i was wondering if there are any lambo kit car build threads and how hard one of these kits would be for an amateur

There are plenty of Lambo builds out there. Oddly enough, there aren't a great deal of members here who have them even though there seems to be a ridiculous amount of Fieros rebodied as Lambos. The only current build I can think of is this one https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/075428.html by merciero. Other members have owned replicas though. I know Roger has owned a Diablo replica, just to name someone.

The Lamborghini rebody has probably been the most versatile kit that you can build, in that there are some very easy kits to build that look hardly anything like the real thing to near exact spot on replicas. Do know that ANY Lambo kit you buy you're going to have to modify the chassis in some way, even if the body manufacturer tells you that the chassis doesn't have to be stretched.. Unlike the many Ferrari replicas out there that tend to utilize the stock Fiero windshield and roof skin, there are no Lambo kits out there that can do that because of obvious problems with width and door assembly. If you tried to use the stock roof skin and setup on a Lambo kit it would look utterly ridiculous.

With that being said, http://www.euroworksexotics.com/ probably has the most beginner level kit you can buy. Their Mirage K is designed to work directly with the stock Fiero wheelbase. In fact, the design is what is most used on all non-stretch Countach replicas. Do note though that it will not be as simple as removing the stock panels and putting the Mirage K body on there. Even if you do your own work, I've estimated that a good approximate cost if you build the car yourself including the kit is going to be around $15,000 - $18,000 depending on how many corners you cut - and that was without me factoring in paint and wheel combinations (which will vary the cost dramatically). There at one time was a few companies making non-stretch Diablos, and I've seen one in person, but I don't think any current company makes a non-stretch Diablo. I believe they all have to be stretched.

I've seen many builds in person. There's a shop near me that has built five different Lambo rebodies (Countachs and Diablos) and the owner owns a 308 replica. He cuts many corners with the builds and the end result ends up being really bad. He had a nice non-stretch Countach, but it had a stock Duke in it. He's also done a V6 Countach stretched, two V6 Diablos stretched, and he's got another V6 Diablo stretch that he's working on. He absolutely tries to construct them with the lowest quality possible to make them fool a good deal of the common folk, but you can tell usually at first glance how low quality the builds really are. Plus with stock engines, it pretty much means that he really can't show off with them because I'd imagine that any newer four door sedan could probably blow it's doors off. They get built, then they're usually sold off.

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1988 Fiero Formula - Mostly stock. Poly all around. Weee....

[This message has been edited by Fiero84Freak (edited 08-06-2009).]

The Artero kit from Pisa is not a Lambo, but it is Lambo inspired. It is an easy kit, so I've heard, and I've seen some in person that look great.

^^^^^^

Yeah, I forgot all about the Artero. Again you can see on the Artero what I was speaking about when using the stock Fiero glass and roof line. With the Diablo inspired body, it really just throws away it being anywhere close to looking like a Diablo. But it does have to be an incredibly easy kit to assemble, considering it's nearly just panel swapping.

i wanna see more Artero pics, i dont like how it looks from the back, but from the front it looks like a diablo

quote Originally posted by redfieroman2: i wanna see more Artero pics, i dont like how it looks from the back, but from the front it looks like a diablo

Pisa's webpage already has a pretty good shot of the Artero's front, but it really looks nothing like a Diablo to me.

Artero


Real Diablo ('99-ish one)



And if you're wishing for scissor doors, you'll be disappointed - the Artero carries all the same functions as a normal Fiero. It only changes the rear, sides, and the front. The front hood and the roof are swapped over.

[This message has been edited by Fiero84Freak (edited 08-06-2009).]

quote Originally posted by redfieroman2: i wanna see more Artero pics, i dont like how it looks from the back,

I agree. It looks a lot like the scorpion from the back. Don't like them either. Even if I liked the look I wouldn't drive one. I'd get killed because it's got to be impossible to see out the back

I've found that all rebodys are misrepresented as to the ease of building, and the Cobra is the only one that I know of that can be bought as a "kit". None of the ferraris or lambos come with everything included. You still have to buy lights wheels, grills and interior pieces etc. You can end up with nearly as much money in the replica as the original. I have the G28 which is about as accurate as the murci gets and 99% of people think it's real. Where the replica shines is in maintenance and insurance. If I were going for an exact replica I think that you might be able to buy a salvage lambo, repair it, replace the drive train with GM and sell the lambo drive train to recover some costs. The Lambo builds are considered to be one of the most difficult. Plan on at least doubling or tripling your first estimate on the cost. Turnkeys run $40,000 and up and nobody is making money on building them. These are NOT "kitcars" !!!

[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-07-2009).]

well considering with some of the ferrari kits you dont have to mes with the frame what would be some nice ferrari kits that might be easier than a lambo kit?

The AD355 I used has the rear wheel well moved 3 inches forward to avoid a stretch. If I were doing it again I would just stretch the cradle instead. It looks fairly simple to do that and the frame is not compromised. The 355 has been updated by the 360 and the 430 so a lot of people are going for those builds. You can get a lot of info on the Mad Mechanics forum. Used to be Kit Car forum. The AD355 molds have been sold to Bartman on that forum. How much attention do you want? You can't drive a murcielago without turning heads. I originally went with the Ferrari for that reason and then ended up buying a murci on ebay that was running. Of course I now am changing everything, so it's almost like buying an unfinished kit'

[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-07-2009).]

very interesting topic here

quote Originally posted by dratts: I've found that all rebodys are misrepresented as to the ease of building, and the Cobra is the only one that I know of that can be bought as a "kit". None of the ferraris or lambos come with everything included. You still have to buy lights wheels, grills and interior pieces etc. You can end up with nearly as much money in the replica as the original. I have the G28 which is about as accurate as the murci gets and 99% of people think it's real. Where the replica shines is in maintenance and insurance. If I were going for an exact replica I think that you might be able to buy a salvage lambo, repair it, replace the drive train with GM and sell the lambo drive train to recover some costs. The Lambo builds are considered to be one of the most difficult. Plan on at least doubling or tripling your first estimate on the cost. Turnkeys run $40,000 and up and nobody is making money on building them. These are NOT "kitcars" !!!

I think what really gets people with replicas is they really don't fully comprehend exactly how much something can cost money and time wise. Take just interior work for example. Some people may think "Oh, it's just an interior. It can't be that hard...." Replicating a Lambo's interior into a Fiero can be VERY difficult and time consuming. You can end up spending $8,000-$10,000 and hundreds of man hours just on the interior alone. If you don't believe me, just get some quotes on replica dashes and then the work needed to fully replicate how they look to the real thing. Just PM Amida and ask him how much his replica Ferrari interior work costs. You'll be surprised. You have to remember also in a Lambo replica you have to change seat belt orientation, the seat belts themselves, Lambo style bucket seats (which even if you get the fiberglass reproductions you still have to have them upholstered and stitched like the real deal, which costs mega bucks), and I haven't even touched the custom pieces you'll need to fill in the rest of the interior such as around the doors, footwells, and such. It's the reason why there are a ton of Lambo builds out there that have owners that have done a good deal on getting the body on there, the drivetrain running good, and making the car 'driveable', but that word 'driveable' is a very auspicious word that varies drastically.

A really well done lambo replica can cost at between 48-60k Now you can buy junk for 20-30k but you know the old saying you get what you pay for.

True, I got mine for a good price before the economy crashed. An ok deal today. I do have the fun of enjoying it even though it is far from finished. I'll be redoing the interior, suspension, brakes and drivetrain. By then my excellent ebay buy will have turned into $60,000 plus. No regrets though.

I have talked to Allan before at Euroworksexotics and he said that all of the various parts you need with the exception of the wheels pretty much come with the kit that goes on the non-stretch frame. I found an article once about a guy who bought a kit that wasn`t finished and he spent about 8000.00 to complete it, but he did everything, and I mean everything himself. If you can fabricate, paint do interior work etc, I think you could do one considerably cheaper than the average joe. As for the interior, if you build a car that slightly replicates a Lambo, I don`t see that it matters if the interior is not an exact replica of a Lambo. I redid the interior for my Fiero which included completely redoing the dash and I probably didn`t spend 700.00 for it. You can see it under Dash build in the project section.

You're right about the interior. Mine is just a terrible job of upholstering and the previous builder sawzalled the door panels off of a sebring and installed them in my car. Surprisingly it doesn't look as bad as you'd think. The expensive part is going to be the interior hardware. The guys at kitcar forum are almost anal about making it exact, but I know that more than 99% of people have no idea what a lamborghini interior looks like. Unfortunately the quality of the upholstery is so bad on my car that anyone would know that it's not a lambo. I'm going to do the interior so that the next owner won't have to rip it out, just add proper hardware if I haven't already. I just looked at your dash build TX. Very nice! There are interior replicas made for both lambo and ferrari which fit fieros for the people who don't have your skills. The gauges would have to be changed for My car. One of the first things people do after walking around the car is look inside to see how fast it goes by the speedometer. I have camaro gauges now with 150mph speedo. Lambos have 220mph speedos.

[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-08-2009).]

This is from my other posts but it explains itself...

http://www.kitcarlist.com/