Introduce yourself to our forum members!

[WestsideGarage]

Hey y'all, first off awesome forum!

I'm Jordan in Charlotte NC. Im a welder. Building a McSorley 442e 5.0 Ford roadster. My little project started in January, Ive been meaning to start a build log. My goals for the car are; 1 should be street legal, 2 have enough ground cleance and suspension travel for mild offload use (think rally), and 3, be sturdy, but trying not to actidentaly build an airport tug. Keeping this car lite will be a challenge for me as my tinkering background is mostly rock crawling, mud trucks, and muscle cars. Thanks!

[GonzoRacer]

Yo, Jordan!
Congrats on joinin' up and welcome to the asylum. I'm originally from Anson County, NC, a little bit east of Charlotte.

A welding background is a good thing for this project... But then, so is auto mechanic, electronics technician, aircraft mechanic, geometry teacher, sheet metal worker, and possibly alchemist and/or wizard. (Note- I am none of those things.)

5.0 Ford is a good choice as it's fairly narrow. LS series isn't bad either, but I'm a Ford guy. Even a stock 5.0 will give you plenty of grunt for moving one of these light cars.

As for keeping it light, wellll... I probably ain't the guy to ask. However, one thing I did to beef up the frame without adding too much weight was go with 1.5 inch square tubing vs the 1-inch stuff normally recommended. YMMV, just tossing out some info.

Any-hoo, welcome aboard. Start a build log when you get things going. Be sure and post pictures! Otherwise, you'll hear "Pics or it didn't happen!" (It's a tough crowd sometimes... )

Good luck-

JDK

[Lonnie-S]

Hey y'all, first off awesome forum!

I'm Jordan in Charlotte NC. Im a welder. Building a McSorley 442e 5.0 Ford roadster. My little project started in January, Ive been meaning to start a build log. My goals for the car are; 1 should be street legal, 2 have enough ground cleance and suspension travel for mild offload use (think rally), and 3, be sturdy, but trying not to actidentaly build an airport tug. Keeping this car lite will be a challenge for me as my tinkering background is mostly rock crawling, mud trucks, and muscle cars. Thanks!

a rally-capable Locost would be a very interesting scenario, Jordan. You probably have to think a little differently, that's for sure. We could have a very interesting conversation about that when you start a build log. Two issues that stand out right away for me are driver protection and suspension travel. I'll look forward to seeing you get started.

Regards,

Lonnie

[kepler20b]

I figured I'd introduce myself, since we have a thread dedicated to it.

I'm an engineer in the Detroit area, but before I got my degree I went to trade school for tool making, so I know my way around mills and lathes, and have my own set of Sieg/Grizzly/Harbor freight machine tools. But one thing I never got much experience with that I always wanted to do was welding. Since I bought my own house with a decent sized garage though I first bought a Harbor Freight Flux Core welder, which is currently undergoing DC conversion, then I bought the Everlast Powerarc 160STH, which I've been using quite a bit, and I'm waiting on delivery for my new Power i-MIG 140 (Can you tell I only have 120V in my garage?). To be quite frank, I still suck at welding, I'm currently working on a stand for my 4x6 band saw and find myself grinding out plenty of welds. So I know I'm still quite a bit away from building anything road worthy.

So, my fledgling welding skills in mind, my plan is to tackle a few different, less critical projects first. My plan is to finish the stand this week using the STH and 7014. Then I'm going to build an integrated stand for my bench grinder, belt sander and drill press using the i-MIG, and if I'm satisfied with my welds there, I'll finally get around to using the Kubota D722 I got for free a while ago.

With the Kubota I'm thinking a half scale book chasis gokart build using the belt drive clutch that came out of the reefer with it, coupled to a 1" solid axle with double A arm front suspension.

Finally, if I don't kill myself with the kart, I'll start work on proper road going locost. My plan there is to buy a wrecked 2015+ Mustang V6 manual and reuse as much of the vehicle as possible. I plan to build the rear end off of mustang subframe, bolting the whole thing in and only changing the shocks and springs, at first anyway. For the front, I'm not sure if I'll use the S550 spindles or swap them out for SN95 spindles, the S550 uses a double lower ball joint design to move the pivot point to the center of the tire, which makes using them somewhat questionable. Frame wise, between my "American proportions" and the height of the V6, I'm thinking a +663 using 1.25" 12 gauge square tubing, the 300HP of the V6 should be more than enough to compensate for the additional weight of the frame. Body wise, my plan is to go off the reservation since I'll be building a larger frame and few body panels will work with the extra size, so my plan is not to emulate the original 7, but rather the Plymouth Prowler, which graced my wall as a pre-teen. That said, this build is a year or two off at least, and plans may change.

So, looking forward to getting to work on some projects and greatly enjoy watching your threads.

[Lonnie-S]

Welcome to the zoo. You have some interesting ideas and goals in mind. I hope to see a build log for you here in the near future.

I'm building a one-off, Haynes/Book hybrid using a '94 V6 Mustang as the donor myself.

Cheers,

Lonnie

[Car Sick]

Hello all! My name is Steven and I live in Orlando, FL. I am super excited to begin my Locost journey

I have been referencing this website for a long time, and I've finally decided to register and join the party. I have been planning, researching and dreaming about building a Seven clone for yeeeeeears. I am finally in a place where I should be able to start and finish one. I have a personal shop, I have tools, I have cool friends and i have the experience necessary to build one.

I used to work at Circuit Motorsports here in Orlando, and I had the chance to build some crazy cars, including GRM Challenge @2016 4th place finisher "The Justang". I also finished by long-term 1UZFE S14 build, which took me about 5 years from start to finish.

The plan is to build a Book Chassis, or close to it, with a Miata donor and a turbo. Choo choo. I like how the Miata parts are available and super cheap, but lets be honest, 100hp isn't going to cut it. I will have a build thread open soon. Keep an eye out. I also have lots of build pics on my Instagram and Youtube . I haven't been making as many videos lately, as they take so much work to do, but I'll definitely make some about this build.

Thanks for having awesome discussions about cools cars. Keep up the good work!

The Justang - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VQHjn_29J8&t=10s

S14 1UZFE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7MlshiS5Ag&t=222s

Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzzUWF ... bEwD3DWx_g

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/car.sick/

[Lonnie-S]

Welcome Car Sick,

That Justang is a wild and crazy vehicle. You should do fine building a Locost.

Cheers,

[Car Sick]

Welcome Car Sick,

That Justang is a wild and crazy vehicle. You should do fine building a Locost.

Cheers,

Thank you sir, I'm always ready to learn more, especially from the "Great Locost Elders".

[carguy123]

Thank you sir, I'm always ready to learn more, especially from the "Great Locost Elders".

BURN!!!! He called you guys OLD!!!

[Lonnie-S]

Thank you sir, I'm always ready to learn more, especially from the "Great Locost Elders".

BURN!!!! He called you guys OLD!!!

Well, he's correct. However, we are hardly in walkers and wheelchairs, so I don't take offense. Maybe in 15 years, when I'm really old, I'll start to get "touchy" about it. That is, in between sessions of using my Locost to play Mad Max on the California freeways with all the dorks in autonomous vehicles (AVs). Myself, I see AVs as potential "moving cones" and a as future recreational opportunity, if you get my drift.

Cheers Oldies,

[ngpmike]

...However, we are hardly in walkers and wheelchairs...
Cheers Oldies,

Speak for yourself! Just broke my ankle the other day, so... walkers and wheelchairs it is... for ME anyway!

[Car Sick]

Are there any generous Locost builders in central Florida that I could meet up with and have a seat in their car? I would love to feel a couple different sizes before I pull the trigger. I'm 5'8" 183lbs. I would love to get as small as possible, I think the Book frame would be perfect for me.

[mgkluft]

Don't get too small.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyWirJjuO5I

[horizenjob]

I think you would do fine in a book size frame, we're the same size.

Nothing wrong with a turbo, but if the 100 HP isn't enough, you just need to drive it faster!

[turbo_bird]

Are there any generous Locost builders in central Florida that I could meet up with and have a seat in their car? I would love to feel a couple different sizes before I pull the trigger. I'm 5'8" 183lbs. I would love to get as small as possible, I think the Book frame would be perfect for me.

You shouldn't have any issues fitting in a book frame car. I'm 6'2" and about 285 and I fit in mine, which is a book frame. Fitting in the car depends a lot on the kind of seats you want though. Mine is very basic, just a couple plywood backed cushions like in the original Lotus 7.
Kristian