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I'm currently putting together a plan on how to manufacture and sell a kit for a mid-engine Locost car for under $5000 (not including donor car cost).
The car will keep the traditional Lotus 7 look, but will be a little shorter in the front and a little longer in the back (approx 8-10 inches) to keep the wheelbase about the same. Also I'm planning to utilize as much of the donor car as possible and I'm planning to include a video DVD on how to build the kit (including dismantiling the donor car).

What would you expect to get in the kit for this price (say $4999)?

Definitely the frame, but what else?

For that price I would expect all of the body parts to be included. Nosecone, skuttle, hood, fenders, etc. I would also expect a set of dampers and springs.

Are you going with your earlier idea of a Neon based donor?

Yes, I'm still heading down that path.

I'm going to be using Fiero/Chevette front spindles since they have the same bolt pattern. I'm still investigating using the strut approach in the rear or going to a more typical double a-arm setup.

I've been a manufacturing engineer for over a decade and also a systems analyst over the past few years, so I figure I'll put the two together and design a system that can be assembled reasonably easy and provide good quality for the builder/driver.

Decent 5 speed 1st gen Neons (95-99) can be found for $1000 and sometimes less. Putting a $2K turbo on the 2.0 liter engine will get you just over 200 hp.

The car will look something similar to my avatar photo (red car).

I'm pretty sure there are supercharger kits made for the PT Cruiser that will bolt to the DOHC models too. I've seen 200WHP N/A Neons with ITBs, race cams and high compression motors. There's a lot you can do to those little things and like you said they are plentiful and can be had very cheap. And if you get bored with it you can always drop in the 2.4 Turbo setup from an SRT-4, install the Mopar Staged upgrades and have over 300HP. I think you have a great idea and I wish you much success.

Good points chetcpo - this is one reason why I've chosen the Neon. I think there are a decent amount of engine performance upgrades that should keep most Locosters happy (at least the sane ones).

The engine is the last thing you should be thinking about. Spend time considering material costs, chassis design, and a business plan...

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

I'm pretty sure he is considering the nature of his post, no need to break the guys balls for answering my question.

kb58 wrote:


Part of my initial criteria was to use as much of a donor car to keep costs down because I feel this is the "Locost way". So I did some research and found that Corollas, Civics and Neons might be some decent FWD cars that were produced in large quantities (easier to get inexpensive parts) and also offered performance upgrades. I chose the Neon mainly because it can usually be bought cheaper than a same year Corolla or Civic and this follows along with trying to keep costs down. Or at least I think it does.

All the other things that I should be concerned about are definitely in the picture, but it wasn't the topic being discussed so I referred to one of the reasons that I chose the Neon.

This venture that I'm attempting is NOT easy and I realize that. I'm going to need to have concerned individuals like yourself kb58 to make honest and informative opinions (or facts) about what I request from this and other forums.

Thanks for your candid response and I hope to see others in the future.

I would make sure there was room in the design for the Stratus 2.7 V6. The cheapest hp is stock and it starts at 200 with dohc. I would also look at a different spindle keeping in mind supply and availability of large brakes. Isnt most of the DC FWD cars 5 on 4.5? IF so or if the flange can be redrilled for that pattern then I'd look at MN12, Fox, MII which can have 13" brakes fairly cheeply and a large selection of wheels.

It's posts like this that should be an indication to leave the engine compartment open as much as possible. That way, instead of telling people what engine they have to use, it lets them choose. I'd expect a lot of people either have an engine already, or have one in mind they'd like to use ; don't hurt sales by telling them it won't fit. You can always have generic mounts - for attaching an engine-specific drivetrain to. This way you are not alienating potential customers, instead keeping the project as adaptable as possible.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

I would throw in another vote for keeping it as open as possible to multiple donors. One option may be to have it built to accept a specific range of donors, with instruction (or an add-on kit?) to cover other specific donors.

I assume you've also looked into liability insurance to cover your ass.

Good idea about trying to keep the rear engine bay as open as possible so that other similar FWD engines can be used. Maybe something like an overall exterior frame with an engine sub-frame for different engines but the sub-frame always bolts onto the exterior frame the same way?

CAUTION - Just thinking

But remember that besides just fitting the different engines, there would be different transmission linkages and more than likely different rear suspension setups plus other "differences" that would need to be applied.

But overall I like the idea....

I need to get a list of common FWD car front track sizes to see the range of variations. I'd almost bet that 80% of the track sizes are within a range of plus/minus 3 inches.

A great idea! Since I'm not a Mopar fan, particularly Neons (I know several people with them, none have made it to 40K miles without totally self-destructing motor and/or trans, and these are all grocery-getters, not boy-racer types) and, what with the NOPI craze and all, I'm thinking Honda-based would be best for open-ended performance mods, etc.

Just my 2 cents' worth! But it's GREAT to see someone contemplating what I've always wanted to do, but couldn't. Good luck, and GO FOR IT!

True, but the customer would have this issue anyway... you aren't supplying them a complete kit for $5000 so there's a lot they're going to have to do themselves. Shift linkages, exhaust, axles, for sure you don't get a turn-key solution for this low, low price!

The tricky part will be interfacing the axle half-shafts to whatever upright you pick, but then again, for all but one specific engine they'd have this issue anyway.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Since the Neon, along with many fwd cars, uses the typical 2-bolt mount for the strut, maybe the *upright* just needs to be an undrilled piece for adapting the 2-bolt mount to an upper balljoint, and include a template for drilling it to match whichever donor(from your selected list)they choose.

Another thing to consider: any donor that uses a cable-shifted trans would be much easier to adapt into a mid-engine chassis.