LocostUSA.com

First post on here.

Thinking about building one of these cars back in 2002 led me to the place where my career totally changed and I now own a shop where I can build cool stuff. Right now I'm in the middle of a cyclekart build but know I eventually need to build my locost to justify to myself all the misery and pain I put myself and my family through with 10 years of self employment.

I have access to two Triumph TR3's that have been severely neglected in the Detroit area. Since both chassis are likely to be completely rusted through, and I already owned a TR4 I'm tempted to use them as donor cars for my eventual locost build. It strikes me that lighter/more powerful alternatives exist but I already know how to work on these engines and I gave my Toyota 4AGE with 5-speed tranny away last year.

Has anyone on this list completed a TR based build and if so how did it work out????

Cheers,

John

Off hand, I don't know of any tr builds but there are a couple spitfire and MG builds that have turned out really great!

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks,

I also had a Herald with a Spitfire 1500 engine. I'll have a better idea if it will work when the snow melts and I can go get the cars. If nothing else I can sell the parts to put towards my next project....

Cheers,

John

The downside to the TR3 I think is the weight of the engine and the lack of rack and pinion steering. The front uprights are useable, even though they have a trunnion arrangement at the bottom. The rear axle is the typical live axle, so it very useable, plus the bolt pattern is 4 on 4 1/2", so wheels are relatively easy to find. But, the motor is a bit of a boat anchor in terms of weight, and the gearbox should have a non syncro first gear (if it hasnt been swapped for a TR4, or if the car is a TR3B). They do make decent power and have loads of torque, but I would think that a smaller, lighter motor would be a better option.

Although, if they run, and are cheap, then go right ahead and use them. Keep things Locost.

When it comes to donors, I'm a huge believer in use what you know. To me, a Locost is more about having fun than having the fastest car on the block. Although even with an LBC you'll up with something that's pretty fast. I get a fair amount of criticism for putting a heavy engine in my Locost from people who completely miss the point. I tell them if they don't like my car, build their own Locost and drop in whatever they like.

There will be a couple of things to watch out for with that donor. First is width of the rear axle. Minimum track for a book frame is about 52", and that's with a fairly thin 185 section tire. I think the TR3 track was maybe 46" on a good day. Maybe you could fit a TR4 live axle, and then add bolt-on wheel spacers to make up the difference.

Second is caster in the front suspension. With trunions and king pins, you'll need to position the suspension pickup brackets slightly differently than the book. This is fairly easy to do.

I'm not sure how tall the TR3 motor is, but it's big and probably too tall to fit within the vertical confines of a book Locost. You'll need to figure out how much of the oil pan you want sticking below the frame and how much of the valve cover you want sticking up out of the hood.

That said, there's something pretty special about having all British running gear in a Lotus 7 replica. My advice is go for it. And have fun.

I agree with NIck. GO for it. Having a locost with british sportcar iron as the donor is really kewl.

I its true with trunnions you'll have to weld in caster, so the book control arm mounting is not going to work. there are three of us here (that I know of) who have MGB swivel/kingpin spindles (tho my frame isn't at all book, being a morgan style reverse trike of my own design) but its certainly doable without too much of a headache.

have fun!

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the encouragement, and the welcome.

I doubt I'll be doing a book frame build anyway, I'm getting curious about Car 9 since I would like to end up with something I can run on the track. At this stage it's really just research but since I have access to 2 free TR's and really don't think either one will be worth restoring I am tempted to use the running gear if I can. But, I really like the bike engines that are available now so I will have to struggle with my choices a bit.

First I need to get my cyclekart going though, see you over there....

Cheers,

John

hey John...



Tru dat...

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.