BURTON – SUITS YOU, SIR (THINK ABOUT IT – ED!)

Once upon a time, you’d find a great cross-section of often quirky kitcar makers in France, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. Sadly, most of them are now gone but one survivor still doing very well is The Burton Car Company of Zutphen (24 miles north-west of Arnhem, for reference).

The company was founded as Duck Hunt BV in 1998 by the Göbel brothers, Iwan and Dimitri who created their lovely little retro-styled Citroën 2CV-based two-seater and have sold hundreds since.

You can still buy one as a kit (from €4499) or as a turnkey (from €12,500) and the little Burton has become More >

OBJETS D’ART

New from the steering wheel meisters at Moto Lita is this gorgeous new range of gearknobs.

A perfect dance partner for their steering wheels and ideal for any tasteful kitcar interior each gearknob is presented in a quality gift box and are crafted from wood and polished billet 5/26in UNC.

If you don’t know the thread required by your gearknob then there is a handy thread measuring guide http://theoreticalmachinist.com/Threads_UnifiedImperial.aspx.

You can choose from polished or anodised alloy and burr walnut finishes, while a selection of badges to top off your gearknob are also available. Prices start from £124.80 inc VAT.

More information from www.moto-lita.co.uk or More >

HAZARD WARNING

Another great new product from Retronics is this RHLM – Hazard Light Module Kit, which is a discreet but essential safety item for kit and classic cars.

Should you need to pull over while driving being able to let other road users know your situation is vital.

Many kit and classic cars are much smaller than today’s mainstream vehicles so the need to be seen is even greater. Visibility is essential, especially in a breakdown or emergency.

The RHLM is an ultra-reliable universal hazard light module and comes ready to fit that is simple to install with no need to replace your existing More >

NEWS FROM THE ‘DRKSIDE’ – COMPELLING STUFF

We’ve been following the progress of Rob Moon’s innovative and exciting three-wheeler project the Drkside. We were speaking to Rob this week and are happy to share his thoughts here. Over to you, Rob …

As TKC Mag/totalkitcar readers may recall, several months ago we gave a sneak preview of my Darkside concept – a distinctly different interpretation of a vehicle focused on delivering unparalleled driver engagement courtesy of an unrepentant reverse-trike architecture, heavily mass-centralised design, and frankly preposterous power-to-weight targets.

The concept itself has received heaps of praise and I am pleased to report that, despite almost zero active marketing, we More >

NICE PAIR OF PINS

New from Rally Design are these stainless steel bonnet pin posts.

You open the bonnet of your immaculate kitcar and instead of focusing on the engine the eye strays to the rusty old bonnet pin kit posts.

It has always amazed me that of the cheap ‘stainless’ bonnet pin kits, the only part that is stainless steel is the slider pressing, the posts are usually mild steel/zinc plated – they soon badly rust and the rust invades the associated slam panel. We seem to have accepted this for years!

These posts are manufactured from top quality stainless to a pattern that makes them direct More >

IT’S SLICK AND IT SLIDES

I really like the new Slick & Slide from Adam’s Polishes. It’s the latest addition to their growing range of products and is a quick detailer or for those more serious car care fiends amongst the totalkitcar.com readership, it is really best described as a ‘topper’ and ‘in-between washes’ product.

Adam’s say that it contains unique polymers that give it the hydrophobicity or bead-making ability.

I used it on my two-tone Smart ForFour, which looks great when it’s clean but definitely not when it’s covered in road crud.  Trouble is, not only are there two colours involved here but also a combination More >

BIG BORE NOT A BIG BORE!

If your air-cooled classic is in need of some additional motivation then an SSP 1776cc engine might just be the kick in the rear it has been searching for.

Produced in the UK on an ISO9002 certified assembly line, it’s built around an all-new full-flow ready aluminium crankcase and features a host of brand-new components and high-performance goodies.

044 spec big valve heads are partnered with stainless steel SCAT rocker covers, an Engle 110 camshaft, 69mm counterweighted crankshaft and I-Beam rods all ensure strength and reliability, not to mention the potential to create decent power once you have bolted on your carburettors More >

QUARTZ PROTECTION

New in Tenzi’s Pro Detailing range is P14 Si Quartz protection, which is a very versatile Si 02-based spray coating that can be used on car paint, glass, rubber and plastic trim.

Its wide array of applications makes it unique I think (I may be wrong) and I personally don’t know of another product that can be used on so many surfaces (Angel Wax Corona Wax, maybe).

I tried it extensively on my two-tone Smart ForFour and useless products are always highlighted on that hard-to-clean paintwork, a mix of ABS panels and steel. By contrast, P14 Si was a breeze to use More >

MARLIN SOLD, BRILLIANT AVATAR PROJECT STILL UP FOR GRABS

Avatar project up for grabs

Always good to hear from Terry Matthews, boss of Marlin Sportscars and we have a bit of an exclusive of a Marlin nature this week. Sort of.

I’ll let Terry explain further.

Hi Steve, I understand that there have been a few rumours going round that Marlin Sports Cars is under new ownership. As we are not quite ready to make an official announcement yet I will just say for now that yes, it is true and very exciting. Watch this space for a full update very soon

In the meantime, this brings me on to let you know More >

LOOK, HOW MANY MORE TIMES? NO HORN JOKES!

New from our friends at Car Builder Solutions is this Lucas-style large, classic 110dB (!) wind horn.

It’s a replica of a Lucas WT618 high and low note horn and in period was OEM fit by the likes of Rolls-Royce, Morgan, Austin, Lotus, Bristol, and some Triumph models.

Equally hilarious is that Matt Foreman at CBS has now added sound files to the company’s website so you can hear the various beeps, blows, blares, blasts, rootles and arooogahs!

Part number LUHORN features a quality cast alloy horn body with domed ABS cover and is available now at £84.

More from www.carbuilder.com/horns ENDS.

More >
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