LocostUSA.com

KB58...I can't answer your questions. I don't have scales so I don't know the corner weight and the car's not complete enough to determine the unsprung weight. I'm also over my head with my build "to do" list, so I can't take the time now to determine wheel travel. Sorry. All I can tell you is that they're working fine on Tom and Bob's cars around town and on the track.

Lonnie...I bought my slider for my UltraShield seat on eBay. Search for "Sparco Seat Slider". They range from $60-80:
I'm pretty happy with the way it's working - you'll get 9" of movement!

This Monday, I pulled out the motor/tranny and removed the front and rear suspension, then turned the frame upside down to finish all the welds, then finish the paint priming. After drying, I sprayed the frame matte black with John Deere "Blitz Black":
Today (Wednesday), I reassembled and bolted everything including the seats and we final welded all the front suspension:

STEERING WHEEL:
I REALLY, REALLY wanted a $180 Momo D-shaped wheel with the top cut out:


But I ended up visiting "Practicalville" and bought a $29.99, 10.5" go cart steering wheel on eBay. I found a local machinist who perfectly located the three mounting bolts for the quick release (don't try this with a hand drill!!)




Tomorrow we're going to attach the steering rack and weld in the roll bar supports on the back. On deck: mount the brake/clutch pedal assembly, install and locate the steering column, etc., etc. etc. We're making pretty good progress for only starting it 9 weeks ago!

...just did the exact same thing about 2 hours ago....searched all the MOMO sites and just couldn't bite the bullet and spend 180 - 280 for a 12" wheel....

Found this and ordered it for $30.00 ... and $10.00 shipping from China...(now...we will see if it gets here in the 20 day shipping periord)....?

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gblawson (Gordon)
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http://gblandco.com/gb/cent/cent.html

Yo, Garman-
I wanted one of those fancy cut-out D-shaped steering wheels too, but 1) I didn't wanna drop that kinda money on a wheel and 2) I wasn't really confident that I'd like that section being "missing" when I was wrestling with the Slotus. I think I looked at kart wheels as well, but in the end went with a Grant (low-buck!) wheel that was a tad bigger than I'd originally intended.

I'll let ya know how that Grant wheel works out, and you keep us posted on the go-kart unit, OK?

Hey, we might meet up at the FIRM track near Starke one of these days... Looking forward to it, never been there before... Hope to see ya there soon!


JDK

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

One thing I found out about the D shaped steering wheels is that unless you have an extremely fast steering ratio - THEY SUCK!

When the flat comes up your hand is reaching for the round and you miss the wheel at a critical moment.

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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.

i have a "D" shaped wheel in my car, kart wheels ar designed to have the flat at the top and the round part is off center, allowing more leg room.

my steering ratio is 1 1/2 turns lock to lock, i have no trouble with the strange shape of the wheel probably because i have it the right way up.

i got mine from K1 Racing and it was cheap, i also used a quick release.

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this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

I think that the secret for you would be that quick steering. I think that the Chevette had 3.75 turns lock to lock, for a very tame 1.6" per turn. The Gen 3/4 Camaro I think had 2.25 turns (the steering arms are also very short by comparison, but comes with power steering), and the Fiero about 3.4 turns. If you have to do lots of hand over hand turns, that "D" thing might eventually be annoying.

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.

It's not just annoying, it's downright dangerous.

I love the look and have tried it on any number of cars and anything that requires you to go more than a full turn gets very dicey. One time you make it and the next you don't.

It seems the more important it is that you get it just right, the higher the odds you'll miss it.

And that's sad, because I love the look.

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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.

Regarding the D-shaped steering wheel, the majority of the turning of the wheel will be a maximum of 90 degrees...I don't see anything dangerous about this set-up! Geez...

Nine weeks progress...Day 1, October 6th:
Leaving the race shop today, December 16th:
I brought Kate home this morning...I initially took her to my nephew's race shop about a 15 minute drive away and it was nice to do most of the metal cutting & fabrication there. But wow...how nice it is to step out my back door and be able to work on here here at the house!!
To complete the front suspension, we used grade 8 bolts for Jack's most excellent components! The local machinist who helped me drill my steering wheel cut 20 stainless steel spacers (16 for the suspension and 4 for the steering rack). It was expensive, but they were de-burred and perfect!
Here's some good pics of Jack's UCAs and LCA with the Gixer 1000 shocks:

Next up...tack in the Wilwood pedal assembly, weld in and attach the steering rack and finish the rod ends.

carguy123,

driving with a d shaped steering wheel is like getting to carnigy hall, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

but seriously though, my wife cant drive a stick, even in an automatic, she has to look at the selector legend to see if she is in drive, i asked her if she knew how many clicks it was to reverse and drive, she said "i'll have to look next time i'm in the car"

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this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

God Save the Queen! What am I getting into?!?! I am truly thankful for all of the previous "Miata Wiring Harness Hacking" posts...I think I've read them all. And thanks to all who's responded to my PMs regarding wiring.

My wife suggested using pegboard to lay out the harness and I bought a bag of wiring twisties to help organize the chaos! The online manuals I've downloaded for the '93 Miata is also a 'must have' reference! Time to start removing the electrical tape, labeling and researching what to start cutting out. I will be nice to start removing the excess bulk!

I think I mentioned a neighbor, David, who lives about a 5 minute walk from my house. He's almost done building a beautiful 175HP, blue Caterham 7 kit. For some reason, he was sent two 'spare tire carriers' and he was generous enough to give me one for my build!! I did buy 5 tires/wheels hoping to mount the spare on the rear!, so I'm pretty psyched about that! And I also ordered a JAZ 'Fender Filler Kit' from Jack so I could have a fuel cap on the exterior like David's Cat:

What's a "spare tire?" Mine comes in a bottle.

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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/

I really think a spare tire adds a lot of "completeness" to the look of the car.

Ditto. I like the spare on back.

I'm using hex quick release adapters from Speedway Motors that were $20 each. They tend to have more slop than the more expensive splined units, but that is easily cured by drilling and tapping the hub to accept a small thumb screw to push against a flat. If you also drill a shallow dip in the flat, it will make it more difficult for someone to walk off with the wheel. It just adds another step to removal/installation and will be tighter than a splined unit.

Consider adding these gussets to stiffen the rear coilover mount plate.

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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

Thanks for your comments. I shouldn't have posted the picture of my unfinished rear shock tower...I've had so many comments saying it won't work as is, but it's not done! I'll post pics later this week showing the completed version.

I like the way Caterham ties down their spare wheels using the bottom carrier the wheel sets in (in the above post) and these parts: I'm not sure if I'll make them or just buy them...but that's down the road a month or two.

I spent a couple hours today unwrapping the wiring harness and have about 1/3 of it done. It's not the present I was hoping to unwrap on Christmas Eve, but it's a necessary part of the process...

I talked with Jack and ordered the TTL nose & scuttle yesterday. I'm setting a goal of being able to drive the car around the block by the end of January. All I need to do is mount the clutch/brake pedal assembly and plumb all the lines, mount the steering rack & attach the tie rods, locate the steering column, tie down the differential, install the fuel cell and plumb the lines, finish hacking the harness and wire everything up. Simple, yes?? (Any encouragement will be appreciated.)