Our Models
HERITAGE
There are still 1000’s of Duttons around that were manufactured 40 – 50 years ago showing their built in quality and reliability.
1972 B Type
A NEW DUTTON OR A SECONDHAND KIT CAR?
There is nothing more satisfying than building and driving an all weather modern donor based kit car that can be used every day and get asked what is it and you reply “it’s a Dutton – I built it”. This is were our comprehensive assembly manual comes into play. The major disadvantage of a second-hand kit car of any make is that you have no idea how well it was built.
PETROL OR ELECTRIC?
Batteries add a huge increase in weight and cost to a sports car.
“adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”
PETROL IS KING lets keep it that way…..
WILL I FIT?
The Phaeton and B Plus caters for the majority of drivers, with both seat widths at a surprisingly wide 20″ and leg room (Seat back to foot well) of 53″ (No need to pay extra for a wide body – you get this as standard in a Dutton)
THE DESIGN BRIEF
The design brief was simple, to produce a 21st century version of the best selling “Super-Kit Car” in the World – the Dutton, 1000’s upon 1000’s were made since 1967.
The Dutton is not just a car – it’s a story of heritage reborn. Sixty years of innovation refined for today’s driver. 1800cc/2000cc, 160bhp, 4 wheel powered disc brakes, ABS, 6 speed gearbox, limited slip differential and a lot more as standard. Compared with our 1970 Dutton 1100cc, 45bhp, drum brakes, 4 speed gearbox, no servo and a 2 page typed assembly “manual”.
Whether you are a first time buyer or an experienced enthusiast/petrol-head our well proven track record of over 8000 car sales coupled with the best assembly manual in the industry guarantees you a safe and satisfying build-up. Every model of Dutton since 1967 has been based on the single based donor car principle. With Dutton you are buying with the full confidence of a company of substance and impressive history spanning 60 years of continual vehicle manufacture.
Dutton – the “all weather” traditional sports car – with proper weather equipment and all that you would expect in a high spec modern sports car from Mazda. With a single donor car and our trail blazing assembly manual (can be viewed online) an easy build-up is assured with no need to hunt around to find that “missing” bit. Importantly everything you need to get your Dutton on the road is either supplied by us in the kit or is taken off the donor car
BOOK YOUR DUTTON TEST DRIVE/FACTORY VISIT TODAY
We operate on a Viewing by Appointment basis allowing us to spend time with you in a no pressure, relaxed environment. Please contact us before visiting the factory.
We warmly welcome prospective customers to visit our Factory (no Agent/Dealer prices with Dutton **) to discuss your requirements/colours/spec and see Phaetons and B Plus’s being manufactured and assembled.
** Agents/Dealers get around 10% to 20 % commission on a sale – someone eventually ends up paying this…..
There can never be a substitute for a factory visit seeing cars being manufactured and built. Even when we had a main road car showroom in Worthing we always recommended visitors included a trip down the road to our assembly factory. The fun starts at our factory gate
Dutton owners agree that a factory visit chatting with staff and seeing the chassis and GRP bodies being manufactured was a very important part of the whole fun experience of building a kit car and gave them the confidence to go ahead and buy from a company that has been in continual vehicle production for 60 years.
Once the body is unbolted (6 bolts)and lifted off by 2 adults the complete rolling chassis can be built up in a day.
Specifications for Phaeton 5 & B Plus 3
| inch | mm | |
| Overall Length | 139 | 3,530 |
| Overall Width | 68 | 1,727 |
| Ground Clearance under Chassis * | 5(F) 6(R) | 127(F) 150(R) |
| Track | 57 | 1,447 |
| Wheel base | 86 | 2,184 |
| Weight (dry) total | 1,600 (lb) | 730 (kg) |
| Weight front axle ** | 837 (lb) | 380 (kg) |
| Weight rear axle ** | 770 (lb) | 350 (kg) |
| POWER | 2000cc 220 bhp/tonne | 1800cc 180 bhp/tonne |
* Phaeton 5 & B Plus 3 have – as standard – Gaz coil-overs so ride height and damping are adjustable
** Close to a weight distribution of 50/50
| SPECIFICATIONS (typical, depending on MX5 donor) | |
|---|---|
| Left or Right hand drive. 5 or 6 speed gearbox. 1800cc or 2000cc 4 cyl engine. Limited slip diff. 4 Gaz adjustable coilover dampers. 4 Faulkner racing springs. Stainless steel side exhaust system. Power steering (can be immobilised if preferred). Adjustable steering column. Fully reclining black leather front seats with head rests and ISOFIX. Heated seats. 12V 120W power socket. Lockable internal storage box. Interior lamp. 11 gallon/50L fuel tank. Diagonally split ABS dual brake system, servo, disc front ventilated and rear. Locking/immobiliser. | 7J x 17″ Aluminium 10 spoke wheels with low profile 205/45/R17 tyres. 1 internal dipping mirror. 2 door mirrors. Heater/windscreen de-mister. Halogen headlamps, Pair fog lamps, LED rear lamps inc fog and reversing, LED front indicators, hazard warning. 3rd brake light. Speedo, rev counter, fuel gauge, water temp, oil temp. Wiper 2 speed + Mist + Int. Boot with electric key locking |
| What you get in the Phæton & B Plus kit: | |
|---|---|
| Fully assembled:- Body tub in your colour + all internal flooring in black bonded monocoque unit BOLTED to:- Complete finished multi-tubular rectangular section steel space frame with roll over bar, painted. Locking/hinged bonnet factory fitted. Locking/hinged boot lid factory fitted. Loose:- Front diff mounting Rear gearbox mounting Windscreen with interior mirror plinth and aluminium surround. Black dashboard with all holes precision cut. Whole set of cupro nickel brake pipes. Whole set copper fuel pipes. Complete stainless steel exhaust system. 2 front/2 rear suspension adjustable GAZ dampers. 2 front/2 rear Faulkner racing coil springs. Extended handbrake rod. Steel roll-over bar with IVA compliant seat belt anchorages. Pair wiper arms/blades/wheel boxes. Full set of decals – 2 off black DUTTON (sides), 5 off DUTTON (4 hub cap + 1 steer wheel centre). Light pack:- pair 7 inch headlamps + side, pair LED front indicators and repeaters, pair combined LED rear – stop/side/reverse/fog/indicator. Front/Rear lighting wiring diagrams. Black carpet set inc. boot floor GRP heater box heater motor 47 page/75 full colour photos assembly manual (can be obtained prior to kit ordering) Loose pack:- Fasteners – that are not available from Mx5 Sundry brackets. Wiring and diagrams | |
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A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT ITEMS YOU WON’T GET IN ANY DUTTON
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PAYING BALANCE UPFRONT BEFORE YOU SEE YOUR KIT?
Some companies expect you to pay the outstanding balance before you even see the finished article.
Not us – on all our order forms:-
Outstanding balance by bank transfer or cash when you collect your Dutton. Once order has been accepted prices are fixed.
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20 PAGES verses 47 PAGES?
It is recommended that a Companies assembly manual is forensically examined to determine:-
a) Can I build it?
b) Does it show all parts being fitted with clear photos?
Our manual is 47 pages and has 75 colour photos
It is counter-intuitive to assume that a 47-page manual means the build-up is twice as long/complicated as a 20 page manual…….
DONOR CAR PRICES PLUMMET:
If you are buying a fully built Phæton 5 or B Plus 3 there are two main sources of Donor Car…
Since UK insurance companies have decided that fully comprehensive cover is cheaper than basic Third Party cover, the market has been flooded with cheap slightly damaged cars.
1. We are registered with www.copart.co.uk (other auction sites are available) that auctions 1,400 (that’s not a typo) damaged cars every day. If you have ordered a fully-built car you can search Copart free of charge for the Donor Car that you want us to use. Bear in mind that these are bought by virtual auction so are sold ‘AS IS’; we can only rely on the description and photos shown. THERE IS NO WARRANTY (and expect to purchase any damaged parts that need replacing).
Give us the bid number and maximum price that you want to pay and we will bid for it on your behalf. If we win your bid you MUST pay CoPart within 2 days. See Donor Car page as an example of the fees involved.
2. As an alternative, you can supply the Donor Car; by joining an online auction site like Copart for £100 and bidding yourself (and arrange delivery and collection), or use other sources.
CHOOSING A DONOR
Look for a donor with lots of light body damage category C, D, S, N or U, NOT stolen recovered as there will almost certainly be some expensive parts already missing. You are blocked from biding on cat A or B.
Please note: the option for us to bid on your behalf is only applicable to fully built cars, not kit sales.
CERTIFICATES/TYPE APPROVAL/SAFETY/WARRANTY
We have been committed to customer safety since the 1960’s. As an example, in the early 1980’s the Department of Transport could not decide whether kit cars needed a physical seat belt anchorage test.
Rather than waiting for them to decide, we took it upon ourselves (at considerable expense) to do a full, physical Type Approval seat belt anchorage test on our entire range.
The pictures below shows Phæton platform (includes Melos, Cantera and Legerra) and Sierra platform (includes Estate, Drophead, Panel van, Rico, Shuttle and Benito) all being tested in July 1984 by Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) the world renowned testing centre – The NMI seat system is loaded to a total of 3.5 tonne and must be able to withstand the load for 0.2 sec. without breaking for the test to be Type Approved. For the record all our models passed first time of testing.
Reliability and Quality
For well over 60 years Tim Dutton has been building cars that are deliberately basic – this means they are easy and inexpensive to service / repair anywhere in the World.
DVSA (was VOSA) Inspection
Part of the comprehensive IVA test. This is for a Surf but it’s the same test procedure. These cars are IVA compliant.
WARRANTY
It doesn’t matter how many degrees or diplomas you have there can never be a substitute for over 60 years of continual vehicle production. At Dutton we can look at a component and “see” what it will look like in 10 years time and design / position it accordingly – you certainly can’t learn that looking at a computer screen. This is borne out by our spectacular lack of warranty claims. To see how tough our rectangular steel chassis are see the 1983 video (on our YouTube) of our Sierra being put thru it’s paces
WARRANTY:- All Dutton manufactured items 12 months. As the donor Mazda MX5 we purchase is always from an online auction and bought “sight unseen” there is no warranty. Vehicles must be returned to factory at owner expense for warranty work. Date runs from date of delivery
The IVA test and Package
ALL low volume body/chassis kit cars in the UK have to pass the IVA test. Without an IVA certificate you will not be able to register your car for road use. For exports it is usually easier/quicker to submit to an IVA test and supply the Dutton with a UK registration number and corresponding V5C registration document before submitting to register in your country.
We cannot stress enough the importance of the IVA test and not just from a legal point of view – it also shows that the car has been assembled to the highest Government standards.
We have been subjecting our vehicles to SVA/IVA testing since it’s inception in 1997
Our IVA package for Fully Built Cars includes the following:-
- DVLA 1st Registration Fee
- 1 month UK road tax
- Pair number plates
- Full fuel tank
- Full day attendance at IVA test station
- Attending to ALL paperwork with DVSA and DVLA up to and including fitting number plates to your Dutton (including your cherished number if required). You simply arrive at the factory, jump in your new Dutton and drive off.
