Top 5: Models that put the wrench in the driver's hands

Caterham Seven

Nothing short of a motoring legend, the Seven has been around since 1957. Designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman, it still offers the purest driving experience imaginable, with stunning performance from even a 1.6-litre Ford engine thanks to its 600kg weight. You can buy a Seven in kit form to build yourself, or if you can't be bothered the factory will do it for you. Stripped-out thrills don't come any better and the Caterham will probably still be in production in 2057, such is the loyalty of its legion of fans the world over.

Ultima GTR

If it's home-made, physics-defying acceleration you're wanting, then check out the Ultima. Its GTR720 has set six different world records, and it can go from 0-160kph to a standstill again in just 9.4 seconds, which should rearrange your internal organs nicely. It's a kit car for the very brave, but as with the Caterham the factory will build you one. Probably for the best, really. How would you fancy taming 720hp in something you knocked together in the garage? Exactly. Neither would we.

Dax Cobra

Or any fake snake, to be honest, for there are plenty out there to choose from, much to the chagrin of owners of the real things. The appeal is simple: the AC Cobra is possibly the most macho car ever built, combining classic, curvaceous looks with huge levels of American V8 grunt. Prices for real ones read like telephone numbers, but you could build your own, authentic-looking Cobra for less than Dh200,000. The mechanics are simple for even an amateur builder and the results are often truly extraordinary. Hold on to your hats.

Ford GT40

Like the AC Cobra, the Ford GT40 was a motorsport sensation in the 1960s. It ruled Le Mans for years and kicked sand in the face of Ferrari, Porsche and everyone else. Only a small number of roadgoing GT40s were produced, so it was an obvious candidate for cloning and replicas are often indistinguishable from the real thing. You can buy kits to build your own, but there is one UK manufacturer, Superformance, that can supply the best replicas in the world at a cost in excess of Dh600,000.

Lancia Stratos

The Hawk HF is a faithful recreation of possibly the most beautiful rally car of all time: the Lancia Stratos. Just 492 originals were built and are now highly sought after by collectors and speculators. So if you want a slice of the magic but have a more down-to-earth budget you can build your own. The Stratos, whether real or not, is a handful to drive, but have yours painted in full Alitalia livery with a bank of spotlamps on its nose like the victorious rally cars and no head will be left unturned. Which is saying something in the UAE.

Dolly gets pedals and a radiator - BOOK OF THE FUTURE

Since my last update there’s been lots of progress on Dolly, the Lotus 7-style Robin Hood kit car that I’m restoring/rebuilding.  The engine and gearbox are in and Dolly has gained all three pedals, a radiator and fan, some headlights, and I’ve made a start on the wiring and a number of more cosmetic pieces. So here goes a mammoth update. I’ve placed loads of photos in the gallery at the bottom so just scroll down if you want the story in pictures!

Finishing off the last update where engine and gearbox were almost there, I have since bolted in the new gearbox mounting and located the engine mounts on the new chassis rails. Not bolted together yet but has been stably sitting there for almost a month now. Will all need to come out again so that the mounts can be cleaned up and painted along with the rest of the engine bay. I’ll also need to replace the hot glue stick currently acting as a gearbox locating bolt with the real thing picked up at the Stoneleigh kit car show, along with a handbrake lever, some boot hinges, and a fusebox.

Onto the pedals. Brake and clutch came together as part of a pedal box I acquired out of a Triumph Stag, along with matching servo and master cylinders. This has now been mounted on a custom bracket fabricated from the left over steel from the bread trolley I found dumped at the local train station. Said trolley was very useful while I was positioning the engine and having to roll it around the garage, but now that the engine is in it has been cut up for the steel. This car is all about recycling!

The clutch pedal needed a little reshaping to fit into the narrow footwell, so it has been cut, bent, and welded with some reinforcement (more bread trolley). The accelerator too needed altering – this time just shortening, so three inches or so have been cut from the stem. Once I hooked the pedal up to the new throttle cable and connected it to the carbs this left the pedal action rather heavy so I’ll need to find a weaker spring for the returns on both pedal and throttle.

With the pedal box aligned and mounted I realised that the mounting would foul the bonnet so had to remodel it slightly, taking a corner off and bracing it (you guessed it: more bread trolley). It now fits beautifully. As is typical for me, once I got it fitted I realised it wasn’t 100% square but I don’t think that will be too obvious once everything is painted up nicely.

Lotus, the Elan, Cortina, and Europa

Popular Mechanics

Autocar & motor

Managing innovation, design and creativity

Hillclimbing & Sprinting, The Essential Manual