LocostUSA.com

Question. Is it necessary to remove the bearings when welding on an axle housing? I have heard it fries them if you don't.

It depends on where you clamp your ground strap. You don't want current going through a bearing. Ground to housing and weld on housing is OK. Clamp on wheel stud and weld on housing is BAD!

Thanks Flipper, that sounds like good advice. I have the same axle as JD and I don't want to have to disassemble any more of it than necessary.

JD
Have you found a supplier for fiberglass rear fenders and nose for the series 1?
I too am in the planning stages of a Series 1 "tribute" styled locust. The only series 1 fenders and nose I can find are in the UK, and are nearly $800 for the rear fenders and a nose, and that's before shipping. I have yet to find anybody over here that makes them in glass. I had thought about buying them from the UK and then splashing a mould, and making some to recoup some of the cost. It's still a lot of $$ to lay out.
Cheers,
Stewart.

That sounds very intriguing. They aren't aluminum are they? I would definitely be interested in buying the nose and fenders. I could easily splash a mold for both once they got here since I've done a lot of that in the past. If that sounds good to you I'd sell the pieces at cost.

Do you have a web address?

I tacked in the driveshaft tunnel on Monday/Tuesday. I did it with the engine/trans in place. I'm getting close to yanking everything out and finishing up the back of the frame, then welding everything to finish. I managed to barter for a Bridgeport mill and vise yesterday. One of my clients is getting rid of it because they got a new CNC unit. I'll haul it home next week.

I think the first use will be to build a shift mechanism that resides behind the transmission tail shaft so I can get the shifter closer to my hand and out from under the dash.

JD,
The parts I have found in the UK are fiberglass. I found them at mikebrotherwood.com
He specializes in restoring early Lotus. If you decide to buy a set, and then splash a mould, I would be up for a set of rear fenders and the nose. I too have experience in the fiberglass business, so I had considered even making my own plugs and then moulds, but obviously prefer to buy them if I could over here. I have been calling Curtis Unlimited for the past few days, but haven't managed to talk to anyone there yet. They specialize in fiberglass parts for lots of early sportscar panels. I know they have Series 2 stuff, but don't know if they have anything for the Series 1.
Keep in touch if you find anybody making this stuff.
Cheers,
Stewart.

I finished up the rear pieces of the frame this past weekend. Instead of using a bender to bend the 3/4" tubes I slit them with a dual cut saw (six cuts 1/2" apart) I then migged the slits closed after bending. Once the welds were ground down you can't tell I didn't use a tubing bender. BTW i used 3/4" black pipe. It's thicker and there is no plating on it. I also beed blasted an old T-Bird turbo aluminum valve cover and painted it red. I'll sand down the ribs on top and buff them. I paid 20 bucks for the manifold. Lot's cheaper than the 115.00 aluminum manifold new on E-bay. The frame is getting very, very close to completion.

Wow, you're moving fast, JD. Should be a roller in a couple weeks.

Yes...my wife says I have two speeds. On and off. RIght now I'm totally out of Locost cash. I have two choices. Sell my boat which I don't use. It also looks like where i work is going to be sold in the next few weeks which will mean cash for me. Whatever happens, I'll have time to set up the mill and get some long awaited shop chores completed.

I ordered some 155 85 R15 tires today. (That's what a 59 L7 had). I also ordered rear brake parts and axle seals. That's the down side of using an MGB donor. Things like brake parts are pretty (classic) expensive. $220 from Moss. If I was using a miata or something similar it would be less than half that.

You can price-shop between Moss, Victoria British, and The Roadster Factory and sometimes save a few bucks. TRF is mostly Triumph parts but they carry some MG stuff. If you have a friend who's a garage owner, he can order direct from Engle (they don't sell to the public). And then, every once in a while, it'll surprise you what you can still order from good ol' NAPA downtown.

Good luck!

JD Kemp

Some thoughts on crash protection: Many years ago, I painted a gullwing mercedes. I was driving it on the highway and traffic came to a sudden halt. It was clear the guy behind me was not going to stop in time. I pulled off the road and he rear ended the car in front of me. WIth the advent of texting, I belive there are a lot more rearenders out there now. I've seen 3 of them in the last year. Which brings me to my point. The L7 chassis is hardly a model of rear end collision protection (at least from the standpoint of crush section and fuel tank protection.

I've been considering the use of a fuel cell along with an inertia switch on the fuel pump. But, since weight is not an issue for me, I'm also toing with the idea of using a home made tank made of 12 gauge steel on the theory that it would be one tough mother to break open. Not strong enough? How about cutting an old Argon tank in half, baffling it and welding a 1/4 cap on the end?

Overkill? Waste of time? Let me know your thoughs.

Mike Brotherwood just got back to me in England. He's going to supply me with a Series one nose and rear fenders in fiberglass for $1101.60. Expensive? Yes. But less than starting from scratch. Now all I have to do is assemble the cash.

Mike Brotherwood just got back to me in England. He's going to supply me with a Series one nose and rear fenders in fiberglass for $1101.60. Expensive? Yes. But less than starting from scratch. Now all I have to do is assemble the cash.