Although we are widely known for our factory-built Speedsters, we are also a leading kit car manufacturer, in fact described by Which Kit? Magazine as 'a proud standard-bearer for the British kit car industry as a whole'.

For the technically-minded enthusiast a Chesil self-build project is the only way to attain ownership with a real sense of achievement. For the novice builder a Chesil self-build project can be a surprisingly straight forward task, with the added assurance of Chesil's unrivalled level of advice and support.

To find out exactly how good a Chesil body kit is, how we can shorten your chassis to the highest standards, and to learn more about the Chesil in component form, please follow the categorized links to the left.

For the uninitiated here are the basic outlines of the two most common approaches to a Chesil self-build project. These are the basic details:


Self-Build Starting With a VW Beetle Donor Car:

Starting with a suitable donor Beetle you will need to strip it down to the bare chassis. This involves removing the engine, interior, steering column and fuel tank before unbolting the bodyshell and lifting it off. This will leave you with the rolling chassis from which you remove the front suspension assembly, gear box and associated parts.

The bare chassis will require precise jig-mounted shortening at the Chesil works. Once shortened and prepared/painted you will be able to build it back up to a rolling state with all transmission, suspension and steering components fitted.

At this stage the Chesil bodyshell is fitted to the rolling chassis, followed by engine, fuel system, steering column, electrical system, lights, body trim, carpets, upholstery and hood.


Self-Build Starting With a Chesil Full Rolling Chassis:

This self-build approach is ideal if you are not working to a tight budget. Starting with a Chesil Full Rolling Chassis you already have what in effect is the bottom half of a Chesil factory-built Speedster, minus its engine.

As with the donor car route you will then fit the Chesil bodyshell to the deluxe rolling chassis and finish the project in the same way as described above. The difference between this and the donor car route is that you will require to purchase all the parts that would have been retained if you had started with a donor car. Items such as the engine, fuel tank, steering column and wiper motor fall into this category.

Customers following this route nearly always finish their project with components that match the quality of the Full Rolling Chassis. We can supply all the additional parts required which are prepared to a factory-built standard.

The Individual Parts page details additional items that you may require for your self-build project.

Some of these parts are related to the donor car and some are individual accessory items not included in our main finishing sets.

There is no set route to follow for your self-build project. With Chesil you have the flexibility to pick and choose with our parts and services.

We can supply any part that you may require for your project and also offer a flexible range of services, allowing you to specify the exact stage of completion for your kit, from a bare shell to an almost complete car requiring only minor tasks to complete. This will still allow you to claim all credit for having built it yourself!

For further details follow the categorized links to the above left.