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Oh man that's gonna be cool. So...is the top going to flip up for entry and exit?It's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature.

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

I am definitely liking that top!

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-Justin

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

Speed kills (mileage), partly because it increases aero drag, partly because it increases revs. In 5th I'm turning 1000 rpm per 25 mph...what are you getting?

PS--have you tweaked the governor so you can spin over 3kRPM? Kubota used to make a version of that engine that turned 3600, it had the same crankshaft and rods and valve springs so I figure we're safe in that range, and a 10mm wrench and a flat blade screwdriver will let you reset it with ease. That engine gets crap fuel economy in the upper rev range, but it's nice to have a bit more oomph on tap now and then. I'm guessing you have, since mine turns 3000 rpm at 75 mph and I think you're geared a bit lower than me.

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

caumueller Great looking body what is it made of?

Jack McCornack makes those bodies and i suppose you can see the whole or most of the story starting at the beginning of this thread.

It's a fiberglass body…

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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!"
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Do we know what the windscreen is from yet...?

The top is 2 inch pink styrofoam from Home Depot and the West System epoxy resin with one layer of fiberglass one layer of carbon fiber.I am going to leave one half inch of pink foam in the center and put another layer of fiberglass and carbon fiber sandwich on the inside.I will put 4 each -2 1/4 inch port holes in the ceiling so I can look at traffic signals. If I split the rooftop in half it fits in the trunk. Once I'm done I'll know how the top mounts to the car.
The top is working as I thought it would, once I started the project the weather has been perfect with no rain.
The windshield is a PGW solex laminated DW 00407 with 14 inches cut out of the center. In all my searching I could not find the non optional clear glass so mine has the top tint located at the bottom leading edge.
Yes jack I turned my governor up to 3600 rpm before I ever drove the car.

Thanks for that, do you know what vehicle it's from as well please?

It actually looks close to a 1960 Chev truck as John mentioned?

Actually after close inspection it's closer to a 1960 Ford Pickup than a Chev ...

I love it! Carbon fiber, no less!

Gilbert McIntosh had the entry/exit thing all figured out in the '50s, for the Lotus 11 GT (what? a Lotus 11 GT? read on):

http://www.lotuseleven.org/DarkAges1/MacIntosh.htm

“Mac” wrote the story and it's full of cool historical references like "...I was OK on the structural side as far as stressed fibreglass mouldings went because I had used it on Vampire nightfighter radomes...

The top (or hood, as they were known in Ye Olde Country) looked like this..."...and tilted up like this......and latched at the front like this (more DH Vampire parts)......and had a vinyl (or something similar) rear window that folded (or smooshed up) when the top was tilted back.That's how I was planning to make my upcoming fiberglass roof...[attach rhino image]...but I'll probably stop messing with mine and copy yours.

I have some thoughts on how to seal the front. Also, for the SpaceShip1 portholes (which you spoke of off-list), what might be cool is 4" round tail light grommets* with 4" clear plastic discs. That way we'll be able to see traffic lights and such. But don't drill your top yet yet, make a mold first!

Splitting it in half for storage is a cool idea. The execution sounds challenging...one problem I envision (since I've been envisioning a double-bubble top too) is sealing at the joint, which will be in the trough 'twixt the bubbles, but if it was easy everybody would do it. Besides, sun is the main issue here.

* for example http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and ... A45GB.html

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

I know that one! It's a GMC Pickup, mid-50s. Here's one source:

http://account.autoglasshosting.com/nsw ... Q&acct=w2g

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

That top really came out great! Although it does pretty much require the use of a double-hoop rollbar.

Regarding the windshield, was any investigation done into the other potential pickup donors from that era too? As far as I can tell, there are at least 4 different potential primary windshield sources based on the general shape, but I'm sure some the dimensions on some would work out appreciably better than others.

1955-1559 Chevy Task Force/Apache (As used above)
1960-1963 Chevy C/K 10
1956 Ford F100
1957-1960 Ford F100

My intuition would be to mainly look for the one with the deepest wrap around on the sides, but there I'm sure there are other considerations as well.

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-Justin

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

Hmm...never thought of that...

Actually I researched the heck out of them windshields, and didn't limit myself to pickups, and even purchsed some other windshields so I could make patterns and see if they'd work. Which reminds me, does anybody want an early 'Vette windshield for cheap?One main consideration was it be flat as possible where the cuts needed to be. If we could only find one that was actually flat in the middle (I haven't yet, though I've taken a straight edge to a bunch of car shows and asked permission to touch when a windshield looked promising) we could cut it like flat glass--scribe both sides and crack.

But on to another subject. July has been a good month for me, fab-wise. I've finally figured out how to make a scuttle mold that's good enough to make a part that can be made just right to make a pattern so my fiberglass supplier can make us a proper production scuttle mold. As y'all know, I made the original scuttle out of Formica, which gave me an excellent scuttle for chopping carrots but didn't really meet production standards. Then last summer, I made a mold that was an even further departure from production quality, and here are some pics to prove it:I used glossy Formica inside out to give me a shiny surface. I figured giving the part a bit of tension would make it more stable (I didn't want the middle flopping around) so I laid out the skin minus about a degree of bend per foot so that after it was done, I could flex it over a frame and...I'm babbling. So I made this very rigid mold, using polyester fleece and plywood for reinforcement......and it looked quite good after it cured (the painter's tape was to keep resin from dripping onto the shiny side)......until I got it under the lights and saw how the junctions between the plywood panels pulled the surface into waves. That blob in the middle is the reflection of a four foot straight florescent light. Grr.

[note: I'll post later with pics and text re the one I made this month that worked, so stay tuned]

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

So here's this year's effort. A frame slightly larger than the finished part made from 1/8" plywood and 2 x 2s.A scuttle rib is built up .150" with strips of fiberglass panel and polyester packaging tape......and saddles built up on the frame (both panels) by smooshing boddy putty (bondo) into the corner between the frame and the built-up rib.When the body putty sets up, the rib is pulled out (the body putty doesn't stick to the tape) and the frame is ready for the Formica.The sheet of Formica is free to float in the frame; the panel has a 1x2 glued to each end......and it's winched down with a turnbuckle to force the Formica flush against the frame.

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

The mold is waxed......gellcoated......the part is laid up with two layers of mat......and a meter-wide layer of coremat in the middle (to stiffen up that wide flat area)......and ta-dah! Out it popped.So this morning I took off the old scuttle and dropped then new skin in place (braced with two scuttle ribs on the inside), and it's a significant improvement for both fit and finish.With a bit of trimming and edging, that scuttle skin would be good to go, but there are no Lalo builders in a panic at the moment so I'm going to make a pattern out of this part and send it to the bodywork professionals so they can make a production mold. Those beta-builders who haven't made their own scuttles yet can trade in their ribs for a pre-built scuttle (unless any more of you guys want to make aluminum skin scuttles, in which case keep your ribs).

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