LocostUSA.com

Small update-

No news from the DMV yet. Sat on hold for 30 minutes yesterday for them to tell me I was forwarded to a regional call center that can't help me. I did get an email address for the local office and sent a message asking for the status.

I did make some MAJOR strides with tuning the car. I switched from an Innovate wideband with no readout to an AEM unit with a gauge. The Innovate was apparently broken and i had tuned the car with the innovate. Turns out I was WAY lean. My WOT air/fuel ratios were actually like 16/17:1. The car definitely felt slower than I thought it should and that explained it. Retuned it driving around my neighborhood and holy crap is it a beast now. My last dyno run was 190hp. I'd guess it's up at least 40hp from that. Will still need to revisit the dyno to work on timing and the multi-stage intake path switch the motor has. Currently the intake path switching points I have result in big jumps in power which isn't ideal.



Finally- I have insurance. My existing company, Heacock, was $122 additional per year on the policy that insures our C4 Corvette. That is with zero deductibles and $25k agreed value. I did try to quote Hagerty and they wouldn't insure a homebuilt vehicle.

Grundy is okay with "replicas."

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Here is the Texas DMV checklist for required paperwork. Why this isn't readily available I have no idea. My final appt. to be street legal is tomorrow. That is with the local county tax office. They are the ones who issue titles and plates here.

That's mercifully brief. In fact, it's the simplest one I've seen yet. That's good!

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Hope you get through with no issues.

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1975 MG Midget
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=24382
13B Powered Rotus Geauxkart
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20899

Go it!! We had a little hang up with the frame again. They kept asking where I bought the frame. After much back and forth they finally wrapped their heads around the fact I made it from little pieces of metal(my exact wording). For plates I chose to go with "custom vehicle" plates since that firmly put me not having to pass emissions testing. Just to make sure they gave me custom vehicle plates and not regular ones I requested a vanity "custom vehicle" plate. I was able to get LOTUS7. Surprised no one in the great state of Texas has grabbed that one yet. It cost an additional $40/yr but seemed worth it to ensure no emissions requirements.

Only thing outstanding really with the car is the hood. Still trying to fix the giant bubble I got in the front of it. It's at my friends shop right now being cut and welded up. After that it'll be a bit of body work on it and vinyl wrapping.

No party emoji, but congrats!

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1975 MG Midget
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=24382
13B Powered Rotus Geauxkart
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20899

Congrats!!!!!

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Peace, Ron

I really feel for you guys that don'y have the same system as Washington. After about 20 minutes at the Inspection Lane and another 45 at the licensing office (local) I went home with my original 1963 WA state plate and titled as a 1963 Custom Lotus Super7.

Cheers!

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Larry in Seattle

Thanks all! It's been a long journey but I'm finally reaping the rewards. Did the 75 mile round trip to work yesterday(was a balmy 101f on the way home, ice vest to the rescue). Came out @ 20.3mpg. These cars are touted as having the worst aero ever so was a good thing to see at least 20. When this was an RX-8 the best I got was 20mpg ONCE. I typically saw 17-19mpg with that.

Now ironing out details...

-I've got a drivetrain vibration @ 44-47mph. I think it might be pinion angle? I did almost nothing when I set up the car to make sure it was right.

-The self retracting Corbeau seatbelts are garbage and don't stay tight. In theory a great idea, in practice not so much. I've ordered new Sparco standard four points to replace them.

-Seats are OK for now but sit a bit too high for my taste. Eventually I'll get some fiberglass ones from kit car direct in the UK. http://www.kitcardirect.co.uk/haynes-lo ... shell.html

-The racetech side mirrors I had on were a joke. So sketchy driving with them as you could see almost nothing. Picked up convex larger ones from kit car direct and they are worlds better. The drivers side is perfect. The passenger side still has some blind spots. Hoping to clear that problem up with round stick on mirrors.

Congrats on the build, it looks great!.

I'm planning a NC build and might try using the whole subframes like you did on your build. All the photos are gone on the first few pages. Could you re-upload them? Alternatively, even just a photo dump would be great.

Not exactly sure what was lost for pics in the thread but I do have a ton of pics available here- https://ibb.co/album/Z1gXSK

Probably should give an update on the car. I've put 1200 miles on it now. Still dont have the hood done. There is a drivetrain vibration between 45-50mph I need to figure out. I have some cooling issues that need to be sorted. Oil temps tend to run ~20 degrees over water. If I'm driving it hard in temps over 90 degrees both water and oil temps start to go off the charts. There's a lot I can do help air flow through the radiator instead of around it still. Just need to find some time.

Did the final tuning of the car on the dyno today. My street tuning pretty much nailed the top end. I did pick up 8-10hp from 4,000-6,500 by playing with the timing. Doing an autocross next Sunday so that should be exciting.

I'll have to look you up next time I'm in the area

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1975 MG Midget
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=24382
13B Powered Rotus Geauxkart
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20899

Besides the driveshaft joint angles, was the shaft shortened by a machine shop? They use dial indicators to get the ends true in the tube and balance the assembly.

I ignored a driveshaft vibe once. It ate my output shaft slip yoke bushing.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12