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I have made the battery cables from 2 gauge cable. The battery mount was incorrect so i have to send it back and the new one should be coming in on Wednesday. Apparently i tried to wire up the ECU and the CDI and i believe they are both dead... I am unable to get any power to them for some reason. I have ordered a replacement CDI. Its another MSD 6AL-2 and on Tuesday i will be calling FAST to see if i can get my ECU repaired. I tested out the complete wiring harness. All of the fuses everything like that is ok. Just no power coming from the ECU. Oh well, i guess they aren't great fans of being left alone for 3 years. I have started making my scuttle and it was really surprising to me with how tall the dash really is. Below I attached a picture with the round tube indicating my hood angle and what i will be able to see. Is that really how little you see in a locost? If you guys could help me out with some pictures from eye height of how tall your dash sits when in the driving position would be much appreciated.
PS the ruler marks the height of the windshield. In total from the ground to the top of the windshield it is around 43 inches.

Are you allowing for the seat cushions? On a Series I Lotus you sat on a thin pad on the floor. Most Locost builders seem to adapt a production car seat, which might be several inches thicker.

If you don't like it, make the scuttle lower. If the engine sticks out the top, so much the better. Or make a hood bulge like a Striker or Westfield.

Hello again,
Christmas is coming as so is my engine! It is supposed to be arriving some time this week. I did not consider the height of the seat cushion in the previous post. Thank you for mentioning that. I managed to figure out my problem with the ECU and CDI.... Well I wont even go into that and I will allow the pictures below to explain what happened.

Otherwise, I have started to do some sheet metal work. I got the firewall "done" and right now i am just trying to get some inspiration on some of the ways of constructing it. Additionally, I decided to remount the fuse box and decided to incorporate it as part of the "shelf."
Lastly, I am remaking my my upper control arm ball joint holders again... I wasn't satisfied since the plate was 1/4 inch and i had to add in 2 washers to compensate and make a 3/8 thickness. I wasn't able to find clevises that had a 3/8 slot and a 5/8 thread so i decided to just redo it all from scratch. I played around with a bit of "walking the cup" but then decided to have it professionally welded with a bit more Amps.
Enjoy.

It does not appear that you have enough angle spread on your upper links.

They need to form an "A" shape, what you have there is more of an "H".

This will not adequately control fore & aft forces and the additional rotational forces on the upright from braking will likely cause a failure

I would move the rear upper link to the rear on the frame (inner) end, as far as steering (tire) clearance will allow.

Also you have added a lot of offset on the connection of the forward upper link from the ball joint, was there some need for that?

Due to the difference in material thickness on your ball joint mount you need to bevel the hole in the plate to allow more penetration without compromising the thinner threaded insert.

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Honey anyone?

I don't think that's going to be possible. By the time he dumps enough heat to get penetration, or layers on the welds after beveling (3 passes, I'm guessing), those threads will be gacked. I think he will have entirely satisfactory strength completely welding the top and bottom in a similar fashion as pictured. The forces trying to pop that balljoint out the top of the plate aren't very large at all, and he has a lot of meat in the directions that force is applied.

Hello boys and girls,
Today was the day that my vehicle received a powerplant! It fits better than i expected it to ever be. I am still not sure what to do with the headers, but that will come with time. I am thinking of now lowering the car back down to the ground off from the saw-horses just as a precaution from all of the potential energy that the engine can turn to kinetic energy when it falls and hits the ground. The dash is coming along very well. I will be re-riveting everything with stainless rivets once i cover everything with carbon fiber vinyl. The guages are arriving shortly, all of the holes are outlined and just need to me made now.

I have had troubles with that type of battery cable in the past. You can get factory-type crimp-on lead terminals, but they require either special crimping equipment or someone with a hydraulic hose crimper to properly attach them.

Belden makes some cast copper terminals with threaded collets; just stick the wire in and turn the nut. It's still a good idea to use petroleum jelly or dielectric grease as a corrosion inhibitor.

The negative cable should also be grounded to the starter, not the chassis. Many starters have the aluminum paint or clearcoat over the aluminum parts; make sure you're grounding to bare metal.

Such a nice car, you don't want to be embarrassed by a "grggggrr... click-click-click" someday...

It looks like you did a very thoughtful job on the dash board layout. Why did you choose to spread the two largest gauges out so far? I would think they'd be easier to read through the steering wheel if they were closer together & just above the steering column?

How in the world did you get that engine up to your place? Even if you have a great service elevator, you've got to pick it up and move with something (shop crane?) unless you have a cadre of strong friends who can pick it up and move it by hand, you must have used something mechanical. Do your neighbors freak out when they see all the stuff you're bringing up to your place? It looks like you're pretty high up in that building from previous photos I've seen.

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

In my mind, I see Shev rolling that engine on an engine stand through a classy lobby with marble floors with the folks behind the desk just shaking their heads while the residents just scowl.

I feel like you could make a pretty great comedy skit out of "The comings and goings of Shev on the 30th floor"

Here is what your front suspension should look like, super simple, strong, & cheap.

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Honey anyone?

I'm imaging a Fed-Ex driver with a big crate on a 2 wheeler coming into the lobby saying "I've got a delivery for Mr. Shev on the 30th floor....."

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Bill H
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Hello hello,
Some of your comments are pretty hilarious, but ill get straight to the point. The engine was wrapped in a bunch of plastic wrap and moving blankets so it looked like a giant cube. I hosted it up at my in-law's home on a hoist into a flat bed trailer (keep in mind the engine was resting on engine stands). Loaded it up, to to the Fairmont,the loading bay was completely full with a bunch of seafood trucks so i decided not to wait. Pulled up in front of the hotel area at the valet, unpinned the trailer, put a dolly at the end at tipping the trailer and just shuffled the engine onto the dolly. Then i continued to roll it through the restaurant that is in the hotel and then to the private residences( photo is below). Both time i was greeted by the concierges of the hotel and private residences and they were a bit surprised. My excuse was i was importing a jade rock that was in a metal frame as artwork. Oh well at least that passed for now. And for those who are wondering, i'm on the 37th floor.

Now, the gauges i am trying to space out as wide as i can because the speedometer is on the left and the gauge is a 270 degree sweep so i will be able to see the low end of the scale, where as for the tach i will only be able to see 2500rpm and up since the steering wheel blocks obstructs the view. The picture is taken from the driving position right at eye level. Additionally, I cannot mount them any lower, since i have my steering column support. Everything is very tight here.

The front control arms I am really reluctant to tackle since i do not have the springs yet. They're coming in on Friday and i just want to take a look at spacing and angles. I am definitely not redoing my suspension mounts. To pass the MVI in BC, i will be changing over to kugel adjusters. The picture is below. Ideally i am looking anywhere from 1-5 degrees of castor and more than 1/4 inch of clearance between the spring and the swaged tube of the upper control arm. The goal for this complicated suspension was to be able to fully adjust it. I am completely satisfied with how the lower control arms turned out, but i am just hoping for ideas to come for the upper ones when the springs arrive.

I have placed an order for a heater to completely finalize all of the electrical components of the vehicle. Gauges are coming in on Thursday so i will wire them into the dash. I also ordered in a bunch of bolts from ARP for the engine mounts, harmonic balancer, and intake, as well as some vibration locking header bolts from percy's. Things are looking good.

In one of the pictures the electrical tape roll depicts the hole where the steering column will be coming out from. Enjoy fellows.

Geeze... And y'all thought I was weird...
Good on ya, Shev! I love it!!!


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

Thanks for the explanation. With the new photo, I can see your point straight away.

You're obviously doing an excellent job with your layout and planning. And, you're doing a great job managing the "surreptitious entry" of the components too. The jade rock explanation is priceless! I think when you do the first startup, however, that the cat will definitely be "out of the bag."

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

Hello guys,
Here is another update of then build log. Today I managed to mock up the dash and mount all of the gauges. I just need to now do all of the wiring. Shouldn't be a problem