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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: April 25, 2012, 11:34 am 
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Joined: September 18, 2011, 3:45 pm
Posts: 116
Those lowers look beautiful, do you have a link to pictures of the construction process?


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PostPosted: April 26, 2012, 7:54 am 
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Joined: March 18, 2010, 5:20 am
Posts: 86
Location: New Zealand
Sorry no I don't, wish I had though. Basically I made a series of jigs out of steel. The first was to bend the edge of the part circle using a hydraulic press. The second was to bend the edge on the shock brackets and here it was really just a little former and I used heat and a hammer with a little tidy up using a flap disc. The main jig was to assemble the arm and here I used an old MX5 ball joint welded to a tee shaped section with tabs welded to the cross bar of the tee to locate the inner bushes. There was also a sub jig to locate the shock brackets. If there is enough interest I could post something in the suspension section, as I still have all the jigs.

Bruce


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PostPosted: May 1, 2012, 6:15 pm 
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Joined: February 6, 2012, 1:30 pm
Posts: 200
Location: Southern NH
I know, it's been a month since an actual update. I've been pretty busy with life outside of the Seven, going on vacation, working, etc. That being said, I've gotten stuff done on the car as well. I've finished up the rear main frame (all I had left to do was the upper hoop and supports), as well as tacked in the front suspension mounts, cut and placed the engine support tubes, and cut and placed the lower transmission tunnel cockpit tubes. I didn't get around to tacking the 4 previously mentioned tubes, as I had a couple guys here putting in all new windows in the house (gotta save on heating bills to afford this 'lo cost car' HAHA), and didn't want to have to explain about how they can't look/watch/etc while I'm welding. So, I just fit them in place, ready to be tacked at my earliest convenience. I also need to locate the engine/tranny and differential before I go tacking in any part of the tranny tunnel just yet. I've cut enough pieces out to redo them already, no need to do it again on purpose.

I've also disassembled the rear carrier assembly. I've got the brakes and lines put away, differential sort of cleaned up (holy rust, batman. Caked on. A little worrisome, but the case seems to be solid anyway. Really, it's just the pinion cover on the front of the diff and not the housing itself, but still.), and the axles/uprights (spindles/hubs) out and ready to be installed into the BrokeAssSeven. So, getting that all disassembled cleared out about 5' from the front of my garage, and now I won't be tripping over the PPF (which I ended up cutting off... seriously, I see almost no other way to get this thing off after busting a bolt off) every 30 seconds. I gave the PPF to the guy who did my windows... he scraps all the scrap aluminum.. and now that the PPF was essentially destroyed, I couldn't sell it anyway so I figured, someone may as well benefit from it.

I'm frustrated at the amount of work I've gotten done in the past month, but I need to continue to remind myself that this process is naturally going to slow down as the build progresses. I'm now in the stage of the build where I don't have any more plans or guidance on how to do things, so now I need to factor in my 'figure out what's going on' time. That time is significantly longer than 'look at the plans, and build it' time. On top of that, getting the engine out of it's storage area is a pain in the ass to begin with, nevermind moving the frame lower in order to fit it. So, I'm sort of putting it off / not being able to do it alone. I'm hoping to be fitting the engine/tranny/diff by next Saturday, so I can start on the differential mounts, engine mounts, and tranny tunnel. Once all that's put in and tacked, then I'm going to go ahead and final weld this pig. That will be a time consuming process, without feeling like much is getting done. But, it'll be a HUGE step in getting this thing ready to start final assembly.

Once we're all final welded, I need to start on the suspension which is going to be, most likely, the biggest time sucker of the entire process. I learned and excelled at all this stuff in school, but just reading about it again is making my brain melt out of my ears. That's okay, I'm expecting it to take forever, and I'll easily offset the time spent on suspension with the time I'll be saving on the wiring harness (comparatively to other builders, anyway).

Needless to say, there is a lot of work completed, but there is ten fold the work to still do. I'll really try to keep on top of this build log though...

@nisseven -- I think a writeup in the suspension area, with pictures/explanations of your jigs would be awesome! Those are some serious looking control arms, share them, haha!

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Build Log: http://www.BrokeAssSeven.com -- http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13293

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PostPosted: May 1, 2012, 10:45 pm 
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Location: Novato, CA
You've got the right attitude. Just keep plugging away. I wouldn't worry too much about the rust on the diff, or really any donor parts, so long as they're working. Once your Locost is done you can replace anything. The suspension does take a long time, but it's very satisfying work.


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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 12:15 am 
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My differential looked much worse than that. A few minutes with a wire brush and some Rustoleum primer (the stuff meant for rusty metal) and I was in business. Something similar should take care of yours.

One suggestion - clean up the leaves on the garage floor. Your welder and grinder are both great ways to "ignite" an exciting afternoon. ;) :shock:

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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 8:20 am 
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Joined: February 6, 2012, 1:30 pm
Posts: 200
Location: Southern NH
Ah, rustoleum primer. I hadn't even thought about that. I was just gonna leave it as is. -- Is that the stuff that actually eats the rust away? I'll look more into it. Also, very true Nick... as long as it works for now, I can fix it later (not the best attitude, but it'll keep from holding me up to try to find perfect parts for this thing at this point).

And uh yea, good point about the leaves. I try to keep the floor as clean as possible, but for whatever reason, it's like a goddamn wind tunnel and every leaf in the neighborhood finds its way in when the doors open (and it needs to be to cut the steel, the way I've got the saw set up... and for welding because breathing that stuff in is no fun). Oh well, I'll try to be more vigilant about keeping it cleaner. Really don't need THAT exciting of an afternoon, HAHA!

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Build Log: http://www.BrokeAssSeven.com -- http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13293

This build is already locosting a fortune...


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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 9:11 am 
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We are Slotus!
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Joined: October 6, 2009, 9:29 am
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Location: Tallahassee, FL (The Center of the Known Universe)
Hi Brad-
There's a tool I like for cleaning up rusty/dirty metal, I used it on the diff in my car and several other bits. It's a 3M thang that goes on your electric drill and looks like the one in the right of the picture-
Attachment:
10 16 10 Before N After.JPG
Some good detergent (I like Simple Green, any will do) in water and a good scrubbing, then go over it with the "soft grinder" tool shown, dry thoroughly, and it's pretty much "good to go" for the primer. As suggested, Rustoleum is good stuff. 8)

I think there's some immutable law of the universe that says whenever a garage door is opened, every loose leaf, scrap of paper, bit of styrofoam, small dead animals and the occasional Door-to-Door Evangelist has to be blown into the garage. It's a never ending fight in my garage, and has been everywhere I've ever lived! You'd think the laws of probability would catch up to me eventually, and a Hooter's waitress or a Playboy Bunny would get blown into my garage... But NNNNOOOOOOOO.... Oh well, she probably wouldn't know jack about welding anyway... :mrgreen:

However, you are correct in saying that stuff like welding -- and even grinding and cutting for that matter-- is best done with the door open, or some good supply of fresh air. 8)

:cheers:
JDK


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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 9:31 am 
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I have a selection of different styles and diameters of wire wheel to be drill chucked, with carbide rotary files used for head porting to get into corners.

The rustoleum is not advertsied as a rust converter or eater. It comes in cans to be applied by brush. It is thick with high solids and must be stirred, and no mixing is required. I think the only color is a rust red. It is called "heavily rusted metal primer", and is available at Home Depot. It is the best rust stopping sealer I've ever used, including por 15. You'll see it used in a lot of builds on the web.

You can aerosol top coat with rustoleum's "high performance" paints.

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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 10:26 am 
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BrokeAssSeven wrote:
Ah, rustoleum primer. I hadn't even thought about that. I was just gonna leave it as is. -- Is that the stuff that actually eats the rust away?


I'm not sure if it eats it. I think its formulated to bond to it once the loose pieces are removed and keep more from forming. It seems to be holding up fine *crosses fingers* and its cheap.

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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 12:07 pm 
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Location: Novato, CA
BrokeAssSeven wrote:
I can fix it later (not the best attitude...


No, that's exactly the best attitude. First rule of Locost Builds is: Get the Locost running. Everything else, you can worry about later.


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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 12:17 pm 
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Joined: February 6, 2012, 1:30 pm
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Location: Southern NH
nick47 wrote:
BrokeAssSeven wrote:
I can fix it later (not the best attitude...


No, that's exactly the best attitude. First rule of Locost Builds is: Get the Locost running. Everything else, you can worry about later.


I totally get where you're coming from. But on the other hand... once you've been building something for so long, and finally have it running, you're a hell of a lot less inclined to tear it back apart to fix certain things you COULD have done 'correctly' the first time around. Haha. That's all I meant!

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Build Log: http://www.BrokeAssSeven.com -- http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13293

This build is already locosting a fortune...


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PostPosted: May 2, 2012, 2:49 pm 
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Joined: February 6, 2012, 1:30 pm
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Location: Southern NH
Oh, and thanks for the tips guys. JD.. i'll definitely check out that 3M 'wheel' deal. Might work out really well on my wheels also. Need to 'refinish' them of sorts. We'll see, the lips are INSANELY pitted, and the only way I've seen to repair them is using bondo to fill the pits... but bondo doesn't polish, so I've got a feeling I'm going to end up painting the whole wheel (bleh). But, still, lots of parts need to be cleaned up and that clearly does a pretty great job. And HAHAHAHA @ Garage stuff, too funny, and too insanely true. Come on gods of the garage, hook us up once in a while!!!

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Build Log: http://www.BrokeAssSeven.com -- http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13293

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PostPosted: May 4, 2012, 2:48 pm 
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Did I miss something in class, or is my rear end all wrong for an IRS setup? I went with the plans, but now that I think about it... they are 'using' a solid rear axle, no? I think my frame tubes under the rear wheel area need to be WAYYY more inboard. I was wondering how the lower control arm would work being so close to the upright.. so I looked around.. and came upon Matt Roger's +442 Miata build.... Should mine be more in-line with what Matt is doing... or am I still on the right track? I'd like to get it fixed sooner than later if that's the case... and are there any tried and true dimensions off the center line that these tubes should be... or is it really just a crap chute?

Mine:

Image

Matt's:

Image

Image

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Build Log: http://www.BrokeAssSeven.com -- http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13293

This build is already locosting a fortune...


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PostPosted: May 4, 2012, 3:13 pm 
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Quote:
or is my rear end all wrong for an IRS setup?
is that Irritable Rectum Syndrome?

JK.

Looks like you have a book frame for a solid rear. As far as a Crap (chute) shoot goes, see IRS above.... I don't think there is one right solution. I designed mine before any of the published versions were, well...., published. Yeah, a lot gets changed back there for an IRS.

P.S. You may want to change the upper and lower tubes to round. You'll thank yourself when it comes time to add the sheet aluminum.

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PostPosted: May 4, 2012, 6:04 pm 
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Have a peak at this.

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=4083&start=30

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