LocostUSA.com

i know you guys said this forum is best for building your own frame and making your own car, i bet youll get a kick out of this idea and probably tell me how stupid it is, but no matter what i am going to do it.

so i bough a 66 vw bug in attempts to get my 84 f250 6.9l (with a turbo) idi diesel. yes it something like a 800-900lb block with no fluids using a c-6 auto with a overdrive on it.
the idea is to place the v8 upfront. rebuild the exhaust (just remake it due to holes)

will need to build a frame to ohold the ammount of torque this bad boy, will also hold and on top of that make is strogn enough to actually hold the weight of this thing but still maytain a sleeper look. the funny thing is the donor truck is a 2x4 so i am going to use the front spindles, and it has a 97 full float dually axle so i am told it will be abel to shorten due to the fact the axles have extra splines. so it will not only be the first v8 diesel in a bug but it will also be the first 8lug bug to my knowing. i am thinking of trying to widen the fenders and will be cutting the hole back out just to make a huge tube, just for the fun of makign it a dually. i know this thing is going to never catch tractation, be stupid, and just plain funny.

me and my bro took a engineering class in highschool and screwed around with autocad. we mocked up a frame on there with the right dementions and did a stresstest using the power levels of the motor at stock specs and did the old trick, if turbo set up are right youll make 2x power so i think the idea was liek 500hp and around 700ft-lbs tq. i cant remember the idea has been around for almost 2years and idea stoped over a year ago thanks to the army. but its going to happen if i get ft. hood next as my next station

what do you guys think ill get the pictures of the frame we made and post them up tonight. so you can see.

lets hear what the engineers and experts have to say about this madness

Oh yeah, it will be a sleeper.

Seriously though, take the body off thr truck, shorten the frame to the required wheelbase, then cut the bug down the middle from end to end. Get another bug and cut to each side of the center as necessary for the dash, windshield frame, hood, trunk lid and/or just weld in .050" sheet to bridge the gap. Use a split window kit for the rear and the front should be flat glass anyway so have it cut to fit.

Gas mileage won't be any better than the stock truck and you won't be able to haul anything or tow much due to the lower curb weight, but it will be interesting.

wouldn't something like this be more fun?

That thing appeared as a knocked together concept in the 3 months where British Leyland were gonna buy AMC right?

I shouldn't, but I like it.

+1... that looks kinda fun!

We should really keep this in the Locost style we've all become accustomed to:

I somehow want to build one of these:



Imagine that?

Cheers!

KS

I showed this to the guys at work this AM, who are all total gear heads, and after listening to my plans for the Locost for the last several months, one guy piped up with "Well, I have 2 Buick Alum V8s at home.. you could use those!" and one "Damn.. looks like fun! I should build one of those!"

Another guy here has 5 (yes 5!!) Buick Alum V8s (i.e. The Rover V8 engine) he's just sitting on. Man.. what a perfect Locost motor those would make, much less a perfect match for an application like this. Those 350s (?) hanging out in front must make this thing handle like the Titanic!

Cheers,

Ken

Interestingly an early cj has a 3" shorter wheelbase and a 2" wider track than a spit 1500. .. hmmmmmm, one of these would fit thru my garage door

No! Not a Spitfire! Is nothing sacred anymore? That reminds me of when Julia Roberts married that Lyle Lovett dude. Same concept.

Tom

??

I like his music, seems like a decent guy in interviews...

LOL!!!!

That engine was a common choice in the Rotus. As I recall it was both hard and expensive to get it to 300 hp. It sounded great but for shear performance, a 4-cyl turbo would be lighter.

You sure about that??

Original Rover V8 (215 c.i.) weight = #315 (Carb to Manifolds) Actual

Toyota 22RE weight #295 (Intake to Manifold) Reference

Ford 5.0l weight = #450 (Unknown) Reference

VW 1.8L Watercooled weight = #335 (TB to Turbo Outlet) Actual

The V8 wins on sound effects hands down! The turbo wins on pure performance, but a high-compression Rover V8 with ITBs and a MegaSquirt would give it a run for it's money! Serious rethinking about the powerplant choices before I dig back in!

KS

Well. .. not personally viewed numbers but one of my brothers runs the buick/rover engine in several of his vehicles and states ~250hp from his hopped up engine. ..