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I made a removable cover out of 21GA mild steel. It will add rigidity to the foot well and pedal mount/firewall. It is removable to access the adjustable Wilwood pedals for the clutch & brake bias. I will paint it the same as the frame- which, at this point, I intend to be either silver or if I paint the aluminum skin, red for everything.


Then, I made a cover for the steering column from a aluminum baking bread pan I picked up at, of all places, a hobby & fabric store. It was the right size for height & width. It was twice as long as I needed. I will attach it with screws and a rubber seal to keep fumes out of the passanger area .



I needed to add front turn signals. Looking at some images, I discovered Lotus, in the Series 2, used a Lucas turn signal on a flange mounted to the mount under the headlight.

So, I used some 16GA mild steel and mounted a Lucas turn signal.


They will need a little trimming & finish yet, but the basic design is there.

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Thom

Where did you get the turn signals. I've been looking for something like that. Love the baking pan. My front grill is a cookie cooling rack. Russ

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You meet the nicest people in a Locost Se7en.

You can get them from Moss Motors
https://mossmotors.com/ahy-100-lamps-bj ... c-26705-on

or Shell Valley
https://www.shellvalley.com/index.cfm/p ... cat156.htm

I like the idea of an oven rack for a grill. I will look around for something in the right size. I already have a "7" aluminum grill logo to mount.

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Thom

Thanks

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You meet the nicest people in a Locost Se7en.

I replaced the screws that were holding the nose to the frame with the Dutz fasteners from KV. The tabs were welded to the flange already attached to the top of the frame. To clear the radiator, I had raised the nose about 1 1/2" (the height of the flange). That is the max I could go before the bottom of the nose hit the frame & rad support. It all just clears, including the rad fill cap & the valve cover oil filler cap. The tank just behind the nose is the coolant recovery tank. It is an aftermarket tank for a Mustang, It's cap is a simple snap-on cap that will just miss the bonnet.



I felt I needed a top brace for the tank support. Plus, I had noticed that when the previous owner had cut and spliced the nose to get the size he needed to fit the frame, it seemed that the nose was twisted, as viewed from the front of the car. This also caused the passenger side of the nose to be about a 3/8" low when checked with a level at the back of the nose. When I pushed the back of the nose from driver's side towards the passenger side, the twist disappeared, and the back edge of the nose leveled out. SO, I stared at the support plate for the coolant tank and thought if I added a brace forward to the rear lip of the nose, I could twist the nose into shape and brace the coolant tank. Looking around at my (valuable) parts bin, I thought, "I installed dutz fasteners on the nose to be able to quickly remove the nose. If I attach a brace to the edge of the nose, it will make it more difficult to remove the nose." So. I bent up a dutz spring plate, drilled a hole, and secured it to the tank support. I then placed a level onto the top rear edge of the nose and pushed the back from left to right until it was level. I clamped it so I could spet back and inspect the results. Guess what? The nose twisted level and the and the nose no longer looked tilted down from side to side. I then marked the location of the dutz screw hole form the bracket to the fiberglass, drilled the right sized hole, and installed the dutz screw. The bracket is now very ridged, the nose is square, and level and I can quickly remove the entire nose with 4 dutz fasteners!

When I fab the bonnet, I intended to add a small rubber edge bead on the leading edge of it. So, I don't think the fastener will be a problem with it sticking up.

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Thom

Well, it's been a year since I last worked on or posted any progress on the Locost. Between settling back in to Wisconsin, trying to finish my Cobra replica and health issues, I have placed it on a back burner.

My Cobra is almost finished and will (hopefully) soon start the process of getting it inspected and licensed here.

As to the Locost, I had been chasing trying to obtain a Microsquirt for the EFI conversion. Since the pandemic, they have been in short supply. But I saw an ad for one -new, in the box in the Chicago area. A fellow (my age) was working on an old Porsche 911 and was installing a 3.6 with the intent of using the Microsquirt for the EFI. He realized it was not going to do what he needed.

So, I purchased it for the price of just the ECU, but included was the 30" cable, the USB converter cable and a 1 BAR sensor!



I think I will mount it on the firewall. It is the right length for the cable. Most of the functions that are available will not be used as I will follow the design that Moss Motors had for the MGB EFI conversion. The difference is, they used Borla throttle bodies, and I am using converted (gutted) SU carb bodies with a machined adapter replacing the dash pots to fit GM style low pressure injectors that squirt fuel into the throttle chamber. The program is already downloadable from the internet for this configuration. It does not require the ignition or crank speed sensor to be used, just MAP and spark timing since it is batch firing the injectors. This even eliminates the old manual choke during warmer days!




I am very pleased. Now, I have to wait a little time too tight to start back on the car until the weather improves enough that I can move the patio furniture back out of the workshop and reposition the car.

Stay tuned!

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Thom