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A couple of weekends in the shed with some "glass fibre" and you could be the proud owner of a badass TVR!!! Go for it!

JDK

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

Thanks Justin, that was sufficient clueage and I'm tracking the guy down; I've already exchanged emails with a guy-that-knows-a-guy-that-knows-the-guy. Your help was much appreciated.

I'm thinking I like this solution better than either A) widening the Kokopelli once again, or B) having people order custom shortened axles for their Miata-based cars. But I'd like to hear what other folks think of The Look.

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles

With that look being available, in addition to Lalo, I think that I would suddenly have a difficult decision ahead of me as to which Kinetic bodywork to drape over my chassis.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

According to the current owner (whose name I do not remember) the car was modified by an ex-Indy racer whose name is painted on the door (a name I also don't remember - ain't "maturity" great - perhaps Justin has a picture showing it.) The Indy racer installed an Olds 215 cu. in. aluminum V8, other mods and the revised bodywork and campaigned the car successfully in Hawaii for several years. The current owner fired it up and it sounded very much the business.

Perhaps the All British Field Meet registrar has more info on the current owner. Another possibility would be the local Lotus dealership as all the Loti were clustered together at the Field Meet.

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

Yep, he's my lead, he's the guy-that-knows-a-guy-that-knows-the-guy. He (the registrar) has suggested I start making replacement and aftermarket parts for obscure Brit cars, e.g. mounting plates for disk brake conversions for the MG Magnette ZA (1953-1956), and I'm currently waffling a bit on that. But he knows a guy that knows the guy, and it's not all -that- much more insane than making Locost parts, so I'll probably help him out.

Speaking of insane, Justin, you hit the nail on the head--the Lola Mk1 and Lotus 11 inspired bodies are in direct competition with each other. If I had sense, I guess I should have bought a Cobra mold instead. But a replica Cal Niday* 11 might fit the bill for the muscle motor guys. Then again, I don't know why none of the Cobra replica manufacturers haven't come out with a Miata-based AC Ace kit. Seriously. Promo would be easy; "Before the AC Cobra came the AC Ace..."

I can't believe it. I've hijacked my own thread.

*[edit--he's the ex-Indy racer who built the flared fender 11 in the photos/discussion]

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles

Competing with yourself can make sense, one way to look at it is you always win! Plus it could scare other competition away when they see you competing with yourself...

I'm not sure I'm sold on the Cal Niday mods. It may not look so good from other angles. It makes sense for someone with a car and a motor lying around 60 years ago, but that's not the same thing as going out and starting from scratch. We don't have a poll going yet, but I think I prefer the Lalo so far. The vast tracks of land over the front wheels seem a little much on the 11 and the rear fins also. Especially with the Cal Niday flares, the rear fins look a bit awkward...

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

Didin't Gurney do something similar with a Lotus 19? Bigger engine, bigger tired special.

Personally, the Look is a bit too much "classic Pep Boy's" for me. How about a D type, Scarab, or even Devin based body to allow for bigger engines and tires? I would also suggest Lister, but I guess there are a few Lister inspired kits/cars around. I imagine Curtis Unlimited might have molds for at least one of them.

Jack, even if you don't use the molds now, its better than leaving them in a barn somewhere and be lost to the home builder.

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this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

Exactly!

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles

I don't know if I've said this before, but the molds were supposed to be headed to Australia. i was attempting to broker the deal for those guys, but the lack of good clear communication from the owner made that break down. It's a shame too because I was to be able to get a free body out of the deal.

That's why I was saying it needed to be widened to fit the Miata width because that's what I was told.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

I understand the flares with alloy panel but in fiberglass, it doesn't make so much sense imho. It would be much more aero to widen the car to fit.

I like Bob's TVR. I've seen a few of those at Road Atlanta.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I would guess that depends on how narrow of wheels/tires and how shallow of steering angles people are willing to accept on their car.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

I was talking about how it looks in fiberglass with fiberglass flares versus aluminum on aluminum.
Widening works for the reasons you mentioned also. The interior panel placement can adjusted. A glass body normally would not have any as delivered that would be anywhere near the tires.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I can't speak as to whether it would be cheaper/easier to change the shape of the existing molds enough or create new flare molds. But if similarly added on rather than smoothly molded in, doing it in fiberglass should look very much like the flared body example would with a paint job...Which is to say probably not quite as good as in raw aluminum, but (IMHO) likely better than how much I would expect the fenders need to be bloated out to accommodate more modern hardware with equivalent clearances. Of course, I have never been a huge fan of how far beyond the outer face of the wheel/tire the front fenders have to extend to enclose them anyways, even with skinny tires and shallow turning angles. The flared design would also be more readily able to accommodate any builder variations, as the width could be trimmed for the perfect fit.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

NopeYup.Me either. I accept the huge front fenders as an Early Lotus Sports Racer display of authenticity, much like the peacock's plumage and Ian Anderson's codpiece, but I can't say I like them. I don't think they are particularly effective at reducing aerodynamic drag, either--I'm sure they lower drag coefficient, but I doubt they reduce it much more than they increase frontal area, making it pretty much a wash. It was okay with the real ones (which were amazingly tiny cars) but expanded to Miata-size I think they'd be a nuisance and subject to parking lot scuffs. The bright side is, compared to the prettier (in my opinion) lines of the Lola front fenders, the Lotus 11/15 front fenders can get away with a lot in the realm of tire size, turning radius, and suspension travel just by lifting them up a bit.

The real problem is the rear fenders...and if you widen the rear section by making it wider in the center, you have to widen the front too because the doors and pontoons are defined by the (I can't think of how to say this clearly, so here goes nothin') back of the front section and the front of the back section (actually, that wasn't too bad).Making a body widening kit (a la the +4 adapters for the TTL nose...split the part in half, insert the adapters, fiberglass it all back together) would do the same. Decisions, decisions.

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles