I really want to build my own, But...

[Alex Li]

Hi everyone, I'm a 16-year-old Highschooler. And I'm trying to convince my dad to buy me this kit. I personally have some questions about the kit, and some questions my dad has for me that I don't know how to answer... All my questions that need to be answered are below. Anything helps! Thank You.
1) How long does it take for ordering the kit to delivered to your door? Would it be faster if you pay by stages?
2) If I go with the full cage, how safe is it exactly? How thick is the metal tubing? What material is it?
3) Let's say I hit a tree at 40mph, and rolls 2-3 times, would I survive? (this is obviously my dad's question)
4) Does the frame and control arms come painted? If not how much does it take to get it painted?
5) Can you add a roof rack?
6) The car is 100% Water Proof?
7) Does the donor car mileage matter? If so how many miles should it be under?
8) Does the purchase of the kit include instructions or video? I see there is a video instruction on Youtube but is it only for 3/4 of the build?
9) I see that the bodywork like floorboard and firewall is attached via rivets and silicon. What if I don't have a riveting gun? Can you request the manufacture to do it for you?
10) How long does the build take on average?
11) It is 100% street legal in California?

That's all, again thank you.

 

[Ark :D]

Hi everyone, I'm a 16-year-old Highschooler. And I'm trying to convince my dad to buy me this kit. I personally have some questions about the kit, and some questions my dad has for me that I don't know how to answer... All my questions that need to be answered are below. Anything helps! Thank You.
1) How long does it take for ordering the kit to delivered to your door? Would it be faster if you pay by stages? I think 8-10 weeks is the current wait time. Not faster to order the full kit vs. in stages.
2) If I go with the full cage, how safe is it exactly? How thick is the metal tubing? What material is it? It's DOM steel. Pretty safe I'd say, low center of gravity and moderate protection. Treat the car with respect though.
3) Let's say I hit a tree at 40mph, and rolls 2-3 times, would I survive? (this is obviously my dad's question) It has no airbags, so if you hit a tree at that speed head-on, you might be done. You'd be in a world of hurt, regardless.
4) Does the frame and control arms come painted? If not how much does it take to get it painted? They do not. Prices range from $200 for a DIY rattle can job, up through $2000 for a fancy powdercoat job. My powdercoat job cost me around $500, but that's on the low side.
5) Can you add a roof rack? Yes. The sky is the limit. But it would be custom work, there's no roof rack option with the kit.
6) The car is 100% Water Proof? No, but it's pretty resistant. I wouldn't want to drive mine in a downpour.
7) Does the donor car mileage matter? If so how many miles should it be under? Sort of. DF recommends staying under 150k miles, but rebuilting the engine is always an option too. My (second) donor had 78k on it.
8) Does the purchase of the kit include instructions or video? I see there is a video instruction on Youtube but is it only for 3/4 of the build? No. The DF videos (an older series, and a more recent new wiring series based on a SS/TC donor), Lonny and Adam themselves, and the forum are your resources.
9) I see that the bodywork like floorboard and firewall is attached via rivets and silicon. What if I don't have a riveting gun? Can you request the manufacture to do it for you? I don't believe so. A passable rivet gun costs like $20 on Amazon.
10) How long does the build take on average? My build took me two years almost, but I had a donor mishap and I live in the northern part of the US without a heated garage. Some people get it done in a few weeks, others have had their kits for years and aren't even powdercoated/painted yet. You set your own timeframe.
11) It is 100% street legal in California? I believe California is a tougher state to get registered, but there's always that golden Montana loophole.

That's all, again thank you.

See above.

And welcome, btw!

 

[r3drckt]

Wait time is about 11-12 weeks now if I’m not mistaken and that’s just for the kit to be ready for delivery, that doesn’t include the time for shipping which could delay you a few days to a month since they ship kits based on delivery regions. Mine finished in February, but I didn’t get until the end of March and I’m only 11 hours away from DF

 

[Ark :D]

Wait time is about 11-12 weeks now if I’m not mistaken and that’s just for the kit to be ready for delivery, that doesn’t include the time for shipping which could delay you a few days to a month since they ship kits based on delivery regions. Mine finished in February, but I didn’t get until the end of March and I’m only 11 hours away from DF

My apologies Alex, for shooting low on that delivery time...

 

[r3drckt]

My apologies Alex, for shooting low on that delivery time...

Wasn’t trying to be any kind of way with my correction actually, double checked the order page and it’s 12-13 weeks on there. With Alex being underage, he may be able to work something out with his parents like “It takes 3-4 months from ordering the kit to receiving it. What if I do X, Y, and/or Z during that time to earn the kit?” Kind of thing. Pitch community service hours, working to pay them back for the kit, etc.

 

[ctuinstra]

I'll chime in a couple also.

1) Varies. Ark's answer is probably pretty accurate, we waited six months, but it's much better now.
2) DOM is the same thing that roll cages are made out of in the race cars. It's designed to take the weight of the car. For the most safety, stick with a full cage and doors.
3) I can answer this one pretty well. My son DID hit a tree probably close to 40MPH. He ended up with a bruise. Your mileage may vary. The road late at night had a lot of dew on it and he lost traction going around a s-turn. Part of this is my fault and I let the tires to too bald and they are not made for wet roads. We rebuilt and he's driving it again and autocrosses it.
4) No. A couple of rattle cans or a quart or two of paint in a gun.
5) Yes, if you fabricate your own mounts.
6) Nope. Much of it is resistant to water, but the dash is the most sensitive and is not sealed. I'm sure if you planned to leave it out in the rain, you can make a cover for the dash or buy a cover for the car.
7) The Ecotech engine is a very durable engine if it's taken care of. I've seen them with over 200K, but are in need of some love. Our car had 116K and the engine was it great shape, like new! Again, this varies from car to car and owner to owner.
8) The videos pretty much help you with just about everything you need. But what you will find, is at the point the videos stop, you are ready to go your own direction anyways. Many make their car their own and not every car is built the exact same other than much of the basics. The best part is, you will find out quickly, this forum is here to help you and you will get a heck of a lot of help!!! We won't leave to stranded. Heck, we have member visit others to help them from time to time.
9) You could, but the gun is cheaper and then you own it or do like we did and sell it when done.
10) This again varies. After everything is prepped and ready, the actual assembly could be done in as little as two weeks. We took about 2-3 months just here and there time.
11) I have no clue, it's California - I'm not going to say another word about that.

My son came to me after seeing a video on YouTube about the car and wanted to build it much like you. I was thinking "I don't need another project, I've got too much going on already". Then I got to thinking, he will be out of High School soon and moving on with life and I may not see much of him anymore. What better way to spend time together and I hopefully show him a few things along the way and in the end we have something the we both built. One of the best decisions I've made in my life. We've spent countless hours together working on the car. I did a lot of the boring stuff, sanding, painting, etc and I let him actually assemble most of it (with supervision). We now have something to be proud of. Anyone knows me on the forum will understand why I use the words "our" and "we" and not "mine" and "I".

I certain understand your fathers position on being worried about safety!!! I basically am him. But I know that you can't always shelter your son and you have to teach them to be safe. Build the car safe and YOU HAVE TO RESPECT IT! You have to show him that you won't be stupid and you can respect the car, because it can get you in trouble like any other car, just quicker. A good option for you is to stick with a naturally asperated automatic donor, still very fun but probably less prone to mistakes.

I hope for your sake that you can build the car. Create a build log and we will all follow and help you along. I love seeing people like you pushing to accomplish, it makes you a better person in the end. You will learn a heck of a lot along the way also.

Good luck!

 

[Ark :D]

Wasn’t trying to be any kind of way with my correction actually, double checked the order page and it’s 12-13 weeks on there. With Alex being underage, he may be able to work something out with his parents like “It takes 3-4 months from ordering the kit to receiving it. What if I do X, Y, and/or Z during that time to earn the kit?” Kind of thing. Pitch community service hours, working to pay them back for the kit, etc.

Not at all taken that way, my friend.

 

[Rttoys]

1) if you have the means, pay in full. That way you are not waiting on anything when you get started and rolling.
2) it is made within the specs of race buggies like “roundy round cars”. You don’t have crumple zones and air bags, but you have a “race” frame that can handle the pressure.
3) I would say the survivability rate would depend on many factors, but would be in line with any other accident With any other car without airbags.
4) no. Figure in $500-1000 for paint/powder coat (bunch of other stuff to paint), depending on your local prices.
5) you can do whatever you want. That’s the beauty of these. It’s yours. The sky and your imagination is the limit.
6) no. It’s somewhat waterproof, more like water resistant. It wouldn’t take much to make them water proof though.
7) mileage doesn’t matter as much as abuse and maintenance, but a general rule of thumb is the lower the better. just a personal rule of thumb is under 150k *should* be fine.
8) The instructional videos get you about a bit more than 3/4 of the way. After that, you see what needs to be done and you know what to do on your own. There’s always the forum here if you need more help.
9) The rivets work well. The silicone is to keep vibrating noises down. Manual rivet guns are inexpensive. that will be one of a few tools you’ll buy to complete the job.
10) time varies, but I would say a decent “average” is 6-9 months to complete, without humping ass on it.
11) It is 100% street legal in California? Don’t know that one. You’ll have to check your local laws.


If your dad is a car guy at all, this would be an awesome project y’all. I would have loved to do something like this with my dad years ago and he loved seeing it coming together, when I built it, here recently.

 

[Alex Li]

Wasn’t trying to be any kind of way with my correction actually, double checked the order page and it’s 12-13 weeks on there. With Alex being underage, he may be able to work something out with his parents like “It takes 3-4 months from ordering the kit to receiving it. What if I do X, Y, and/or Z during that time to earn the kit?” Kind of thing. Pitch community service hours, working to pay them back for the kit, etc.

Haha, great idea

 

[Brian74]

1) No idea now. I ordered back when things were slow. They had just hired a welder.
2) DOM cold roll (.220 wall?) Many race cars are made from this. Its only as safe as you and circumstances are. Even with the N/A option, you need to drive the car within your limits when in traffic or vicinity of obstacles.
3) See previous answer
4) They used to offer powder coated frame
option. I don't think they do anymore. Your best bet is shopping around. You can DIY the paint with something like an epoxy resin (prolly next best thing to powder coat) , but you will spend just as much for materials and tools.
5) You can easily add a roof rack to the full caged version using nuts & bolts and randomly available products. For the open caged version, you will need to fabricate.
6) Depends on what you mean by water-proof. It can be driven in the rain (mind traction loss) as there is no ABS. If you go through a deep enough puddle, you may have issues. This is not a wet weather car.
7) What matters is how well the donor was maintained. I won’t go into that because there are too many details. If you are unsure about donor suitability, I recommend you have a qualified mechanic check it out first.
8) There are videos, as well as numerous posts in this forum on the build process. The nice thing about this community is that people here will help you along with the entire build process and answer any questions that come up.
9) A rivet gun is not expensive. DF did their build based on the cheapest and most available options to accomplish the build. You can always use rivnuts or whatever other idea you come up with.
10) Adam may be able to answer that question most accurately. Some people just run through the build as planned. Others like to add a bunch of stuff and make theirs more custom. A standard, basic build can be pretty fast. It also depends on how much time you have.
11) Look up the statutes for your state and find other builders in CA.

I know this sounds like a really cool idea (which it is). Just understand that it is not like some lego kit (close though) where every piece is laid out. Its easily the best and most complete kit car out there.

This isn’t a laid out process. You need to be mentally and financially invested, and prepared to invest the time into it. Chad (ctuinstra) is literally dad of the century. I’m sending him my adoption papers as we speak. Not sure how to convince your dad. Have him message me.

The reward of the final product is well worth it; I can assure you that.

 

[DCMoney]

I wonder what it would cost to insure a 16yo male to drive a goblin? In Missouri I wouldn't worry about it since they assume the goblin is a vw powered sand rail.

 

[GoblinGal]

Hi everyone, I'm a 16-year-old Highschooler. And I'm trying to convince my dad to buy me this kit. I personally have some questions about the kit, and some questions my dad has for me that I don't know how to answer... All my questions that need to be answered are below. Anything helps! Thank You.
1) How long does it take for ordering the kit to delivered to your door? Would it be faster if you pay by stages?
2) If I go with the full cage, how safe is it exactly? How thick is the metal tubing? What material is it?
3) Let's say I hit a tree at 40mph, and rolls 2-3 times, would I survive? (this is obviously my dad's question)
4) Does the frame and control arms come painted? If not how much does it take to get it painted?
5) Can you add a roof rack?
6) The car is 100% Water Proof?
7) Does the donor car mileage matter? If so how many miles should it be under?
8) Does the purchase of the kit include instructions or video? I see there is a video instruction on Youtube but is it only for 3/4 of the build?
9) I see that the bodywork like floorboard and firewall is attached via rivets and silicon. What if I don't have a riveting gun? Can you request the manufacture to do it for you?
10) How long does the build take on average?
11) It is 100% street legal in California?

That's all, again thank you.

Hey Alex,

We'd love to add you & your Dad to our Goblin Family! I can see from the responses so far, our Family has given you some great info to pass along to your Dad.

The 1 thing I'll add is this: Here's a great resource for initial research into registering a kit car in each state:

https://www.semasan.com/resources/everything-you-need-register-and-title-your-hobby-car-all-50-states