LocostUSA.com

Man that is beautiful.

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Figuring out how to build in the bucolic garden state
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=18224

The body is going to my friends body shop this Friday for final finishing. Today I had a little time, so I used some 1/4 inch foam board and duct tape to mock up a top. This is very rough. But, I can imagine how it will look, and I think that it will look good. When I make it for real it will have a more rounded look.

I'm gong to AZ and CA for vacation shortly. I'm returning March 10. The body should be ready to pull molds. I can't wait to finish and drive it!

While I love what you've done to the body, not so much the top. It looks like it might be very practical on the inside.

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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.

Your build's looking really good.

I suspect you have all the historical info on the Cheetah you need. However, if it would help you, I have about 20 photos of one of the "Cheetah Continuation" cars that I photographed at the Del Mar Nationals. They cover a number of views and are close up, but smallish at VGA dimensions of 640x480 pixels. My understanding (about third hand) is that they are built using original Bill Thomas molds and drawings.

Here's two examples:



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

Thank you for the pictures of the Cheetah Continuation. I believe they are exact replicas.

Before I mocked up the top I sat in it and set the height so that there's a few inches of clearance above my head. I'm 6'2" and I can see well out of the windshield.

When I work on the top for real it will have a much more rounded look, bigger side glass and a rear window. I will decide whether to have gull wing doors or have the entire top lift and tilt up. I want it to be easily removable so that the car can go from a Roadster to a Coupe quickly. The fact is that I like driving a Roadster much more. To me these cars are like a 4 wheel motorcycle.

Tomorrow to the body shop! Finally!!

Hopefully the kit version of the car deals with the known issues with the original, most notably, a passenger compartment heated so much by the engine that some drivers cut the roof off.

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

[quote="stinger"]

You have done a remarkable job on this car body. As another guy who builds a coupé I myself can appreciate the body work. What did you use?

What are your future plans about cockpit ventilation?

Thank you very much Phil. For the body I started with an existing one and have done extensive modifications to it. I used lots of foam, wood, body filler, duct tape, cardboard to create the shapes. I used 3/4 and 1.5 oz matt to cover the mods then used filler.

The roof was an hour mock up just to see how the proportions would look. It will look much better and have a rounder, more flowing look. I used 1/4 inch foam board and duct tape then used spray can paint to put the blue on it. I'm tearing this off and throwing it out now. There isn't any glass on it. When I create the final shape I'll make a wood base then attach foam and sculpt to shape. Then cover with a couple layers of 1.5 matt. Then body filler and lots of sanding. Then make a mold. The top will be my next winters project. I'll work on venting at that time. (there are going to operable vents to the foot boxes and cockpit even in the roadster) I think there is room under the dash for a heater or even an AC unit.

Thank you for your comment KB58. I understand about foot box and cockpit heat and comfort. I built a Beck Lister. The cramped foot boxes, driving position, and heat made it impossible to drive and have fun.

The Cheetah had a 90 inch wheelbase. The transmission was bolted directly to the Diff. The result was that the foot box and cockpit room was extremely tight. The headers went directly over the foot boxes. I'm planning on driving this car the rest of my life. I needed it to be comfortable. My wheelbase is 93 inches. I moved the engine forward and am using a 12 inch long drive shaft. I made the distance from the rear cockpit bulkhead to the dash longer. The position of the steering wheel is very comfortable. A 16 inch wide seat fits in fine. The leg room is very good and the angle that my legs are at is very comfortable. The foot box is comfortably wide. 3 pedal spacing is good. My headers pass in front of the foot boxes by about 6 inches. I ran the same arrangement in a car that I built and drove over 30,000 miles. Heat was never a problem. I think this car will be comfortable.

I build cars for fun. I built this car because I have a vision for it. It's what I want. I'm finalizing my retirement plans. My bucket list is to drive this car to Alaska. I knew that I would need to have molds made. This body is just the plug. My son wants one and a few friends have said they want to build one too. I'm having a professional fiberglass company make the molds and the bodies. A friend of mine owns a race car chassis shop. I built a copy frame and a jig. He's going to build frames as needed. I'm not capable of or wanting to go into production or to run a fabrication shop. But, because I can get the parts made for me I think I'm going to offer a kit. (I keep going back and forth on this. ) I'm thinking $9,900 for the body, frame, aluminum skins, necessary brackets and steering parts, and a parts list. I think there might be some Chevy guys that want a Cobra alternative. I know that people on this forum do their own work and strive to build for as little as possible. But, any opinions on that price?

Here's a picture of my 6'2" tall son in the car. This is just to show that I think there will be good room in the car even with a roof.

I delivered the body to my friends home shop yesterday. This morning he sent me a few pictures of his progress. He's moving a lot faster than I would be able to! He told me that he should have the tub in primer tomorrow. He might have the body done to pass on to the fiberglass company before I leave on vacation. It would be great to come home from it and have molds and production body. Fingers crossed!

Thank you very much Phil. For the body I started with an existing one and have done extensive modifications to it. I used lots of foam, wood, body filler, duct tape, cardboard to create the shapes. I used 3/4 and 1.5 oz matt to cover the mods then used filler.

The roof was an hour mock up just to see how the proportions would look. It will look much better and have a rounder, more flowing look. I used 1/4 inch foam board and duct tape then used spray can paint to put the blue on it. I'm tearing this off and throwing it out now. There isn't any glass on it. When I create the final shape I'll make a wood base then attach foam and sculpt to shape. Then cover with a couple layers of 1.5 matt. Then body filler and lots of sanding. Then make a mold. The top will be my next winters project. I'll work on venting at that time. (there are going to operable vents to the foot boxes and cockpit even in the roadster) I think there is room under the dash for a heater or even an AC unit.

Thank you for your comment KB58. I understand about foot box and cockpit heat and comfort. I built a Beck Lister. The cramped foot boxes, driving position, and heat made it impossible to drive and have fun.

The Cheetah had a 90 inch wheelbase. The transmission was bolted directly to the Diff. The result was that the foot box and cockpit room was extremely tight. The headers went directly over the foot boxes. I'm planning on driving this car the rest of my life. I needed it to be comfortable. My wheelbase is 93 inches. I moved the engine forward and am using a 12 inch long drive shaft. I made the distance from the rear cockpit bulkhead to the dash longer. The position of the steering wheel is very comfortable. A 16 inch wide seat fits in fine. The leg room is very good and the angle that my legs are at is very comfortable. The foot box is comfortably wide. 3 pedal spacing is good. My headers pass in front of the foot boxes by about 6 inches. I ran the same arrangement in a car that I built and drove over 30,000 miles. Heat was never a problem. I think this car will be comfortable.

I build cars for fun. I built this car because I have a vision for it. It's what I want. I'm finalizing my retirement plans. My bucket list is to drive this car to Alaska. I knew that I would need to have molds made. This body is just the plug. My son wants one and a few friends have said they want to build one too. I'm having a professional fiberglass company make the molds and the bodies. A friend of mine owns a race car chassis shop. I built a copy frame and a jig. He's going to build frames as needed. I'm not capable of or wanting to go into production or to run a fabrication shop. But, because I can get the parts made for me I think I'm going to offer a kit. (I keep going back and forth on this. ) I'm thinking $9,900 for the body, frame, aluminum skins, necessary brackets and steering parts, and a parts list. I think there might be some Chevy guys that want a Cobra alternative. I know that people on this forum do their own work and strive to build for as little as possible. But, any opinions on that price?

-------------------------------

Stinger- first off, congrats on the coming retirement I'm several years away myself, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't counting already

I had a problem with heat in the engine bay in my last project, mostly from the headers.. I don't know if you've experimented with header wrap, but for me it made a night and day difference in under hood (and in cabin) temps.. just my $.02 on trying to further control heat..

As for making molds/frames/kits to sell.. yes, yes, YES! This is such a sultry little design that I'd think at 10K you'd move some units- and hopefully make a nice little profit.. Like most here I fab my own stuff, but I can totally see buying in at your price point and still having room to 'make it my own' and have a killer, unique car for around 20K..

For me, this is one of the most interesting builds I'm following, and I very much look forward to seeing it come together and take form- this will be a very cool car once completed

--ccrunner

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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

That is absolutely gorgeous!
I think the kit price sounds reasonable. I for one, wanting to build my own, would love to see a body only kit with enough plans to build a frame.

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Planning a Duratec powered, Miata suspended 442

Thank you for your comments and support guys.

My buddy, doing the body work ,called me last night and asked me to come over and check/sign off on his progress. Since I'm going to be gone until the middle of March he wanted to make sure that his work met my expectations. This morning I made the round trip from near Lake Placid, NY to Newport, NH. I think that he has done a great job. To finish is more block sanding, another coat of primer, then wet sanding and polishing.

You'll notice the area behind where the seats will go, in the corners, isn't finished out. This is because to do so would create a negative return. I would not be able to get the body out of the mold. I'll make some separate pieces that will fill in that area.

There will be an opening in the rear bulkhead between the seats. It will give access to bonded in "trunk". Though not huge it will allow for decent, dry storage.

I'm excited to know that the body will be ready for molding upon my return from vacation. Getting closer.

Out of curiosity, how does the sizing and layout match up to a plus 4 locost chassis? If the wheelbase worked out, and one could add width to the Locost track, it would be fantastic if the body could be dropped on. That is, if you'd be willing to sell the glass separately.

Hello KREB. I'll have to find the plus 4 dimensions and check it out. The wheelbase on my car is 93 inches. The wheel arches are set for a tire wheel combo of about 26 inches tall. My frame is 46 inches wide. The top rails are 1.5 by 1.5 tubing. So, 43 inches inside cockpit width. (at least that's what I'm remembering. I'll double check when I return home from vacation.)

I think that I'm going to be OK with selling bodies separately. I'm wondering what price people on this forum would think is a fair price. I want to keep the price reasonable and at a point that would discourage others from making copies of it. All of the work is in the plug.

The fiberglass shop tells me that they can mold the body in Gel Coat colors and be able to buff and polish it so that painting wouldn't be required. I think this is a good option.

I would also sell plans for the frame. On second thought I might as well include them, if wanted, with a body purchase.

I'm having a great vacation but I'm excited to know the PLUG will be done when I get home. While the molds are being made I'll be assembling the chassis. Summer is coming and I want to be on the road!

This is the first body that I've made that I can honestly say there isn't anything that I would change. I know others may have a different opinion. But, I'm happy with it.