LocostUSA.com

I am new here..I have to say..Amazing, all the fabrication going on..

My car is a 1979 Midget..bought it this summer..Completely fell in love with it..It is a street legal go-Kart..Plan on a full frame design like.. nocones Midget, turbo rotary or S2000 power..Coil-overs with a chopped windshield and roofline..a flip front end as well as a flip rear end to expose the rear diff and components..

I will post some drawings soon..and pics of ideas..The car goes on the table in about 3 weeks..cannot wait..

I look forward to your updates. As far as the chopped top you must be (how can I put this politely, breathing denser air at a lower altitude) short, the top on the sprite I had was barely high enough as is. Again I look forward to updates and pictures. Lots of pictures as most of us here like the picture book better then the wordy kind.

Hi John..Nice to meet you..My name is William..I have some drawings I am posting plus Ideas from others I want to do to my build..I am only 5'9 and my wife is 5'..so I took the dimensions while I was sitting in the car..

I found this Sprite during my searches and It was exactly what I was thinking..I love the fact you can remove the entire front end,rear end, doors etc..and when attached they flip out of the way.. I have included pics of a Rotary powered sprite race car..I just love the body and how it covered the 15'' wide track difference with the Mazda drive train..

So I have decided to go with the same kind of wide body without the 17'' rear overhang and both the front and rear flip design..and the lowered roof line..

Like I have mentioned, I purchased a 79 Midget that is totally stock and is a 7 out of a 10 so I have a baseline for dimensions etc to go off of and have fun driving it as well..I just purchased a MG Midget donor car, should be here next week, and I will start the modification process..I will post other Ideas until I start on my own ...

I like what this builder did to his Midget..Very robust frame,2x2 and 2x3 frame sections..I know it is heavy..but...I just sold my S2000 and previous to that a Boxster S..I love lapping days at the track, my wife drives too..We were at the Track last year, I was driving behind a BMW M3, he missed the apex,went a bit wide into the marbles put 2 wheels on the grass and rolled the car at about 30 mph, I was directly behind him..The roof of the BMW was flattened..If he had a 5 point harness on instead of a lap belt..he would of been dead instead of a very sore neck and a empty wallet from the repairs to the M..I decided that day a street car has no business at the track.

I was shocked how slow the roll was and how much damage was done..

So The MG which will be a roadster street car/ lapping day car will be very safe indeed or as safe as a 10 ft low slung roadster can be.

By the way..The S2000..The sweetest car on the planet..I have owned many Porsche's 68..911s...several 993s and my last Porsche a BoxsterS with a Audi V8 transplant..

Just like the Midget..I said get rid of the bump steer, put on some coil-overs, put a turbo rotary or a S2000 driveline in this car and Oh Baby..this is going to be fun..

How did those British engineers do that..The car is so small on the outside but gigantic inside..I wish I drove one of these 20 years ago..I doubt I would of ever bought another car..Just modified the Midget the way I wanted It..

You guys ever slide the windshield out of the Midget frame..6 screws , 5 min tops and you have a 2 seat Harley without skid-lids..and It's legal here in Canada..

So the Donor car showed up..What a rust bucket, nothing like what was stated in the Add..needles to say I rejected the sale..So I made a decision to modify the 79 Midget..Here are some pics of the car stock..I find it very hard to believe how cheap these cars are in this kind of condition..33 years and ZERO rust..I have driven this car all summer and not one thing has broke..nothing..15.00 in gas and you can drive all day..

I am going to post some of my previous cars after this post because some people dismiss the Midget as a joke of a car....I was introduced to the Midget by a friend of mine that has the 1500 modified to aprox 90 to 100 hp and the suspension is done for autocross..Like I stated, If I bought one of these 25 years ago..I would still have it today..without question.

Here are pics of the car that is going to be framed up.

Here is my first real car..A 68 Porsche 911 s short wheelbase..purchased in 1990 and owned it up until I bought the Boxster S in 2006..and then purchased the sweetest car I have ever owned..2009 Honda S2000..The Honda does not feel like 2800 lbs when you hit 6,300 rpm..

I have to tell you though..A Honda or Rotary powered Midget ,I am still Undecided on the power plant but there is plenty of time..After driving the 90-100 hp Midget with autocross suspension..The cars above just do not have the excitement or the GoKart feel I am after.

Who needs air conditioning when you can pull the windshield, who needs a stereo when you have V-Tech..My wife and I ride Harleys too..so the roof is a luxury when it rains..all the complaints about the Midget roof leaking..

One day my wife and I were out driving with no windshield, it rained but we expected it,we had our bike rain gear with us and our bomber glasses..

The people's reaction of us driving the Midget with the roof down, no windshield in a down-pour with our glasses on..Priceless..

Decisions, Decisions

Honda Power or Rotary..

Here are 2 of the cleanest installs I have seen in a Sprite/Midget

Decisions/Decisions

I am in Lot's of Trouble later in life...So here is my 10 year old..Wanting to drive the Harley.Note..she just had to have the Pink Harley jacket and boots..And below, my 5 year old with my wife on the charger after a day of blasting around the lake..

My kids have the speed addiction..lol

Back to the Car..This the body I have decided on, flare size, stance,etc..

That Honda install is super clean, but I'd still have to put my vote towards the rotary...

Intresting build. I am doing something similar with a Prinz iii body. Where in Canada are you?

looks like fun plans, though Id be scared of the rotary just because they are weird to work on and (rumor says) can be quite unreliable. My family is into Spitfires, and I have long dreamed of similar builds. Good luck!

Exactly some of the reasons I chose the rotary for my Locost build. Some things I just have to learn by myself. Wierd? Yes but certainly rebuildable by a moderately skilled DIY mechanic. Unreliable? Well I've got 2 years on mine now with over 3500 miles after the rebuild. Not many miles in regards to proof of reliability. But it can be done. The two real killers for the rotary in my mind are noise abatement and it's thirst for fuel. Other than that, I think the rotary is a good choice. but there are other good choices too. Go with what you are familiar with or something you want to learn more about.