Home built car - a Locost super 7 build

Wow. It's been a while

2008-01-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

OK I haven't posted here since august of 07. Here's a recap of what has happened since then:

I cleaned up the rear axle and switched it out to 5 bolt rears.
I welded the brackets on for suspension pints for the rear end.
I cut off and re-welded the rear end suspension points.
Then October hit and everything stopped due to new family addition.
Yesterday I lowered the chassis onto furniture dollies and made it possible to move the project around the garage. Allowing my wife to park in there makes life a bit easier at home.
Yesterday I also tacked on the trailing arm brackets to the Chassis.
Finally, yesterday I started my front wishbone/a-arm assemblies.

Now, if I can get the time to take a photo and finish the a-arms.

Engine Mounted!

2007-08-28T20:40:00.001-07:00

Now it is time to get the front and rear suspension done.

Seat pics

2007-08-28T20:36:00.001-07:00

New Seats.

2007-08-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

I picked up some seats for the car yesterday. They just fit. They are from a 99 boxster. I'll add pictures tonight.

Engine mount

2007-08-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

So I got a little time to work on the engine mounts this weekend before helping a friend install a car lift in his garage. Below is a shot of the mount I made from a Volvo engine mount mated to a couple pieces of 1.75 box and some flat steel. The motor is the Datsun 2000 unit Dean gave me. I think these will work.

The original mounts were shot and a new set was going to run 70 dollars unless I got lucky on ebay. The Volvo units were under 10$ a piece.

This is a shot of the engine roughly aligned in hte frame getting ready for mounts.

8-12 update

2007-08-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

My Buddy came over yesterday and we hoisted the axle engine and transmission into the frame. Makes it look a lot more done than it did the day before. Now I need to build the engine mounts. I'll post a shot of all the stuff in it later.

I know you are wondering

2007-08-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

What has gone on in the last few days. Well last time we checked in on out fearless adventurer he had been sidelined by a sore back. Well several days of rest and recuperation later he managed to go out to the garage and start playing with the front suspension. He tried welding nuts into small tubes to try and create the lower control arm heim mounts.

In addition he has succesfully purchased some taillights for the project for 5 dollars.

latest

2007-08-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

I just got a big box of parts from Speedway. Ball joints and material to help me create upper and lower control arms. For the uppers, I am using this kit and for the lowers I both this sleeve to build the lowers with.

I also paid a visit to jack at Kinetic Vehicles and got my brackets. I hope to have front suspension done soon.

Update

2007-08-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

I got most of the metal ground off of the old axle mounts for the rear end. I also made a huge puddle of Gear Oil on the build table. The rear end is really heavy. Tomorrow I visit Jack at Kinetic. I need to buy some brackets.

Where I'm at

2007-07-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a brief rundown of the project progress:

I have been investigating how to make the rear axle fit/ new rear axle. After looking at it for a while and hitting the parts yard, I decided to stay with the Ford axle. I couldn't find anything that was centered on the axle.

I'm currently looking at these upper a arms at speedwaymotors

I think I'll build the lower one though.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do about seats.

Progress - o - meter

2007-07-12T14:36:00.001-07:00

Here's the latest progress-o-meter.

I've been remiss on updating it. I have all the frame done except for the bends in the rear. I also have the transmission mount welded in place. Now I need to figure out a new rear end and to mount the engine.

Well...

2007-06-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I managed to finish off the transmission tunnel and get the rear support fabricated and installed. I think I'll be trying the inner tube trick to cushion the tranny since I removed the mount rubber.

I also started to get the engine mount cross bracing in. Not much fun there. I still need to figure out the engine mount the will weld onto the beams.

2007-05-31T10:35:00.001-07:00

always entertaining

2007-05-31T10:29:00.000-07:00

Progress

2007-05-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

So I finished out the transmission tunnel and removed the cross brace below the tranny. It's amazing how long that took after waiting this long to start the project back up.

Next steps:

Remove the old trailing arm mounts from axle
Fashion a bracket for rear transmission mount
Create engine mount supports and mounts

That is a few weeks worth.

Wow.

2007-05-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since my last update. So much has gone on over the last few months that I have gotten nothing done on the project.

However, this weekend I am taking extra time off and plan to attack my project with a vengeance. First off I will get the engine alignment straightened out and the transmission rear mount welded in place. The interesting thing about the new engine I am using is that the bottom of the bell housing is the bottom of the oil pan. This will allow me to set the transmission and engine lower in the car, hopefully lowering the center of gravity even more.

I also will get the rear axle cleaned up and the new hangers welded on for the trailing arms and shock mounts. Then it's time for a coat of rust inhibitor.

New Engine

2007-03-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

OK, after many fits and starts I have the new engine in the garage. I'll add pix of it soon. It is long and skinny. It's also a counterflow design. In other words the intake and the exhaust are on the same side of the block. Dean, who supplied this engine to me also threw in 2 sets of carbs for it. Now to begin the fitting process. Big thanks sent out to Dean for the low price replacement for the ford engine.

New drivetrain???

2007-02-05T13:28:00.001-08:00

So, after trying to test fit the mustang tranny, I have come to the conclusion that it won't leave me enough foot well room for the ol' 13 wides. A friend of mine has graciously offered to let me use the drive train out of his 1969 Datsun 2000 roadster. With a stock HP rating of 135 and no engine management software at all to worry about, it seems like a good idea.

representative sample below.

Spindles

2007-01-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

I got my spindles yesterday. The winter weather has made car disassembly a bit slow. Soon the weather should be back to normal and I can get the donor out of the driveway.

Axle F

2007-01-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

Rear axle removed. Once I get a hand to haul it out from under the car, I'll add a photo, but almost there.

I'm done being sick

2007-01-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

OK. After a cold and the flu. I am done being sick. Now it is time to finish my dis-assembly.

Only 3 major components left:

brakes
rear axle
fuel pump

New year

2007-01-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

So Christmas was a down time on the car build. I was out of town. However, I did get a bevy of new and exciting tools and car parts for the holidays.

I got:

Aircraft tin snips

An air riveter

A hand riveter

A tachometer

A Speedometer

A die Grinder

All in all, a great haul. Thanks everyone!

-C

sick

2006-12-20T14:30:00.001-08:00

Being sick is a very unproductive way to go through a week.

A week later

2006-12-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I have the wiring harness out as well as the steering column. I hope to get the steering rack and brakes out this weekend.

I picked up a pipe bender at HF. I am going to try and bend my last rear tubes and try and finish the frame before the end of the year.

where am I at?

2006-12-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

I have been plinking away at the harness. I have everything unhooked but the computer, which is partially buried behind the heater assembly.

This weekend I should have it out and I should start on the gas tank and the steering rack.

Soon ol' ugly'll be gone. <Sniff>

Weekend update...

2006-12-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend I made some small progress.

I cleaned the transmission off. It was pretty caked with road grime, motor oil and power steering fluid, a heady cocktail of filth. If you look at the pic in the last post the tranny was black, now it is a more original metallic color.
I got more wiring unhooked. The dash is almost totally un-hooked. I plan on having the harness dis-assembled soon.
I moved the car and engine and hoist to allow the M back in the garage. This was a big win on "wife happiness" front.

All in all it wasn't as productive as I'd like, but a lot got done. Pretty typical day for the project.

-C

Latest

2006-11-29T12:09:00.000-08:00

The engine and transmission are now in 2 separate pieces. It appears the clutch is non-hydraulic. That is a nice thing and will make the pedal box easier to deal with. The clutch plate still had life on it, but I think the speedo cable is broken. I imagine it's not supposed to be in 3 pieces. Now to strip the rest of the car....

-C

before and after.

2006-11-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

I took the bra off the car....eeeeewww. Leprosy of the paint.

Here's the car right before removal:

Here's the result.

...one heavy lump. Plus if you look closely you can see the valdez sized spill where the tranny dumped the fluid.

Outed

2006-11-27T10:45:00.000-08:00

I have outed my engine. Thanks to lots of help from Bob (guy on left) and the equipment loan from Dean the Lima Lump is on the garage floor. Dang it is heavy. I'll post pics tonight.

pulling an engine

2006-11-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

here

and here

I am doing this next. It should be interesting.

lotus super 7 race

2006-11-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9UVV0XuiDk

Not positive what version of a 7 car it is, but it's cool. This was one of the things that got me interested in this project.

countdown

2006-11-14T08:33:00.001-08:00

only 15 more tubes for the basic chassis

tiny bit o' progress

2006-11-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

3 more tubes. 12 inches of steel.

I did manage to weld a lot of the tacked parts up.

1st ride

2006-11-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

I picked up a hitch-hiker and took him for a spin.

Only progress so far is the tranny tunnel.

thoughts on progress

2006-11-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

I would say the most difficult thing about this build has been finding the free time to do it. 2nd would be the compound angles with a cheap harbor freight cut-off saw.

If I build another one of these frames in the future, and I might, I'd liker to have a dedicated shop, because jockeying the motorcycle and M out of the garage every time I want to work gets a little old. In that shop I would place a metal band saw and a plasma cutter along with a large bench grinder.

All in all, I am happy with the amount I have done in little over a month. I will have to begin donor surgery soon. That will also cause a cramping of space as I extract parts and have to make room for them.

Progress-o-meter

2006-11-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

Got some stuff done yesterday. Not as much as I wanted to. I spent a while trying to figure out how to do the bends. No luck yet. I'm gonna build the bender myself, I think. I'll post a pic of it if it is successful.

Much of this week will be un-productive. I am out 2 nights for a biz trip.

status

2006-11-03T18:11:00.001-08:00

a quick breath

2006-11-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

Stopping and looking back. It's been a month since I started fabrication on this thing. I have gotten a lot better at welding, but I would say that my biggest issue is getting the pieces cut right. My Harbor Freight Chop saw is not a precision instrument and I have to cut long and grind to fit. I also need to figure out my tube bending. I may get a bender this weekend and this will be a moot point, but if not I think I'll be back at HF buying something.

I still have the donor dis-assembly ahead. Some of that is going to be fun, but I don't expect it to be smooth. I can't remember the last mustang I disassembled.

Overall I am glad I started this. It keeps me busy and it is a constant source of fascination. I find new and cool sites all the time that are related to Locosts or car fabrication in general. I'm going to spend a few minutes and update the site. I have a lot of bookmarks that need to be organized.

I won't be getting much done this weekend since I need to go to Portland for a family affair. I need to get actual pictures of the frame up here soon.

-Chris

Deja vu

2006-11-03T10:41:00.001-08:00

To fit with a U of O theme, done in green Yellow is new, white = not there.

New progress meter

2006-11-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

I've changed the base image to add the tranny tunnel tube for the progress meter. I am still quite a ways in to it and have about 15 more tubes to go.

latest

2006-11-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

See if you can find the differences. If I could round up a bender I'll be in great shape. I am debating adding all the Australian mods for frame stiffness. I also need to figure out what to do about front uprights.

A wee bit o' progress

2006-11-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

Red tubes = Done last night

Overall progress indicator:

progress - sort of

2006-10-31T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest.

I got 3 whole tubes in. The next cuts are another set of compound angle. Those take forever.

Below is the 3 new tubes in Red:

Weekend progress

2006-10-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

Well the latest progress pic doesn't show much more than the last one. We had house guests all weekend and I really only had a bit of time to work on the car. I spent a good chunk of that time getting more steel.

Note. Make sure if you decide to have your steel cut into car compatible chunks that you get them cut to the longest piece you will be needing (top tube). Last week I bought all my round tube and instead of thinking, I had them cut them into 5 foot pieces. One of the pieces needed to be ~70 inches so I was looking at trying to join 2 small pieces into one long one or just ponying up 7 bucks for the length I needed.

Oh well, If i expected to get it right every time I'd be doing an easier project.

So all I got done are the:
rear bulkhead assembly plates and the supports (x1,x2,w1,w2)

I left all the bends for later. I may be borrowing a bender from my Dad this weekend. If so it will make that a lot easier. Otherwise I'll build my own.
Next weekend I'll be out of town, so Evenings is all I've got this week.

Progress

2006-10-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

As always, the blue is done.... More to be done this weekend.

inspiration

2006-10-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

inspiration
and
this

Was informed to warn users that the above links go to Youtube.

headlights

2006-10-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Looking at the following
lights...

car name

2006-10-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

So I am now thinking about what the car will be named when it is finished. Luckily I have a lot of time to mull this over. However I am going to open it up to suggestions. What about it? Bob, Dean, Todd?

Here's my first thought
Nigel
or Billingsworth
or Some title from either Molly Hatchet or Black Sabbath

Weekend update

2006-10-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

I got more of the frame constructed, but I forgot to pull the pictures off the camera. I'll add them tonight. Got the cross tubes tacked in and started to assemble the section tha sits behind the seats.

in this picture the stuff I got done is red:

In this version, the blue is done and the red is what I did this weekend.

Slow week.

2006-10-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Business travel and guests have made this an unproductive week. I hope to get caught up on the weekend. Lots of welding and grinding to get done.

3d frame shots

2006-10-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

OK here are the newest progress pics...

Another angle (note the worlds worst bench grinder in the background):

Weekend Update

2006-10-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I managed to get the frame into the 3rd dimension. Let me sat this. getting the Jigs set up is a lot of work. As is getting the longish bits to fit where they belong.

supplier

2006-10-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

I found a guy 20 minutes away who sells Locost body parts and fasteners. I'm going to try and check it out sometime.
Kinetic vehicles in Creswell, OR

Mumsford rear link

2006-10-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

front suspension ideas

2006-10-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

Saw a cool design for the front suspension.

Also this one seems interesting to me. But those A-arms are really far back.

Other than that I have done little but file down my welds from this weekend. I pl,an on working on this on Friday and Saturday this week so I should have some good progress to show by Monday.

More suspension parts

2006-10-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

I got these cheap on Ebay. they are the right length for either front or rear. If I can find 1 more 99 r6 shock I should be set for the first suspension build.

Welding begins

2006-10-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

I started to weld the bottom rails yesterday. It went pretty well once I got it dialed in. I used a piece of ground wire and hooked it to the welder ground and the other piece in the weld to make sure that the weld would go smoothly.

Seemed to work great, however some of the welds are pretty messy. I'll have a bit of cleanup with the grinder to do.

All jiggy

2006-10-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

OK. Bottom rails are all ready to weld. I'll hit that this weekend. Tomorrow I have to go to Seattle for business. I'll use some scraps to make sure the welder settings are right for the tubes.

Also I won an auction for an R6 shock. I think I'll use these for the fronts. Now I have to find a second one.

Layout and jigging

2006-10-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I exchangd the 5/8 for 3/4. Schnitzer steel was cool about it. I spent last night laying out the bottom rtails and jigging them together ar the appropriate angles. It was slow, timeconsuming work but peaceful and somewhat relaxing. I guess I understand the people who build ships in a bottle a little better now.

Also, my buddy Dean has offered up his engine hoist and stand for me to use. That's going to be a big help.

Tonight I should do some more layout and maybe I can start tack welding this weekend.

Oops wrong plans

2006-10-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

2 things happened last night of interest.

1. I realized I was using the +4 plans instead of the +442. The upshot of this was that I had some more cutting to do for the bottom rails.

2. I finally put a tape measure to my 3/4 stock and realized that it was 5/8 stock. Now I need to go back to the steel store and make a return. That should be fun. Luckily it isn't very much to return.

Loaded car

2006-10-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the wagon all loaded up. Not very heavy at all.

120 feet of 1x1 and 40 feet of 3/4 x 3/4...

Here is the bottom rails laid out. I need to clean all the ends up before tacking together. It is pretty cool to see some progress.

Steel

2006-09-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

Good news, the steel place is gonna cut them in half for me for free. No 20' sticks on top o' the car for this guy.

Rear suspension

2006-09-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I buy tubing. I think duct tape will be my friend for this task. I'll take a picture of it loaded on the car.

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about rear suspension. I think I may try to do a mumford link instead of a panhard rod.

It'll be more complicated but I've heard great things about them.

Example car

2006-09-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

since I have nothing much to report today, I thought I'd post a picture I found. This is the general style od the finished project.

Chassie size

2006-09-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Spending some time today to think about if I do + 4 or a 442 version of the car. +2 has extra engine compartment room. I'm leaning that way. The weight difference should be ~50 lbs all told.

Lets get it started

2006-09-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Time to start acquiring the metal. I plan on picking up the materials for my build table tomorrow and the steel on Friday. I'll have to cut down the pieces since it comes in 20 foot lengths and my garage is only 19.5 feet long. I'll be hauling it on the roof rack of my passat. That'll be funny looking.

new welder

2006-09-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah. For those of you looking for gratuitous welder shots, look no further perverts:

the donor

2006-09-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

OK I got a donor. During a trip to Portland I found a good bargain donor. A 1988 Ford Mustang (4 cyl).

The car has 91,000 miles on it and it only has a few things wrong with it:

Fuel gauge doesn't work - Not needing this part anyway
AC not hooked up anymore. Probably a bad compressor. - Not going to need it anyway.
Dent in passenger side.
worn u-joint on passenger side

The car is not a rocket ship but the 2.3 liter engine will run better once all the smog garbage is gone and the exhaust and intake flow more freely. I'm almost tempted to try and turn the car for a profit and buy a more beat up car.

Also on the same trip I was given a floor standing drill press by my grandfather.

It works great and should be very helpful during the build.

sigh

2006-09-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

No movement on the donor car front. Watching Craigslist and waiting.

Celica story

2006-09-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

Looked at a donor celica this weekend. Guy didn't have title. Backed out at that point. Also the car wah hammered and had 350k on it I don't need to hurry here.

up to pdx

2006-09-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

OK. Off to portland to examine and hopefuly buy a donor Celica gt-s.

suspension

2006-09-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting suspension idea, I'd love to attempt it, but I think I will build a normal laout later and try this out after all runs. ... Could be a while at that

Donor search

2006-09-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

I've been getting lots of advice on what to use for a donor. Some a bit farther out of reach than others. I am now leaning to old celicas. I could build a de dion rear end with the IRS and have an interesting car.

This project is always in the back of my head, like a song you just can't stop singing. OCD?

For Bob

2006-09-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Well Bob, the comments are enabled again...

Wife test

2006-09-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Well, the first major hurdle is cleared. My wife has given me the go ahead for the project. She even suggested I make a list of tools I may need to go forward to give out as gift ideas to people. All in all a positive development.

I've been researching cars a lot for the donor. I plan on using a Toyota or Suzuki donor which will allow me to mate a VW TDI engine into it when I can get a deal on one.

Wife

2006-09-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

OK.

Sign off from wife - Pending but positive so far

I priced the tubes, 120 for all the 1 x1 and al the .75 x .75 locally

mcsorley 442

2006-09-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to build a McSorley 442 model. It is 4 inches longer and wider and has 2 inches more height, thus the 442.

My last steps before officially doing this are:

convince wife
decide on donor
build a build table

More Donor

2006-09-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

After reading the car and driver article I ruled out one of my donor cars. I had considered a 320i or a 318i as a donor, but they are fairly lackluster hp wise, however a e36 318 might be a better candidate since it came with 134 hp, or 34% more power than the 80-86 BMW 4 banger. I also know I can pick up RX7s for cheap, however I'm not very experienced with the rotary as far as repairs are concerned, but I like the weight and output.

My list is looking like this so far:

early BMW e36 318 or 318 ti
2nd gen rx7
older celica
older miata
toyota pickup running gear in the rear with a TDI VW motor. (mmmm Bio)
ae86, but too manuy drifters whave decimated teh population there.
240sx

However each has its own pluses and minuses

2006-09-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

interesting read

Electric

2006-09-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

OK, got a tip. Thank you Sears. So I start to practice on a 1/8th in piece of stock and there goes the circuit breaker.

Hello Home Depot. I ended up wiring a dedicated 20 amp breaker and outlet into the panel to run the welder and my compressor off of and used some 12/2 gauge wire to connect them. While I was in there I also put a 20 amp breaker in for the garage circuit. By the end of this it was to late to play with the welder anymore.

Diesel motorbike

2006-09-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

BTW: If you like diesel, Look at this

welder woes

2006-09-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Need to get a new tip for the welder to use the flux core. It's a bigger diameter. I'll get a pic of it soon. My wife has the camera on a trip at the moment.

I did find an interesting site today: http://www.ecodeparts.com/ They sell euro diesel engines. they have a 1.4 tdi that gets 60+ mpg. If I could put that in this project with 500-1000 lbs of weight reduction over the car that gets the 60mpg I could get 75mpg+ and still be quick.

Welder? check

2006-09-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

I bought a welder last night. I found what seems to be a good deal on a Century (bought out by Lincoln in 2003) welder. Now to start practicing. Photos later.

Acme adapter

2006-09-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Someone sent me a link to this site:

Now I can start thinking about using Bio-power for this project.

Welding

2006-09-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've been reading up on welding. I realize that I will need to get better at it before I start the project. Lincoln has a great site wirth articles and FAQ's.

Welding terms
Most people would probably use a MIG welder for this
What kind of wire to feed? Look here for some help.

Tools

2006-08-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

Tools I will most likely need:

A welder Probably a mig welder with a gas shield. I am not sure if I will buy new or try and find one used.
A metal cut off saw - I saw a good sale at Harbor freight on one of these, I'll check it out tonight or this weekend.
Impact tools and compressor - already have these
Angle grinder which also has cutoff wheels.
An engine hoist.

The book

2006-08-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

OK first steps:

Surf the web for info and
buy the book

I will add links to good sites on the side bar as I find them.

beginning

2006-08-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

I am going to document my locost super 7 build here in hopes that:
a) I can actually complete the project
b) Someone else finds it useful.

-Chris