Any suggestions, or would I be better off building a FWD-based middy?
I'm probably going to move to Thailand in about 6 months, and I want to start my own Locost build there eventually. Does anyone have any ideas
for possible donor vehicles that can be found there? There's a lot of Japanese cars out, but the vast majority of those are FWD. And I don't
think using the Toyota Hilux would be a good idea for a Locost..
Any suggestions, or would I be better off building a FWD-based middy?
What about this?
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:QgAGSFOlqri-VM:http://www.tug.org.in/tug2002/final-images/48-Rickshaw.jpg
ARE U FUCKING CRAZY!
ive been to Thailand a few times and the last thing ide want to be in would be a small open top, easily damaged car. ull last about 3 minutes on a
busy road!
Where abouts are you moving to?
John
[Edited on 31/10/06 by JackNco]
BTW the most common car over there is a toyota pickup... i dunno about a 7 but maybe a cobra based on one? Audi are getting a bit common over there i think, my uncle lives there n hes got a shiny new A4.
quote:
Originally posted by JackNco
ARE U FUCKING CRAZY!
ive been to Thailand a few times and the last thing ide want to be in would be a small open top, easily damaged car. ull last about 3 minutes on a busy road!
Where abouts are you moving to?
John
[Edited on 31/10/06 by JackNco]
LOL GOOD!
Ive never been to that island but i reckon ur best bet would be to look out for an MX5 although ull e paying WAY over the odds for one of them over
there.
Whats you reason for moving over there anyway
Toyota Kijang
ooh thats a doozy !
quote:
Originally posted by JackNco
LOL GOOD!
Ive never been to that island but i reckon ur best bet would be to look out for an MX5 although ull e paying WAY over the odds for one of them over there.
Whats you reason for moving over there anyway
Nissan 200 SX
get a tubo and rear wheel drive,
thats the way to go.
Was in koh Samui in May, cheap beer , good food and nice hotel.
good luck
quote:
Originally posted by akumabitoI'll be getting married to my Thai girlfriend..
Got a baby on the way and everything..
The best of luck to all 3 of you
Congrats M8, My uncles got him self a little family over there now ull love it, he does!
John
quote:
Originally posted by Johnmor
Nissan 200 SX
get a tubo and rear wheel drive,
thats the way to go.
Was in koh Samui in May, cheap beer , good food and nice hotel.
good luck
I reckon the toyota lite-ace van will be the thing.
In fact, I think it'll be the next ford escort in the kit car game.
It's rwd, it's got a toyota engine, which go forever and loads of upgrades and the front uprights just about do the job.
I think saker cars use them
http://www.saker.co.nz/works.html
(could be wrong).
the bit that goes forward from the upright to the steering rack bolts on, and if you want to use y shaped wishbones you'll have to get something
fabricated up (the liteace native comes down so the balljoint is level with the bottom ball joint) and probably NDT'd to show they're safe
for the road.
Should be a few liteaces over there?
Cheers,
Greg H
quote:
Originally posted by JackNco
quote:
Originally posted by Johnmor
Nissan 200 SX
get a tubo and rear wheel drive,
thats the way to go.
Was in koh Samui in May, cheap beer , good food and nice hotel.
good luck
LOL Not likely over there. Be like rocking horse shit! unless u want a 97/98ish onwards in which case they will be worth loads over there.
There are no middle of the road car over there, either ur earning nothing in which case u have a pick up or your worth LOADS and have something a bit to nice to chop up as a donon..... im trying to think what all the taxis are over there???
Im thinking Scorpio for some reason
quote:
Originally posted by kiwirex
I reckon the toyota lite-ace van will be the thing.
In fact, I think it'll be the next ford escort in the kit car game.
It's rwd, it's got a toyota engine, which go forever and loads of upgrades and the front uprights just about do the job.
I think saker cars use them
http://www.saker.co.nz/works.html
(could be wrong).
the bit that goes forward from the upright to the steering rack bolts on, and if you want to use y shaped wishbones you'll have to get something fabricated up (the liteace native comes down so the balljoint is level with the bottom ball joint) and probably NDT'd to show they're safe for the road.
Should be a few liteaces over there?
Cheers,
Greg H
If its not something you can fit 15 families on then they don't see the point over there.
Its a pure tool over there
And i wouldn't get ANYTHING made up for you. get ur self a *balanced* Prop shaft over there n bye bye kneecaps!
Exhausts maybe. and be VERY careful buying an engine. the police wll not take kindly to a forang (thai for forrener ) having a stolen engine.
How much have you got to spend BTW? if you dont mind me asking. might be worth buying a second hand mac1 or MK and shipping it over.
John
quote:
Originally posted by JackNco
If its not something you can fit 15 families on then they don't see the point over there.
Its a pure tool over there
And i wouldn't get ANYTHING made up for you. get ur self a *balanced* Prop shaft over there n bye bye kneecaps!
Exhausts maybe. and be VERY careful buying an engine. the police wll not take kindly to a forang (thai for forrener ) having a stolen engine.
How much have you got to spend BTW? if you dont mind me asking. might be worth buying a second hand mac1 or MK and shipping it over.
John
Why not buy a part build n register it over there, then its a thai build?
That would be an option, though shipping would still cost an arm and a leg..
I've also thought about going down the BEC route, as sportsbikes are fairly common, and get crashed all the time (you can rent a Hayabusa for
about 15 to 20 quid a day, and many rental agencies don't even check your license.) BEC engines should be quite easy to find. Though a BEC still
would not solve any problems with regards to uprights, brakes, etc. It would be much easier to find a single donor vehicle.
On the other hand, I'd much prefer a BEC in this situation. The island is quite mountainous, and even while traveling the relatively level
ring-road, most vehicles have to shift way back to second or even first gear to make it up the hills. I don't think a BEC would be long lived
under those situations. Poor quality fuel is another obstacle, seriously, I don't know how they keep all those bikes running sometimes!
Oh well... I guess if I can't work something out I'll start messing about with those Suzuki Samurais! (or Suzuki Sporty as they're
called there, basically a LWB Samurai)
is it technically a car b4 theres an engine in it, u could always buy one pull the engine out n then buy a hayabusa over there. i still reckon a rolling chassis would be the best bet, even if u have to grease the wheels with the port officials if you know what i mean. ill get mum 2 ask my uncle if he can find out any details for you.
Well, I'm now also looking into vehicles such as the NCF Outbak [LINK] . Although I
love the Locosts, in all fairness, a vehicle such as the Outbak would probably be more suited to the circumstances there. Vitara's are quite
plentiful, so there shouldn't be much of a problem in that respect either.. then there's just the matter of getting a kit shipped to
Thailand..
Perhaps they'd be willing to sell the drawings so I could have the parts manufactured locally.. (wishful thinking, I know)
May as well get a jeep!
what about VW buggy, those things are everywhere!
quote:
Originally posted by JackNco
May as well get a jeep!
http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/expats/14283-2-automotive-needs.html
Check that out, few guys on there on about building a dune buggy, bet they can help you
John
http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/expats/17435-2nd-hand-car-market.html
That shoud prove useful, discusion about the second hand car market in thailand, be warned these are all expats so there view of the thais is that
they are dumb pesants by the looks of things
quote:
Originally posted by JackNco
http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/expats/17435-2nd-hand-car-market.html
That shoud prove useful, discusion about the second hand car market in thailand, be warned these are all expats so there view of the thais is that they are dumb pesants by the looks of things
The Thais are very strange people. no offence to UR GF but they have odd customs..... or just different. i do love the cars there though. although
OK condition is probably
3 out of 4 wheels present and one door
They're an interesting lot alright...
I wish I could use a dumptruck for donor. On Samui the drivers always seem to insist on doing 140km/h downhill with a fully loaded dumptruck.. they
land on their side all the time, I passed one laying next to the road on a nearly weekly basis..
Perhaps I should go down the 'Monster Garage' route and build a truck-based trike.. it would definitely fit in with the Thai styling thing..
[Edited on 1/11/06 by akumabito]
Guess its the whole budist thing, if its my day to die n all that.
I can remember our taxi plowing through neat petrol covering 3 lanes of the road when one one of the fools jack knifed there truck ..........
carrying 2 trailer loads of petrol.
Hahahah, yeah.. ya know the most important Thai expression is "mai pen rai" (roughly translated as 'nevermind', it's so
useful for pretty much every situation..
Fortunately traffic on Samui isn't quite as hectic. The roads are worse than in Bangkok though. Especially during the rainy season, it used to
happen quite frequently that whole areas got washed away. (probably the best reason not to stick with the idea of a Locost, lol!)
u can do locost nust not a 7, i still reckon a VW Buggy is ur best bet
Australian buggy with bike power, you could probably import it a bit at a time as it's not as
far away.
Or you could try one of Rorty's plans for a two seater, you'd probably get a
few more in and a couple of chickens if you really tried.
[Edited on 2/11/06 by Peteff]
Mitsi or Mazda vans and pickups use most of the same components as their cars :-
Mitsi L200/L300 uses same 2.0 engine, gearbox and diff as old rwd Sigma/Sapporo/Lancer.
Mazda Bongo E2000 uses same engine, gearbox and diff as rwd 626.
Suzuki vans are another possibility - all-alloy 1.0 or 1.3, light gearbox and rear axle - easily upgraded with cam and carb for 100+ hp.
i still think a beach buggy is your best bet over there