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jazz2561
 Post subject: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 5, 2014, 10:36 pm 
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Location: Frankfort, KY(for now)
I have a question. Say for instance that if I were to design a locost designed to seat four people, what size tubing and wall thickness do I use for the chassis?
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nick47
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 5, 2014, 11:08 pm 
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My Locost will seat four people. Not comfortably.

You're not talking about a big increase in weight. What sort of wheelbase did you have in mind?
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mainlandboy
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 5, 2014, 11:53 pm 
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I've seen a picture of a 4 seat Lotus 7 style kit car. The wheelbase was so long and the proportions are so skewed, that it looked very awkward. I can't seem to find the picture, but will post it if I do.

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jazz2561
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 12:37 am 
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I designed a car with a 138 inch wheelbase. Because if you consider that a rolls Royce phantom or oddball customs bootch, the wheelbase doesn't seem to extreme for a locost.
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RoosterBooster
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 12:52 am 
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if you want to move that many peeps you should buy a minivan :roll: :lol:

seriously .... 138 is a looooooong wb :ack:

IMHO with 4 seats and a wb like that you kinda loose the basics of a locost;
a light, nimble and cheap sports car :wink:

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Driven5
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 1:12 am 
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So you want to build a car with a wheelbase 2/3 of a foot longer than a Chevy Suburban? What size tubing and wall thickness required will depend on a lot of different factors, not the least of which includes the actual chassis design used to extend the length that far.

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jazz2561
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 1:22 am 
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cool cool, what about if I drop the wheelbase to 135 inches and call it a day? I mean I designed it to compete with the jaguar xjr and car like that. They're big cars that can move, so I thought, why the hell not?
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nick47
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 1:39 am 
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Here you go:
Attachment:
fourplace.png


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

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jazz2561
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 1:42 am 
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Its perfect, I have a full design of what it will look like once im done
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Driven5
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 1:56 am 
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Build whatever will make you happy, and have fun with it. For me, if I ever get around to building a 4 seat car, I would base it around the finished project looking like something other than a Lotus 7. A large part of this would be to free myself of numerous constraints that wouldn't complement the end product very well in my opinion. As part of that, I would try not to exceed a 120" wheelbase. I also believe that reasonably attractive vintage inspired body based on relatively simple shapes could still be fabricated by the builder as well.

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Last edited by Driven5 on February 6, 2014, 1:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

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jazz2561
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 1:59 am 
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Driven5 wrote:
Build whatever will make you happy, and have fun with it. For me, if I ever get around to building a 4 seat car, I would base it around the finished project looking like something [i]other[i/] than a Lotus 7. A large part of this would be to free myself of numerous constraints that wouldn't complement the end product very well in my opinion. As part of that, I would try not to exceed a 120" wheelbase. I also believe that reasonably attractive vintage inspired body based on relatively simple shapes could still be fabricated by the builder as well.

I feel you on that, but hey, somebody has to push the limits
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wrightcomputing
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 8:49 am 
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I would raise the rear seats above the rear axle so then the rear occupants legs sit more vertical meaning a significantly shorter wheel base. If not you will need to add about 40" to a standard length just for leg room. You might need a 6 foot roll hoop then though lol.

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rx7locost
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 8:56 am 
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Don't forget to plan for ~6inch or maybe more ground clearance. If you use the traditional 3-1/2" to 4-1/2"ground clearance that 40 inch longer wheelbase will certainly get you high centered quite often. It seems like a dicotomy. Minivan meets sports car. Not my cup 'o tea I must say.

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mainlandboy
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 3:51 pm 
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Have a look at the yellow one on this page:

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthr ... tid=143418

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jazz2561
 Post subject: Re: Say for instance..
PostPosted: February 6, 2014, 3:59 pm 
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wrightcomputing wrote:
I would raise the rear seats above the rear axle so then the rear occupants legs sit more vertical meaning a significantly shorter wheel base. If not you will need to add about 40" to a standard length just for leg room. You might need a 6 foot roll hoop then though lol.

That's what I was thinking
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