Well, I think it’s about time I started a log here!
First, I guess a little introduction! I’m Glenn, I’m Canadian, and I’ve been quite involved in my local autocross community for eight years now. It started with my stock V6 Fiero and my dad’s Rx-7 convertible, but it wasn’t long before the Fiero magically sprouted a turbo and some sticky tires, which was good fun. Again though, it wasn’t enough, and as I had been dreaming of a tube frame build for a while, I started off down Locost Lane. That was about 6 years ago (egads) but progress was impeded by a geology degree.
The chassis was going to be based off the book, but grew from there. I almost wondered if I should put this in the non-traditional section... it is far larger than your average build, with about four inches added in height, six in width (more towards the front) and the wheelbase is 108 inches! Probably the best ting is to not think of it so much as a locost, and closer to the style of the front-engined Le Mans prototypes, the Panoz LMP-1 roadster.
(image borrowed from MulsannesCorner.com)
Target weight is 850 kg (~1900 lbs), which I think is reasonable considering that I would like this car to be as safe as possible (enough of a windshield to allow me to survive a dear strike) and because everything is overbuilt to prepare it for lots of track use.
Engine! I have always liked the Honda C engines, as used in early V6 Accords, Legends (and the NSX!) and found one in great shape for free! It’s got six bolt main bearings, and isn’t too heavy. It is also 90 degrees, which helps keep the hood line low enough for me to see out of. Stock power was just 161, but with some intake and exhaust work, along with a good tune for 94 octane fuel, I hope to push that up to around 190 hp. That clearly isn’t enough, and I don’t want the hassle of making headers, so I have some K03 turbos to go on as well! They’re tiny things, and lag should be minimal, but they should support up to around 360 hp to start. Later on I may look at larger turbos, but we will see.
Apologies of the state of the garage, it was a long day of work and I didn't get around to cleaning it yet!
The transmission is from a ’84 300ZX, the suspension is primarily from my old Supra (the turbo of which made it onto the Fiero) with the rear subframe being welded directly to the chassis, and the front geometry re-used, along with the steering rack.
I think that will suffice for an introduction! It’s been a fun but slow journey, and I look forward to sharing progress as I go along!