LocostUSA.com

Hey John...I found you! I was looking through a old kit car mag, again, and saw the Chestnut Roadster. Awesume car I called you back in 2009 because you were to be at the Carlisle Kit car show, I want to see this car! but did not see you there. Anyway, I really like the concept of this lsX powered t56 c6 suspended car. Are you still doing anything with this? BTW this miata base look good...very Corba'ish front end...my heart has an affection for a good old American V8 tied to a 5 - 6 speed manual transmission with nice side pipes for the sound!

Hello Don, I had to take some time off to take care of some health issues and to take care of my father and grandmother that were terminally ill. I am just getting back to normal. I have sent you an email. Thanks for the post, John

The photoshop picture of the Miata roadster kit is beautiful.
I am looking forward to more pictures of it with the new windscreen too.

Great attitude John!
Don't do it to make money, do it to have fun and enjoy being alive.
Helping other people make a dream turn into reality is better than making a big profit.
I wondered if the stock Miata uprights would clear the hood or if small "bumps" would be required.

The Miata/Sammy will be an excellent option for us builders.
Using a single donor car with the suspension subframes really speeds up the build.
And a sleek retro body really sets the car apart from the typical Locost/7.

So glad to see progress after so long.

Keep me in the loop on this one too! I saw your thread on Miata.net and still believe this is one of the slickest looking kits out there. Good luck in the building of a frame that will work and keep the design as close as possible to your sketches. I think I would be a buyer at $5k for the kit plus a donor. I think the whole car would be completed for under around $12k this way with some good shocks and decent wheels / tires.

BT

Where do I sign up for one?

Hello everyone, I haven't posted in awhile. It took forever to get the body. When it arrived I was extremely disappointed. It was a twisted mess and of very poor quality. I could have fixed it but I didn't want to be associated with the company that produced it. To be fair, I recently read that the business had been sold and that the new owner has shut down for awhile to address quality issues.

In the mean time I had a lot happen in my life this year which has kept me from doing any work on a project car. Last week I finally got things in order and have spent a couple of days working on a concept body. You will see it's different than the Sammio but still in the 50's style.

I was going to build a dedicated frame. But at this time I am building on an NA chassis. I unbolted everything that I could and then cut out the windshield, rear fenders, and deck. I will fabricated a tubular structure that will tie the rear shock towers to a roll bar support. Side impact bars will tie into this and bolt into the Miata door hinge mounts.

The car will use Porsche 356 Speedster windshield. The front will be 1 piece and tilt forward to open. I plan on having the seam line half way up the belt line. The car will have half doors, the bottom seam in line with the hood.

What you see here has a lot of cardboard and duct tape covered with black primer to try and blend everything together. Once I get the look right I will use foam and bondo to do the final shaping. Not building a race car. Just a fun little roadster. Having fun, John

Sorry to read of the problems but glad you haven't thrown in the towel.
Keep at it, we are watching....

A miniature Ferrari Testa Rossa body by Scaglietti. A very nice look As recently sold for 16M. I guess you could say it was and will be a very pretty car.