Need some advice im kind new to all this and wanted a few thoughts from you guys with experience. i have a garage roughly 16ft by 8ft and 6.5" high. do you guys think this space is sufficient to build a locost car in?? Heres a pic of the garage course the junk will be cleared
Rescued attachment garage3.JPG

sorry i didnt think the picture would turn out that big

I'm not very good at feet and inches.. and I'm drunk.. but I figure if you can fit a locost in it with 6 inches all around, it's enough space at a pinch. anything more is gravy (like space for Stuff or workbench, welder etc).

Have you got a driveway or similar you can use? Once you've got the wheels on you could wheel it out for more space if you find you haven't got enough space (weather permitting)

Pete

oh yeah. some people (mark allanson?) have assembled their cars outside, you could keep it under a tarp or something, and use the garage as a workshop. possible?

we've got a smallish single garage, not sure of the dimensions. we have our build table built over the engine at the moment, with enough room for a workbench at the end and some shelving down the sides. all other bits and bobs are scattered around the house / shed etc

I have a garage of similar dimensions and am coping alright. I found suspending a bench on the rear wall gives you ample space to work whilst still allowing you to fit a whole sierra in. You'll have enough space to erect a flat work surface and still store parts beneath that and your bench.

The only problems I have are light and electricity. Light in the summer is no problem, but electricity is a bit of a pain. I tried hooking up my MIG to a generator, but the MIG didn't want to know. My part finished chassis is now at my parents house were electricity is in abundance. It'll prolly be there for a couple of months before coming home. :-)

Good luck with the build though.
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underside.
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Lucky bastard!!
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With regard to the garage...

10ltrs of white emulsion on those walls should give you 50% more reflected light and would cost less than a tenner! One strip light in the centre (preferably two, one either side is better!)

You deffo need a bench with a decent vice... looks like we did our build in comparative luxury... No heat, but light and power!

Mark - so you have a snow machine show off!

Firstly I've never built a Locost - Yet! but have done other car projects.

I've seen various people prepare the "big lump" ie. bodyshell (or in this case Chassis) and then have no room left to work on other parts because yhey are tripping over their bodyshell (often damaging it).

The approach i prefer is to prepare the smaller parts, such as wishbones or overhauling the donor components replacing bearings, seals brake linings etc. these parts can then be stored away in shed cupboard loft etc. and then just used when required.

When you do build you can then very quickly get it to a stage where you can at least wheel it in and out of the garage to allow room to work.

I read an aricle in a magazine years ago about equiping a very basic council lock up type garage and included such common sense items such as using an old 12v battery to have some light and an old calor gas heater so you can at least stay warm in winter, i've probably still got it and can dig it out if required.

Hey Franky....

Good logic there.....that does make more sense...probably needs a lot of discpline not to make the frame first, but definitely worth considering...

Oh yeah....Welcome to the madhouse..

hey guys thanx for your thought you've been real helpful i've got plenty of garden space so i'll be doing most work outside.

hey could u dig out the piece of council thing if its not too much of a hassel, cheers

have to agree with the paint suggestion. It does make it much lighter.
Rescued attachment garage_painted.jpg

a quick me too. got a load of cheap paint and bits from wilko, white garage is lighter and also feels nicer to work in. cleaner and more productive, rather than grubby mismatched bricks and mortar.

Im a bit tight for space in a single but better than SCOTLAD who did his on a patio in a scottish winter. Hardcore!
We got a shed to store the bits in then bring them to the work area for assembly

[Edited on 4-7-04 by mangogrooveworkshop]
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not much room plenty of bench and scottish weather!
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Ooh ooh!! I want your place! We live in an apartment complex, with NO garage, NO patio, and a strict policy against doing ANYTHING mechanical to your car in the parking lots.

I took my spark plugs out one day, and got yelled at for it. I SO MUCH wanted to say "This isn't mechanical, it's electrical!!"

My best bet is a relative or friend's house, or cleaning/storing the parts in the closet before building the frame. The engine is in my daily driver, so I would just have to wait as long as possible to build the frame and buy the tranny/axles.

You could get some 4x2 beams (use galv. brackets from builders merchant) and make a structure to support the body panels near the roof whilst using the floor space. White paint is a must for visibility. Good floor/concrete paint (I prefer International floor paints grey - B&Q) will make those droped nuts/bolts easier to find as building progresses.

As requested i've copied the magazine article i referred to earlier and have put it as a new post in the tools section.

For what it's worth after my original comments i looked at Chris_R's build site and his garage appears to be exactly as described. I'm also saying this to stick up for a fellow Geordie in the face of all you southerners.

Hope the article is of some help

I envy anyone with any garage..I built my frame in a hanger at work but we've since sold that hanger..I also live in an apartment but should be getting a house soon. I have plans to use an etching floor paint as well because it makes it much brighter and is nicer to "roll around" on.
Our hangers have painted floors and it sold me....

...outside in a Scottish winter!!!!....now thats really wanting it!!!!..

Fletch,

Have looked into 12v lighting as I don't like running my generator for extended periods (being bang in the middle of a housing estate). I'd hoped that floor paint would be a good idea, but to be honest I can't tell yet. The photo on the previous page shows a large tin at the front left of the garage, which still contains all the floor paint that arrived in it. Unfortunately there's too much in the garage to give it the twice over. Will let you know if I ever get round to using it.

ive used leyland red floor paint in my cellar, im not sure if its cos id only concreted the cellar floor 3 days prior to painting or cos of the rising damp, but if it gets even a little bit of standing water on it, it starts to dissolve!
probably just cos of the uncured concrete though!
cant wait to get round to ripping my garage down and rebuild it ABSOLUTELY HUGE! Yippeeee. at the moment my 'slide over' door hits the ceiling and dislodges from the roller groove things and goes all cockeyed!

i guess i dont have it so bad!!!

i am building mine in a 20' shipping container which is in my garden . am having 3 phase put in it on tuesday then gas heater and will have a fantastic little workshop. am having 3 phase cos i have a lathe and miller

Liam,

Purely out of curiosity, how much does 3 phase cost to put in?

My father told me it was expensive when I was considering a 3 phase lathe I was offered cheaply (and wanted to put in his garage! ) but I'd like to know.

Thanks,

James

Buy an inverter (RS and Farnell do 'em). You get to plug into a domestic plug and run a 3 phase motor at variable speed.
Most small 3 phase motors are wired star to the mains and if wired delta to the inverter outputs will give full torque/power.
I design these things for a living. When I bought my lathe the seller said he "had to let it go as he didn't have 3 phase"
"Oh dear" I said, trying to keep my face straight... mind you, I get 'em free...
Bob C

Just checked what they're going for in Farnell - 1 horse about £180 - then add VAT. Interesting 'cos I know what we make 'em for - divide by about 4 to 5!!!!!!
Bob C

Hmmmm. Had a look at RS Comp. There are loads.
Which type would be best suited for domestic application, so I could accidently order the wrong one at work....

John

To do the job you want a 240V single phase input type.
To keep all the telly's on your street working (!) you want a "filtered" sort with a built in or matched mains input filter.
Then it's how do you want to control it - I suspect you'd want an on/off switch and a pot for the speed. Often you have to pay extra for "programming" or "parameter" modules,keep it all simple & you hopefully shouldn't need these.
cheers
Bob

Are inverters DIYable? If so how do they go together?

DIY - only if you're me . . . ;^0
There are evaluation kit type things from people like microchip who are trying to sell controllers for 'em - but they cost more than a commercial inverter. IGBT and gate drive suppliers also make demo type things, none really a DIY inverter. Your problem is that man years of development go into making a commercially viable product. Any less & warranty claims kill you off.
These are seriously handy things for the home workshop - if you can acquire one by any means you can probably run all your machines individually by plugging them in one at a time.
Bob C

james

regarding cost of installing 3 phase
I don't honestly know, we have outbuildings which we used to rent out as business premises but that has long gone now and they are flats now. but the last person who had the place as a business had a laundry and had 3 phase put for his business. it is still live so i will make the most of it. I had heard it was really expensive

Here is how to generate those extra phases if you truly need 3 phase power.
Home Made Phase Converter

[Edited on 14/7/04 by drmike54]

bit complicated then?

http://www.isomatic.co.uk/3phConverter.htm

Looks like a solution but I don't see a price list.

Speaking from a tremendous ignorance...

Don't car alternaters put out 3 phase?
(after reading the link on the DIY tig welder).

Um...
Can you add them together like you can batteries??
In order to get enough grunt that is.

Picture the locost engine hooked up to half a doesn't alternators ... generating electricity to power the lathe that's building the bit to hold the engine in...
Maybe not.


- Greg H