LocostUSA.com

If you're comfortable with the profit you'll be getting at your current price point, that's great because it is reasonable and attractive. What you perhaps could do is make that your introductory price for the first X number (X = 5, 10, 25, or whatever you feel comfortable with) of orders. That way, you can extend the introductory price offer if you wish, or increase it after X are sold. No one will be offended, and you get some lee way.

Also, the windshield is an important (and expensive) item. If it's optional, you might want to supply a price (for the same X as above), but if it's included, make sure to say so.

Good luck. You've got a really nice package there.

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

What"s the wheelbase & track? The Cheetah was known for being squirrely due to the short wheelbase.

Are you going to have the trans mount directly to the diff? I believe that's what the original did.

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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.

Thank you for your suggestions!

The windshield is from the MGB. I believe the MGB ran from 1962 to sometime in the 80's. New glass is available for $120. I purchased my frame with glass on Ebay for $150. IF my car became really popular I can see getting frames as a problem. If that happens I'll make a fiberglass replica that will have steel encapsulated with in it. I've done this in the past with a different car.

My initial plan was to not provide the windshield frame and glass. At this time the frames are still available on Ebay.

Concerning the original Cheetah having squirrely handling.
The car had a 90 inch wheelbase. This is the same as the Cobra.
The seating position was as far back as possible and the transmission was bolted directly to the Diff using a single ujoint.
The frame was never developed and was extremely flexible. From what I read it was the deficiency in the frame that led to the poor handling.
The Cheetah weighed 1750#s, was 68 inches wide, 47 inches tall and had a front track of 59 inches and a rear track of 57 inches.

My PANTHERA has a wheelbase of 93 inches, should weigh around 1850lbs, a rear width of 72 inches and a front width of 71 inches. The overall height is 42 inches.
It uses stock C4 Corvette aluminum suspension. For 1984-87 the front hub to hub width is 60.5. The rear is 61.5. For 1988-1996 the front width is 62.5. The rear is 63.5.

There was no way that I could fit in the car with a 90 inch wheelbase and the engine so far back. I extended the wheelbase by 3 inches and moved the engine 12 inches forward. It still sits WAY behind the front axle center line. I increased the length of the cockpit and the distance from the rear of the cockpit to the windshield. I'm 6'2" and I fit very comfortable in the car. The foot boxes are long and relatively wide. My frame is made from 1.5 by 1.5 by .083 tubing and 1 by 1 by .065 tubing. It is 46 inches wide. (outside width)

I believe that my frame is very stiff. I've built a number of cars using the same basic frame design and C4 Corvette suspension. The handling of those cars was fantastic. I expect this one to be great as well. And, IMO the car is great looking.

I just got word from my Trademark attorney that Panthera will not work. It's too close to Pantera which is Trademarked. So, back to the drawing board.

How about Bengalla?

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I like the decisions that you're making. The engine was unnecessarily far back on the original Cheetah. Using a commonly available windshield, also good. Kudos!

Thank you for the suggestion of BENGALLA! I hadn't heard of it before. But, the home of the Phantom is pretty cool. I'm considering it.

Thank you for your positive comments Kreb!

I'm excited to get the bodies and get going on the final build.

Sting --

Do us a favor and, as a business practice, charge enough to stay in business? The "kit car" world is littered with folks who weren't profitable, then provided crappy products that they couldn't hope to support, then one day the vanished, taking order money with them.

Jack McCornack and I had this conversation years ago (before I nkew his background), and Jack assured me that yeah, he intended on doing just that. And Jack's still around.

I'm an IT guy, and in my first job I did phone support for HP home computers. (This is in the day when I didn't need a foreign accent to do that work.) We had one piece of software on an otherwise very solid machine that caused 1/3 of all of our phone calls. Conversely, Packard Bell had a return rate of over 50% at times because they weren't good to begin with, and those phone lines always had 2+ hour queues. So my take-away -- build a good product to begin with. And, like HP back in the day, be profitable to fix things with ease when they go wrong.

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.

Thank you for your suggestions Tim. I totally agree with you about the dubious history of kit cars. Especially those that are underfunded and relied on customer deposits to support them.

Here is a little about me:
I've been in continuous business since 1987. I've made my living by inventing simple things and licensing them for royalties or having them manufactured and marketed. I've never had employees. I have always contracted for everything. I pretty much haven't had to work since 1993.

I've always been mechanically inclined and have been a total car freak. My dad took me to a Can Am race at Riverside in the 60's. We sat on a hill and watched the race. I became hooked. In the 90's I looked at building a Kit Car. I wanted something different and I wanted something that had some performance to it. Not a VW powered looking super car. I built the number 9 Beck Lister.
The Lister was nice but I couldn't really fit in it and there were some things that I didn't like. I sold it and started on my quest to build my own car. This car, I think, is the 14th that I've worked on creating. I wanted it to have classic, timeless looks. Offer great performance due to light weight, a stiff chassis, and good suspension. I wanted it to use parts that were relatively inexpensive and readily available. It had to be simple. This car is very simple.

I didn't build this car because I wanted to have another business. I built it just for me. As I've shared my build on some different car forums and to people I know I've received some very positive reviews. I have a couple of friends and my son that want one. Since it was necessary to have molds and jigs made for them it meant that I had a way to reproduce it. I think it would be cool to see if anyone else would like to have one. I'm thinking this can be a fun way to fill up my days. Going to shows and communicating with other enthusiasts is something I like doing.

I know that $6800 is an aggressive price. (It probably will be limited time special). I'm hoping that it will entice some buyers and will get the car out there and seen. I'm not going to pay for marketing. I'll do it through on line marketing, press releases, and by word of mouth. What the price doesn't cover is my expenses and time to create it. That I was doing for myself. So, I'm happy to pass that on.

Since I'm financially stable I don't need to take deposits. I'm planning on having a couple bodies and frames on hand. If they sell I'll make more. I'll sell them on a first come basis. Customers can pay for them in full upon taking possession. (or shipped)
I'm not going to do custom modifications. This will keep costs down. The body and frame are quality pieces. I wouldn't sell them if I weren't confident in that.

I'm going to try and modify an MGB soft top to fit my body. It already fits the windshield! Future projects include offering a spoiler, and a removable hard top.

I'm using a Chevy factory crate engine. A 350HO to be exact. It's 333hp and has Vortec heads. 333hp isn't crazy HP but in this light of a car it will be plenty. I'm having mandrel bent headers and side pipes custom made. I'll offer them to customers.

I appreciate every ones input and suggestions.

All looking pretty good but I expect that at some point you will be adding doors if you want to sell a decent number.
Hard to use it as a "Crumpet collector" if crumpet refuses to perform the gymnastics required for entry.
Two seats hint at an intent for passengers.
If buyers have to cut and frame their own doors that blows up your "No fiberglass work required" feature.
I've owned cars with no doors, and was once young enough to just not use them on Bugeye's, TR3's, etc.
Not that young anymore and gals always use the doors.

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If I must be a one-man PC free zone, so be it!

Hello Richard. I know what your saying about doors. I didn't want doors in my roadster so that's how I built it. Somebody can buy my parts and if used as I intended there wouldn't be glass or frame work. If somebody wants to modify it that's a different matter.

The side of the car is pretty low. Much lower than a Cobra. I've built other cars without doors. I make the seat base flip up. That way there is a solid place to step with out having to step on the seat. I also use a quick release steering hub so that the steering wheel is not an obstacle.

The Cheetah had a 1/2 door. The opening was about 1/2 way up the side of the car. When I build the final frames I'm changing the side slightly so that the permanent top bar is lower. I have started to make fiberglass pieces to fill in from the body to the frame to allow for a door. And, I've started to make inner door skins. If there is interest in the car with doors I'll make it an option and would supply the kit with the modifications done and the doors hung. I'm planning to make a coupe for myself and the door will be necessary for that.

John, it looks like you've definitely got a handle on things. I wish you the best of luck with your endeavor. Maybe the next time the Wife and I make a trip to Maine for a family visit, we'll have to make a stop in the Adirondacks and check out your operation. Once again, Best of luck to you!

Mike

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Mike - Read my story at http://twinlakesseven.blogspot.com/

Oh! Just noticed your comment at the bottom of page 1. I wholeheartedly agree. In the profile pic, it does look a bit too vertical. Good call!!!

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Mike - Read my story at http://twinlakesseven.blogspot.com/

Thanks Mike! Any one that wants to come check out the parts and car is welcome to do so. I'll need to do it on appointment basis as I like to play golf, spend time on Lake Champlain, and travel to see family and friends.

I lived in NH for 21 years and had built my dream shop onto my house there. I moved to Upstate NY to help my parents and live in a log cabin now. I don't have a garage. I'm renting a shop that an older gentleman set up to do antique auto restorations. It's not fancy but its good space, all alone in the middle of a field. It's a quite place to work on my projects.

After doing some Trademark searches I think that BOBCAT and SUPERCAT are available. I've instructed my Trademark attorney to check on them. You can see that I'm still searching for the right name. Any thoughts on either?

My attorney just emailed me and told me that BOBCAT probably won't work. The company that makes BOBCAT excavation equipment would probably challenge it. He's going to check on SUPERCAT. SERVAL would work. No one has used it for a Trademark. Probably because not many people know what it is. It is a smaller wildcat that is the cat that most closely looks like a Cheetah.

FYI, the name Bobcat has been used before for cars. Mercury had a badge engineered version of the Ford Pinto called Bobcat back in the day. I do not know if Ford still owns the rights to the name or not.

"Supercat" sounds pretentious to me.


How about Civet (if you can past their $hitty reference to coffee)?

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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

On the other hand, if one has specific physical appearance demands for one's crumpets, and one doesn't want to come off as a sexist pig, it's a lot more subtle than a No Fat Chicks bumper sticker. Nothing says "Girls Wanted: Must be lithe, lissome, and limber" like a car with a body and no doors. Even the standard Locost (if there was such a thing) limits one's passenger choices.

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles