LocostUSA.com

Hi,

I've been lurking here on and off since Jan 2011. I remember this date, since I was on vacation in FL, with a very pregnant girl friend (still safe to fly) and discovered this thing called a Locost. When not out doing vacation stuff, I was going through cheapsportscar.net and this site, as well as a few others.

6 years later, and a mostly finished detached garage(girl friend is happy to finally have the attached garage), I'm starting on my own build.

Chassis: well I'm 6'3, and the BMW motor is a little large, so I went with the largest frame plan I could find, with out scaling things. I may have to extend the cockpit a little after a quick rough measurement. Probably easier to do now.

Drive Train: I already have a 1973 2002tii, and have parted out another 2002, so I have a BMW M10 the drive train. I've megasquirted the motor (sitting on a test stand) using a 318 intake, but I do have a set of ITB's from a 750 GSXR on their way, so that will probably be the intake setup I'll use.

A couple things that keep me wanting to stick with the BMW drive train: Although the engine is a little large (and probably heavy), its leaned over 30 degrees to the right, which should help a little with weight distribution, and the exhaust exits on the right as well, so I won't have to step over a muffler. The shifter is connected to a shaft on the back of the transmission, so it should be a little easier to put where I want, since it's divorced from the transmission. That and I already have it.

I'll probably have to get a rear axle setup out a newer 4 cyl BMW for the width. I think the 2002's rear axle is a little narrow. I'll probably just use the whole sub frame assembly. A live axle might be simpler, but the BMW transmissions use a rubber coupler (guibo/giubo?) connected to a 2 part drive shaft. A live axle would make that hard on ujoints as the moving part would probably be < 2 feet....

Or I'll see how much a wrecking yard want for a mostly complete early(?) Miata they have sitting there....

Front spindles, I'll probably use Miata, since I've already got a few spare sets of 4x100 rims. Converting strut front ends to wishbone kind of scares me


Thats all the theory part right now. Likely to change somewhat over the next bunch of months.

So far, I've gotten the table built (2x 5/8 MDF, with 2x4 frame), but have to get it onto some saw horses. Damn thing is heavy.

144 feet of 1x1 and 40 feet of 3/4x3/4 was delivered today, so I have most of the 1x1 cut and the bottom layed out. I did rough cuts with a hand band saw, then angled and final length with a grinder and file. I still may have to add some length to the cockpit....

That's all,

Thanks for reading.

Allan

Welcome Allan.
Sounds all good. Good luck and add pictures.

_________________
Larry in Seattle

Hi Allan
Welcome to the build forum!
Where are you located?
It certainly looks like you have everything to start glueing some steel together.
Don't be scared to post pics, pics of shop, pics of build table, pics of animals, pics of build, vroom vroom pics, etc.

Build on!

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Howdy Allan-
Welcome to the gang... I'll echo what Perry said, post lotsa pictures. They really are worth a thousand words. (More'n that if there are scantily clad maidens in them!)

Seems like there was a BMW-based build in here somewhere. I think... Maybe... You might search for it, see if anything helpful pops up. It sounds like you've got your plan pretty well figured out. That's a good thing.

Good luck, keep us posted!


Peace, Love and Pictures of Livestock for Perry-
JDK

_________________
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

I guess I have to read the little message at the top of the screen telling me my file was too big.....

Here ya go:

Awwww, Mannn.... We were beginning to like you. And then, there ya go, reading the instructions... Geeze...
Don't do stuff like that and then admit it in front of witnesses!!!

_________________
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

Well, some more work has happened. Frame, up to the back of the [rooster] pit is done (tacked). I was a little surprised how much the welds will pull a piece of material, even when it's tacked on the back side. I knew it was going to move, but was still surprised. (A to D, front of D moved ~ 1/4 to 1/2 inch)

In between working on the frame, I got to thinking. My grandmothers car (283 1967 Bel Aire), may be still sitting on the farm. I have to check. It does seem that small block chev's can fit the 442e frame. It's not a power house of a motor, and it's currently hooked to a powerglide, but that would make the live axle sooooo much easier. 4 speeds and bell housing are the same length. Right now the autox club as lost its venue, so this may have to be a cruiser until they find one... who knows. Too much thinking, not enough working.

Besides, finding parts for small import sports cars on the prairies in Canada (just north of Saskatoon), is tough.... We've got a fairly active stock car (asphalt oval track), so these kind of parts are much easier to get my hands on.

Anyway, here are two pictures of the work I've finished so far.

No obligatory sit in the frame and say vroom vroom until I get something under it that can support all of us

I did one with a small block Ford. The main problem you run into with a V8 is that when you set the engine back to assist weight distribution, the bellhousing takes up a lot of foot room.

GM had "large" and "small" bellhousings, plus an extra-small one on the V8 Monzas, for the old four speed bolt patterns. I'm not up on the T5 housings. If you run a hydraulic throwout bearing you can get two to three more inches of footwell space compared to the standard clutch fork sticking out the side of the bellhousing. The Monza housing used a cable and the fork came out near the bottom, about 7 o'clock, but you'd have to find one of those, and they came with a unique Monza flywheel too.

If you decide to go V8, I recommend mounting the engine and transmission first - I moved mine two inches to the passenger side, same as later model Corvettes, for balance and foot room - and then fabricate the center spine to snug up against the bellhousing and transmission. Sometimes you can grind un-needed protruberances off the driveline parts, or hammer a knot in the sheet metal for clearance.

You need to make sure you can get to the transmission mount, and that you can get the engine and trans out. Some cars you have to pull the engine, then pull the transmission; if you decide to do that, make sure you can get to all the bellhousing bolts. Sometimes you can use studs and nuts, or holes through the firewall and plugs. A couple of places used to sell right-angle speedometer drives for cable speedos. The interim-type electronic senders that screwed into the cable drive were generally not too bulky. You need to be able to get to the connection from the bottom, or through an access cover in the spine. Same for aligning the driveshaft yoke with the transmission. Oh, and a port to the transmission fill plug.

None of them big deals, just things to consider while you're building. Not like some people [cough, cough...]

The Bel Air should have the "ram's horn" style exhaust manifolds that exit in the middle. They flow better than the Chevelle rear-exit manifolds and are less bulky. They're also lighter than many brands of headers, don't leak, and don't turn into ugly rusty tubes. If you wind up going with the 283, you could to a lot worse than keeping them. Eastwood even has some manifold paint to keep them looking nice.

As unsolicited advice, if the 283 runs without fogging mosquitoes or death rattles, I recommend just cleaning the outside, painting, and using it as-is. You'll have a lot of expenses while building the car, and even a tired old 283 will be a wild ride. Small block Chevys are commodities; once you have the car finished, you can just buy 350 or big stroker motor and drop it in, parts is parts. I've seen a number of street rod projects founder because the builder sank too much of his budget into an engine he never got around to firing up before he lost enthusiasm for the whole thing.

HEY! I resemble that remark!!!

_________________
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

Well, the old Bel Aire is gone, so that sentimental build idea is gone.

I should just stick with the BMW motor and quit changing my mind.

A 4-cylinder or V6 mini-truck, Pontiac Solstice, Miata, older RWD Toyota or Nissan, RX7, BMW four cylinder, Aerostar or Windstar van, 2.3 liter Mustang...

Well, after getting some of the frame on rear on the car, I realized until I get rear drive, and the required measurements for the front, I really couldn't continue.

So today, I pulled the trigger and bought a written off 94 Miata. Some of the interior is gone, but the parts I need are there. VIN says 1.6 (which I'm OK with), but underhood stickers for emissions say 1.8. It was written off because of an animal hit, but the nose isn't bad. Perhaps I'll be able to sell some parts

Some heim joints and taptube were ordered from a local shop that specializes in stock car parts were queued.

I expect a little time before I can actually do work on the Locost, as I'll be busy dismantling a Miata

Keep tuned.

A '94 Miata should be a 1.8L, so there may have been a swap somewhere in the cars past. You mentioned the VIN saying 1.6! Was that VIN from the car's I.D. plate, or from the engine's?

_________________
Mike - Read my story at http://twinlakesseven.blogspot.com/

A little more reading shows that it will be a 1.8.

I was relying on VIN decoder that listed 1 as 1.6 and 2 as 1.8. Not the case with '94s I guess

kind of crappy weather here so it hasn't been delivered yet.... waiting, waiting, waiting (just like the crack in a hacksaw blade)

Well, it arrived tonight about 10:00 p.m. I expected the scrap yard to deliver it, so after 5:00 p.m., I had written them off for the day. They ended up using a 3rd party to do it. Doesn't matter.

Found a couple of bonus'. Speedo cluster wasn't in the dash, but I found it in the foot well, same with rear tail lights, being in the trunk. Saves me buying a speedo cluster, and I can try selling the tail lights. Odometer is just over 200k KM.

I had checked at the scrap yard, the oil is clean, and it shifted OK.

Anything to watch for on these motors at that kind of mileage? I was going to swap the timing belt before it get used too much.

I'll see if I can get it fired up tomorrow.

And there was Roughriders hat in the trunk!