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PostPosted: August 11, 2012, 7:00 pm 
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Location: San Diego
It's been about 9 months since the car was registered and I've taken it on short blasts around the local contryside from time to time. I've only clocked about 400 miles, but that has been relatively spirited driving. The car still runs well, starts up first time. I changed the springs all round as the used ones that came with the shocks were just too soft. I can still get the rear wheels to rub the inside of the fenders if I have a passenger in the car and do an aggressive u-turn / 1/2 donut :shock: It is set up for me only though, and it behaves really well on the road. I got a new set of tires, and regretted not sticking with an autocross compound. The engine has consistently leaked small amounts of oil between runs, as expected, as I don't think a single gasket (aside the water pump) has been replaced in 18 years. I did not want to strip the engine before installing it in the car in fear of causing a problem that could not be traced. It holds oil pressure well so i'm not too bothered.

I decided to tackle one of the many small tasks needing done to take the car from "functioning" to "finished". This weekend was the rear deck lid. I decided upon thin plywood as the base and cover it with black vinyl like I did with the dashboard. It follows the same theme of hidden fittings as you can see below:
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S2010012.JPG

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Last edited by hassleweed on August 15, 2012, 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: August 14, 2012, 10:25 am 
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
Looking good, Martin. Has your cruising around got you thinking of installing a larger gas tank?

Cheers,

Lonnie

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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


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PostPosted: August 14, 2012, 10:33 am 
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The cover looks good. Do the bungee cords seem to hold it in place while driving? I never really paid attention to how much wind buffeting went on back there.

Any plans to move the fenders higher? Even though they hit less now thanks to the heavier springs, a big bump could shove the tire into the fender and cause it to be ripped off.

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PostPosted: August 15, 2012, 3:33 pm 
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Location: San Diego
Thanks Guys.

Lonnie, I switched out the 2-gallon tank that you saw (after seeing sense) and went for a 4 gallon, which is more than enough for my purposes. Should be good for a range of 80 miles or so. If I really wanted to, I have the space for another 4 gallon tank, which could be easily added. I wouldn't like carrying much more weight around though - it's really noticable in the handling.

Andrew, The bungee cords worked great right up to 70 mph, which was the max test speed! I like the fenders where they are for the looks of the car. I only have about 1/4 inch preload on the rear springs, so I've a bit of play there - I'll need to jack it up a little more. I thought I would have destroyed the fenders by now but they are extremely sturdy as they are bolted on at three points. There are some serious tire marks on the underside from my runs with passengers and attempted "Uees". I guess they are acting as bumpstops right now....


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PostPosted: December 1, 2012, 9:49 pm 
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Location: San Diego
Forgive me purists, for I have sinned....
In my laziness I never bothered bracing under the chassis where the lower rail was cut to permit the engine and tranny placement. After 500 miles or so in the car I decided to get it off the "to do" list.
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I'm also tackling the other lazy item - replacing the home-made coilover spacers with proper ones that will actually hold the spring centered. These came from QA1:

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The reason I need then is to fill the gap between the shocks that require 9 inch springs, and the 8 inch springs I needed to get the correct rate at a reasonable price. Here's the first one installed:

Attachment:
S2010007.JPG


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PostPosted: December 2, 2012, 12:28 am 
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About how many miles do you have on your Locost now, Martin?

How's baby? Have you had her out for a ride yet?

Cheers,

Lonnie

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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


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PostPosted: December 2, 2012, 11:43 am 
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Hey Lonnie!

Just about 500 miles on the car. It was out of action for quite some time while I shortened the harness. Baby is doing great, she's getting very tall and fast :) She hasn't been in the car, despite my wife encouraging me to take her out in it. Some day soon! 8)

I'm watching your build coming along well. How long before we can go for a spin together?


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PostPosted: December 3, 2012, 11:33 am 
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At the pace I'm going right now, probably about when you have 100,000 miles on your Locost, Martin. :oops:

I needed to take time away from the Locost for another undertaking, which lasted a few months. Once that was finished, I got back to work for two weeks, which was great. Then I got sick and am just getting better after 7-8 days. I'm rarely ill, so it's been very frustrating. I'll be doing some light work today though and should be back at it tomorrow.

Honestly, I think it will be 9-12 months before it's running, but should be registered soon thereafter since I already started that process. I've still got some design tasks to do for suspension, seating, pedal box and dashboard hoop. Finishing the basic chassis is the big task right now.

I'm glad to hear things are going well for all (3) of you.

Regards,

Lonnie

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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


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PostPosted: December 3, 2012, 5:24 pm 
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hassleweed wrote:
...I never bothered bracing under the chassis where the lower rail was cut to permit the engine and tranny placement.
I think most Locosts are open down there, maybe because the builders are tired by the time they get to that stage, maybe to avoid having something hanging 1" below their chassis (not that it matters if your sump hangs, say, 1-1/2" below the chassis). I welded in a floor pan on MAX--I figured the strength and streamlining of a full 42" wide floor pan outweighed the hassle it added to taking the engine/trans assembly out...but I have a little engine, and with a longer engine I might not have been able to point the front of the assembly up as much as needed to get it out if the rear of the trans couldn't droop under the chassis. So a bolt-in brace like yours, Martin, seems like a good idea.

But the photo of your brace has me thinking. I think the only loads a brace like that will see are tension loads, right? The brace is there to resist the tendency for the chassis to 'splay out' in the bottom center when the loads force the chassis up on the outside (such as loads applied by the suspension when a wheel hit a bump) against the inertia of masses on the inside (such as engine and transmission and you). If there are any other forces applied to the brace, I'm not seeing them, and if it's just tension, then a flat strap will be as effective as a tube. I think?

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PostPosted: December 4, 2012, 8:10 am 
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The tube will see both tension and torsional loads in a one corner bump. In most builds the connector tube will not be any lower then the engine sump. What the tube is really doing is completing the shear plane across the end of the foot wells. Has to go a long way on improving full frame torsional resistance. If you used the tubing for the full length Vs flat sections on the ends, and put a solid tube spacer inside the tubing to bolt thru, this would allow the tube to better resist twisting loads. But still the current design has to be a lot better then nothing. Dave W


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PostPosted: December 4, 2012, 10:42 am 
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davew wrote:
. . . <Snip> . . . If you used the tubing for the full length Vs flat sections on the ends, and put a solid tube spacer inside the tubing to bolt thru, this would allow the tube to better resist twisting loads. But still the current design has to be a lot better then nothing. Dave W


Could you expand on that, Dave? I have a pretty similar approach to mine, excepting I'm tying (bolting) the cross tube to gusset plates on either side of the transmission tunnel. They will be at the junction of multiple tubes, so connect to several members.

Up top, I'm using a tapered section of tube joining the two halves, reinforced with 3mm plate connecting them to resist twisting. The upper tube design is welded, not bolted. I'm actually building this latter piece now. After laying out my initial design in metal, I increased the overlap of the top tube, 1" on each side over what you'll see in this drawing.

Attachment:
TR8-Screen-Shot.jpg


My apologies for hijacking your thread, Martin.

Regards,

Lonnie


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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


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PostPosted: December 4, 2012, 4:32 pm 
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The 45* cuts on the ends is actually a better design because you do not an abrupt change in cross section area. In fact that is what my cross member looks like. I was suggesting that you add a piece of round tubing inside the one inch Sq tube to carry the torque and clamp loads into the main tubes that you bolt to, Vs a flat plate. Gussets would also be effective method of reinforcing the area as long as you form a closed or channel section on the end of the Sq tube. Dave W


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PostPosted: December 4, 2012, 6:25 pm 
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JackMcCornack wrote:
hassleweed wrote:
...I never bothered bracing under the chassis where the lower rail was cut to permit the engine and tranny placement.
I think the only loads a brace like that will see are tension loads, right?


That is absolutely what I was thinking Jack, and was prepared to install just the flat bar. But in case I was wrong and there were some compressive loads (perhaps even in an accident :-O), and looking for any excuse to get the welder out again (why is it so theraputic?) I decided the weld on a scrap 3/4 tube that was lying around.

As Dave points out, I'm not adequately addressing torsional loads, but I figure the tension loads will be dominant, so it certainly is better that is was.

Lonnie, no probs, not a hijack at all - if my posts can encourage debate, all the better.


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PostPosted: December 4, 2012, 7:58 pm 
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encourage debate, ahh, now let me see................ no that would get me banned again.

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PostPosted: December 5, 2012, 10:48 pm 
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Martin,
How are the pre-painted body panels holding up? Did the paint wrinkle or crack when it was bent at the corners?

David

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