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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: May 4, 2017, 12:24 am 
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Fiber glass is quite forgiving. You can always split the fenders & add a couple of inches to them. You don't have to go with the external add on flares. That's one of the big benefits to using FG bodies. Easy to repair/modify. Great looking aluminum 11. There are FG copies of the 11 & 15 etc.Personally I'd like to find a 30 body. FG is easy I went from this:

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To this lengthening it by 5" in the process.

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PostPosted: May 4, 2017, 8:40 am 
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Mike S wrote:
Fiber glass is quite forgiving.


Great! I got some 'glass work to do, you live near Louisville?

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PostPosted: May 4, 2017, 10:56 am 
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geek49203 wrote:
With all of the Miatas out there running 14" tires, I think that someone will have "performance" tires for the rest of our lifetimes?
You'd think, wouldn't you? Since that's what they came from the factory with and all...But 'performance' minded Miata enthusiasts pretty much all switched to 15's long ago.

I always felt that the performance world mostly skipped from 13's, to 15's, to 17's, with 14's and 16's never reaching the same peak level of support inbetween. It's only with the gradual decline in support for 15's that 16's have started looking pretty popular by comparison. Although along similar lines, if you're a glass-half-full kind of person, I suppose what's out there for 14's does make 15's look pretty popular by comparison as well.

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PostPosted: May 4, 2017, 1:07 pm 
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Yes the dirth of 13" tires of any size (street) is what prompted me to go to 15" on my Lotus Europa. Couldn't find any rims over 7" either in the bolt pattern. I don't know how many sets of 13" rims I have now in MG, Triumph & Fiat patterns in aluminum & a couple of stock steel sets LOL Oh yeah & one 5 wheel set of Magnesium Fiats (I have an 850 spider).
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PostPosted: May 4, 2017, 1:59 pm 
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I built my locost with 13" wheels, seems like that might have been a mistake. Toyo R888's aren't too bad though, but they are a bit expensive. It's a bit like trying to find long wearing touring tires in a sportbike friendly size, not going to happen.
Kristian

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PostPosted: May 4, 2017, 2:12 pm 
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I have a couple of Spitfire/GT6 chassis I want to build up into Locost type toys.
Not many wheels available in that hub pattern that are not 13".
In fact I'm looking for more 13" mag wheels for them.
Toyo's are a bit pricey but as light as these cars are should still last fairly well.

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PostPosted: October 7, 2018, 8:10 pm 
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The project continues...

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PostPosted: October 8, 2018, 12:01 pm 
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geek49203 wrote:
The project continues...
And so it does; enjoy the journey. I think putting the headlight buckets on the outside of the body instead of the inside is going to add some hours to your finish work, but there's no reason* you can't do it that way.

* Duh. Like, obviously there's no reason you can't; that's how you did it and it worked.

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PostPosted: October 11, 2018, 10:38 am 
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Jack --

Re: Headlight bucket:

Either 1) I screwed up or 2) I kinda like the look of it. Your pick. But I do like the looks of it. Also thinking of putting more than a "flush" bubble as lenses. The appearance of these cars is highly dependent on the "eyes" (think of the smiling Bugeye Sprite).

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PostPosted: October 11, 2018, 10:47 am 
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Buick hood hinge, for forward-tilting... Electra, etc... 85=91

Surprisingly light weight! I only broke off 6 TORX wrenches removing it from the donor!

The hood on those cars moved forward and up, then tilt. Which is perfect if you need to get away from a radiator and don't wish to put the nose on the ground (a la E-type)?

I don't think that the horizontal bar is needed in this application. If it is, it will have to find a place to live.

Tim

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PostPosted: October 11, 2018, 3:48 pm 
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I'll be interested to see how hard it is to get the hood hinges to work, and fit.

Great idea!

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PostPosted: October 11, 2018, 4:51 pm 
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carguy123 wrote:
I'll be interested to see how hard it is to get the hood hinges to work, and fit.

Great idea!


So far:

- Need to cut that OEM round bar that goes between the 2 hinges. But it's tube and you can easily split a metal rod between the two, and then weld.

- About 1" tall when folded, about 9" tall when fully lifted, and about 8" forward when fully lifted.

= My first draft is to add a section of 1" square tube forward of the radiator to hold / position the hinges about 10" forward of the original locost front nose bar (LC?)

- I think that, ideally, the hinge will attach to the clamshell somewhere near the seam line in the mold, which is roughly where the shock mounts are. This would roughly mount it at the COG of the hood and would mean that the lift would be about as high as you can get?

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PostPosted: October 23, 2018, 9:02 pm 
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Okay... this is where the hinges will "live" on the hood. And you'll noticed that I did a few mods, but so far, surprisingly few.

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PostPosted: October 24, 2018, 4:46 pm 
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PostPosted: October 25, 2018, 3:03 pm 
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Sage advice from a guy who had done lots of fiberglass work:

--Build up the area where you're clamping the brackets to the hood; to suggest specifically, I'll say (from horseback) to add three layers of mat, and taper them away from where you're drilling so the edges of the mat don't meet each other (make the bottom layer 2" wider and longer than the top layer, and the middle layer 1" wider & longer).

--You'll want a big fat washer on the top, to distribute the load over a wide area.

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