Hi Folks,

Back in the late 90's I found the original Ron Champion book and talked about building a Locost on & off for years, then bought the second edition which switched to Sierra IRS however the kids came along and all thoughts and reality of having a two seater sports car died
So recently I'd been looking for something to build that my 9 year old son could get involved with, I'd looked at MK and GBS kits but I just cant justify those initial costs and after a while I started to look back into the Locost build.
I am looking for a little advise first though, as I read up on the Locost I see a lot of further development has gone on by not only Haynes but also private individuals, there seems to be multiple chassis options ie: McSorley, Saturn & Vodou, there may be more but these are the ones I've seen. I'm a bit bamboozled by the options and what the actual difference in these frames would be. I intend to use a second gen MX-5 and would like to know the best option to suit my build so I'd really appreciate your thoughts/experiences.

Thanks
Craig

If I were in your shoes I think the MX5 build would be towards the top of my list too. Reasonably cheap donor, if road legal you can run it for a while and check all of the running gear is Ok (engine, wheel bearings, calipers, gearbox, diff etc.). If possible I would look for a 1.8 version with 5 speed box (not sure the 6 speed will fit) and a torsen diff (note MNR do a standard nosecone if you do not like the MNR one). The MNR mx5 starter kit looks good value https://mnrsportscars.com/mnr-cars/mnr-vortx-mazda/ and can use lots of the mmx5 including loom, ecu etc., 140hp in a seven is still entertaining. Also ripping apart the donor should be good fun for the young 'en particularly as the mx5 body can be lifted off the chassis in one part leaving the oily bits exposed.

The alternative is to keep an eye on ebay for a part built kit that someone has lost interest in, Indy/Avon come up fairly often.

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Originally posted by Ugg10
If I were in your shoes I think the MX5 build would be towards the top of my list too. Reasonably cheap donor, if road legal you can run it for a while and check all of the running gear is Ok (engine, wheel bearings, calipers, gearbox, diff etc.). If possible I would look for a 1.8 version with 5 speed box (not sure the 6 speed will fit) and a torsen diff (note MNR do a standard nosecone if you do not like the MNR one). The MNR mx5 starter kit looks good value https://mnrsportscars.com/mnr-cars/mnr-vortx-mazda/ and can use lots of the mmx5 including loom, ecu etc., 140hp in a seven is still entertaining. Also ripping apart the donor should be good fun for the young 'en particularly as the mx5 body can be lifted off the chassis in one part leaving the oily bits exposed.

The alternative is to keep an eye on ebay for a part built kit that someone has lost interest in, Indy/Avon come up fairly often.

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I am currently building one using the Haynes 'Build your own sports car on a budget', along with the plans originally published by Saturn sports cars. I've also made it slightly harder for myself as I'm using an Austin Healey replica body shell instead of the usual layout. However it has kept my costs right down, with the shell and the MX5 donor being the biggest costs so far. In terms of metal I reckon I've paid around £200 for a full set (that's about £100 for the chassis and another £100 for the suspension tube). I paid £350 for my MX5 donor, and the shell is costing me £1000.

The McSorley one is good if you want a slightly bigger layout (the '442' in it's name refer to the extra inches you get in each dimension), and there was a reason I stayed away from Vodou but I have no idea why it was now. Probably just more information available for the Saturn design.

I was also about to suggest taking a look at Talon Motorsports stuff as Phil makes some great stuff. I have one of his diff cases for the MX5 diff and I think it's a much better solution than using the original Mazda diff case. Problem is his website seems to have gone so I don't know how to get in touch with him. He used to be on here, he might still be?

Edit: I've just realised, I think the McSorley is based on the original locost book, not the newer Haynes version. That would put me off.

[Edited on 31/5/18 by Slimy38]

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Originally posted by Slimy38
I am currently building one using the Haynes 'Build your own sports car on a budget', along with the plans originally published by Saturn sports cars. I've also made it slightly harder for myself as I'm using an Austin Healey replica body shell instead of the usual layout. However it has kept my costs right down, with the shell and the MX5 donor being the biggest costs so far. In terms of metal I reckon I've paid around £200 for a full set (that's about £100 for the chassis and another £100 for the suspension tube). I paid £350 for my MX5 donor, and the shell is costing me £1000.

The McSorley one is good if you want a slightly bigger layout (the '442' in it's name refer to the extra inches you get in each dimension), and there was a reason I stayed away from Vodou but I have no idea why it was now. Probably just more information available for the Saturn design.

I was also about to suggest taking a look at Talon Motorsports stuff as Phil makes some great stuff. I have one of his diff cases for the MX5 diff and I think it's a much better solution than using the original Mazda diff case. Problem is his website seems to have gone so I don't know how to get in touch with him. He used to be on here, he might still be?

Edit: I've just realised, I think the McSorley is based on the original locost book, not the newer Haynes version. That would put me off.

[Edited on 31/5/18 by Slimy38]

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Originally posted by cr9ig

Thanks for getting back to me. If I'm understanding correctly you're using the original Sierra based plans with the Saturn modifications.
Funnily enough I've spent a short while this afternoon trying to find the Talon Motor sport website with no luck however I did find Talon Products in Ebay selling the modified diff case so have sent a message via Ebay and will hopefully get a reply.

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Thanks,
I'd found that when I Google TMXR rather than Talon Motorsport I get a lot more information regarding the stuff he's done in the past. I saw that his plans are available to download also but will go down the route of getting him to supply the steel or I may just get the chassis pre built depending how flush I'm feeling at the time.

Phil (talon) has stopped producing bits full time. It basically want paying the bills. He it's still doing bits occasionally. If you talk to him and are prepared to be flexible on dates I'd anticipate he'd be happy to make something for you.

Thanks Mike,
I think after 20 years of "thinking" about building this car I can wait a bit longer🤣

Phil posted recently that he was stopping doing his Haynes stuff as his margins were so bad.

Edit : Mike you beat me to it...

[Edited on 31/5/18 by jps]

That's a shame, it looks the best option I've seen so far.
With any luck I can at least get a kit from him and use the plans.

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Originally posted by cr9ig
That's a shame, it looks the best option I've seen so far.
With any luck I can at least get a kit from him and use the plans.

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