Many of you will be aware the FS staff have been discussing the idea of a site car for a good few months now. The idea is to buy a cheap fiat, mod it to our requirements and then use it as both an advertisement for the forum and as transport to meets/shows etc. When we say site car we mean SITE car therefore as FS members we need your input in both ideas and fundraising. This thread is solely for ideas and we'll start fund-raising for it shortly in another thread. However we would like this finished before August so we can take it to Crail if that goes ahead

So, what do you think we should buy and what should we do to it? And again by we I mean the collective we as there are plans afoot to have a meet to do the work. Current suggestions are a modded Multipla with the back seats taken out and the rear windows tinted or a cinqy-trailer like this

Please vote, tell us what you think and post up what you think the car should look like. The only thing to remember is that unless someone wins the lottery in the next few weeks this will be funded entirely by donations so can't cost lots of money

Cheers
FS staff

I'd say go for a mk2... For many reasons.

availability- there's thousands of the things for sale, cheap.

modify- parts are cheaper and readily available.

size- we really don't need a van. A mk2 with the back seats removed is ample.

Versatility- all the above listed (bar the cinq) are really just big carriers. A mk2 or similar if correctly modded can be used to put FS into low level motorsport events.

Downsides... They are common. A Multipla would be more eyecatchin for site promotion, however is we rally liveried a mk2 (again this ties in with both removing the rear seats for carrying and the motorsport idea), then we have something people will notice too.

See, my only disagreement on the size thing is the amount of stuff the site now carries to shows.

We've got the BBQ, Gas, the Gazeebo then tables and (with the BBQ) food etc.

IF we go down the MK2 or cento route we'd HAVE to invest in a trailer. Or make one.

The readiness of MK2 parts, however, would be a considerable advantage.

What about a stilo/sportswagen. They can be picked up quite cheap.

A van wouldn't be good for promotion of the site. Not eyecatching enough.

i'm struggling to work out why we need THAT much load space though, yeah we've filled cars before but normally it seems the cars in question have also been carrying a lot of un-needed stuff, which wouldn't be an issue in a site car given it's not got a personal use.

Abarth supersport haha

marti155 said:

What about a stilo/sportswagen. They can be picked up quite cheap.

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Good call and next question is what mods would you want to see/do for it?

Mrcento said:

A van wouldn't be good for promotion of the site. Not eyecatching enough.

i'm struggling to work out why we need THAT much load space though, yeah we've filled cars before but normally it seems the cars in question have also been carrying a lot of un-needed stuff, which wouldn't be an issue in a site car given it's not got a personal use.

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I disagree with this. Done right and sufficiently different I don't see why a van-type vehicle shouldn't be eye-catching. Of course a car would be preferable and has more potential but we do actually need the load space. For Hopetoun we had 3 cars completely laden and for yesterdays show we had my car partially laden, the golf full and a trailer on the back of Mike's car. It's a question of do we compromise on the site car or on what we provide for shows and at the moment it's the site car

I'm about to pm you btw

Mrcento said:

A van wouldn't be good for promotion of the site. Not eyecatching enough.

i'm struggling to work out why we need THAT much load space though, yeah we've filled cars before but normally it seems the cars in question have also been carrying a lot of un-needed stuff, which wouldn't be an issue in a site car given it's not got a personal use.

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I dunno. It all depends on the van.

Fiorino, slammed on some nice alloys wouldn't be too bad.

As I say mate, it's the BBQ and Gas that take up the most room. Plus we have the Gazebo up in the 'deen for the time being as well.

Now...a Punto MK2 van, slammed...mwhahaha...

A mk2 punto van is just a mk2 with the seats removed and the rear windows welded up

mk2 3dr, rear stripped out, slammed, liveried...we're in buisness

just my view on it. Like i said, it's more versatile and can be used in events too, a van couldn't.

Also, good luck slamming a forino... Rear leaf springs. Lowering that is a major re-engineering job. Same goes for any van derived option bar the punto.

Don't worry about said vehicle been not eye catching am sure a can work my magic and make it stand out even at night with some added reflectiveness

I can see this Going down hill and verry fast If its a Forum car Who is the Owner of it ? and if say Mark donates £1000 and i donate £10 , do we all "own" a same % in it or will martyn "own" and just Drive it and take it round tracks ? , or will the offer for people to take it round tracks be up for a go ? what happens if they Bin it , all that money "mark" put in will of gone to waste when "me" will be laughting becasue i have donated pennys ect ..

just bringing something up that got bbrought up on another forum im on and all hell kicked off when something went wrong , the 3 or 4 people who had put countless amount of hours in and money in and then some one who put Little time and effot in Crashed it , and didnt want to pay anything towards repairs as he has put his share in

jatkinson said:

I can see this Going down hill and verry fast If its a Forum car Who is the Owner of it ? and if say Mark donates £1000 and i donate £10 , do we all "own" a same % in it or will martyn "own" and just Drive it and take it round tracks ? , or will the offer for people to take it round tracks be up for a go ? what happens if they Bin it , all that money "mark" put in will of gone to waste when "me" will be laughting becasue i have donated pennys ect ..

just bringing something up that got bbrought up on another forum im on and all hell kicked off when something went wrong , the 3 or 4 people who had put countless amount of hours in and money in and then some one who put Little time and effot in Crashed it , and didnt want to pay anything towards repairs as he has put his share in

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I see what you mean and for clarification by site car we don't mean something that's used on the track and by everyone on site but something that is used to advertise the site and for transport of FS goods/equipment to shows/meets etc. Insurance will probably be limited to select people and the overall aim is for the vehicle to be owned by FS and we're taking steps to make this the case.

It's a work in progress and we welcome all comments/suggestions on how to make this work. Your query may become obsolete though if Martyn ends up funding this from his own pocket the way he does the rest of the site

I meaning if im putting in alot of my time and money, i would like to be part of it , i can see people haveing that attitude towards it , or "if im not going to have anything in it im not doing any thing on it" so a bit more who is going to own it , Or will "mods/selected" people be able to use it

I can appreciate the concerns James.

We've had a few offers of help already for any potential site motor - which would be very grarefully recieved.

In terms of what folk get out of it, well everyone would expect something different. Some folk might donate a couple of quid or, instead of money, contribute spare parts or time towards the project. The plan would be to hold fix it meets where we provide a BBQ and refreshments (like most of the shows!) At fix it meets it might be that those participating get a hand with work on their own car, perhaps jobs that are out of their depth. At the moment, this is purely at the idea stage.

I'm really not sure how group insurance works - I suspect an open policy would cost too much so it might be that we have to name selected drivers but, as above, it'd really be used for promoting the site at shows and transporting kit around NOT for wrecking on the 1/4 mile.

jatkinson said:

I meaning if im putting in alot of my time and money, i would like to be part of it , i can see people haveing that attitude towards it , or "if im not going to have anything in it im not doing any thing on it" so a bit more who is going to own it , Or will "mods/selected" people be able to use it

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My personal standpoint...

The site car itself (ignore my post about using it in events, i was just extending possible uses so we get maximum use out of it, maximum value for money for the site and maximum exposure, however..) will be used for site purposes and site purposes only. NO personal use. Think of it as part of the actual website, Run via the site kitty just like the site is. Used at FS events and shows for promotion, site errand running etc etc. Not asking folk to "buy" a car, or even "own" a car, just contribute to the site as usual knowing it is a running cost the site covers and needs (as it stands, we do need site transport and a promo tool).

Where the members come in is simple, Suggestions and perhaps the odd bit of helping out on any repairs, modifying or displays at shows involving the site car.

Not asking anyone to fund a car for us

Ill "own" it of some one wants to pay my insurance for me lol , Im just putting accross what has been raised on outher forums on on what hastryed a forum car ( yet it was a **** forum full of chavs )

And we appreciate it (not you "owning it" of course) as it's something we have to consider. The idea has been explained most succinctly by Mark and if anyone else spots flaws then please tell us

Only 3 votes so far. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? At present it's looking like the site car's going to be a modded multipla blazened with the FS logo and URL etc but there's still time to change this if you wish. Get voting please peeps

Of course the real question on everybody's lips is....whos driving it to the Nuremberg-ring? lol

how much are we thinking for the car.... my stilo is for sale at a very very reasonable price... could be the perfect thing?? 1.6 11month mot 98k miles. claw alloys, skirts and spoilers.