LocostUSA.com

I think I finally have a decent solution for headlight mounts. Very difficult because it really changes the look of the car, and I couldn't find anything I really loved.

My first attempt put them too high:



My next attempt put them higher, but tighter to the chassis and further back:



I ended up with this version, forward but lower:





Better, though I might pull them back and in a little tighter before all's done.

While I was at it, I took a bunch of weight, and some strength, out of the suspension brackets up front. All together I saved over four pounds, and hopefully made the brackets weak enough that they'll fail (hopefully never happen) before the chassis. I really have no way of engineering things at a level where I dictate failure points, but I'd sure like to isolate failure to bolt-on parts when possible, hopefully without making truly failure-prone brackets. So I'm trying to make them plenty strong for their function, but weaker then the places where they bolt on (which are quite overbuilt). Who knows... Looks better, anyway.



I'll go through the same process for the back suspension mounting brackets. Probably a lot more weight to be saved there. I'll build in mounts for tail lights while I'm at it. That part should be fun.

I also built a jig for extracting dimensions from my Afco floor-mount pedal assemblies, then built a custom assembly (minus pedals, haven't made those yet). I have it a lot more done now, but apparently haven't taken pictures of it in a while. These are pictures from the process:









I'll try to remember to take some pictures of the finished assembly in and out of the car.

-Graveyard

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.

I was away from working on the car for a bit, on account of house-remodel work, but finally got back into it about a week ago.

The first thing I got done was lightening/finishing the rear suspension brackets. This included the front and back UCA brackets and the upper shock mounts. I shaved about 6 pounds from all of these, welded on the nuts for simpler assembly/disassembly, added a lot more potential negative camber for the rear (and more adjustability), and, most importantly, made parts look better.

I also finally took some pictures of the pedal assembly in the car (no actual pedals or MCs yet). The picture of the underside shows my throttle setup. It still needs lots of parts, including a guard/cover, but I think it'll work just fine. It gets all the pedals pivoting on the same axis. I don't know if that will be a thing or not.





















I added the super-camber setting because my brackets initially didn't give that much more than the factory--I was only able to get a couple of degrees of negative camber. The new holes will give me whatever I need. Because the brackets bolt on to a parallel and horizontal interface, I can also shim them out to adjust both rear camber and caster.

In a C5 Corvette, camber in the rear is normally adjusted with an eccentric bolt on the front of the LCA. However, doing so also changes the caster and the adjustment range is fairly small. Insufficient camber in the rear is a pretty well-known challenge for this chassis in an autocross environment.

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.

For sure you will find the sweet spot for rear camber with that range of settings!

Pedalbox looks great, Q how far away is the adjacent exhaust (I can't quite tell from the photos, it looks around 8in?)

Are you going to run the leaf springs or swap over to coilovers?

Answers!

Exhaust is close enough to the pedal assembly that I'll be glad to have a firewall between it and the master cylinder. Maybe 6 in, but closer when the MC is installed.

I'm using the leaf springs to start, and will decide about coilovers later. Long term--I'll probably keep the leaf in the back, but go to coilovers in the front. The only reason I wouldn't keep the leaf in the front is that it sits a little too high and I can't lower it anymore with a leaf. If the rear spring rate is just too high with the factory leaf I may have to go with coils, but honestly I like the transverse composite spring technology and I'd prefer to keep it. The setup makes it super-easy to change the corner-balance/ride-height, it's pretty light (with the weight very low on the car), necessitates a smaller and lighter sway bar. Everyone and their brother has coilovers while very few can rock transverse leaf springs, and you can see them on this car.

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.

Lookin' good, but don't forget to make a version where the center of the headlight is at least 22" above the ground when it goes in for registration inspection. That's one advantage of coilers, you can crank them up solid for your vehicle inspection.

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

Thanks for the reminder, Jack. I think they're already above 22" but I'll re-check.

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.

Devised a method to weigh the car with a $12 Walmart scale. Not very accurate yet, but I have some ideas about how to make it more accurate for next time. I'm hoping to get this method good enough to do an okay corner balancing when the time comes.







I threw parts/materials into approximate locations so that I can get a ballpark finished weight. I can remove/lighten some things still, but, you know, ballpark.

Guesses?

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.

Looks like ~260.

Are you looking to get 4 corner balance or actual weight? Don't forget to put a person in the seat when setting the final balance.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I'm hoping to get this weighing process accurate enough to get decent corner weights. We'll see. There are so many variables that can throw off the numbers.

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.

I used the same method for setting my corner wt. As long as you have all four wheels setting at the same height [ I was within 1mm, over-kill ] you should be OK. Note the slope on a typical garage floor is enough to through off the Wt. Use a good level or transit to set the leveling shim packs. I was repeatable to within 3 lbs. But to be honest, I think your middle name has to be Shumacher to be able to tell any difference in minor Wt differences in wheel Wt set-up .
Davew

Thanks for the confirmation, Davew. I did figure out that camber effects the readings, because the tire loads one side of the pad more than the other. I might devise a pivoting pad for the next round of weighing, to ensure that the lever is loaded right at the mid point. I'll also experiment with 10 pound plates, just as another way to get a sense of the accuracy.

Honestly, I think the biggest issue with this weighing method is my cheap scale. An electronic one would probably be more accurate, but also more difficult to employ.

Oh yeah, the weight came to 2079, which is coincidentally the same year when my grandchildren will forget that it would have been my 100th birthday.

On to the next things for now:

I've started some aluminum work, finally. My first project was a battery box out of angle, and then a mounting bracket for the parking brake couple thingy. I'm no good at it yet, but already getting better. I cut the 1/8" angle with a miter saw, which worked incredibly well with regular wood blade--and quite terribly with a cheap non-ferrous blade. Still sorting out the settings and variables for welding the stuff, but I'll get there before too long.

I also picked up a 5' x 10' of .090 5052 for $160 (way cheaper than I thought it might be), to supplement the sheet of .040 that I already have. The thicker stuff will work for my fuel tank and expansion tank, in addition to floors and a couple of the firewalls. I'd like to use the thinner stuff, at least up front, for firewalls and side panels, because it's half the weight, but I'll just have to see how that goes.







I also decided to lighten the exhaust by going from 2.5" duals to a 3" single that exits passenger side. Yep, a single side pipe. Lighter, offsets driver weight a bit, and should be a good match for the 350hp I'm rocking with this stock-heads/cam LS1 (well, maybe it's more with my single plane and carb, but not much more). It's 19 pounds lighter than the mid-pipe thing that was on there when I weighed, but I haven't put on the muffler yet. I already ordered the muffler--6" x 18" dynomax, but I probably won't see it 'til Wednesday. It'll be a bolt-on muffler bit at first, but I could weld it up into one assembly. I have a suspicion it'll just get welded together so I can get rid of the ugly flange.

That flange, along with the tubing, is leftover 409 stainless from the Suburban I salvaged a couple years ago. Good-quality stuff with nice bends. Too bad I couldn't use the muffler as well, but it's the size of a small bathtub. I'll probably just cut it apart to salvage the 409 sheet for heat shields, exhaust stuff, or whatever else.







Looking forward to finishing the exhaust in the next week, along with getting some floor panels done and maybe the expansion tank. I did buy a jigsaw for cutting the aluminum sheet. We'll see how it works.

-Graveyard

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.

No pressure but how long till it fires up and drives? You are looking very, very close - exciting times ahead.

Hey Graveyard,

I built my Locost in Council Bluffs and bought all my steel and alloy from Bob at Jnj Steel located in M & R Welding 119 S 28th St, Council Bluffs, IA 51501. Might pay to give them a call. Good guys and better prices than most.

No connection etc. Just good experience with them.

Cheers!

_________________
Larry in Seattle

Hey Graveyard!

Been following the build for a while, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm in Omaha a couple times a year to visit the girlfriend's family, would love to see the car sometime if you are willing!

_________________
--Eric

"Stuckness shouldn't be avoided. It's the psychic predecessor of all real understanding." --Robert Pirsig

Grey 2019 Hyundai Veloster Turbo
Red 1989 BMW 325is

Sure, Eric. Let me know when you'll be in town. I always enjoy showing off my project.

_________________
Aedifico ergo sum.