Apologies if some posts go back-to-back. Because I'm a new user, my posts all need to be approved by mods
ngpmike wrote:
I'll second (in my own lovable style) what Perry said ... LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! If you find that you're close to one of "The Guys" here, they may be able to help with suggestions, a "Watch For" list, Local "Gold Mines" for parts, ETC! Perry is a good source (on his third Locost, if my tally is current), and so are many others. I'm still a "wannabe" builder, but that should change with first robin of Spring. Once again... WELCOME! and Good Hunting!
I'm outside Toronto, I'm not sure if there are any Gurus from the forums - maybe someone will chime in? There are so many knowledgeable people here, it's a great community.
I tried to update my profile, but it's returning an error.
Driven5 wrote:
I hope you're referencing Portland, as that could alleviate any temptation for me. I've never bought a stalled project, only had projects stall. So take this with a grain of salt:
If there is a decent build log available, you can learn a ton about the car by reading through every post of it. With a few notable exceptions, you would find out more from that than anything you can glossing over it in half an hour in somebody's driveway or garage. Ultimately, as long as you would be happy with the majority of component selection and design decisions, and the price is fair for both what has and hasn't been done, I don't see much else to stand in the way of purchasing outside of extremely poor craftsmanship.
Sadly, not Portland. Your project would be great for me, especially because of the build log - but it's very similar. There's no build log on the forums that I know of, but the seller says he has a notebook somewhere with ideas, design intentions, etc. The asking price is about the same as a running/driving donor, the NA chassis' up here have skyrocketed in price lately.
I will say it's not my "dream" locost. But, I think a 1.6L Miata based project will be able to achieve the goals of my first Locost build: to learn and build a safe, fun, reliable car.
TooBusy wrote:
I've bought more than a few stalled projects.
First off, There's nothing done that can't be undone or fixed to your satisfaction.
Look at the frame dimensions and see if it suits you.
Sit in the cockpit and see if there's room for your hips, legs and feet. If it's too small, walk away and don't look back.
Look at the donor bits, especially the motor and diff. Run a compression check if you can, look at oil, plugs, and inside exhaust ports if you can't. You're looking for the usual indicators of a dead or dying motor. As for the dif, get an idea of ratio by turning the input and counting revs per the output 1 revolution. You won't be perfect, but you can narrow it down.
Look at the diff some more and see if you can tell if it's open, viscous, or torsen. There are good ID guides on the Miata forums.
Look at the rest of the donor bits and try to get an idea in your head about what it would cost to buy on the open market.
I typically buy a stalled project for a % of the donor bits value.
Great attitude about what can be done/fixed with enough time/effort/money!
It's supposed to be a +442, so I should fit comfortably enough. (6'1, 230lbs)ish. But one of the things I want to do when I go see it is bring plans and measure it out to know for sure.
Good call on inspecting the donor components. He told me the donor had 23x,xxxkms (143,750mi) and ran when it was disassembled, but it's been sitting for a while now... I'm not banking on this 1.6 lasting forever, but at least a replacement isn't crazy expensive, nor is a 1.8 non-vvt?
Interesting that you buy the projects at a % of the donor parts value, that's some food for thought.