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Brutus is my small block Chevy powered Locost. The donor is my old race car/project/money-pit a 1967 tube frame classic Mini with a ford pinto engine powering the rear wheels.

Calling him Brutus was pretty simple, what else would you call a 300hp 1500lbs car? Brutal Lotus, Brutus.

Here's a pic:

More details as the car is progressing well.

* Wheels: Bassett 15" Steel Lightweight racing wheels 15x7 front 15x8 rear
* Tires: Kumho v710 (so far) 205/50-15 front 225/50-15 rear
* Brakes: 11.75 Rotors w/Wilwood Forged Dynalite Pistons rear single piston Outlaw caliper with 11.75 rotors.
* Brake Pedals: Wilwood Reverse Tripple Master Cylinder
* Engine: Fitting small block chevy (LT1 w/T56 is the future)
* Transmission: Muncie 4-speed
* Gauges: Koso RX-1N Whitefaced Digital Dash
* Spindles: Fiero (still might change)
* Steering: Custom Woodward Steering Rack with changeable ratios

More specs to come...

Current Pic:

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nice start always read about the mini on casc

Hey thanks. Yeah, the Mini was a whole other kettle of fish. Since it wasn't a blank sheet, originally built by someone else, it was like fitting a square peg in a round hole.

This will be MUCH more forgiving and is being built to last. Brutus will also be street legal which will be nice for those Sunday drives and the sunny drive to the track/autocross event.

Paul

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I like the bends in the top of the roll structure -- looks really good.

Peter

Thanks. Being 6'3" it was about the only way to get the cage to clear my helmet.

The front of the roll structure is also going to be the windshield support. For starters I'll just be using a lip of Lexan, eventually will be replaced by glass. Want to do it in such a way so that I can change out the lexan for glass when on the street, and put the lexan back when I'm at the track.

Paul

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Well, final update for '07.

The frame is effectively done at this point. All the brackets for the front suspension have been welded on, the front control arms are done, the various Dzus fastener plates have been installed. Frame needs to be primed and painted, which will be done in the coming days. After that the body panels, wiring, brakes etc.

Some interesting measurements/weights. First, with ride height at ~5" the top of the roll cage is 50" from the ground. Not bad. Weighed the frame and it is 170lb at the front and 180lb at the rear for a total of 350lb, car will come in somewhere around 1600lbs-1800lbs. Heavier than most "Locosts" but at the same time this frame is FAR beefier.

Here are some of the latest pics:






Wilwood HD Series directionally vaned brake rotors and HD Hats:

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Few changes. I've decided that in place of the carbed 350ci Chevy Small Block and munci 4-speed that I'm going to go with a 305ci Tuned Port small block.

Many reason, first is that I want fuel injection, second, the manual transmission is easier to get and much cheaper. The manual transmission options for the 350 basically means T56 and that gets expensive fast. There are other options like Richmond, but that's even more. Doing after market fuel injection is expensive, and while I could go LT1/T56 that's at least $3500 on engine/transmission alone and more than I want to spend.

I'll get my target 300hp out of the 305 with the tuned port injection and T5 transmission and can get a complete engine for under $1000. New pistons, seals etc for another $600 and I'm done. So pretty simple. That said if I find a Camaro with an LT1/T56 combo going for cheap that I can part out, I might do that too.

Now to find the engine/trans.

Ordered front Halogen Dietz style lights from Speedway Motors.



Grabbed a set of motorcycle mirrors from ebay:



Grabbed a set of LED trailer lights for the rear tail lights from ebay:



Now looking for parking/turn signal lights and a single rear white backup light as well as switches. Should be easy enough to find.

Paul

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Check out Brutus 6-Speed LT1 Powered Locost
https://www.facebook.com/BrutusV8

You could take all the 305 TPI stuff and put it on a 350 block. Then you can throw that 305 in hte trash where it belongs. I had 305 heads on my 327 in high school and I had about 11.5:1 compression. That thing was sweet. As far as EFI controls you could use a Megasquirt to control the TPI. It will allow you to get rid of the MAF and be infinately tunable. They are cheap, and there is a butt-load of support for them. You can also use the Muncie behind the 350 unless it's a LT1 block or something like the new LSX blocks. If you want to go cheaper on the trans you could get a Saginaw 4-speed. They are plenty strong for a Locost and are a dime a dozen. You will break traction before you break the trans. Muncies are all over priced because of the muscle car restorers. Just a few thoughts from the top of my head.

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Build sold to a new loving home. May start another one when I have more time to devote to it. For now I play with my boat, Datsun 240Z, and GS700 motorcycle.

Your frame and cage look great...certainly BEEFY!

Are you planning on adding triangulation to the frame, inside all those squares? Even if you use smaller tubing than the rest, that would add immense stiffness for the weight.

Just my $0.02, and probably overpriced at that.

-dave

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...nowadays people are so intellectually lazy and lethargic that they can't build ANYTHING with their hands. They'll spend hours watching whiny people marooned on an island, but won't spend a second adding anything to the world. -weconway
Visit my [Locost 7 build log]

I have been doing research for my car, and it seems you can find the 5.3L version of the LSx engine for pretty cheap. It comes in the trucks and SUV's, but it also has the AL block. Several people report finding them for $600-900 complete. Try looking at ls1tech.com. They have a good classified section, and obviously a lot of information on the LS engines. I think it would be a much better option than the 305. You would save probably 80 lbs just with the AL block. If you found a complete engine, it would have all the fuel injectors, lines, and sensors you need to go fuel injection. I will second the Megasquirt recommendation. I am using it now on my 69 Vette, and I couldn't be any happier.

EDIT: I just did a quick search on ebay, and there multiple iron block 5.3L engines available for well under $1000. They come complete with intake, fuel rails, etc. There are some AL blocks ones on ebay, but they are more expensive. You will have to search other forums, local yards, etc, for a cheaper AL block engine. The AL block seems to only come with the latest LS4 design.

Good luck.
Ken

All good points, although I think the small bore 305 would be adequate, traction-wise.

Theres also the LT1 in the old Taxicabs, cadillacs, and police cars. The 4.3l V6 used in astros and s10s from around 1990 to 1995 is another option. It's a little lighter, a lot shorter, rated at around 200hp and has a good looking injection system with a variable plenum. Decisions, decisions! Whatever you use, I doubt you will be disappointed.

Just remember, the more power you have, the bigger the fuel tank should be.

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Well, I decided a couple of weeks ago to start looking for an engine. Two choices presented themselves. First on the block (no pun intended) was an LT1 from a '97 Camaro. Long story short, I thought it had the T56 6-speed with it, but it actually had some other truck 5-speed of some kind. So I passed on that.

Next was a 305 TPI from an '87 Firebird GTA. Not as good as the LT1, but still good for 300hp. So I was going to grab that engine. Needed an engine hoist so I drove to Waterloo (from Mississauga) to pick one up at a friend's place (thanks Pete!). Short pit stop to fix Melissa's (cousin) computer and then later in the day headed out to get the 305, or at least I thought I was. Ug.

I'm 10 minutes from the pickup when the owner calls and says that the engine is actually still at the previous owners house and there is a bunch of stuff in the way and it can't be moved tonight. Not only that but the T5 transmission was never pulled from the car! Argh! In fairness the previous owner was given 2-3 days to clear a space and didn't. That said, still a big waste of time. I went to see it anyway, and the engine was sitting, actually hanging, from and engine hoist on this guys drive way for a month covered (barely) in a garbage bag. Not what I was hoping for. Considering the trans is still in the car, I'm not sure if this is going to work.

I then got to thinking. Perhaps a carbed 350 with a T5 might work. There are people running T5's behind 350's on much heavier cars than Brutus' 1600lbs. I always thought the torque would be too much, but if you think at how little the car weighs all that will happen in Brutus is the tires spin, no harm to the transmission there. So I'm thinking about that...

Body panels made it onto the car this weekend. Damn! This is really starting to look SWEET! Notice the frame is also painted.

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Hi Paul did you figure out a budget on it yet?
Btw guage back is awsome

You mean budget on the engine?

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