LocostUSA.com

I can't speak for Mr. Hennessy, but I'm old enough that those "Chicks" are almost as interesting as the other kind!

_________________
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

From a functional design standpoint, I really like it. Even though it's obviously still in rough form, stylistically it could go either way for me at this point. Overall it's definitely not bad, and probably better than I could do. So I can't be too critical either. I'm definitely curious to see where you take it from here.

Unfortunately, styling is extremely difficult. This is because even changes barely perceptible to the eye can have dramatic changes on how the eye interprets the design. There are a few subtle things that I think have the potential to improve it though. Having the vertical sides of the nose curve in a little might help smooth the appearance out a bit and allow for a slightly narrower grill opening. I feel like the current design appears to be visually weighing the car down a bit. Raising the entire grill opening slightly might help the visual heft a little as well. Integrating a very gentle curve across the upper surfaces could also further soften the design.

_________________
-Justin

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

Great progress, CR. I'm with Justin on his suggestions.

Also agree with Dave. Suggest adding some tumblehome to the sides as well as the curve across the top.

Keep up the great work.

_________________
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

looking at the nose, could you bring the top edge forward about 3" ?

gonzo, when i said hot i meant as in spicy,

mmmmm, hot chicks doh!

_________________
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.

Actually it was about 2" and still is about 1", seemed to have gotten shorter during the molding process for some reason.



Yes, the rear fender flares I have mentioned a few times is 'work in progress' these very days actually and it's darn harder than it seems. Maybe the word "flares" in this context isn't American? It means the radius at the edge, "flared pipe" etc. I'm off in a moment to look at some large plastic containers to see if they have the desired size and radius.





Thanks for the replies, I'll get through them more at home tonight

Ok, for those worried about the rear fenders, here is the rear flares underway.

This is the buck for one mold for a piece that gets cut down the middle and trimmed for left and right fenders.

I made this from 2 pieces of aluminium curved to suit the guard. The inside curve is 100mm wider than the upper one and seperated with 50mm spacers that I made by cutting 20mm wide 50mm x 50mm box tubing and a rivet upper and lower.

This makes the inner curve have 50mm wider edges.

I then filled with spray on expanding gap filling foam and a day later trimmed the foam back and started the long process of building up body filler to shape being patient to apply a layer, run my curved scraper over, waiting to semi dry and slicing all the high spots and repeating the process again.

So tomorrow I will add some simple sides and off to the fibreglass company and make a mold.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the resemblance to the Kurtis 500S Roadster.



if it were me, I'd ditch the squared off lotus-style rear bodywork, and opt for something witha downswept curve, and soften/increase radius on the longitudinal corners of the hood and nose.

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

What he said

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

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

So buy one and do it, you already have 80% of the work done by me, should be a breeze.

Me, I'll stick to the proven formula (for now at least) and don't you see anything at all in that people have had the chance to follow your proposal for the last 50 years but haven't?

How many Kurtis replica kits out there Vs Lotus replica kits? One that I know of and the red one above is one of them with about 2 dozen brothers from that company Vs 600 per year just from Caterham alone.

The kurtis is an interesting looking car but it is too defined for a kit that would allow individual interpretation.
I have been sketching various rear decks, trunks for the 7 and keep going back to the proper appearance as everything else just seems to add weigh without function.
I am enjoying this build and look forward to incorporating some of the ideas in my own build.

jeez, settle down, lighten up, you asked for commentary. so that's mine, the styling you have so far is wide and flat-ish in section, kinda like the K500S.
Takes nothing away from the work you've already done. the key caveat in my comment was "If it were me..." but I left of the obvious other shoe "...and I know it isn't..."

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Indeed, generally when you do a copy you are at risk from criticism if you don't follow a standard and even often a colour (red for Ferrari etc) but Locosts/7 replicas seem to get away with many personalised design features that are often complimented.



I'll send my bank info for the royalties.


Robbo; From the first post, December 2013...

"While it intrinsically looks like and hopefully retains the character of a Lotus/Locost 7, the design is considerably bigger .... Simply put, I wanted for myself and want to offer others a 7'ish car that 2 larger people can sit in ".

It's not a Kurtis it's a "Largo" - Large Locost.

Lardo?

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

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

I do recall reading that, now I've read it twice it still, to my eye - calibrated or not - more evokes the shape of a K500S (its the width mostly) than a lotus/locost



mmmm, beefy!

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Lol.