LocostUSA.com

Oh no, I intend to use head fairings. It's the lowest drag way to hide rollbars on a roadster.Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm doing, except I'm using 3/16" countersunk machine screws instead of rivets so I can take them off without it being a big production.

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

just a suggestion for more fuel capacity, if this is a race car, add a bladder type cell. it wil fit to where you want it and removable when you don't need it. The passenger side floor is where i would put it, or with the side pods you have, put one in there.

Great looking progress so far Jack.

Too bad you didn't make it to Seven Springs with the car - I've always been meaning to make it up there one of these days for a little bit of driving. There are some great mountain back roads.

I know the typical 7 has a pretty flat and smooth "under tray" beneath the cockpit area. Any plans to extend that forward and aft on the Lalo to clean up airflow beneath the car?

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

Jack,

I reread your whole thread and have a bunch of questions. Have you made any progress on the rebuild/redesign? Have you gotten anywhere on bodging a set of McSorley plans to show which dimension changes would make the most sense as far as maximizing interior room and footwell space? What size of motor makes the most sense?

I am definitely interested in a buying a Lalo body. I think 2grand is a reasonable price. How could it be shipped, though?

John

Yo, John-
I don't have any authority to speak for Jack, but... Check in the "Suppliers" forum, under the thread "Kinetic is Moving"... Might be a while before Jack can answer you, he's having a bad week...
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

Shipping will indeed be a nuisance, John. Right now I'm thinking of doing it in six major parts--four fenders, a scuttle, and a nose/hood section. However, even then, the only parts that'll be UPS-able will be the rear fenders. It's a quandary. You could drive your Locost/McSorley here and we could install a Lalo body in the shop?

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

I'm sure you've considered this before, but just in case: Have you looked into shipping via Greyhound? It sounds odd, but that's generally how I've managed to find the best pricing for large, light objects like bumper shells or other similar bits. It's been a while so pricing may be completely different these days.

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.. in the world

Or house movers? They are neither particularly cheap, nor quick, but they do wander all over the place and it's door-to-door. Most long-distance moving trucks are actually carrying 3 to 5 house lots. But a niece moved from Calgary to Halifax a couple of years ago and found it cheaper to mail all her soft goods and kitchen ware (35 boxes ...) than to use a mover. But there's no way a body - even in bits - will meet parcel post maximum size requirements.

It cost about $750 to ship my COLD frame from BC to Nova Scotia a few years ago.

Ironically, I recently had some bits brought in from Birkin (seats and belts). Air feight was cheaper than sea, despite the fact that the factory welded up an angle iron and expanded mesh frame around the cardboard box! Nonetheless, after including shipping, I could have bought some REALLY expensive seats locally and saved a bunch.

Geography can be such a PITA.

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601

I took a break from the Haynes Roadster windshield project and went to my local Lions Club pancake breakfast and antique/classic car show; to make a long breakfast short they talked me out of a $25 entry fee and I put MAX on the lawn with the rest of them. Apparently I'd misunderstood the classes somewhat, I figured if you wanted to enter, for example, the '30s Modified class you needed to have started with a deuce or the like, but no, there were cars with "'32 Ford" placards that didn't have a single component from the 20th Century but looked like a '32 Ford, so...I called MAX a "1958 Lola Mk1 (sorta)" and entered as a '50s Mod.

Anyway, I came back with the coveted "You Built It" award for my use of green painters' tape as a structural component (spoiler mount). I'd added a Bonneville-style spoiler to keep air attached longer on the back, but hadn't figured out a cool way to fasten it.

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

I'm leaving Yuma on Monday and will be back to Oregon a few days later. I'm satisfied with my proof-of-concept body but it's not yet a production part. I'm predicting $3000 for the fiberglass body parts for a streamlined Locost body in the style of what you've seen here, which is about $2000 more than a traditional Locost body.

So it's time to ask the tough question: is this an appealing enough body that people will buy it? If I do the bulk of the labor, three sales will cover my costs, and I'll start covering my time investment after that BUT I don't have the capital and courage to make these molds purely on spec. So I need to find three people with a strong interest.

If I do this, I'll make the production version of the nose with a removable center section so it can adapt to a variety of engines and chassis with minimal retooling. The windscreen will be a la period road racers (formed from clear plastic and lower than the drivers eyes) and there will be an AS1 safety glass windshield option. The standard tail will be rounded a la Lola Mk1, with a little gurney spoiler to kill lift. And hopefully I'll have a removable hardtop this summer, price to be determined but locost as usual.

I'll stay in touch via internet cafes on my drive, so if you have questions I'll endeavor to answer them in a timely fashion.

As I think I've mentioned, the streamlined body changes the car's behavior by bunches. With the traditional body and 32 horsepower, top speed was 72 mph. With this body it levels off at 90, plus roughly a 50% improvement in fuel economy. I can hardly wait to make one with a Miata.

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

Something like this might work well,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTORCYCLE-LED- ... c9&vxp=mtr



It might not fill the whole gap, though it is 'bolt-on'

Does this mean you have half the drag of your locost? ( 72 / 90 ) ** 3 = ~.5? Is that how you figure that out?

I think this is a great way to double the power of your locost.

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

Do you have any rough time frame as to how long such an endeavor might take, once sufficient interest is secured, until finished bodies might be able to start leaving your shop?

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

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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

If the double asterisk symbolizes an exponent, that'd be close. Parasite drag increases at the square of the speed difference (90/72 x 90/72 = ~ 1.56) and thrust per horsepower drops directly with the speed increase (72/90 = .8 ), divide the latter number by the former number (1.56/.8 ) = ~.51282051...) indicates pretty darn near half the drag.

Heck no! I figured it out by stepping on the throttle and reading the GPS! YMMV because I had to tweak the governor so the engine would spin to 3600 vs. 3000 but Kubota told me that 3600 rpm is past the power peak for that engine (they also told me I was out of my mind, so I'm not bugging them for a sponsorship) which indicates I'm hitting 90 at somewhat less than 32 hp.

Full disclosure behooves me to acknowledge that the new body has less frontal area than the old body (a windscreen instead of a windshield) but mostly I think it's 'cause the new bod cuts the Cd (based on calculations based on similar vehicles) to less than half the traditional Se7en body.

By the time I'm at highway speeds, that's about what it feels like. I still have to pack a lunch if I want to run the quarter, but with the traditional body and 32 horsepower, I didn't have to pack a lunch--if I didn't mind having just a couple of simple cold cut sandwiches, I had enough time to make a lunch.

One reason I'm jazzed about making a Miata-powered car is I'm curious how much fuel economy will improve with streamlining. Half the power requirement doesn't translate straight to twice the mileage (engines tend to get less efficient as power demands are reduced) but I wouldn't be shocked to get 50mpg, which would improve my odds of getting to the next Midwest Gathering.

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