LocostUSA.com

Hi Friends,
I have been quite lazy on this build, sorry. The other thing is what I am building is a bit out of the beaten paths in this forum and may not interest most of you. Here I am any how :

This build is my second seven. Some of you may find that it will not look much like a seven and you will be right.

"Sevenesque" is what I am calling it. The project has the regular bird cage chassis and the frugal ideas of the 1950s seven and this original Chapman inspiration is very much mine too. My car is based on a 1965 GM Corvair mechanical components, that is 2.7 L 6 cyl boxer engine , double u-joint transaxle diff and 4 sp manual transmission. I bought the transmission and diff rebuilt. I am rebuilding the Corvair engine myself from the ground up and in the process giving it a performance cam, EFI, headers ,and a water injection system. My expectation is that as a naturally aspirated engine this mill will crank out about 160 hp @ 5500 rpm.

Sofar most of my work was concentrated on building the body, all from raw stock steel. The roof which I have posted here previously is made of a lamination of GF and balsa wood, it will re reassembled with the car in the Spring when I can work outside. Here you are guys . I will go into more details if anyone is interested.


Jan 2020 updates.
I now have an engine bolted in place. With the rear engine transaxle power train, I found the technical challenges greater than in my first locost (conventional one). As you will notice I chose to retain the Corvair stock trailing arms which made my life a little easier. Also I am not sure that I could fab this type of single arm suspension to less weight than the Stamped steel (about 3/16") made by GM. Another area of great fum was to design and build my own shifter. In all rear engine builds , including modern rear transversal types, designing a shifter is a bit of a challenge.

Phil,

This build is so wonderfully weird that I'm just sorry I didn't think of it myself. I like it!

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

Deliciously steam punk! Keep the updates and pictures coming. Love it!

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

Hi Phil-
My reactions went from "What the 'ell?" to "That's kinda cool..." to "Wow!"
Neat project, yeah, a bit off the beaten "Locost 7" path, but that makes it all the more interesting.

I think it was the transverse leaf spring in the front that caught my eye the most.

Keep us posted. More pictures!!!

JDK

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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

Very unique build Phil.
I noticed that the side louvers are placed to scoop the air. Looks like you're scooping air on the passenger side for the cockpit?
And your scooping air on the drivers side to vent the front compartment? Are you heating the cockpit with hot air from the engine?
Keep the pictures coming!

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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

Both front and rear are fitted with semi elliptic leaf springs and arranged the same way, with legs that transfer motion from the lower arm.

You are right, the louver vents are designed to draw air for the cockpit. I have not decided yet whether the driver side will need this too. I have no plans at this point to provide hot air from the engine, as this vehicle will not be used during the Canadian Winter. If there was a need for heat, it would be a bit complicated to design because the Corvair boxer is air cooled. Maybe an engine oil radiator???


Thank you all for your interest and your encouragements