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Well here I am, addicted to building cars. I had the Super Slant Six Super Seven in the shop, kicked it around, decided to park it in the car garage and start on the Gazelle build.
If I put my head down and a$$ up I would have theSuper Slant Six Super Seven done before we head south.
But I've built these before and the Gazelle is a new challenge.

Now with the Mod's (and of course everyone else's) permission I would like to start a build log.

What say you?

The Gazelle was purchased on a 72 Volkswagen pan and 1600cc engine (50 HP?). Dismantled the build, sold off the VW pan and engine. Picked up a 1984 Mazda B2000 truck as a donor.

Some pics.






Will be building a frame, drinking, talking to myself, cursing, slamming the shop door, you know all the normal stuff we do.....


I almost feel like I'm standing behind the elephant with the squirts, ..............almost

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Always liked the Gazelle, looking forward to following this one.

_________________
1975 MG Midget
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=24382
13B Powered Rotus Geauxkart
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20899

This is going to be interesting, Perry. Also, what's up with the purple Mustang? Are planning something else too?

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

Okay. I'll follow.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Thanks guys, your replies give me confidence to go down this road.

Small update.

The B2000 is dismantled with all required drive train parts out, wiring out, ancillaries out.


I then reacquainted myself with an old friend.


I was able to get the frame fab drawings/measurements for a front engine Gazelle that used a Pinto drive train. I'll be using some of this info in addition to the 7 space frame info to fab a frame. The Pinto used rear leaf springs and front coil spring suspension/steering box. I'll be using 4 corner coilover suspension and a Mustang manual steering rack.


So it begins, lots of figurin' and scrathchin', and the odd discussion with Capt'n Morgan.
The way I see it, all I have to do is build a roller with engine/trans that this chunk of wobbly fiberglass will marry to.
Sounds easy if you say it fast.


One change I definitely will be making is reducing the arse end of the gazelle by around 8". There is no need for it to extend that far from the rear fenders, that's just plain fugly.


On a funny note I picked up the steel for this build, what would have cost me around $500 pre covid now cost me $860, had to debrief this purchase with Capt'n Morgan, after some spiced all was good

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

That's my son's car, he says he has plans for it, it's been sitting in my back yard for 12 years now.

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

OK, that guy behind the elephant was asking for trouble.

_________________
"It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so."
"Sometimes I sits and thinks, sometimes I just sits." - Satchel Paige

Good call to chop the rear. That'll look a lot better.

_________________
1975 MG Midget
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=24382
13B Powered Rotus Geauxkart
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20899

I think I may have posted this before on this site. Back in the 70's I took a ride in an MG TD that had a narrowed 9" rear end and a built Chevy 350/2 X4bbl, Turbo 350. As you 1st walked up t the car, it looked all stock. But as you stared to take the details in, you noticed the rear fenders were a lot wider- even though they looked stock and even blended into the running boards.

The guy had split the fenders (to keep the ridge down the center of the fenders) and added about 1 1/2" to each side of the ridge. This allowed a lot more meat under the rear!

Thinking about this being fiberglass, would be even easier that those steel fenders were to widen.

_________________
Thom

Subscribed.

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Peace, Ron

Perry, Have you thought about cutting off that back and then creating a "Continental kit" in the extra space like this MGTD. You will be the only Gazelle/Locost with one. It could work.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

That's a very nice look Chuck, but that's way beyond my skillset. I'll have my hands full just chopping 8" of the arse end, lol

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Spent the day measuring and scratching. Measuring for the 2"x4" frame and scratching from removing fiberglass cloth the PO(s) applied to the body not knowing what they were doing ( it's sad the way some people don't give a sh!t about their quality of workmanship). They didn't prep the surfaces before applying the glass to the existing surface so there might have been 50% adhesion, anyhoo it delaminated fairly easy and in some places needed a flap disc to remove the crap. Needless to say it was a itchy job even with mask, long sleeve shirt, and goggles.
Today I still felt I was standing behind the elephant......................didn't want to get the phone camera dirty

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

So in order to figure out the rear frame to body measurements I had to shorten the arse end which in all reality deleted the rear seat set up. My thoughts on the rear seat was it's kind of hokey, if an adult was to sit in the rear seat their knees would be up to their ears (I can picture that in the bedroom but not in the Gazelle). Did I just think that out loud

20 minutes later it looked like this.


Then I did some mock up holding it all together with cleco's.



Then I mocked up the boot lid on the shortened arse end. Used blue fab tape to get a visual on what the size of the boot will be with the rear seat deleted.



I also committed fabrication of the frame. It's hard to wrap my head around NOT building a space frame. The Capt'n and I debriefed and the end result was I can deal with this.


All in all it was a good day

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

I drove a 1984 B2000 for years. Loved that truck.

There are two things you need to know if you're keeping the Mazda engine:

1) the EGR valve can get carboned up, and the engine will run poorly.

2) there's an electric fuel pump in the tank. This feeds the float bowl of the carburetor. There's a return line to the tank from the float bowl, which looks like any other emission-control vent line. But it's not a vent; it's upstream of the needle valve and seat, and it returns fuel to the tank.

Spliced into the line, low on the firewall, there's a tiny black thingie barely larger than the fuel line. It's a spring-loaded check valve, basically... and it acts as a fuel pressure regulator. If the spring gets weak, as mine did, the fuel pressure at the carburetor drops, and the engine runs just fine unless it's under load, when the float bowl sucks wind. It took me over a year to figure out what was going on. I couldn't find a replacement at the time, so I put an aftermarket adjustable regulator on and blocked off the return line.


Also, the 5-speed transmission in mine was the smoothest, slickest-shifting manual transmission I've ever had. One day when servicing it I checked the lube level and couldn't reach anything with my finger. So I drained a couple of cups of incredibly nasty black goo out and filled the box with fresh 90wt gear oil. The transmission did not like that at all; it was balky and crunchy. I went through several brands of transmission oil trying to find something that would work right. The local Mazda dealer didn't know anything about special oil and couldn't be arsed to look it up. There was no Web then. A friend volunteered a couple of quarts of the oddball 30wt(?) gear oil his Corvette used; that worked acceptably, but it still wasn't as smooth as the black glop.