LocostUSA.com

Tom,

That's so funny about the horn. I have my donor horns (kinda lame sound), but found that WOLO site a few years back. Space is a big factor for 7 builders, but I thought it would be fun to have a "huge" air horn sound on my Locost because it's going to be below the line of sight for pickups and SUVs.

Here was a (fantasy) candidate (sound sample here too) ==> https://wolo-mfg.com/horns/train-horns/ ... 40a9b4266c

Great work on the other stuff.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Trochu, it's not wired up yet, so this will have to do:
That's a doozer, Lonnie. The Wolo Bad Boy is a little less intimidating, but has a claimed 123.4 db:
https://wolo-mfg.com/media/wysiwyg/soun ... ns/419.wav
Should do the trick, once I get the build on the road

_________________
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

Hi Tom,

I know it has already been said but I was just peeking through some of your build and it all looks amazing! This being said I am specifically posting to comment on your free standing rear fenders and tail light set up. I really like it and after seeing it there is a good chance I may pursue a similar design, though I don't have the tapered body it may still work out as I have a wider track then my frame should. GREAT WORK!!!!

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Convincing yourself you can do it is one thing, convincing your wife it is a good idea is another. Glad I have a great wife!

1999 Dajiban build
Autcross car currently 2009 Mazda RX8 R3.

Build is a plus 4" width, 13B Renesis. Wish me luck.

Thanks, NCLBNY. The free-standing rear fenders worked out pretty well and are a good match with the fronts. With enough clearance, small tail light pods should work for you even without the body taper.

I may do an update later by adding small but bright, amber LED turn signals out on the rear fenders. It wouldn't be an obvious light fixture and would increase the turn signal indication. It would be easy to add once I get rolling.

_________________
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

Hard to believe it was 5 years ago this month I started to modify my Kinetic nosecone to fit the Car9 frame: Widened 6”, sectioned 1.5” and a tilt-forward hinge added. Then, with the nosecone partially complete and tired of the itchy fiberglass work (I ain’t no body-man) it was time to move on and find some metal to cut. So in spite of JD’s offer to send Bubba to help “get ‘er done” (which I respectfully declined,) the f’glass work was set aside.

Fast forward 4+ years to last fall: Since I had decided my build would be hoodless, the nosecone was lengthened 6” to fill some of the gap. Once the lengthening was done, the itchy fiberglass work was set aside yet again.

Then came this Covid summer plus a desire to get as many br@ck^ts welded to the chassis as possible so frame painting could eventually be done. This required finishing the nosecone so its fixturing could be welded in place.

First step was to ‘glass in CF tape to stiffen the now wider top surface. You never know when someone’s going to perch their kid up there for a photo op. (Don’t ask me how I know.)
Next the side profiles got modified and the outer surface built up with more S2 glass followed by body filler, sanding, more body filler, repeat. Did I mention I ain’t no body-man? But I did wear a mask through those hot, sweaty itchy days of sanding and resin smells. Hopefully, dust and viruses (viri?) didn’t make it through the filters.
And finally last weekend it was time for primer. A layer of 2K epoxy primer was laid on to consolidate all my patching. Then several coats of high-build primer so I can work out the high and low spots. I did mention I ain’t no body-man, didn’t I?
Ok, so it took 5 years, but it doesn’t look too bad at this point. Well at least a lot better in one color. I’ll find out just how straight it is once a guide coat is sanded off.

When the final sanding is done the nosecone will get top coated with paint followed by a vinyl wrap.

Next up, a fixing mechanism (i.e., br@ck^ts) for the rear of the tilt-forward nosecone will be fabbed, from METAL.

_________________
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

In the scheme of things 5 years isn't bad - those results look really good. Does it feel good to knock that job off the list?

Looking great Tom!. When I widened my nose cone Jack wasn't making the inserts yet. His inserts aer nly 4" and you needed 6". Did you use 2?

All the fiberglass work this step required and the high degree of finish you achieved pretty much moves you out of the amatuer ranks. Can hardly wait to see it.

Cheers!

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Larry in Seattle

That nose looks really good Tom, heck if I didn't know better I'd say a bodyman did the work on it

_________________
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

I've seen the gently indented results of this happening on the aluminum nose of Jon Shirley's (MSFT) 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder Competizione.



The nose is looking fantastic, Tom! If I didn't know any better, I'd simply guess those last pics were as-delivered by Jack.

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-Justin

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

Thanks for the kind words, folks. The truth will be told when it gets blocked out. There's still lots to do before its completed but I'm pleased with the results at this point.

Kinetic Research: It did really feel good to get the primer on. I think I had a mental block on doing the fiberglass and body filler work. Glad to be beyond that stage.

Larry: I used two of Jack's inserts in both the top and bottom. I had to narrow and shape them a bit since the widening was tapered. One of the reasons for the CF tape was all the piecing together.

Justen: Yikes on that Ferrari's hood. Looks like that one will be headed back to John Beyers shop for a little "correction."
And sometimes the kids in the photo ops are wearing jeans with pocket rivets.

_________________
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

The nosecone blocking continues. First a round of pin-hole filling. Mostly in and along the fiberglass edges. Then more primer and more blocking. The devil is in the guide coat, proving once again I'm not a bodyman. But with more high-build primer and more sanding it's getting close to flat and smooth. It also helps to be a bit OCD.

Taking a break from the sanding dust, I started work on the nosecone fixing. The nosecone bolts to a metal pivot under its chin so the whole thing can tilt forward. The original plan was to use a Dzus fastener on each side near the aft edge to hold her down. But the Dzus holes would fall in the area extended with some S2 fiberglass which is too thin to provide a good bearing surface for removable fasteners. Even a self-retaining Dzus would be problematic. So on to Plan B, muscle car hood hold-down pins mounted inside the nosecone.
Simple 16g. L br@ck^ts will sit on rubber washers over the pins and be held in place by standard retaining clips. Here's a CAD version. The two-step bend allows fit to be adjusted before fastener holes are drilled.
The L brackets will through-bolt to the nose cone. Probably using two button head ss bolts per side to match the windshield frame. If additional fixing is required, adhesive can be added. The retaining clips end about 2" inside the nosecone, easily accessible as no hood is planned.
The hood pin set-up is probably a few ounces heavier than the Dzus's and a bit more complicated to fab. But it's different and I won't miss the sensation of having a loose Dzus whiz past my ear at speed.

Ok, enough fun with metal. Back to more primer, more sanding, repeat...

_________________
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

After 5 (or was it 6) rounds of high-build primer and blocking I finally have the nosecone relatively smooth. Not laser-straight, but not wavy-gravy either. At least it should meet Larry's 20/20 rule. So one last coat of 2k epoxy primer was sprayed on to seal it up:

Once cured, this will be followed by a light sanding and a Urethane topcoat on the outside. But first the inside surface gets primed/sealed and topcoated. Winter will be a good time to stretch on a vinyl wrap, maybe on the living room floor.

Somewhere along the way the fastening hardware will get fabbed and the widened, sectioned, lenthened, tilting nosecone will be done.

Okay, only 9,999 other things left to do.

_________________
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

As if. My parts don't come that pretty. Like Tom, I'm not a bodyman.

And PS--no "not a body man" jokes allowed here, and most of you have seen this picture, but an internally braced fiberglass nose should be capable of supporting not just a toddler, but a light woman, or even a medium woman if she isn't cluttered up with shoes and extraneous garments.

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

For the record, the bodywork I did on my nosecone was to smooth out my mods, not the original Kinetic part. The KV nosecone is a nice piece with a classic shape. Just needed a few "adjustments" to fit the Car9 chassis.

Agreed, as long that dress doesn't have riveted-on pockets.

_________________
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

Finished up the muscle-car style nosecone retainer clips this weekend.

Fabbed a pair of br@ck^ts that bolt to the nosecone and fit over the 1/2" aluminum retaining pins. With the nose cone "closed", the br@ck^ts sit on 1/2" x 1.5" x 1/8" rubber washers which first fit over the aluminum pins to provide a rattle-free fit. 1/2" steel fender washers shim the rubber washers from underneath to dial-in the correct height.

Here's an up-nose look at the set up.
The top taper of the aluminum pins needed a little adjustment to accommodate the swing arc of the nosecone tilt, but it all locks down nicely.

SS buttonheads on the outside leave a clean look consistent with the windshield stanchion attachment bolts.

Now that our smoky air has moved on, the inside of the nosecone can get primed and painted and the outside can get a top coat before the rains come in earnest. This winter's projects include vinyl wrapping the nosecone and adding a grill insert shamelessly copied from Shevalev.

_________________
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