LocostUSA.com

learning from other peoples mistakes is a lot cheaper

I spent the last few days fiddling with a hood, putting in the rear panel, installing the tail lights, installing harnesses/seats & starting to tune the motor.





when running the motor it was going from ~190 to 235 super fast, I figured I might have reinstalled the t-stat backwards when I had the pump apart to plug the heater lines. turns out the f20s have a coolant bleed screw - I cracked that open and was able to put about another 3/4 of a gallon of coolant in, that fixed the problem right up...

i'm planning on taking it out to a PCA autox this sunday to start to shake it down. i've got a long laundry list of stuff that needs to happen before that but I'm hopeful i'll be able to get it addressed.

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My Build thread: F20C powered Autox & track toy

Buy my car! - F20C Race car

That's awesome. Depending on what time I wake up on Sunday, I'll try and make it down there to check out the car in person and see your runs!

I was quite envious to see your engine-start video, only to be more jealous when you showed your first drive video the next day!

Dang it. I was hoping to be there on your first day out. It's looking like I may have to work. If you have time, text me when you know you're going to be there and I'll try to slip out for a bit.

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Peace, Ron

thank you!

You're welcome to drop by the shop and check it out anytime too!

i'll probably be tooling around there after the autox as well since its one of few places with pavement in pdx that I can drive a car without a plate on it - I need to get the tuning sorted out. it looks like the tables that came with the ecu are insanely safe/rich




aww, I wanted to clean it up/sort it out a bit before you saw it, it's embarrassingly ugly right now but you're absolutely welcome to!

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My Build thread: F20C powered Autox & track toy

Buy my car! - F20C Race car

I didn't remember that. Where is it?

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

front of the motor on the intake side facing straight up just above the top of the intake manifold

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My Build thread: F20C powered Autox & track toy

Buy my car! - F20C Race car

First run...












The picture that tells the whole story...





Very nice meeting mattrogers, Ethan, and Sasha.

Well done Tong!

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Peace, Ron

Oh man, that first drive made the last ~5 months of slaving away worthwhile!

youtube video of the very first run http://youtu.be/HgVypb7md3k

Car ran really well for ~14 hard runs and was very quick despite being entirely unsorted.

The muffler, yeah, not at all adequate. it was 117db out of the gate and after flipping the muffler around I was turning 99DB and my codriver was doing ~106-112DB.

Motor still needs to be tuned and the car needs to be aligned as well as plenty of other fun stuff but i'm over joyed with how well it ran. I can't say thanks enough to all the people that have helped me along the way to get this far.

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My Build thread: F20C powered Autox & track toy

Buy my car! - F20C Race car

That's great! It ran the whole day, that's a good way to start. You'll get way better quickly.

Maybe a little less negative camber...


That car's so load it makes the road cones get soft and bend over!

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

Here's some footage from the outside. It was your first Locost run, it's my first YouTube upload, crazy!

http://youtu.be/KkoG0jZZlZk

Wow. I am impressed. I started in January and I am not even done with the frame. Nice job.

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http://blog.fireflyracing.com
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13233

+1 on the impressed. And that extra wide nose looks good to me; how much did you widen it?

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles

Thank you both!

I want to say the nose ended up about 1.5 spacers wider so around 6" wider than the two halves alone.

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My Build thread: F20C powered Autox & track toy

Buy my car! - F20C Race car

well, I know it's been said before but it seriously is ridiculously easy to get one of these titled in OR.

about 45 minutes at the DMV with a friendly but uninformed clerk and I now have an assigned VIN# and special interest plates.

Car is registered as a reproduction 67 lotus and with the special interest plates as a race car i'm allowed to be 30 miles from the garage for testing or maintenance and 90 miles to and fro a race track. it also doesn't have to comply with basically any other rules, lighting, tires, exhaust, nada.




now I can put someone in the drivers seat and get it tuned properly!

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My Build thread: F20C powered Autox & track toy

Buy my car! - F20C Race car

Is that as an off-road or race vehicle? Or, is it as a street legal vehicle you can drive around town?

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