LocostUSA.com

I've started a new project and thought you might want to take a look ....

Dick Bear

Wow, Looks great! You formed it yourself?

Whats the ultimate goal?

A home built F-5E Tiger II?

Dick, you have entirely too much time on your hands. I would be happy with just the McBearen. Which, by the way, was a work of art!!!!! I'm sure this latest one will be better. Russ

You know that nose is going to fall off over the first bump with just masking tape holding it on don't you?

Sorry, I forgot to put the linky in for you. I guess you'll have to register to see the thread but it's free and easy to do and ... no one will bother you now or in the future after you do register.

Go to: http://metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11644

Cheapracer, I'm not sure what you mean about masking tape. If you mean that line at the cowl ... it is a sanded weld seam.

Dick Bear

From the side pod up looked like you had sa couple of strips of tape there, just a joke as you realise i'm sure.

Easy to register as you said and well worth the effort, thanks for the heads up and great job!

I can give you some very easy to use simple software to check out your rollcenters in motion if you need.

Here's the flickr.com picture set for the build so far.

Go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mabaan/

Cheers,

Dick Bear

Looks really great. Was the car it's modeled after originally a space frame car? Looks very stiff, but possibly heavy.

Looks also like you are spoolguning, man you do a pretty bit of shaping and sanding. Really inspiring work.

Looks sweet! What engine and transaxle is that?

My wife had to come in to see why I kept saying "That is absolutely gorgeous." over and over again.

I don't like your choice of engine, but I absolutely love everything else.

I prefer subtle to bigger hammer. And also there's the fact that less engine hides it from prying eyes when I accidentally get excited and use too much throttle. And with a car that looks like that a lot of eyes will be watching.

Thanks for the (mostly) positive feedback.

As you know it's a long way from being complete at this point. Many items still need to be worked-out, compromised and tested before it will prove itself worthy or not. That is of course the challenge in building from scratch but it is also the most rewarding.

The original car was not a space frame. My exterior design point of departure was the late '80's Lola Indy driven by Kenny Burnstien and sponsored by Mac Tools and Planters ... it is not a replica nor is it suppose to be although it has the general appearance of the Lola Indy.

The engine is a stock Chevy LT1 rated at 285hp and the transaxle is an Audi/Passat using a custom adaptor plate.

It will have a 116" wheel base, adjustable front and rear wings and (hopefully) at least two pre-determined ride height positions, one for the street and another for the track. I estimate the finished weight to be between 1,250-1,450 lb. and it will be street legal (NC Custom Registration/VIN).

I've named it Mabaan after a tribe in Sudan, Africa with which I have had a lifelong association having nothing to do with automobiles.

Dick Bear

116" is a long way for the front wheels to talk to the back wheels and is common for ground effects/wing cars required for aero reasons but your making a track day car, why so long?

100" would be ample for what you want to achieve - turning corners at much slower speeds.

Dick,
What other details can you give us about the trans? What year Passat did it come from? Is the adaptor something you designed? Does it use stock GM components for the clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing? Are you making a customer shift mechanism?

The body looks fantastic.

Based on driving my car, I can tell you that yours will be plenty fast and will most likely handle just as well. I am using about a 4" ride height with a 118" wheelbase. I didn't have any issues with bottoming out on the one track I took it too (the roughest I go to). You could probably look at lowering it slightly more if you want to. It will all depend on the spring rates you end up with.

Keep the pictures coming.

Ken

Ken a question on your engine choice.

Why the V8 (price?) when you could have put a Subie engine and tranny in the same space without the hassle of custom this or that?

The Subie is a flat engine and therefore has better weight distribution plus it would be lighter. Upgradability and a bazillion hp doesn't seem to be your main criteria since you are using a stock <300hp engine.

Or is it the V8 is more in keeping with the original? I don't remember what was in the original.

Everyone uses whatever engine turns them on and I'm not faulting you for it, I'm just wondering the logic behind it. I've found that by asking questions I learn things I wasn't expecting to.

As to the wheelbase, do you have any idea of the turning radius? The longer wheelbase should let it ride better on the road.