i have been waiting for this book to get delivered, and the book that has been sent is the haynes build your own sports car on a budget by chris gibbs.... is this the same or shall i send it back and get the correct one ??

Thanks
Lee

The book you have is the new version, using the Ford Sierra as the donor.

The Champion book used Ford Cortina uprights and rear axle.

The choice is yours

You've got a much better one IMHO.

Try looking here : www.haynes.co.uk/forums

but the car uses the sierra as a donor car, which is different to the others... obviously... i am wanting to race the car, so building it to the spec in this book looks very different... ie the back axle configuration ??

thats different, i think if you want to race it in the locost series you must use the original book despite the fact that chris gibbs book is much better

Agreed, but there is talk on the Roadster site about Roadster racing...

No it's the Ron Champion one you need, useful to have but ignore almost everything in it as it's mostly either just wrong or badly engineered.

i just dont want to build something that isnt legal to race...

i'm a bit p1ssed, the listing on ebay had the ron champion book, and then i received this one...

ignore everything ??? :-)

that gives me confidence !!

Didn't Haynes delete the Ron Champion book once the new one was released ?

You might need to source it 2nd-hand...

http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=164

quote:

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Originally posted by racing57
ignore everything ??? :-)

that gives me confidence !!

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I think I still have a copy of the original book at home if you would like it.

I will check tonight

thanks wicket.... i have already put a bid in on a 2nd edition book on ebay... there is also a chance the people i bought the book off may have the one i need... if everything fails i will defo be in touch..

Thanks
Lee

If you are like me, the original book is great for inspiring you to build your own car but bloody useless for actually building one. Without this forum and the guys on it I would have been stuffed, because of all the cock-ups in the book.
Whereas the new Chris G book is one of the best presented technical manuals that I have ever read.
If you want to build the Escort based car, then do a lot of reading on this forum. It will save you a lot of grief. You will not find more help anywhere.

i intend to... i have a 2nd edition ron champion book on its way....

is it worth keeping both ?? i mean the chassis is the same isnt it ? apart from the rear trailing arm pick up points ?

or should i just send it back and stick to the ron champion book?

All I can say is good luck finding decent donor parts for the original book! I know plenty of places now seem to make parts, but getting stuff 2nd hand I would have thought would be nigh-on impossible.

Even knackered old Sierras are getting thin on the ground, or the sellers want stupid money, but if you want the guarantee of racing then the RC book is the way to go (definately go for the 2nd edition though) Maybe you could knock up the chassis using CAD which will highlight errors in advance, that's what stopped me starting to build the 1st edition of the RC book, but could prove useful.

HTH

[Edited on 17/7/07 by CAD Monkey]

Chassis are different dimensions. Get plans for the book chassis from the McSorely site these are correct and much easier to build from particularly if you can get access to a plotter or large format printer as you can then print in 1:1 on 42" paper I did a lot of my chassis from blown up drawings. It didn't stop me making cockups but I made a lot less than I would have done relying on the book!

This forum is by far the best place to get build info from the search function is a bit hit or miss so if you can't find what you need this way just ask a question and you will get good quality help.


Caber

i found a site with all the drawings for the chassis, and it also has the cad drawings on...

my work place has an engineering department, and we have our own in house designer... so the cad drawings could come in handy... the drawings that i downloaded look really good, so was going to compare with the book to make sure they are the same...

the good thing is, the stuff i downloaded has a cutting list etc too, so i can get all the materials through work.. all the paneling can be punched out etc...

Hi just to clarify a few things .

1. There is not a shortage of parts for people who are intending to race in the locost formula.

2. The best place to get info regarding building a car for the locost formula is the yahoo forum group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/locost-racing/ LINK

Where the people who are acctually racing in the formulahang out.

Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh but when many people asking questions regarding the locost racing formula are sent up the wrong garden path so manny times by people on this forum who have verry little knowlege of the formula and it,s regulations it dose get a bit frustrating.

Again sorry if it sounds harsh. And it is not directed at anyone person either.

cheers matt

[Edited on 17/7/07 by procomp]

[Edited on 17/7/07 by procomp]

Good call.

For my part I was simply speaking from the perspective of a 'road' builder.

I agree with most of what Matt says BUT the yahoo group has always been distinctly average when it comes to technical stuff. Usualy a case of people thinking they'll give the game away if they tell you too much which 9/10 tbh is ridiculous but...... :-)

Nowadays it's mostly used by people arguing/moaning about regulations or asking for spare tickets for races.

You do absolutely need to be a member to keep up with what's going on but once you know enough to filter out the irrelevant knowledge/advice I still maintain you'll pick up more useful stuff on here

The place to be is at the race meetings in person.

I am always happy to discuss set up and what parts have been used where, when asked.

Its the only place for real detail.

Hi dave i agree entirely. But when we have had guys being told that they can run alloy dampers and alloy floors by people on here as well as other costly mistakes such as being told that they can run the new chriss gibbs carr in locost.
not just but in the past.

where as they would have been put right on the basics by the yahoo group.

I guess at the end of the day it is down to the individual to do the correct research. But it dosent help with people not fully understanding the regs are offering all manor of advice .

cheers matt

is this chassis design the same as the book ??

http://www.mcsorley.net/locost/

there are drawings etc, which look easier to work out than the book...

Hi after a quick scan it looks to be of the correct design.

But would require some of the missing chassis members to be added. Which ARE legal for the championship.

cheers matt

i did notice some of the bits are missing, more ie, the diagonals from the sides...

Lee

The ONLY way to learn about any racing is to attend. Nobody gives anything away unless they have met you in person. Most will talk when addressed politely!

At least this is the case for mountain bike racing in my part of the world.

quote:

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Originally posted by racing57
is this chassis design the same as the book ??

http://www.mcsorley.net/locost/

there are drawings etc, which look easier to work out than the book...

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cool, the steel is in the workshop, so will crack on next week... am out of the office until Thursday !!!! gutted... :-)

got my hacksaw, angle grinder and mitre stand, protractor... and multiple files !!! and a couple of nice chaps who are keen to help... ( both welders ) very handy :-)