Hi all, I am a complete beginer, bought the book and is very keen to start. BUT, (I know that there are lost of posts on having a big frame) I want to have more space in the car.

I have read people talking about a +4 chasis, what is it, andf are there plans for it around.

Thanks,

Travis

Hi there and welcome to the forum,

There are plans done by a chap called Jim Mcscorely, do a search on here for him and you will find a link to his website, the plans are downloadable from there for free.

Hello,

As Col said, McSorley plans are available on the website here!

Regards,

Chris.

Mines +4 - have a look onthe website below.

Cheers

Chris

Travis,

Think very carefully before going down this route.
I've changed my chassis and it made the whole thing take a lot longer. Okay, so mine was more complex than just 4" down the middle but you'll still have problems getting bodywork to fit.

Have a go in a couple of Locosts before changing the plans to make sure they really are to small.

The more you deviate from the original plans the longer the whole project will take you.

Hope the helps,

James

Thanks for the replies.

I will try the out a few if I can and make my choice. I am wanting more space but if it will make the task longer it might not be such a good idea.

But having said that it may all depend on the type of donor car I get my hands on. I am in South Africa so second hand scrapped cars are not cheap like in the UK.
For an escort in semi running order would be around R3500 - R4500 , around 300 pounds, so I wil have be a little inventive to keep costs down.

Thanks again

Travis

You know, in my previous post I was thinking I ought to tell you to update your profile so we knew where you were. Then you could come to a meet and try some out!
Guess it's only a few thousand miles!

Look for user : Mangogrooveworkshop. He used to (or does, or something) live in SA so he may be able to advise you.

On the donor front- they sold the Cortina in SA didn't they? That would be your ideal donor if you can find one and the running gear is the same as UK ones.

Hope that helps,
James

P.S. From everything we hear about SA, is it really safe to drive around in a car that doesn't have bullet proof glass and fully encompassing bodywork?

quote:

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Originally posted by James
On the donor front- they sold the Cortina in SA didn't they? That would be your ideal donor if you can find one and the running gear is the same as UK ones.

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Travis, have you registered yourself at www.locost.co.za yet?

There is quite a few guys who have already built there own Locosts who may give you very specific info re local parts to use.

Brad our founding father also sells Locost chassis' & other stuff.

I'm also only starting out - planning to go +442 and am bracing myself for problems cropping up with bodywork.

Howdy

I'm not so worried about the bullet proof, hope fully the car will be faster than the speeding bullet . I live in a smallish town so it is relatively safe.

I am more worried about the heat. I'm sure that this would be sacrelige , but has anyone done a car with aircon and a roof ?

from your opinions, is it worth building from scratch or buying a kit. I am hoping to do this cheaply, but i might be kidding myself on how much I could save. No ppoint in being penny wise and pound foolish.

Travis

Travis,
I'd encourage you to go for a +4" chassis as I firmly believe that this could well become the "standard" over the next few years. James is correct that it will take you longer but going +4" will not prolong your project nearly as much as, for example, changing from live axle/de-dion to IRS suspension. I am building a +4" car and to be honest the bodywork is the only real issue I have found. My solution to this is to simply cut a standard set of bodywork down the middle and add in 4 inches of fibreglass. Not difficult really. Also, there are a few companies who are at the very least "considering" making +4" moulds and I think there is at least one company actually producing them. GTS Tuning were trying to get just 6 firm orders for +4" bodywork in order to justify the startup costs.

The advantages are that you can have a much better choice of seats, have more room for your pedals and be able to accommodate larger engines such as the Rover V8 I am using.

Good luck and welcome to LocostBuilders!
Craig.

Hi craig

I am not too worried about the body work. I will be making it myself so making it to fit won't be too much more difficult.

The kits we have here are pretty pricey, and I want to learn as much as i can about the process, got some crazy ideas I want to playwith.

Travis

Oh yeah, and the escort steering rack is actually the right size for a +4 chassis, so you shouldn't get bump steer (not nearly as badly as the book chassis guys)

So , if i was to buy a book chassis , and then decide my volvo running gear wont fit because its too narrow , where would i want to cut out and add 4 inch extra .

this is just hypotheteically speaking , since my 4cyl engine leans over quite a bit , and the turbo may hit the chassis rails . sorry for the thread hijack

Hi,
I'm not sure that I'd recommend adding 4 inches to an existing chassis. I built mine 4 inches wider from scratch using the Mcsorley 7+4" plans on the http://mcsorley.net website. I'm sure that it is possible to modify an existing chassis but it would probably be so much work to do it correctly that you'd be better starting from scratch.

Essentially the McSorley plans add 4 inches to all the lateral tubes and then correct the diagonal tubes to match. All of the purely vertical and purely longitudinal tubes are the same as far as I know. If you follow the Mcsorley plans then you don't need to worry as they are well designed and accurate.

Hope this helps,
Craig.

Hi All

I'v made a +4 chassis for several reasons.

My engine lays over at 45 deg and the extra room in the engine bay is needed.

I wanted the engine / gearbox back as far as possible for better weight distrubution.

I like plenty of elbow room when driving.

Using Sierra dif & drive shafts. (IRS)

So..... 4" right down the middle (wide tranny tunnel)

I admit this does create probs with bodywork, but since I'm making it, I can make it to fit.

Paul G