LocostUSA.com

The Morris deal fell through, so no Miata powered LBC in my immediate future. I am still enamored with BEC's and fun, small, FAST autocross cars.

I've been mulling this over since I first picked up the R1 project from Joe Garrison, but just got the blessing from Wifey Dearest to proceed. Once I get the bodywork done on the Mini, I'll be gathering parts for a single seat Formula 600 (ish) build.
The chassis will be built to the 2015 GCR for roll bar, brakes and suspension design.
However, for autocross use I'm going with 13 or 14 inch wheels and tires. Why? Just because sourcing rubber is less of a PITA for a locost / Budget racer. If I want to make a change in the future, I'll swap front hubs and brakes to fit in those itty bitty 10" wheels. Rear, itty bitty wheels will be a bolt on if I order the right bolt pattern, 4x100 or 4x110.

Here's a couple of pics of my target look for the chassis




That's Jay Novak's NovaBlade chassis. I'm going to copy most of it shamelessly

I struck a deal on a donor bike. It's a 2009 Kawasaki ZX6R Monster with 890 miles on it. The kid bought it new, had it 3 weeks before the crash.






This is why I built a tube bender last weekend.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

Looks like a fun project. Really? making a tube bender for 2 bent tubes? Now there is a guy l;ooming for projects for the sake of projects! I'm really jealous!

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

There are actually 8 bent tubes, but I hear ya.

Really, I plan to be building cars for the rest of my life, so a tube bender is one of those tools that's worth having if it's cheap enough.
Same thing with my shrinker, stretcher, small brake, and English wheel. Not tools that get a lot of use, but VERY nice to have when you need them.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

so, do you think you'll keep this one more than 2 months after you finish it?
I give the mini 6 weeks before you sell it ;-P

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The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

The plan is that both this and the Mini are supposed to be keepers. My son has already started making noises about taking the Mini to Clemson and leaving his Miata with me... we'll see

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

Do you live on Red Bull? How do you do all these cars? I barely have time for one toy car and it is driving me to drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Russ

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You meet the nicest people in a Locost Se7en.

Wasn't that also the plan for the Rescued Kit 7?

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The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Heyyyyy, wait a minute. are those rubber bisquit suspension media?

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Don't go giving him ideas, Russ. If a car can now parallel park itself, it won't be long before it can drive you to the liquor store. "No sir occifer, I wasn't dri-hiccup-driving the car. It was my car."

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I do something to a project every single week. I don't let a week go by without some garage time. Tetanus took right at a year. The R1 took a little less. The Mini is going to be a year in the works, but sitting idle for about 4 or 5 months of that time.

The F600 looks deceptively simple

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

Yeah it was. I pretty quickly realized the Zeven needed to go somewhere else because I didn't have enough space.

Yep - Rubber donut suspension. Simplifies things A LOT

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

I can see many important bits are not on the example chassis in your photo. However, it looks like a pretty straight-forward race car and not that much of a challenge for you (or even me!). Which racing body sanctions this "Formula 600 (ish)" type of race car?

Congrats on the MC. What does the poor kid that rode it look like? I hope he's still on the sunny side of the dirt, anyway.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

I think it's an order of magnitude simpler than a 7. Shocks are rubber puck. it's a straight axle, no independent suspension allowed. Steering can be any design, even go cart. The engine sits in a simple cradle. There aren't many triangulation members. It's just a souped up go cart.

Formula 600 and F500 are SCCA sanctioned classes. Both have grown out of the old Formula 440 class. To be F600 legal I'll have to put a body on it with side pods. For solo and time trials some regions call them F-Mod others say A-Mod b/c they're BEC's. I don't really give a crap what they call it in my region. I want to go fast on a budget. This should be pretty darn quick with a minimum weight with driver at 850 lbs.

Sadly, he's on the wrong wide of the dirt. I'm buying the bike from his folks. When I pick it up this weekend it will be a couple of days shy of 5 years since he died.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

If you have any spare Mini rubbers sitting around, your suspension would be off to a good start.

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

The Mini is wet suspension, so no luck there.
Good news is I work for a rubber company. Puck rules are 2" Od 1" thick, can't find any other restrictions.

I've been looking a Quad and Mini buggy stuff the past couple of nights. I'll be stealing some ideas from those guys for sure.

The hardest part in my mind so far is the big aluminum bellcranks. Makes me wish I had better access to a machine shop.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216