Bart Vangampelaere
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 posted on 23/5/05 at 10:47 AM |
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Caterham-like chassis mods?
Still in the planning stage (will be like that for at least another year: too much other cars on the driveway crying for attention  ), I'm
looking at a more caterham-like shape. Nose cone and other fiberglass stuff can easily be bought, but the main concern is the chassis shape. The front
of the "real" seven is almost as the locost, no need to alter things there. The rear part, however, is rather different.
The "sills" (can you call them that?) are angled downwards, in my opinion looking way better than the straight, box-like shape of the
book-locost. This would mean the tubes N1+N2 would be tilted a few degrees (still need to find out how much) and this would obviously alter M1/2
position, and K1/2 aswell. What comes behind *might* need to be changed aswell, but I'm not sure yet. After all, K3/4 must remain under the
correct angle to provide a decent looking/fitting rear wall.
There's some bracing done differently on the Caterham, but I guess it wouldn't really matter what route would be choosen here.
I have a Tamiya scale model (1/12) of the JPE, which enabled me to see the chassis of the Caterham in full 3D and spot the differences (not that many
altogether) with the Locost. This made me realise a Caterham look-a-like should be possible.
Yet fiddling with chassis dimensions etc, seems dangerous in terms of strength.
Any input? Maybe someone has done a project like this before?
I'm still not sure about donor-types. I'll either be using a first gen Mazda RX-7 (live-axle) or a second gen (IRS). My personal favourit
would be a 1st gen, as a live axle version seems easier as a first attempt. Money-wise it makes no difference, as I have both cars as spares. The plus
for the 2nd gen is that it uses a rack and pinion steering, instead of the unsuitable box of the first gen.
I'm afraid mixing and matching parts (easy enough with RX-7's) will mean a Q-plate. This might be a real pain when trying to register the
car in Belgium.
Choosing the donor will however make a difference in chassis design.
All opinions would be welcome.
Maybe someone can give a write up of making a de dion setup, as this might be an intresting route to go.
I need to set out the parameters before I start sketching, but need some help first...
Thanks,
Bart
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JonBowden
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| posted on 23/5/05 at 03:01 PM |
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Bart, this might be of use to you :http://www.georgecushing.net/Lotus7.html
I'm also thinking of altering the design to be more like the Lotus 7. Some additional differences :
The chassis is three inches narrower
The "sills" are shorter as well as being sloped
I think the front section is longer.
Jon
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Bart Vangampelaere
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| posted on 23/5/05 at 05:54 PM |
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thanks!
that brings me a lot further. I'm under the impression, from comparing 1/12th drawings (made by myself, old fashion pencil way, so nowhere
accurate...) the main dimmensions where very close. But that's all not that important, the idea is to have a chassis that looks like a Lotus
S2, it doesn't need to be a copy.
I'll see if I can work from those drawings in the link.usly, donor choice will make some difference too.
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JonBowden
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| posted on 23/5/05 at 06:31 PM |
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If you use the Google image search facility to look for :
Lotus 7
Lotus seven
Lotus VII
You should get loads of pictures that should help you (thought without dimensions.
I have found Simple Sevens to be very useful for pictures
Jon
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cymtriks
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| posted on 23/5/05 at 09:21 PM |
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Chassis mods
The Caterham chassis is the best of the main stream kit car market. Only a few other spaceframes are as stiff for the weight, in fact most other kit
car spaceframes are easily beaten by ladder frames!
If you want a good increase in stiffness check out my chassis mods on the locost7.info site in the files section under kitcaranalysisV2.doc
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