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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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 Post subject: Ten Years of Locosting
PostPosted: June 2, 2016, 5:08 pm 
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Joined: July 4, 2006, 5:40 pm
Posts: 1994
Location: Novato, CA
Hard to believe it's been ten years since I joined this site. Back in '06 I had just heard about Locosts through miata.net, and started following Keith Tanner's build log. Two months later my daughter left for college and I spent the rest of the year building a mock-up frame out of wood. That frame hung in the garage as a reminder for three years until my girlfriend finally prodded me into taking a welding class. The following year she bought me a Millermatic 140 for my birthday, and within days I started my Locost. Three years later I was driving it, and still am.

LocostUSA changed a lot over the last ten years. In '06 there were only a handful of completed cars. The second Champion book was still in print and you could buy it new at a discount. Most members on the site were talking about their plans for a build. Only a few had started construction. We all had the same questions, and the answers were mostly a spectrum of opinions. It was an exciting time on the forum, full of anticipation. Car and Driver published their article on the 'Homebuilts', inspiring thousands and turning a couple of our forum contributors into Locost legends.

The forum changed over the years as more and more people started and then completed their builds. When I joined there wasn't any 'After The Build' section. A lot of the build log threads were just dreams, with little or no actual construction. 'Completed Builds Showcase' had maybe three threads, all started by Chet. 'Building Your Own Frame' was about building versus buying a book frame, not about alternatives to book frames. Back then there were still a few outfits who would sell you a welded-up Locost frame, in case you wanted to skip that step, which a lot of the early builders did.

LocostUSA has always been a great reference for anyone wanting to build their own car, and it's even better now. Today you can ask questions, and get answers that have the ring of first-hand experience. There's a lot more variety on the site as well. Whether you want to put together a standard Locost, restore a '57 Chevy, build a Midlana clone, or reconstruct a 1930's LeMans car out of carbon fiber, you can probably find information here to help you out. Hard to say what the Locost world will look like in 2026, but with any luck there will still be people building cars from scratch, and LocostUSA will be as popular as ever.


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PostPosted: June 2, 2016, 5:19 pm 
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Joined: January 31, 2008, 5:34 pm
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Location: SW Wes Consin
I have often wondered just how big the LocostUSA data base is. And I worry when parts of it seem to disappear occasionally.


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PostPosted: June 2, 2016, 5:51 pm 
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Joined: April 5, 2008, 2:25 am
Posts: 4829
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
vroom wrote:
I have often wondered just how big the LocostUSA data base is. And I worry when parts of it seem to disappear occasionally.


The parts that worry be about disappearing are the pictures. Pictures not hosted here have a bad habit of disappearing and without the pics so many of the threads are useless. People always say they'll stay posted forever, but after a few years they usually begin disappearing, plus they load faster when they are hosted here. A lot of us don't live in the middle of big cities and consistent high speed internet is simply not an option.

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PostPosted: June 2, 2016, 6:01 pm 
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Joined: June 24, 2007, 6:04 pm
Posts: 1521
I agree it is an amazing site, I joined in 2007, a year later than Nick47 and compliments to Chet, he was a big influence as well as Jack and many many others.
Back then we mostly shared our dreams, our ideas and blundered along.
A number of us got cars road ready eventually, mine in 2011, has it been 5 years already?
The forum has changed, the technology and skill sets keep rising on current builds, in some ways I feel like my build is a model T compared to some of the builds going on today.
This forum is the standard other forums only hope to achieve.
Congrats to us all and especially to the ones that conceived this site :cheers:

Al

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PostPosted: June 3, 2016, 3:32 pm 
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Joined: May 27, 2006, 9:46 pm
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Location: BC, Canada. eh?
Good Lord! I just looked at my avatar panel, and realized I've been here 10 years, too!! What's REALLY embarrassing is that my car still isn't done! In fairness, I did have a few years in there without a place to work on it, but I'm back at it now, and sincerely hoping for engine-start this summer. I have narrowed the build down now to major components, in manageable chunks, so I have an actual "plan". So far, anyway! :D

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PostPosted: June 3, 2016, 4:47 pm 
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Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
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Location: SoCal
10 years here for me as well but was building Kimini 10 years before that!

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PostPosted: June 3, 2016, 7:20 pm 
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Always Moore!
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Joined: November 9, 2007, 3:40 pm
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA
I'm approaching 9 years. When I joined I was finishing school and trying to find a job - times do change.

Its great to see the number of finished builds. I think there may have been two or three finished cars on the board and the rest were in various states of completion about a decade ago.

Along with the number of completed cars, the quality of the builds has significantly increased over the years. The book frame left a lot to be desired - people have figured out all sorts of ways to dramatically improve it. Its nice having somewhere on the internet where stuff is actually being created.

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PostPosted: June 3, 2016, 8:05 pm 
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Joined: August 27, 2005, 1:04 am
Posts: 1414
Location: Kamloops, BC, Canada
Wow, time flies. I've been here over 10 years too, and I started building my car a couple years before that. There's definitely been an increase in the number of cars since then. I just hope I'm still enjoying my car in another 10 years. Or maybe I should start another one now and maybe have it done ten years from now.
Kristian

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PostPosted: June 3, 2016, 8:12 pm 
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Joined: July 17, 2008, 9:11 am
Posts: 6414
Location: West Chicago,IL
I'm coming up on 8 yrs myself. Things on this site are definitely different from back then. The quality of the builds has definitely improved. There are non-traditional builds now. Without taking count, I'd say they may out number the traditional builds. Varieties include Rear engine cars, A-T-O-Mesque builds , 2F-1R trikes, Micro cars, Model T's, Volvos, L Not to mention all these 'Mericun V-8 builds nowadays. There wasn't this much variety back then. The number of "experts" who share knowledge continue to grow.

This is a great site! Thanks Chet for starting this and all the moderators for all the unrewarded efforts.

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“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


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PostPosted: June 6, 2016, 10:59 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2008, 2:13 pm
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
Reading through this thread motivated me to re-exam my own Locost path tonight. I'm glad I did because it made me feel much better. It's been at least 8 years in my case, but with a lot of prerequisite tasks taken on and completed along the way.

I was hanging around and reading a lot of this site for a year or more before I actually joined. It took that amount of time to get myself believing it would be possible for me to complete a project of this magnitude. I actually signed up for real in October of 2008. At that time, I was still creating a 3D model of the Haynes RHD chassis from Chris' book with thoughts of a Merkur donor and doing a 3D, LHD version as a follow up, from which I would actually build my own Locost.

It took me until May of 2011 to revamp my garage, get my tools, find a donor and do a one-off, 3D version of the Haynes chassis which is actually a sort of Champion/Haynes hybrid chassis. It's Haynes in most places, but with a live rear axle and rear suspension taken largely from the Champion design.

After that I built a wooden mockup to prove my design, then started my rather elaborate build table in December of 2011. I didn't cut my first chassis tubes until February of 2012. So, I guess you could say I've only been building for a little over 4 years. That may seem like a long time, but if I told you all the issues and events we've had to deal with in our "real-life" lives over those same 4 years, you'd understand why it actually isn't. We had a shi*load of stuff we had to overcome.

I actually feel more confident now that I'll actually finish this car than I have at any time in the past. After reviewing my own build log tonight, I am really grateful for this site and all the terrific people on it. I have come a long, long way in terms of my confidence, my fabrication skills and my willingness to take on some fairly significant design challenges. It is primarily due to my participation here on Locost USA. I belong to several automotive-related websites. Locost USA is by far the most helpful, friendliest, least contentious, most productive site I belong to and I want to thank all who have helped me here. There are literally too many to list from memory. But, a heartfelt thanks to everyone. It's been a very positive experience and it ain't over yet!

Cheers,

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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: June 7, 2016, 9:05 am 
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Joined: June 15, 2010, 8:29 am
Posts: 651
Location: Duxbury, MA USA
About 9 years for me. I was active on the Yahoo site in my early years and did not post my build log here until 2010 when the car was nearly finished. Now legal and on the road for 3 years with the Locost. I am still ??? years away for the Sequel. It has not gotten much attention lately due to the house taking all of my spare time since the great winter disaster of 2015.
I would say that the Locost inspires far more curiosity and cell phone picture taking than either the Europa or the NSX. ...or is it just a thing to hold your cell phone against your car window for some random reason?

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PostPosted: June 7, 2016, 11:04 am 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
It's been roughly 9 years for me on this board and probably 3 or 4 before that on the Yahoo site. So far 2 cars completed and if you could call it a third (Europa restomod), should be done hopefully this fall/early spring 2017. Some days I wish I still had the first two cars, but then I think to myself why not just build another one. I think I have enough spare parts stashed away for at least one car....


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PostPosted: June 8, 2016, 10:26 pm 
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Joined: May 25, 2006, 9:39 pm
Posts: 346
ten years for me too. I mentioned that on another thread some where as I thought it was quite a milestone. Congrats to all of us and for all those building. Keep calm and carry on!


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PostPosted: July 4, 2016, 9:21 am 
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Joined: January 31, 2008, 5:34 pm
Posts: 781
Location: SW Wes Consin
Eight years for me. It all started with that pesky Kimini book. It has been quite a learning experience thanks for all the advice and encouragement. I tell those that ask that I am about half done.


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PostPosted: July 4, 2016, 9:43 am 
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Joined: March 3, 2006, 10:48 pm
Posts: 1590
Location: Shawnee, Ks
11 years exactly when I started my desire to build a 7. Found an original British made Locost on ebay and it was cheaper to buy that than to build a new one. After 11 years of ups and downs I still come back after a blat with a big grin and feeling 30 years younger. The fun we have at our Midwest Gatherings and the constant attention, from the general public, all of our cars get is amazing. I realize that someday I will have to get rid of my "other wife" but for now I will just enjoy driving her. My other wife, Jane, is safe for now. Russ

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