Rod's Locost 5.0

[Locost 5.0]

I was wondering if you had a spreadsheet that has your cars suspension geometry or measurements for your lower control arms. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I think I'm finally get the upper hand on this pneumonia, evil stuff! Six weeks and still recovering.

aschid167, I have the dimensions for the lower a-arms, 18" from center of rod ends to center of the ball joint. 7/8 od dom tubing, .156 wall. Tapped for 5/8 rod ends.

Rod

[Wiz]

Rod, Beutiful summary of your build, Loved it. question of your wind screens, where etched with appropriate stamp for passing your inspection? What did the DMV say about no wipers and those screens? Iam in Arizona and really dont want a standard wind shield.


Thanks

Bob

[Locost 5.0]

No markings on the glass, but they are laminated. The DMV has never seen the car, inspection was done by the CHP. They never said a thing about the screens or no wipers! I didn't ask. I've been pulled over a couple of times, one CHP said he didn't see a windshield when I drove by him. When he walked up to the car, he saw the screens and sent me on my way. Didn't even check my license. I've driven it all over Oregon and Nevada with no problems.

Rod

[Wiz]

Hmm, that pretty amazing really. I figured they wold all over you. Gonna have to look into those.

[Locost 5.0]

I'm still driving with no front fenders too.

[Lonnie-S]

Hi Rod,

How goes driving with the Locost? What are your total miles traveled now?

I knew I'd be back to your build log frequently once I really got going. I'm not building yet, but do have a wooden mock-up and am now taking out the minor systems and accessory items from my donor, a '94 Mustang. There is a lot of detail work to be done on my design yet.

The accelerator pedal and brake/clutch setup from my Mustang looks exactly like yours as does the brake master cylinder & vacuum assist cannister. My recollection was that you used your Mustang donor's setup and I can see from page 4 that's correct. On page 5 I see you swapped in a Wilwood master cylinder. How is that working out?

Have you experienced any problems or performance issues with the semi-stock brake setup? How about any flexing of the area where the stock Mustang brake/clutch bracket mounts to the Locost chassis? I see you basically extended vertically from the firewall (tube Q in the Champion book, pg. 42?). My bracket is the same as yours, but my Mustang donor has a sheet metal bumper above the bracket and decending down from the cowl area that seems to be intended to take a bolt from the brake/clutch bracket assembly. There's a hole, but no bolt. Maybe they discovered it wasn't necessary and the 4 firewall bolts were sufficient?

I was also hopeful that I could use the Mustang seat frames with re-cut cushions. However, after a trial fit in my mock-up, I don't think they'll work even with cut down cushions. The tilt/recline hardware on the seats is just too wide. How are the Kirkey seats working out? I know you and your wife do a good bit of traveling with the Locost. Are they comfortable enough on long rides? Racer Al in B.C. is using them too, but he's not on the road yet, so may not know how they will feel after 100 miles.

Thanks,

Lonnie

[Locost 5.0]

Hi Lonnie,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I haven't checked the mileage lately, probably around 15k or 16k. Been working on the fuel injection a lot, software and hardware upgrades. Runs even better, gas mileage is up too!

I used the gas, clutch and brake pedals, all with quite a bit of modification. I ditched the stock master and booster, in favor of a Wilwood master and no booster. It works great, the booster would be over kill. I think the pedal pressure is perfect for me. The fronts are 10.75" Wilwoods with aluminum hubs., the rear are stock Ford disks. I used braided brake lines too, you can really feel the difference compared to stock type rubber lines.

At first the pedal mounts flexed quite a bit, had to add a lot more triangulation than I thought it would need.

The seats are working out great, it would be nice to have some sort of suspension type lower cushion. I plan on doing that in the future. We've done many 8 hour trips without too much fatigue. I did add adjustable lumbar supports with a bulb to pump them up. Kirkey's have crappy lumbar support!

Rod

[Lonnie-S]

Hi Lonnie,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I haven't checked the mileage lately, probably around 15k or 16k. Been working on the fuel injection a lot, software and hardware upgrades. Runs even better, gas mileage is up too!

I used the gas, clutch and brake pedals, all with quite a bit of modification. I ditched the stock master and booster, in favor of a Wilwood master and no booster. It works great, the booster would be over kill. I think the pedal pressure is perfect for me. The fronts are 10.75" Wilwoods with aluminum hubs., the rear are stock Ford disks. I used braided brake lines too, you can really feel the difference compared to stock type rubber lines.

At first the pedal mounts flexed quite a bit, had to add a lot more triangulation than I thought it would need.

The seats are working out great, it would be nice to have some sort of suspension type lower cushion. I plan on doing that in the future. We've done many 8 hour trips without too much fatigue. I did add adjustable lumbar supports with a bulb to pump them up. Kirkey's have crappy lumbar support!

Rod

Thanks for getting back to me, Rod. I'm glad to hear you're still having fun. Eight hours driving is a good long stint, so that's impressive it can be done with simple seats and padding.

Actually, your response is all-around good news for my plans. By using as much stock (donor) stuff as possible, I hope to keep my costs under control. Not needing the vacuum booster is really excellent news because it is so bloody huge. Do you have any photos of your completed pedal box arrangements? Did you re-use the Mustang brake proportioning valve? I've kept mine, but since it does not seem to be adjustable, I'm not sure the Mustang proportioning will apply well to a Locost. I have to learn a little more about how the donor proportioning works.

I just rechecked my caliper-to-chassis hoses and they are indeed plain, black rubber. That tip on the braided brake lines is appreciated. Right now, I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible just to get my car done. I'm trying to stay really focused and leave the nice-to-have, but not really necessary things until later. So, the braided lines sound like a "Phase II" improvement in my case. However, I'm very glad to know about it.

Cheers,

Lonnie

[Locost 5.0]

Lonnie,

I'll have to look through my pictures, I'm sure I have one somewhere. It will be a few day till I can get to it.

I used an adjustable after market proportioning valve. Its real easy to let upgrades get in the way and slow you down, like you said you can do them later.

Rod

[Locost 5.0]

Drove the 7 to the coast for a few days. From Marina to Cambria and some side roads, had a blast! Posted some pics on Photobucket.



Highway 1

http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p3/b ... ghway%201/






Nacimiento Furgusson Road

http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p3/b ... er%202011/

Rod

[monte montemagni]

[quote="Locost 5.0"]Drove the 7 to the coast for a few days. From Marina to Cambria and some side roads, had a blast! Posted some pics on Photobucket.



Highway 1

http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p3/b ... ghway%201/

Hey Rod! Major cool and inspirational pics! Doing my best to get there as well.....

Question: I'm going to see John this Friday. If you want to check out the dif parts I will give him your name and get back to you if he still has them.....

Best,
M

[Locost 5.0]

Please do Monte. Thanks for remembering!

Rod

[a.moore]

Great shots Rod. You guys sure do have some nice driving roads.

[reddeth]

Rod, as always the car looks great. I'm curious about how you've taken to running without fenders; have you had any issues with rocks being thrown up or water?

[Lonnie-S]

Rod,

It looks like you've added a slick little luggage rack above the boot. Or, is it something else at back?

Cheers,

Lonnie