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Can you pull it straight out the back? Or drop it back then down out the bottom?

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...nowadays people are so intellectually lazy and lethargic that they can't build ANYTHING with their hands. They'll spend hours watching whiny people marooned on an island, but won't spend a second adding anything to the world. -weconway
Visit my [Locost 7 build log]

Geez dude, you have got some mad welding skills. Looks great!

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Cost to date: $---.--
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Really nice looking fab work Emile. That rack turned out really well.



I would definitely go for the aluminum bushings. Even with resin, there will still be some compliance in the stock ones.

For where you cut the frame, any chance you could make some fabricated "arch" of sorts from sheet that you could finagle the diff around while installing it?

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

Got a little bit more done this week. And... DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

I've set it on the ground and rolled it out into the sun for the first time EVER!



I resisted doing this for a long time, trying to focus on getting done everything I could while the chassis was still up on the build table. But the time came to do the floor pan, and instead of taking the engine and everything out up on the table, I figured it would be easier to do it on a set of short stands, which I'll whip up with some 1x1 and 1x2 tubing. Keep in mind I still don't have the correct wheels/tires and in place of springs I've cut some sections of PVC tubing, so the ride height and stance are far from correct. It still rolled really well, and I had more than enough steering lock to comfortably maneuver the car in and out of the garage.

It actually looks a bit bigger than I expected sitting next to my Subaru. But it's also significantly narrower than the wide-fendered rally wannabe












I also created a heat shield/mounting tray for the fuel tank


And I bent some sections of aluminum to attach the tank to the shield


And here's a shot of the relief for the tank's sump from below.


More updates to follow, still need to take more pictures of some of the other projects I've been busy with!

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-Emile
Scratch building an IRS, RX-7 based book chassis @ myBuild Log

*Make way for the luckEseven!

Awesome!!!

_________________
...nowadays people are so intellectually lazy and lethargic that they can't build ANYTHING with their hands. They'll spend hours watching whiny people marooned on an island, but won't spend a second adding anything to the world. -weconway
Visit my [Locost 7 build log]

Looks good. Just wait until the Locost is running - you will have a difficult choice each morning.

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

After reaching the milestone of "rolling" it around (and possibly making Vroom Vroom noises... ) I decided to carry on with getting the frame as close to done as possible. That meant taking everything back off and getting it to where I could flip it upside down or on it's side, depending on what I'm working on.

I already had a set of jack stands kicking around in the garage, so I used those for the back. I decided instead of buying another pair of jack stands, I could make something simpler and sturdier out of material I had laying around. So I used my floor jack to set the height, jacking it all the way up and making the front stand height even with the back. This way I can use just a normal floor jack to put the car up on the high stands. It's a good height for working in the engine bay comfortably standing, while using a roll-around stool for servicing brakes/suspension, plus it's high enough to be able to lay under the car to change fluids and work under the car.

Pic of the car on my homemade high stand


Simple and solid


Jack stands at the back of the chassis


Welded an 1/8" wall section of tubing into the frame rails that the trans mount bolts go through to keep the bolts from squishing the tubes as the bolts are tightened. On the mount side the sleeve was welded flush and ground smooth, on the under side I left 1/8" sitting proud to be able to weld it a bit better. Here is the bottom side.


And here is the smooth mount side.


And here they are with the trans mount installed


Another view of the trans mount


Since the frame was bare again, I did some more finish welding. Specifically the bottom rails which were then ground smooth to make room for the floor pans. More on this later. Here is the under side of the motor mount plate (the top side is fully welded too, don't know why I bothered but it didn't look right without something underneath.


Welded the driver's firewall (obviously the frame is upside down in the pic)


Again, here's a view from underneath. This is my front shock mount that is welded in two full planes on the outer frame rail, but thought this "tension strap" could help carry the load to another rail and further beef-up the shock mount, as a LOT of load will go through this guy.


Finally got around to cutting my steel floor plates. I decided on steel mainly due to cost, but also ease of installation and potentially better structural properties with steel vs alum. I don't mind the approx 15 pound weight penalty, as long as it's very low in the chassis and helps structural rigidity (I know this is up for debate )


Another view of the floors with the Aussie Mod front section.


A view of the trans mount bolts and how the floor pans wrap around the protruding "sleeves"


Unfortunately I ran out of gas so I couldn't weld the floor yet. But it's ready to go otherwise. Going off recommendations I read here, I decided to take the floors all the way out to the edge to make the side panel installation easier down the road.

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-Emile
Scratch building an IRS, RX-7 based book chassis @ myBuild Log

*Make way for the luckEseven!

Great work, as always. Still jealous about the shocks.

On a side note, what is it with 7s and Subaru daily drivers... there's at least 3 of us.

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Concordia University FSAE - Chassis
00 Impreza OBS - RIP
81 Rabbit 1.6D
95 525i

Thanks, AK Seven.

Yeah, I dunno what it is with Suby drivers and Locosts. Though I'm willing to bet there are far more Locost builders who've owned Miatas, myself included (I've owned two, actually).

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-Emile
Scratch building an IRS, RX-7 based book chassis @ myBuild Log

*Make way for the luckEseven!

It would be a VERY good idea to put a diagonal on that stand. It's very dicey as-is.

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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/

I agree, Kurt. As solid as it is currently, it can't hurt to err on the safe side.

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-Emile
Scratch building an IRS, RX-7 based book chassis @ myBuild Log

*Make way for the luckEseven!

+1

I'd put them in both directions...but I tend to overthink things a bit.

_________________
...nowadays people are so intellectually lazy and lethargic that they can't build ANYTHING with their hands. They'll spend hours watching whiny people marooned on an island, but won't spend a second adding anything to the world. -weconway
Visit my [Locost 7 build log]

Floors fully welded around the perimeter, with a row of plug welds in 1/4" holes across the main lateral tube.


Close-up of plug welds


Corner weld


Floors and "aussie mod" panel up front


If you're wondering, the steel floor (.065" thick) weighed 32 lbs all together.


Seam welding


Welding around transmission mounting boss


Also worked on the driver's seat mount. It was a bit of a struggle trying to come up with the best solution for mounting the seat with the sliding seat rails I had, since there was no feasible way to mount it to the frame rails, and I wanted the seat absolutely as low as possible, I came up with this solution which is quite sturdy. I'm sure I'll get flamed for it


Floor reinforcement welds


Here's a close-up of the "aussie mod" panel, with cutouts big enough for a bolt/washer and the appropriate socket to turn said bolt from below to mount the steering rack.


Also cut-out 8 identical pads to copy Jeff's R1-powered bolt-on cage for the two door bar mounts on each side. These turned out well, it's harder than you'd think to make 8 of these as uniform as possible


Then welded nuts to the back side of half of them to be welded in the chassis


Then welded some vertical braces to the frame and welded the pads in place. This should give a bit more surface area in case these guys ever see any action


Ugly welding, but it'll be ground down flush and covered with an ally panel, they're also welded on the inside.


Inner welding, a bit better looking


Also finally got around to mounting the passenger side seat. It looks crooked because the passenger side trans tunnel tube is angled to make room for the RX7 offset diff, but the seat is actually straight.


Seat mounts welded to the frame rail sides.


These guys are pretty beefy. Will be welded below to the floor as well.


Other side seat mounts.

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-Emile
Scratch building an IRS, RX-7 based book chassis @ myBuild Log

*Make way for the luckEseven!

Hey hows it goin. Just finished reading through your build, its awsome. Im starting the chassis now, do you have any advise?

Matt.

Nice build here i love it,

Question, i see you got the car in the floor on its 4 tires, but it is me or the ride height is where it supposed to be, even without the springs installed on the shocks, or it will sit higher than that?