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seven type midi
Dean - 19/1/04 at 06:13 AM

Just wondering if anyone has any pictures of a lotus seven type, with a mid mounted engine. Because here in northamerica we have few rwd 4cyl. Main choices are mx-5, 240sx, s2000. With a midi I would run a fwd engine (which are all to common imho) Right know iam thinking a 2L honda vtec. My plan is shorten the front (how much?) and enlarge the rear slightly (how much?) any suggestions? Thanks.

TheGecko - 19/1/04 at 10:09 AM

Perhaps something a little like my Gecko? See attached for recent shot of the rough 1:10 styling model.

Dimensions are similar to a 'wide' or +4 Locost but the chassis bears no real resemblance.

Hope this is helpful,

Dominic
Brisbane, Australia



[Edited on 19/1/2004 by TheGecko]

Alan B - 19/1/04 at 12:01 PM

Then there is mine which is somewhat less seven looking.....see avatar..

<------------------------------

http://www.desicodesign.com/meerkat/

kb58 - 19/1/04 at 03:25 PM

Though not Seven-esque, check out my mid-engine Mini, it uses a Honda Prelude drivetrain. That's if you think English Bull Dogs are cute, cute, cute.
http://members.cox.net/kimini22/car/

Them other cars above? Bah! When they fell out of the Ugly Tree, they hit every branch on the way down. (I always wanted to use that quote someplace.) All kidding aside, there are many designer/builders here, also try using the search feature to check out old posts. You'll almost certainly find something interesting.

[Edited on 20/1/04 by kb58]

greggors84 - 19/1/04 at 07:43 PM

There is the sylva mojo, that uses a mid mounted engine and has 7 esque styling.

Have a look on the net, should be able to find pictures easily.

Alez - 21/1/04 at 12:52 PM

Hi guys,

My non-technical thoughts:

Mojo - As Chris says, 7-esque styling. Still, nothing to do with the original "LOW-COST", nowhere near its performance to cost ratio.

Gecko - The attached pic looks much more like a 7 than used to (avatar pic), personally I like it much much more. Also, it's much simpler bodywork, in the true concept of the Locost. This could have a good performance to cost ratio, and I think it captures the Locost spirit best.

OX7 - Dominic, can you tell us WTF is that you have in your pic archive??? It's bloody ugly but I've seen nothing as similar to a "LOW-COST" mid engined race car, it's just a nice tin can with its engine in the right place :-) I love it.

Personally, my dream car is a Locost (cheap body panels) with a bike engine in the right place, and I don't care about its styling at all, that OX7 looks just nice enough to me.

Cheers,

Alex

TheGecko - 22/1/04 at 12:39 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Alez
Mojo - As Chris says, 7-esque styling. Still, nothing to do with the original "LOW-COST", nowhere near its performance to cost ratio.

I think the Mojo 2 is an improvement but I doubt the strength of the chassis, particularly when I see pictures like this:
Damn thing has folded up in the middle like a limp noodle! That's why my chassis has pretty extensive bracing around the cockpit area.
quote:
Gecko - The attached pic looks much more like a 7 than used to (avatar pic), personally I like it much much more. Also, it's much simpler bodywork, in the true concept of the Locost. This could have a good performance to cost ratio, and I think it captures the Locost spirit best.
I still like the 'old' body design (I should, since I poured a lot of time into it!) but, yes, the new design is MUCH more like a Locost in spirit and form. Every panel on the car is just aluminium sheet wrapped around the frame except for: nosecone, front and rear guards, and probably scuttle. I should change the avatar image I suppose.

Bang for buck should be pretty good. At this point I have: complete drivetrain, front and rear suspension uprights, brakes, and steering; all tubular steel for the chassis; wheels and tyres; radiator and a variety of other smaller bits and pieces. In materials, it owes me about AUD$3,000 (and there's still some spare parts which I can sell to recover maybe $300-$500). That's roughly USD$2,300 or EU1,800 or GBP1,300. Major things remaining to buy are: instruments, seats, fibreglass, all lights, tubular steel for suspension arms, and the approving engineer's fees. My projections are for all of that to be another $4,000-5,000 at most (hopefully). If I can be on the road for around AU$10k I'll be pretty damn happy
quote:
OX7 - Dominic, can you tell us WTF is that you have in your pic archive???
The OX-7 is an ugly spud isn't it It has been rebodied since then but in that form it demonstrates perfectly why the only way to do a mid-engined clubman is with a transverse drievtrain. There's an OX-7 article on the Locost7.info site if you want more info. Somewhere I have scans of the rebodied version too if anyone is interested.

The other one that deserves mention, although it's sadly gone forever now, is the CarCraft Cyclone. Much closer to the simple clubman shape and somewhat of an inspiration for my Mk2 Gecko. It used fibreglass panels all round though which increases cost and complexity too much for my liking. Some links:

http://www.team.net/www/ktud/zero.html
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Track/4772/page2.html
http://www.suffolkcoastalkitcarclub.btinternet.co.uk/page18.html
http://privat.bluezone.no/jerry/linjer/kitcars.htm

Dominic
Brisbane, Australia
http:// updated web page coming Real Soon Now!

Alez - 22/1/04 at 06:46 PM

Hi Dominic,

Excellent post, good stuff. That Mojo is not looking good..

I've been reading the article about the OX-7, I think it reflects the concept of the low-cost clubman so well that I find it beutiful in some sense. It would be good to see the pics of the rebodied version out of curiosity, but I think this one is just perfect. I would love to see that engine bay shortened and a bike engine on it. Actually your gecko would be ideal for that. Oh, do update to the new design and keep it nice, cheap and easy!

And what a nice car was the cyclone as well. I've found some other mid engine cars I didn't know in the locost7.info site, the Xanthos Grand Prix is so nice, shame it's a one seater in my opinion.

Cheers,

Alex