LocostUSA.com

I've always liked cab-forward. Engine access pretty good?
Sounds like they tax anything that touches/wears on the road.
We have tow dollys that carry two wheels and also tow bars that fold away for storage and flat tow (no wheels off the ground). The steering of the towed vehicle is unlocked and always towed by the front.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

So good! The whole cab flips forward so you're basically just looking at the engine between two frame rails - though you can also lift up the middle seat for minor maintenance or checks.

Flat towing sounds cool, I believe we're allowed to do that here as well but haven't looked too much into it. You usually see it with small vehicles behind RV's (or campervans, as we call them), and I think the vehicle has to be modified, certified, etc. to be legal here.

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Scratch built turbo V8 hot-rod in progress
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19549

I've been preoccupied a bit over the last few weeks redoing our deck.

Before:



And now:



I also acquired a bead roller!



Test beads looked good and I noticed that it came with a large roller which looked about perfect to form the slats on the Jeep grill...



... and I promptly destroyed it Ah well, it's all a learning experience

Some other odds and ends over the weekend: I ground down the welds on the front guards in preparation for making the aluminium skin.



Then I fully welded and ground down the scuttle radius support pieces so I can better fit the scuttle.

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Scratch built turbo V8 hot-rod in progress
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19549

Nice deck. Some kind of maintenance free composite?

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Thanks mate! I was considering composite but got talked out of it because it can get extremely hot in the sun, and the deck bakes in the hot aussie sun most of the day, so I ended up going with Merbau which is a hardwood timber. The boards are 140x19 rather than the original 90x16.

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Scratch built turbo V8 hot-rod in progress
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19549

A small update: based on advice from a member on the ozrodders forum I tried to heat shrink the front grill back to it's original shape.



I heated it with the torch on the front face and then quickly cooled it with a damp cloth. It's not perfect but it's good enough for the moment

I also gave the garage a general tidy up before I start on skinning the front guards.

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Scratch built turbo V8 hot-rod in progress
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19549

Bit of a jumbled update today, my main focus has been making some bits and pieces for the truck to make it more useful. First up is a removable winch so I can pull the hotrod up onto the bed, while avoiding any speculation the truck is a "tow truck" which may need special (read: expensive) registration.

I started with a hitch extension piece from Amazon



Once cut in half this gives the male and female piece for a quick-release winch mount. The male end of the hitch has the baseplate for the winch welded on.



Then the female part of the hitch is attached to a crossmember that goes on the truck tray.



This allows the winch to be lowered down between the cab and tray and fastened with a standard hitch pin.



The winch I chose is a 700kg pull worm drive unit so it can't back-drive from the load, and can be operated with a standard battery drill. It's also small and light enough that I can store it easily in one of the toolboxes on the truck.

Next up I put the cold saw to good use making a rear pipe rack so I can pickup steel from the supplier without having it pre-cut down to short lengths.





It just needs baseplates and a lick of paint and it's done.

I also managed to skin the front right guard from a cardboard template I made.



It isn't perfect but it will definitely do the job.



After that I hammered down the cockpit edge of the scuttle.



And finally checked that the 36-1 trigger wheel I made will fit the original 6 tooth wheel.

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Scratch built turbo V8 hot-rod in progress
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19549

Your project is coming along nicely.

Last time I saw a power hacksaw, I think I wa a pre teen (late 1960's?) with my dad visiting one of his friends at his farm shop. I was amazed someone could invent a machine that would cut metal without manpower. My dad built a lot of things out of steel on our farm, and I was his 'power hacksaw', I worked for cheap - food and a place to sleep

Keep the pics coming, I really enjoy seeing your progress

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle