LocostUSA.com

Marcus
Hence my question. I can't believe how much better my welds got when I bought some readers and they fit right in my helmet
87k
It is a little amazing how much you can change a buck with a little spacing and tilting.

Constant light (like sunlight) does not trip the helmet darkening system. I'm at the stage where strong worklight helps my welding vision and strong conventional lights are a PITA with the auto darkening lens. 100 watt equivalent LED's as an work light source are the answer.

Bill

I wear my glasses under my helmet and don't think I have a focus problem, its just too dark. Going one shade lighter on the shield made a difference in my welds. I think I need to try some different lighting.

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My car viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16434
1930s Style Sports Car viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16888

And now for something completely different...

When my little green Locost was last seen it was November. The weather was turning cold and I was tired of fighting with the fuel system. I had spent the spring and early summer trying to get the car registered and inspected. Late summer and early fall was spent fixing the little things that come up when you first start driving a new project car. The worst of the trouble was the fuel pump stopping after 10 minutes of driving. Replacing parts and rearranging things got it up to 30 minutes. I had about enough so I parked under a car cover.

I could fix the darn thing in the spring. Well spring is about a week away so it's about time to get started. First up, the rear ride height problem. With two people aboard and under acceleration the tires touch the underside of the fender.

Since the coilovers have been adjusted to the limit it was time to move the top spring mount. I needed to take off the fenders to get access to the mount. To get the fender off I had to take out the interior panel. To get the panel off I had to take out the seats. Things are a real tight fit so I took about an hour per seat. All this just to get to the mount.

Next was grinding off the mounts so they could be reused. It took forever with a cutoff wheel on a die grinder. The problem was the weld penetration, I had to grind back under the mount a bit to get it all without grinding the mount. Really nice welds, they definitely did not want to come off.

Mounts welded back in, coilovers back on, fenders back on the rest gets put back on later. I had enough for one weekend I wasn't going to fight with the seats.

Next weekend, tires.

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My car viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16434
1930s Style Sports Car viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16888

And now for something completely different...Part two

Time for new wheels and tires. The tires are 11 years old so even though the tread is good they should be replaced. As long as I'm doing that I might as well fix a few problems like:

1. The wheels don't look sevenish. I get compliments on the nice looking wheels but I don't like the look of 17" rims.

2. Pennsylvania is the land of the pothole. I'm sure somewhere there are worse roads I just haven't been there yet. The 40 series tires don't have much room to flex before the rim takes a beating.

3. There was a debate on Miata.net about whether the 15" and 16" wheels handled better than the 17". I'm really changing for reason #2 but getting better handling would be a nice bonus.

Here is the difference in sidewall.

The 15" wheel is a Konig Rewind. It is a reasonable copy of the Pansport type wheel. The Rota RB is a bit closer in appearance but I read too many reports of poor quality plus one report that the wheel rubbed on the brakes I've got. I also looked at XXR but they didn't come in the size I wanted. Both tires are 205 and the new ones are Dunlop DZ102.

I'm happier with the appearance of the new wheels so I guess that is all that matters.

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My car viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16434
1930s Style Sports Car viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16888

Good choice. The Konig Rewinds suit the car and look way better than what you had before.

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Photo gallery of my completed Locost:
https://plus.google.com/photos/10397358 ... banner=pwa

And I thought it looked better the other way. But I understand about needing more sidewall height, just be careful about getting tires with stiffer sidewalls as that destroys any benefits.

Of course all that really matters is that you like it better.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

Nice wheels! Rewinds have long been one of my favorites because they look so much like Panasports... They look "right" on your Seven. I had a set on my MGB racer once upon a time, loved 'em ever since.

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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

I did the same thing on my Miata commuter car several years ago. I have a 35 mile drive across some really crappy SC roads. The Miata is a 99 Sport model. Taller sidewalls improved the ride tremendously.

When I wanted to do some spirited driving at club autocross events, I'd just up the tire pressure to 42-45 PSI

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Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

I think you are in the majority but I was going for the old British car look. I did consider just putting new tires on the Miata wheels because so many people liked them but in the end I did what I wanted which doesn't happen nearly as often as my wife says it does.

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My car viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16434
1930s Style Sports Car viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16888

I don't know about that...Not that the previous wheels looked bad, but I too think the Rewinds look better.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

I don't know about that...Not that the previous wheels looked bad, but I too think the Rewinds look better.[/quote]

Quit trying to brown nose. He's already said I was right. Sheesh some people . . .

Pressurizing the taller sidewalls to 42-45 won't be quite the same as the shorter sidewall mostly because it's hard to get the same rubber compounds on the taller sidewalled tires. I looked forever and finally settled on what I thought was only 1 step down from real performance rubber. The big thing was trying to find a semi-performance tire that didn't have ridiculously stiff sidewalls so that I benefited from going to the taller sidewall.

I have a set of rims with the short sidewalls and better rubber to put on when I do autocross.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

I also had Konig Rewinds on my Locost, but mine were the zero offset for a deeper dish:

https://picasaweb.google.com/marktsui19 ... 2843980082

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Photo gallery of my completed Locost:
https://plus.google.com/photos/10397358 ... banner=pwa

Me too! More Locost than Panasport or Mini Lights. Mounted with Nitto Neo Gens, balanced and delivered (with lug nuts) for $650 from Discount Tire Direct.

Don't know the offset.

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Larry in Seattle

No pictures today. I didn't do any Locost work except for a bit of touch up on the paint of the finished car. I was going to drive it but it snowed again so that was out. The work on the 30's car will slow down now that spring is here. I have a number of outside projects that need attention.

OK, I'll post a picture anyway. Since we were talking about Chapparals last week here is a picture I took of Jim Hall at an F5000 race at the Glen a few years ago. Well maybe 40 years ago. Nah, it couldn't have been 40 years. Anyway, fan access was better back then plus having race officials credentials didn't hurt either.

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My car viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16434
1930s Style Sports Car viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16888