LocostUSA.com

Scrubbles, I too am excited to see successful bike shocks... Lets hope that mine are... Feel free to use the configuration. Like I said, I think it would look SWEET on a locost. My next build will probably be a more traditional locost, and I intend to use it.

Moti- Thanks for the kind words. I've enjoyed watching your car come together. It inspires me to build a actual race car next time. Although, I can't wait to turn the wheels in anger..

Ross- Stop by sometime. My Father in law apparently had a Capri when he was younger. I saw it in your garage and was wondering what it was.

Thanks,

Daniel

Nocones,

Whataya been doin' on the project?

Mikey Bynum

Hey look it's me.. It's been like 5 months without any update/progress..

Work has been really busy and I trained for and completed a marathon so the car has sat around not really having much done to it. Although it has gained a stablemate, I got off of the GrassrootsMotorsports forum a Subaru 360 sedan shell that I want to try to make into a GRM $2010 challenge car. We will see how that goes.

As to the car I'm going to start working on it hardcore again, and I started last night be making chassis side front shock mounts. I'll get some pictures and a better update this weekend, as I intend to work on it some more saturday.

Anyway hopefully I can start adding progress more readily again.

Daniel

Glad to see you are still alive!

I hate to see build threads die.
And your car is unique in many ways.
Life has a way of throwing things at us so just keep plugging away.
And enjoy the time too. Like children, our projects grow so fast and then are gone...

Keep us faithful followers up to date.
We are watching....

Ahh life.. Sometimes it just gets in the way. I've had a couple of personal issues and a kitchen Re-model come up in the past 2 months, but I've been trying to work some time in the garage into there.

As I said last time I got the front chassis side shock mounts done. They are shown here. What I did was make a tapped bung that I welded on to the chassis at a strange angle, and then have a Shear plate that the bolt passes through and sandwiches the Shock. This way I have true-double shear mounting in low profile mount, which would be dificult if I tried to use a nut and bolt. Also, the Bellcrank Wings are now re-inforced. I personally think this shock mounting would look intense on a Locost, and provide nice headlight mounting.





Spinning around You can see my steering rack mounts. I solid mounted the rack, and utilized some hacked up stock MG mounts. I was going to make the rack removable/height adjustable, however I have decent bump steer as is, and I have about 1" of vertical adjustment at the upright. Also, since I am running the Stock MG steering shaft I would have a hard time moiving the rack vertically with a straight steering shaft.



Completing the new-front end tour, I've began working out the mounting of the Pedals/steering Shaft. The MG uses a nice compact reversed M/C setup and the brack M/C bore is 7/8 which should work pretty good with the stock Rx-7 brakes. If it doesn't this area of the car will be easy to re-design to allow for instalation of a Willwood Pedal Assembly.



Moving to the Rear I've started re-inforcing the rear suspension pickups, and developed a plan for the belcrank/shock mounts in the rear. On the Reare suspension area, I've used a short section of angle cut tubeing as a C-shaped filler for the narrow angle side of the tubes. This way I get good solid weld around this area, and it allows a nice strong flat portion to attach the bellcrank flanges to.





And my last bit of progress is the fact that I'm to the point where I am no longer using the Build table. The chassis is now on jackstands and that's exciting. It's still a ways from a roller, but the Front suspension is done, and the rear is close, so I might celebrate roller day soonish.



Also I've got a picture of the new project. It's a very rough shell but the price was right $1. I'm not sure what it's fate will be, but I'm happy to have a true microcar that I am not at all concerned with butchering.



Thanks for hanging in there everyone during my abscence. I hopefully will start updating and making progress with more regularity.

Daniel

The Subaru is absolutely panting for a bike engine ...

although I agree in theory, then I would have no where to race it. I suppose I could look at NASA, but SCCA is mean to bike engine vehicle putting them in BMod or Amod for Autox and CSR or DSR for road racing. I'm thinking about boosting a 10G Suzuki motor to the moon for a real lightweight DMod car. The wheelbase/track should give a good advantage over more normal sized cars (it's wheelbase is ~25" less than a Locost) and I should have no problem building to well under the <1.8L weight minimum allowing for a silly low C.G with ballast. If I find the 10G is down on power I will either figure out how to make a 13G <1280cc so it's still legal with boost, or run a built 16G. Initially it will be a GRM challenge car.. if I ever get to the project.

Daniel

That sounds like a hella project ...

I think a locost with a bike engine ends up in DMOD for autocross. A boosted R1 or Hayabusa motor would still be legal in the MOD class, right? And they can be good for crazy power ... although short lived I presume ... particularly the clutch.

I can't imagine a boosted Hayabusa motor would be more money than boosting a Suzuki motor unless you did a DIY jobbie.

-Steve

Unfortunately or Fortunately depending on what side of the aurgument you are on, Non-automotive derived engines have been bumped to Bmod and Amod. Production based M/C engined cars can run in Bmod and anything goes in Amod.
Also, If you think a turbo hayabusa motor can be had for as cheap as a turbo G10 you are unfamiliar with the G10. It powered the epic steed the Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift. You can get an entire car for <$500 and build a turbo kit with a cast off T25 for probably <$500 all day long. Now you will only make 120-140hp(if your lucky).. but you will be low weight Dmod legal. I'm really not sure what that car will be. I'm going to finish this one before I start on it, so there is no telling what I will do with it then.

Daniel

Worked some more on the rear shock mounts. I doubled up the top tube below the mounts and have the front side of the mounts done. The backsides need to be cut, and then the pushrod mounts on the uprights and I'll be able to roll the car around!! Soon little car.. Soon!
I'm just going to post a few pictures of the shocks, as there really isn't much to explain. I cut the doubler tube into a C-shape and welded it on, I'm happy with how it turned out as the tube it is loving up against is at a 15 degree rotation, and it fits perfectly.







Thanks for Looking!

Daniel

are you going to leave the shock mounts like that in single shear?

Nope,

I still need to cut the backside of the double shear mount.

Daniel

ah ok missed that in the text sorry..

Awww poop, I was looking forward to the complex origami brackets we had discussed! Looks like KISS wins this round.

Nice to see you're working on your car again.