LocostUSA.com

Well, it's been a while, but things have been moving along on my project. Unfortunately, these things are not photogenic. But, for the record, I've:

* Completed an excellent, full semester welding course at a local college (MIG, TIG, Arc & flux-cored);

* Had my garage rewired from one lowly, 15A, 110V circuit shared with our 2 bathrooms to having 2 new,
separate, 20A, 110V circuits, each with 2 quad outlets plus a 30A, 220V, single phase circuit;

* Sold off all my home gym equipment, which took up all the space I'll need for a workbench and power
tools;

* Purchased my core bootstrapping tools including a vise, welder (on order), cutoff saw and drill press;

* Designed my steel workbench + storage racks.

I'm just waiting for my welder to arrive and then I can create my first piece of infrastructure. I'm expecting to dismantle my donor car in late May and start the redesign of the chassis based on those parts in June. Yes, it's slower than I'd like, but I have to be realistic about my available free time.

Cheers all,

Lonnie

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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

Lonnie,

Nothing wrong with taking the time to do it right. It took me about 5 years of "preparation" before I started welding. What welder did you wind up ordering?

John

Hi John,

My first welder is going to be a Harbor Freight 220V, 160A MIG and flux-core welder (item# 93793). It's a very basic welder and I'm only going to use it with flux-core. I've found a very nice Lincoln Electric filler wire that is all position and pretty low on splatter and makes strong, decent looking welds. Since I'm basically building infrastructure now, I needed something inexpensive, fast and strong that could do thicker metal for workbenches, tool stands, storage racks and so on. I plan on doing the chassis and thinner parts with TIG. I learned to love TIG in the welding class I took although I struggled for 3 days to get a handle on TIG-welding aluminum. It was worth it though. The long range plan is for a Miller Diversion 165 unless they come up with something better between now and the time I'm ready to buy.

Your car looks sharp by the way.

Cheers,

Lonnie

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Hi Lonnie,

I just started my Locost build and am thinking of using the Gibbs chassis as a starting point. Would you be willing to share your Solidworks model (which is outstanding by the way!)?

Thanks.

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Steve

There has been a lot of effort put into reworking the garage. Many years of accumulation of stuff, a complete home gym and much other, little used equipment was cleaned up and sold off. But, I'm now actually completing real infrastructure for the Locost build and just a couple of weeks away from kick-off.

I've got a workbench, vise, cutoff saw, band saw, welder, clamps, etc., and I'm ready for my first task which is building a quick mockup of the cockpit. Once I find the dimensions we like best, I'll start the final, overall layout of our chassis. Many details of the running gear and suspension mounts and supporting systems won't be finalized until my donor has been dismantled and the parts properly measured and fitted out. Still, we've come a long way.

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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

Arrrgh! This stuff always ends up taking 5 times longer than you think, but I'm pretty much ready to go with the mockup. The welder welds, the drill press drills, the cutoff saw cuts, the grinder grinds, the vise holds and I have some space to do the mock-up and (I think) I have enough material to get the job done.

Hopefully, my next entry will show version 1 of the mock-up. I expect I'll have 3-4 versions of it before I'm completely happy and ready to commit to the final design.

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Through a revisit of McSorely's website I discovered a reference to a new 3D model of his 442 chassis on another website. That got me thinking that I should take a look at the 442 chassis and compare it to my current selection. I knew the 442 cockpit was quite large, but didn't know if it would be more suitable to the V6 I'm using than the Gibbs chassis, which is the 2nd generation Haynes Roadster.

After loading the 3D Gibbs chassis model (right hand drive) and the newly acquired 3D of the 442 into Alibre Design, here is how they compared. I still see the Gibbs chassis as a better fit for my needs. The engine bay is considerably wider and I like the taller rear too. The cockpit on the Gibbs design is smaller, but not that much.

Attached are perspective, top, side, rear and front views. The McSorely 442 design is the red chassis.

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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

Impressive build log so far, can't wait to see some construction!

Rod

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Driving a +442E with 450 Hp Ford 347 v8, T5, 8 stack EFI w/EDIS8 & MegaSquirt ITB Mode.
12,000+ enthusiastic miles as of 1/1/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvYJlYc4GU
http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p3/beergodrod/
Now building a 1953 Chevy 1 ton panel with Frito Lay truck parts and a Cummins 4BTA
and a 1963 Nova SS

Thanks for the overlay. I didn't realize the tunnel was so low on the McSorley Design.

On the Gibbs, consider replacing the green tubes with the blue.

Consider a Miwaukee handheld bandsaw or even the cheap HBF/Northern Tool unit versus the chop saw. The difference is night and day.

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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, Rod. Yes, the day has finally arrived. The next few weeks will be a little mundane with a lot of dismantling going on. But still, it's an exciting milestone.

Cheers,

Lonnie

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Yes, the tunnel on the McSorley chassis looks tiny, especially when compared to the Gibbs chassis, which is pretty close the the original "book" design.

The idea of the portable bandsaw is worth checking out. Are you able to hold it steady enough to get a nice straight cut? I know my work with a hand held hacksaw tends to go crooked in larger or thicker materials. I bought the ubiquitous Harbor Freight metal cutting band saw for plate work, but was going to use the chop saw for tubes and RHS. I did find a home machine shop site that has a nice design for a stationary stand for the HF unit. It turns it into a fairly decent vertical bandsaw and gets rid of their flimsy tilting stand, which I think is dangerous.

Yes, I can see the paths you have in blue are very direct and simple. I think the slant-down to the back of the cockpit is more tradition than necessary engineering. I notice one clever new Sevenesque design called the Toniq keeps the impression of the steep drop down in its fiberglass bodywork even though it's not really that deep in the chassis tubes and is covered up by a pseudo-door structure. I see a number of Aussie 7s (Clubmans to them) have also done away with it and use horizontal top rails. I'm going to consider doing that too along with a deeper top tube as suggested in the Aussie mods for V6s and Wesley Linton thesis.

Cheers,

Lonnie

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

I use it like a vertical floor model by holding it upright on a table to feed small pieces through. Unlike the HF the model Milwaukee I have does not have a trigger lock so it makes it a bit awkward. IMHO, a die grinder is more dangerous.

For cutting precise lines that are no more than 4 inches, the throat is that width so the exposed blade can make the full width cut at one time. For a long cut where the blade is 90 degrees to the line, mark the full line with a straight edge and sharpie. It is easy to watch the cut progress and you control the rate with the material feed rate.

For long pieces, you can clamp the material down. I've stood, holding the saw vertically against my chest (cutting side away from me) and fed the material through with the other hand. It isn't high rpm and has very little inertia to hurt you. It is very easy to control.

Don't let the full weight of the machine feed the cut.

The hf served me well for many years even though mine is an early unit and there have been a few improvements in the design over the years. I wore out the plastic gears in mine. Now they are metal.

_________________
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

As things have moved along, I've needed to change my design to fit my donor. Although the front end layout and passenger compartment look pretty much like the (2nd generation) Haynes Roadster, I've also changed the size and gauge of several members and it's a left hand drive. The rear end is a hybrid of the original Champion chassis plus ideas of my own as I'm using the Mustang 7.5 inch, live rear axle. I'm also incorporating good ideas stolen from builders in other parts of the world, primarily the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It would be unfair to say mine is a "this" or a "that" chassis now but it's not my own either, although I'll have to take responsibility for it, whatever the outcome proves to be.

The "steal with both hands" comes from a transgression of mine in design school many years ago. Like many beginning design students, my first big project was heavily influenced the work of my favorite designer at the time, a well-known Italian. When it came to the classroom critique of my project, the professor spotted my borrowing right away, rightly considered my work a tepid, uninspired, interpretation of a true master and said in disgust, "For Christ's sake Lonnie, if you're going to steal then steal with both hands, it has more integrity."

Needless to say, that remark has stuck with me and influenced me over these many years. If you see an idea here similar to your own it could be that I've just stolen it. We all do it. Artists even have a fancy word for it, appropriation, which sounds a lot nicer than stealing. However, stealing is why each generation does not have to reinvent the wheel. But, I'll save you the wondering and just have the integrity to say it right out loud.

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

Finally, I'm underway for real. Yesterday afternoon I found a local service shop that would empty and recycle my A/C refrigerant. Other shops wanted $90-120 to do it and I knew that was way out of line. This fellow did it for free and has a machine that cleans and recycles the material.

At my request, he disconnected the evaporator canister and the other 2 spring clip connectors that take special tools, so I wouldn't have to rent them from an auto parts store. I want to sell all the parts I'm not using in the Locost. He only charged me a few bucks for labor. He earned his money. They'd been on there since '94 and it was a definite skinned knuckle situation.

Today is day one of actual disassembly. The donor went out for its last drive so I could burn off as much fuel in the tank as possible. I'm at the point where I need the donor parts in hand to mock things up and finalize the major hard points of the chassis and suspension.

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Revolutionaries refer to it as "LIBERATING" can you use it in a sentance ? yes; I liberated these weapons from their capitalist running dog oppressors, comrad.
I personlly think of it as borrowing on a permanent basis; and then there's that old saying "I'll owe it to you forever before I'll cheat you out of it"

Just a guy daydreaming outloud?

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Not only is my glass have empty it has a crack in it and leaks.

94% of Americans say "OH SH=T!" as they dive into a foxhole the other 6% are from Texas and say "Here HOLD my beer and watch th

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin, 1759