This might be the first post from this account, but I've been part of the community for some time. My old Keith Tanner account seems to have been deactivated.
Anyhow, I'm here because a friend has a Locost for sale. Not just any Locost, either - Chris Fiaccione's old car that was featured in Car and Driver back in 2006 along with my own. When Chris put the car up for sale, I started pestering my friend Brandon to take it on. He did, and has put a bunch of work into making it a very competent track car. He's improved the seats and the roll protection, dropped in a bigger engine and strengthened a number of parts like axles. It's been seeing regular use at track days. I'll answer any questions I can about it.
Here's what he has to say.
---------
I’ve been putting this off long enough… It’s finally time to sell my Se7en - a homebuilt Locost. I’m the second owner, it was built by the first owner. He got it into Car and Driver with Keith Tanner’s Se7en,
you can check out the article here. It’s seen quite a few modifications and upgrades since I’ve had it, though - check out the list below. It’s an absolute riot to drive (
obligatory video here), and it’s pretty fast on a tight track. I believe it currently has the car record at my local track, Grand Junction Motor Speedway, with a 1:00.4. For reference, Keith Tanner’s 400ish whp V8 Targa Miata has a best of somewhere around 1:01 and his Se7en is somewhere around 1:02. Granted, that’s not on a wide open track, but you get the idea. That having been said, here’s a breakdown:
975ish lbs wet.
2003 Yamaha R1 engine and sequential transmission. Stock, but with heavier springs in the clutch and a Dynojet Power Commander.
Paddle shifter, no-clutch upshifts.
Clutch-pack limited slip diff. The housing is from a Merkur XR4Ti, but I replaced the diff itself.
Westfield fiberglass racing seats - surprisingly comfortable, assuming you’re relatively skinny.
Five-point Crow harnesses.
Custom (sufficiently tall) roll bar.
Custom 3 gallon fuel tank, with baffling - you can run it low with no starvation, probably down to a ½ gallon or so.
1.6 Miata brakes, unknown pads, but they’ve always worked very well (they don’t have to slow down much weight..).
Right hand drive.
Street legal and titled in Colorado. I’ve let the registration expire, as I only drove it on the street to get to the track, but it should be a non-issue to get it re-registered in Colorado. For other states, you’ll have to do your research. It doesn’t have wipers or a real windshield, but it does have headlights, brake lights, turn signals, horn, etc.
Civic radiator - it’ll get warm if you let it idle long enough (although it does have a fan), but I’ve had zero overheating issues.
Nitto NT01 tires (one is corded, the others have decent life left) on 1.6 Miata hollow-spoke wheels.
Shift-I rev light.
Wilwood brake proportioning valve, located for on-the-fly adjustment.
Very light but pretty loud exhaust.
The bad? Not much. The only actual problem is that it’s pretty bad about cold-starting - I think there’s a voltage draw somewhere, you typically have to hook it up to a running car to get it to cold start - but it starts perfectly every time when it’s even a little warm (engine temp, not ambient). In the interest of full disclosure, there are a few other not-perfect things: The header isn’t the prettiest thing in the world (it was meant for a CBR900RR and has been modified). One of the tires is corded, as mentioned previously. The battery’s dead and will need to be replaced. It’s pretty twitchy, which is fantastic under 80 and is a little unsettling over. Between gearing, aerodynamics, and horsepower, this isn’t really a high-speed car anyway. It rides and handles really well, but it also has a decent amount of body roll - sways were on my list of upgrades, but never happened. There was a little bit of fiberglass damage but most of it has been repaired with more fiberglass and some Bondo (not much). I didn’t do a perfect job, but it’s only obvious if you’re looking for it (see the pictures). Buy this if you’re looking for a fast car, don’t buy it if you’re looking for a show car.
I’m asking for $10,000, and that’s firm. I considered asking for more so that we can wheel and deal our way to $10,000, but figured I’d save everyone the trouble. I really don’t want to sell it, as it’s an absolute riot on track, but I don’t drive it often enough to justify having it. If you’d like more pictures or have questions feel free to get in touch with me -
brandon@flyinmiata.com. 77O.378.3O48 if you’d rather talk.
I also have a relatively rough but perfectly adequate trailer that works perfectly for this car. It’s a pretty small / light car trailer, for better or worse - it’ll handle a Miata, but that’s pushing it. $500 for the trailer. If I sell the car without the trailer, I'll sell it separately. I'd rather not sell the trailer prior to selling the car, though.
Brandon Fitch
brandon@flyinmiata.com77O.378.3O48
And the ugly stuff...
Login
Register
FAQ
Members
