After having spent quite a bit of time recently putting together my mcsorley book chassis i thought id do a search on the forum for details on additional strengthening. Obviously this unearthed a whole heap of threads, but the one thing that quite shocked me was the statement made by someone saying that most homebuilt locosts fall to pieces after the first 500 km's.

Well i certainly hope that doesnt happen, but just to clear things up in my head has anyone exprienced any problems with a book chassis cracking at welded joints etc.

Also ive modified the backend to have a tiger avon setup to allow the rear to be sierra donor parts. Only reason for this is because the avon dimensions are available in the Jim Dudley book, so it seemed sensible.

Mine is 4 yrs old and hasn't fallen to bits yet!

Depends on the welding I guess.................



[Edited on 13/10/04 by Surrey Dave]

Sounds like a complete load of tosh to me chris, one good thing about the net you get loads of help/advice from guys who've been there but theres just as many tossers as well,thank god we aint got too many of them on this site.
Cheers,
Bob

Falling apart after 500km? complete pants. URL to the post please so we can all tear it to shreds. thank you.

but theres just as many tossers as well


Oi

Mick

Load of crap, I've hammered mine in all sorts of conditions over about 2500 miles since March and it hasn't shown one sign of weakness. This is built to McSorley book plans with steel floor.

Cheers

Chris,

Post a link will ya.

If it helps you believe us- Hicost's enlarged chassis (which has had to cope with 400+BHP) was built in about '96 and did over 40,000 miles before he sold it.
It was somewhat re-inforced with a few gussets here and there but that was about it AFAIK.

Atb,

James

The worse I've seen is a bent wishbone and stories of chassis-side trailing arm brackets suffering from fatigue due to twisting forces applied to them.
Over engineer anything you have worries about and you should be fine, it's a tried and tested design afterall

quote:

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Originally posted by Mix
but theres just as many tossers as well


Oi

Mick

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Hi,
Regarding the statement about most locosts "falling to pieces" after 500 miles. Was this specifically talking about the chassis?

I wouldn't be too surprised if "something" fell off or stopped working after 500 miles (or even 50 miles) because of the very nature of an amateur build with so many areas which could be deficient in some (hopefully) minor way. Production cars have stringent quality controls to minimise this sort of thing but even then you can get a Friday afternoon car with dozens of faults.

Has anyone managed to build a Locost from scratch and, once it was put on the road, never had to repair anything, ever?? Well done if you have but I'd doubt it!

Cheers,
Craig.

Here you go guys a link to the post i mentioned originally posted by "TheGecko"


http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=17735&page=2

Chris,
Reading that, I wouldn't think that was really what he was saying. Posted in full:
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Jermyn,

I think you make a quite valid point. Many (many) cars have been built to the book design or close to it. So they fall apart after the first 500 kilometers? Generally, no (need to make the distinction between design quality and build quality ).

If you're looking for a stiffer chassis, try the Australian chassis mods. We have to actually pass physical tests of the chassis here so the Aussie mods are tested and known to work.

I'm building a mid-engined car only loosely inspired by the Locost so I'm doing a fair bit of planning and checking to ensure that my chassis is stiff and strong enough to: be legal, handle well, and be safe.

If you're building a book Locost in the UK, I'd say leave it alone.

Edit: just noticed you're in the US - the only reason you might make significant chassis mods is to deal with different donor components.

Dominic

[Edited on 22/9/2004 by TheGecko]

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In fact he's saying quote: "generally, no" they don't fall apart!

Anyway, stop worrying and start building- it's far more fun!

Cheers,

James

DOH

shouldnt have read so late last night should i.

Appologies to TheGecko.

Im getting on nicely with my chassis build now and ive just finished creating the custom R1 engine mount, so soon ill be doing the floor and the rest.
Cant wait to see it on its wheels tho.

That leads me to a question tho.

When you weldthe floor to the chassis do you bond it with some sealant first or will the welding just burnit away?
Imjust thinking of how you make it watertight.

Cheers everyone.
Thought id attach a picture anyway.
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/2IMG_1163.JPG
PS no wise cracks about the suspension brackets beingin the wrong place please.

[Edited on 14/10/04 by ChrisS]

[Edited on 14/10/04 by ChrisS]

Weld it first, seal it later. I think most people fully weld the floor, then paint it, so shouldn't really need sealant. I'm not at that stage yet though, not entirely sure.

by the way, your suspension brackets are in the wrong place.

quote:

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Originally posted by blueshift
by the way, your suspension brackets are in the wrong place.

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how long till you catch the carpet alight.....



atb

steve

ps

I dont think the seat in the pic is gonna fit - and you need two...

quote:

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Originally posted by blueshift
Weld it first, seal it later. I think most people fully weld the floor, then paint it, so shouldn't really need sealant. I'm not at that stage yet though, not entirely sure.

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Ive been doing most of welding whilst theres been a 3 sheet mdf base ontop of my tressels. ive only just put the chassis like that to have a tidy up.

Besides i like me carpet makes it more comfy to work in the garage, although i have noticed that the hot bits of weld spatter making little holes in the carpet yesterday, so i guess ill be covering the floor or moving the carpet soon.

PS james your wrong about the wings cos i reckon just putting an arm out each side will be just as effective once roadworthy. Its gonna be a real flyer.

MM Shame about the diag in the front section as its already fully welded, as is most of the chassis now. looks like another DOH.
Ill have to get clever with the grinder by the looks of it. Damm.

[Edited on 15/10/04 by ChrisS]

quote:

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Originally posted by ChrisS

MM Shame about the diag in the front section as its already fully welded, as is most of the chassis now. looks like another DOH.
Ill have to get clever with the grinder by the looks of it. Damm.

[Edited on 15/10/04 by ChrisS]

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you will eventually set something alight. Ive had my clothes on fire twice with sparks from a grinder. The carpet will also get ingrained with metal shards and crap.

atb

steve

Hah - I remember setting my parka alight in my dad's workshop as a kid - they had a sort of cotton waste insulation. I remeber thinking "my what a warm day it suddenly is" & taking the coat off. Immediately massive flames!
People who smoke in bed often have similar experiences, waking up feeling very hot - opening a window - getting back into bed & whoof, massive flames!
Bob