LocostUSA.com

Before you invest time and money for a fully enclosed cabin, I think you should consider how much noise there is inside a typical Seven cabin. I have foam panels in the footwells, tunnel and side. But it still sounds like you are riding inside a tin can full of ball bearings spinning around. The only good thing is that the defrosters actually work. If you go forward, you need lots of sound damping material. Dave W

davew,
Thanks for the heads up. I'll consider myself lucky that the build is not to far along to add insulation / sound deadening material.
The article in the register for the 1962 Lotus 7 hard top also mentions the smell of hot oil, exhaust fumes, and hot fiberglass.
I've visited a few of the Caterham kit build sites that show how they approach those issues. I sure wouldn't want all that extra racket to interfere with the sound of a well tuned exhaust system.
I better start thinking in terms of carpet while I'm at it.
Ron

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"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." - Mark Twain
In my defense the moon was full and I was left unsupervised

Have you seen Gale and Lana Newlin's Stalker Coupe?

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery ... emId=23737

Very nicely done.

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Larry in Seattle

I too am building a coupe seven (mine is a rear engine) as my second seven build.

I am in the middle of making the roof and the doors. You can see pictures in the exterior section ( under phil) or in the non conventional sevens section . My build is GM corvair powered. I have used for the roof the conventional fiberglass over balsa wood technique which does not seem to be too complicated. The web offers youtubes etc of boat hull building projects that may be useful to you. My doors are made of a lamination of ply and aluminum.
I expect the sound level to be high. A bit like a small airplane. However I recommend to you to use airplane engine soundproofing material. Mostly high density black foam (about three quarter inches thick) as well as aluminum heat reflecting foils. I too thought of gull wing doors and I backed out. It makes the roof really difficult to fabricate because the car is so small. I also found that although they look good, on this small car they are less functional that ordinary doors. Try it for yourself when the chassis construction will be more advanced. It really takes a shoe horn to be in and out of this car.
Here below some pics. One is the alu doors being fabbed. The other one is the GF roof braced to be removed from the chassis for finishing (I.e it will be easier to finish the inside with the roof away from the chassis and working outside is a must). Prior to being removed the "shell" was bolted to the chassis so that when the time comes to put it back permanently it will still fit.
Good luck.

Wait, what? I thought you were going front-engine. I've seen a VW flat-four and at least two Subaru front engine builds, so I just assumed you were going the same route.

Hi,

I may have thought of setting up the GM flat six in the front at some point but I changed my mind. Two reasons: 1) the complexity of bolting the Corvair engine to a non stock transmission. The unmodified Corvair engine rotation is opposite to all engines (except some Hondas). 2) the 1965 GM corvair package (engine, differential, transmission) rear independent suspension (same as Corvettes) is pretty good, why not use it. I should add a third reason too: I owned three rear drive cars in my life (Fiat 600, Simca-Chrysler something, Porsche Carrera) and I liked the rear wheel drive arrangement.

Are you going to be able to get enough weight in the front of the locost to balance it?
That Corvair motor, trans, suspension, lump will probably weigh considerably more than the rest of the car.

With a front motored car the lump gets spread out between the axles.

With a sideways motor a good percentage of the lump is in front of the axle.
Fuel, battery, and radiator close to the front axle provides balance.

Food for thought, fuel for discussion?

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Honey anyone?

benny_toe,
That is a very nice build. Those galleries allow the builders to share a wealth of detail.

phil,
Thanks for the tips about fiberglass construction. I'm looking for all the information I can find.
Good luck with the Corvair build.
Ron

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"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." - Mark Twain
In my defense the moon was full and I was left unsupervised

Minor update. I hope to pick up this Mustang II bell and trans next Saturday.
it appears to be damage free in the Craigs list pic.

this is the bell housing used to put a T5 behind a Cologne V6 like mine.

Using a T5 will make life easier all around.
Ron

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"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." - Mark Twain
In my defense the moon was full and I was left unsupervised

Sorry to be so late. I missed your post.
The Corvair lump as you call it weighs about 300 lbs (according to GM). By all standards it is a light engine. The heavy part of the power plant is the transaxle differential, by definition situated where the rear axles are, just as in other rear power plants commonly referred to as middies. In the case of the Corvair the transmission is situated in front of the differential further contributing to moving the weight forward. My goal is to achieve a weight distribution comparable to Porsches.

On my build approximately 300 lbs hang behind the rear wheels. The 100 lbs differential is neutral. The 50 lbs transmission is in front of the diff. Altogether by design, the effective weight behind the rear wheels should be 250 lbs. Situated in the nose cone I placed a 45 lbs battery. Under the front hood I have a 45 lbs spare wheel and tanks will add about 45 lbs full.

The car weight will be between 1700 and 1800 lbs. I am building a touring car, not a racing car.

In designing my chassis I have moved the seats, steering wheel and and scuttle forward by about 12 inches. This I believe will contribute to a better weight distribution.
Thanks for you point.

Picked up the Mustang II bell housing.

The M II used the same dia. 138 tooth fly wheel so I can use the Ranger starter, flywheel and pressure plate. The clutch disc will need to be custom made to fit the t5s 1 1/16 10T spline input shaft. the Ranger disc is 8 7/8" dia. 23T 1" shaft. The 1988 2.3L mustang uses a 8.5" 1 1/16 10T disc. The 3/8" difference in dia bothers me.
Also the 1994 mustang 3.8L t5 I have will need to have the input shaft turned down to fit the Ranger pilot bearing and the input bearing retainer needs to be slightly smaller to fit the M II bell opening.
Ron

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"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." - Mark Twain
In my defense the moon was full and I was left unsupervised

Geeez Ron,

You left out the critical last step . . . . stand on your head and cluck like a chicken.

You're definitely more adventurous mechanically than I am. Best of luck to you.

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

"cluck like a chicken"
Best of luck to you Lonnie.

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"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." - Mark Twain
In my defense the moon was full and I was left unsupervised

Wouldn't it be easier to get a piece of oil-impregnated bronze and have it turned to fit the Cologne crank and the T5 input shaft? This way you can still use standard T5 replacement parts. The 302 has both pilot bearings and bushings available, both are considered legitimate options.

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Ford 5.0 into an M3
mikaelvroom.com | @MikaelVroom

The bronze bushings work just fine and don't Brinnell the pilot section of the input shaft when they go bad. Actually, "go bad" is practically nonexistent for a bushing. There's almost no radial load on the bushing.

Other than a few bushings for ancient engines, needle rollers are the norm. But if you have an electric motor ship, starter/alternator rebuilder, etc. around, they might be able to fix you up. Worst case is you have to turn an adapter and press the bushing in with it.