For anyone wanting to estimate a Seven type car or any of component wait it is worth studying

http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/weight/index.html

The table of weights of complete Seven style cars is interesting particularly for anyone considering fitting a "lightweight" Rover V8 as the Westfield SEights in the table weigh in between 664 and 760kg ! A (book?) Locost is given as 504kg and a Westie Xflo as 593kg

[Edited on 28/4/04 by britishtrident]

not that it accounts for all the difference but the really heavy bit in the Seight is the R380 gearbox!!

Now this is interesting. My tech book for Morris Minors ("P. Olyslager Motor Manuals 17" Published 1962) puts a Morris Minor 1000 saloon as follows:

Dry Weight: 762 kg
Ready for use: 807kg
Ready for use with 2 passengers: 938kg

This raises 3 questions:

1 - Are the weights on fluke-motorsport website dry/wet/passengered?

2 - The Moggy looks like a fairly efficient structure considering it's got a heater, wipers, glass, carpet etc. albeit without the level of stiffness of the 7-esque chassis.

3 - Having asked in previous threads and having played with some aluminum honeycomb at the weekend (for an African-expedition Discovery's roof-rack), why aren't more efficient structures being designed for 7's if they're comparitively heavy?

Mmmm. Interesting.

Cheers,

Neil.

Fair enough, an RV8 version is about 60kgs heavier than a crossflow powered car. But given the considerable extra torque of even an unmodified RV8, I don't think it is going to be a problem. As long as the weight distribution is OK it won't handle too differently. Braking is not a big problem at these weights.

Remember that a tank of petrol will add 60kgs, and two people can add 200kgs. I suppose we could all keep real skinny, and drive them with only a teaspoonful of petrol in the tank if you are that concerned about it.

I would rather carry a couple of extra pounds and build it strong.

Cheers
Bigfoot