LocostUSA.com

Hi all,

I am new to this forum.

I have been thinking of building a locost for years. Finally my life is somewhat stable now and I have a garage. It is time to make this dream come true.

My goal is to have an awesome locost makes around 200 - 300 HP Naturally aspirated

My budget is around $4000

- I don't know if there is any way to get pre-made frame? I don't trust my own welds. I feel making the frame is the biggest hurdle for me for this project.

- So I guess there should be fiberglass front scoop and hood for sale somewhere online, correct?

- Also front suspension wishbones, is there any pre-made ones?

- rear axles... Any way to get independent ones? Does it make a huge difference? I guess if not I can stick to the original design of one piece rear axle. Just have to know which one to use.

- I know there are exisiting kits around. But they cost like over 6K and that is excluding engine and transmission.... I feel it is too expensive...

- Would it be easy to title it and get insurance for it? I'm in Michigan.

Anyone know?

Thanks in advance.

Don't take this the wrong way but $4000 is a little light, in my opinion. Getting the finished car legal costs money (in Alberta its around $1000, that leaves $3000 for the build).
Especially if you're looking to buy a frame. Without frame modifications you would have to install the drivetrain the frame was designed for. To make frame modifications you will need to weld.



Practice, practice, practice, take lessons, buy good equipment - all good investments that will last you a lifetime. Plus the satisfaction of building the frame you want for the drivetrain you want.

Take the time to read build logs on this site, they are inspirational and educational.

And last buy not least, build yourself a good build table, take a look around the site and see what the builders use.

Like I said, don't take this a criticism, just my opinion for what it's worth (<$4000)

Oh and remember when you start building, take lots of pictures, I'm a lazy reader, just ask Gonzo. And make sure they look nudgey ( whatever the hell that means).

Good Luck!

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Welcome to the group. With that budget you might also look for a "failed project car". A lot of builds stop half way because of lack of interest or a change in life. $4k is a little light for an IRS, 200-300hp car unless you are REAL good at welding and scrounging for parts. Russ

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You meet the nicest people in a Locost Se7en.

yuta
Where are you located in Michigan?
The $4000 might be tight. It really depends on your donor.
You also have to plan $ for additional tools needed for the project. But both build and tool cost is spread over several years so it's not one big hit.
I have to say that Michigan appears to be one of the easiest state relative to inspection and getting a home built car licenced.
Dave W

Agree; sounds like you want a finished car. Watch the market for a stalled project or probably better yet, an unwanted finished car. Just remember, the journey is the adventure.

_________________
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/

Check your local day college for welding classes. It's an inexpensive was to get training, they have lots of metal for you to practice on. In my local school you could go 4 days a week from 4-9pm. You just had to do the test pieces to pass the test, but you could take as long as you want and use as much on there materials as you wanted.


Good luck

Graham

Thought I'd throw in my $0.02. You'll likely be able to do this but you'll have to be very careful how you spend, likely need to learn how to weld, and make compromises. Such as, if you use a Miata as a donor, you're likely not going to get to the 200 hp mark while staying under $4k, but you could build it, and then upgrade the engine later as funds allow. Maybe buy a Cougar LX to get your horsepower mark and IRS but then you'll have an auto transmission, which may not be an issue for you, lots of options really.

-Yes there is, but I'd recommend you learn how to weld. The reason being, is you'll likely spend more paying a welder to tack stuff on than you would buying a nice welder. You'll likely really narrow your build options and easily go over your $4k limit if you don't weld yourself. For example, what if you want to use the free cheap seats that came with your donor but you need to move the seat support cause the frame you bought was intended for different seats. You're either dishing out for seats or paying a welder to weld on 8 more tabs, not to mention stall the build while you dismantle the car, throw it in the truck, and take it to the welders. This scenario holds true for basically everything on the car, not just the seats. I'd almost think its impossible to build one of these with a limited budget if you don't know how to weld;

-Various nose cones available on-line, Kinetic Vehicles for example. I think you'll have trouble finding a FG hood, most people just bend them out of aluminum;

-Yes, Kinetic Vehicles sells these as well. However, if your buying premade, you'll want to make sure they'll fit your application;

-Yes, Miata, Cougar, Explorer, etc, lots of options for IRS;

-Depending on what your situation is, what you want your car to look like, etc., $6k is a pretty good deal for a decent kit; and,

-Yes, according to Dave.

I may be off one this, but I get the impression you kinda wanna go to a store and just pick items off the shelf and put it together, but don't want to pay for a kit. That generally isn't how these cars are built, and if thats what you want to do, I'd strongly recommend saving a bit longer and just getting a kit.

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Trochu Motor League

You just missed one in Minn for a real good price.

Keep watching here and seek the advice of the collective here before making a purchase.

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Honey anyone?

All of the above is excellent, experienced advice. I would only add this about your budget. When I started I had a lot less than $4K to spend. But the project took three years, and over that time I was able to budget a little more. In the end I spent around $7K on the car, and probably another $2-3K on tools and consumables. I doubt I could've done it much cheaper.

As far as welding goes, a lot of Locost builders started with little or no welding experience. Ten years ago I was just like you, no experience and no confidence I could build a frame that wouldn't fall apart on the first drive. Back then you could buy a completed frame, but they were around $2K, and even then I knew a completed frame eliminated only about half the welding you'll need to do to finish the car. This stalled the project for five years, until I finally took a welding class at my local CC, and got a MIG welder.

You'll do a hundred tack welds on the frame before you do any actual welding, so you'll be very familiar with the machine before you're able to do any damage. If your early welds on the frame aren't the best, you can always grind them down and fix them. In fact, you should set a quota, 50 welds, that you'll grind down and re-weld. That way there won't be any question whether a particular weld is good enough. You've got a quota to fill; if it looks suspect, grind it.

The advice to look for a stalled project is good, although it wouldn't be my first choice. If you go that route a lot of design decisions will be taken out of your hands. But that might work for you.

About horsepower. I would guess that fewer than one Locost in ten has more than 100-150 hp. That's still pretty amazing performance, and will take care of just about anything on the street. Also, these cars do not have great top speeds no matter what you do. More than 200 hp is probably wasted in a street car. I've driven a couple of cars with too much horsepower for their weight, and understand why they call it 'stupid fast'.

My advice - unless you find a finished frame at a fire-sale price (possible, but few & far between), practice your welding. If you have a MIG machine, in a very short time you'll be very proficient with it (I'm self-taught, and I'm very, very proud of my welds!), and you're no longer limited to what someone else has started & given up on (plus, unless it's a pre-built, kit-provided frame, you'll be trusting your life to an unknown person's welding skills).

Your goal might be attainable within that budget, but it will be extraordinarily difficult, and would likely force you into "undesirable compromises". As others have said, it might be better to start off with, say, a monthly budget, rather than an ultimate build cost. This won't be a weekend project - it will likely span a couple of years or more, so don't lock yourself into an unattainable cost goal at this point. It will evolve over time and, if you remain conscious of your overall economical budget, you'll stay on track.

As far as axles go, don't write off live axles. They still work extremely well in Locosts (even in competition cars), they're MUCH easier to use in a build, and they cost a lot less than an IRS system.

Power-wise...horsepower costs money. Lots and lots of money. If you use a reasonable engine to start, in a Locost you'll still have breathtaking performance. If you build a 600 hp 1200 lb. car, you'll exhaust your budget on tires in a weekend, as they'll be transformed into smoke & noise. If, on the other hand, you aim for, say, 150 hp, it can be blisteringly fast, and use 100% of its power to propel it...instead of just turning rubber into smoke. Plus, there's a far greater likelihood of keeping close to your budget, and you can always upgrade (turbos, superchargers, etc.) later, as money permits.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

I built my car with a CMC "kit", if you could call it that. Even with just a basic book frame, I made enough changes to it that it would have been quicker and easier to start from scratch, never mind way cheaper. Like others have said, you'll pretty much have to learn to weld to stay in your budget.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172

Hey Dave,

I'm in Canton. Just moved here from Georgia half a year a ago.

Thank you Kristian,

can you please educate me on the CMC kit. Where to get it and how much it would cost?

CMC went out of business years ago - left a few people hanging, with neither their money or their parts when they disappeared, too (ask me how I know!!).

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Like Zetec7 said, they went out of business a long time ago. And it was a really poorly thought out kit anyways, I had to build pretty much all my own brackets and suspension parts and do a bunch of welding. At least I was lucky enough to get the stuff I had ordered. Jack McCornack on here has lots of locost stuff that he supplies, and also lists a complete kit, but it isnt cheap. According to his website (kineticvehicles.com) a complete kit ready for you to install your donor parts is $10k.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172