be making full use of that community and if I can add to it in any way, great. It's also nice to have a record for my own benefit I suppose.

Now, first things first, what needs doing in the garage?