LocostUSA.com

Hi everyone,
Some background, i'm 18 years old, attend UCR, have no mechanical skill at all, love cars and racing, and want to prove to my pops what determination can mean (doesn't think i can do it).

I just ordered tanner and champions books and am awaiting their arrival, however in the meantime, I was wondering if anyone could direct me to any other material i should start reading. As i said, i have no mechanical skill.

As of now, i'm looking to purchase the Coveland miata kit, I have a couple of grand saved up and could be able to purchase it soon. then onto saving up for the donor car, or should it be the other way around?

All opinions/comments welcome and much appreciated, i am going to need as much help as i can get on this, but i am very determined to make this a reality.

Cheers everyone,
Colin

btw, we have basic tools, will there be anything else i'd need to transplant the parts? I do have garage space too! thanks again!

Ok here goes....
Welcome aboard nailsinourbacks,

First read this it is a general primer....
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1030

There are several people with miata donors in the builder log and it seems like a straight forward choice. Read up on them....

locost_adam
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=775
chetcpo
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=952
squarefour
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=98

To start with those it will keep you pretty busy.

I am near Palm Springs, east of you.

If you are committed to doing this I would first get your donor and strip it in your available garage space. You can part out what you don't need and put that money toward your kit. You don't want to bring in a donor car and try to strip it when your garage is cramped with a partially completed kit and associated parts. Get the donor stripped of everything you can imagine needing and then clear the rest out. That way you have all your parts there as you start assembling your kit.

Stripping a donor isn't always as straightforward as you may think. I bought a Miata that centerpunced a pole and I'm having a heck of a time just getting it disassembled due to the tremendous amount of damage and deformity. Some bolts that I need to remove I can't even get access to. Choose your donor carefully, especially if you aren't too mechanically inclined.

When it comes time to strip it take meticulous notes, lots of pictures and label everything. Remember you are going to have to put all this stuff back together.

I was about your age when I got my first car. I, too, had no mechanical experience, but gained a lot just keeping the thing running. I think you'll learn a great deal by tearing apart your donor car, so that might be the best place to start.

I hate to be a wet blanket but I don't think a Locost would be the best first project. Maybe try getting an old Triumph Spitfire / MG Midget or something. Make sure it runs and do some maintaince/upgrades/light resto work on it to get you feet wet. If you don't go nuts you should get your money bac kwhen selling and have a solid foundation in how cars work and if you like wrenching. Another option would be a more complete kit with good instructions but starting with a from scatch Locost would be tough for a first timer. Recipe for frustration and an abandoned project ... (just my opinion)

I think Dave's on to something. Get an old MGB, '66, '67 or thereabouts. You'll be forced to work on it, and when the floorpan finally rusts through (it won't be long), you'll have a great donor car.

Hmm does sound reasonable.. I would love to get started asap, as i have about a month of dead time between classes... I searched for triumph spitfires in my area and didn't find anything, this may sound ignorant, but aren't british cars relatively expensive to fix/restore?

If i were to start on a lesser project first before jumping into a locost project, what are some cars you'd reccommend? Cheap, available, easy, all help

Again, open to all opinions and comments, I appreciate this a lot guys!

I'd stick with something a) cheap b) go parts supply and c) easy to work on

I'd say the ideal car is a $1000-$1500 Triumph Spitfire 1500 - pretty much any part can be obtained, super easy to work on and parts are really cheap. Its all cheap provided you do the work yourself - if you pay a shop to restore or fix then your wallet is going to hurt. Try http://britishcarforum.com or http://triumphspitfire.com classified or forums for cars. Cars are worth at least $1K even parted out on ebay so its hard to go wrong. MGBs would be similar but initial cost would be more. MG Midgets are decent also but quite small.

Fiat Spiders, Datsun 510s, Rx7, etc, even Corvairs would all work but parts supply isn't as good as the MGB, Spitfire or Spridgets.

But really even something like a Chevette might do provided you don't sink any real money into it.

this was my old $1400 Spitfire - never broke down in two years I had it. Put about $400 into it and sold for $2200.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/ ... tfire2.jpg

If you were going to get a RUNNING "beater" miata the cost woul be larger but you could still do auto X and you would have a donor when you got around to your build. Just a thought....

A one month lag in between classes is nowhere near enough time...there are guys on this board that have spent years on their builds.

oh i agree, i just meant i'd have a month to devot to going out to see cars for sale and such, not that i'd complete anything within in a month.

The idea of a British sports car donor is appealing, but I'm not sure about the rear suspension on a Spitfire. The first-gen RX7 would be okay except for the front suspension/steering. The engine/trans/diff are all pretty light.

I've got a running beater Miata that's probably not worth more than a grand. 197k miles and a salvage title, but I drive it all the time. So they can be found.

One reason against a british sports car...


...british wentworth.


Not metric, not standard. Don't get me wrong had two MGB's
one 1965 and one 1969 GT both fun and both with positive ground and other crazy stuff.


salvage title miata or similar suitable salvage title donor (my .02 cents)

Ebay salvage miata

Or these guys tell them what you are doing and what your want they advertise about three or four a year on ebay....
http://www.mazdarecycling.com/html/inventory.asp
http://www.mazdarecycling.com/html/repairables.asp
Near San Fransico, a good "road trip"
http://mazdarecycling.com/html/directions.asp
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=36 ... ,+CA+95742
you may need to zoom out.

A solid beater body is fine, no rust, strong mechanicals

I agree with the beater miata conclusion. I owned a '90 for 10 years and it was a great car to learn the basics. It was easy to service and it never left me stranded. I did everything to that car and I learned it from this service manual:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/187410 ... 17?ie=UTF8

There is also great support community that on the web that is very noobie friendly.

Once you get the beater miata in great mechanical shape you would have gained some experience and would already have your donor.

Rear suspension on Spitfire is swing axles - you wouldn't want those on a Locost but it could be converted to proper IRS.

Peabody - Its Witworth its and (mostly) on pre-war British cars. My Spitfire and my Reliant Scimitar were just regular Imperial.

Likely the beater Miata is the best way to go - I just forget about those since they cost so much here (cheapest I've ever seen was $6-7k for a beat up automatic 1990 version).

Interesting, well i've been talking to people (some of you here! ) and it looks like it's coming down to either a Triumph Spitfire or a Mazda Miata, to get my feet wet before jumping into the locost project.

Pros for triumph - car looks drop dead gorgeous, unique, and i have a soft spot for british cars

Pros for Mazda - would be donor car for locost, easier to get parts? (i'm guessing)

Suggestions? Either choice i'm very happy with, one is more logical for the locost, the other is just fueled by lust.

---Colin-