As per title really, Welcome to the owners Club oggierock, having purchased Big Drews Velocity.
[Edited on 24/1/12 by jollygreengiant]
Aaahhh, got it now....thought you had gone mental, Clive...'till i had a roam around the site..welcome to Oogierock too!
Welcome to the exclusive Luego area 
I thought he'd lost it, too Rich! But Clive had gorn an' spelt it With a double 'O' instead of a double 'G'! (maybe
thought he was licenced to kill?)
If there is anything you are stuck on / want help or advice with there are now nearly 14,000 members on here among which I would pretty much guarantee
several of them have been in the same position ie. stuck on exactly the same bit you are - just simply post and get an answer within minutes!
Yes, welcome to the madhouse, (aka the best kit-car builders' forum on t'interweb) oggirock!
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
I thought he'd lost it, too Rich! But Clive had gorn an' spelt it With a double 'O' instead of a double 'G'! (maybe thought he was licenced to kill?)
Thanks all for the welcome.
I have been busy working on the beast.
There has however been one small set back, for that I am extremely sad, depressed and embarrassed.
I got her to a stage to finally give her a little blast down a small section of private road outside the works unit where she is being built.
Yup you guessed it, I crashed her. Not massively, and not at great speed. However, I will need to strip and re build the front right wheel, steering,
and rear right wishbones.
To say I am gutted is an under statement. I havent really slept in two days. Tomorrow I am going to properly assess the damage.
So I might shorty be trying to pester you friendly bunch for some assistance in sourcing some spare bits.
I will be in touch soon.
A very, very, sad new member who feels like an idiot.
oggierock
As has been said many, many times by many, many people on here - THESE CARS BITE !
You have to learn to drive them - however tempting it may be (and we all know it!) - take it easy - having raw power thown down at the back
when the car is so light to start with......
On another note - I take it YOU are ok - the only injury you sustained is to your pride (and maybe your wallet!)?
If you have a digital camera, take some photos, and you can upload them into your archive (click 'photo archive at the top of the page) then
maybe we can offer you suggestions / advice and yes, maybe some parts to get you sorted out? You can then add them to your posts and replies - its
easy!.......
My pride is the only thing dented thankfully.
Yes they do bite. I am going to take some photos tomorrow. Ill be happy of a bit of advice.
Luckily there is a mate of mine at work who has just bought a velocity project. Needs a lot of work but most stuff is there so I can reverse engineer
the bits I need and check out that my chassis is ok.
It will take a little more time now, but has taught me respect. 10 mins prior to the prang though was awesome, so it has inspired me to mend my
mistakes.
My wallet will be hammered I`m sure.
You can look forward to the photos and my apologies to big drew for denting your fine work on the car. I`ll do a proper strip down and assessment,
before the rebuild starts to ensure there has been no lasting damage to the overall chassis. It seems quite localised at present. Further
investigation tomorrow evening.
Great to hear you ARE ok, and that it sounds like relatively minor damage - it could have been SO much worse. Any probs with uploading pics, come back to us.
front right
front right again
rear right
The pictures are not extremely clear. As I strip down I can post some more.
So far a basic examination shows I will need:
new rear x 1 and front x 1 shocks and coilovers
New wishbones on front.
Rear ones may be ok but I will need to check.
Some box section for repairing bent bits
New rad
Most probably new wheels(wanted to replace them anyway)
New ally side panel
steering rack etc.
There will be more I`m sure
Ive got access to welding and fabrication stuff at work, and lasercutting where required. So hopefully a bit of reverse engineering off the good bits
will be in order.
The profile for the ally panel may be a bit of a bugger, but I assume its a mirror of the passenger side.
Ill keep some updates on here and I`m sure I will ask you guys for some hints and tips.
Still gutted, but excited about getting stuck in to sort it out and use the opportunity to make it even better than before.
Yes. I'll agree, it is quite hard to tell what is what from the photos, especially the back - however, there is clearly some damage to the
chassis front offside. I would say you have a lot of stripping - out to do! If it helps, I have a few pics (here's one) of my bodywork laid
out in my archive under 'velocity build' - not tremendously clear because of the lighting and reflections. I named that file BEFORE I found
out that mine is not actually a Velocity, but the previous model which was called the Luego Locost - having said that, I think the body panels are
virtually identical.
Good luck, and keep the photos coming - you may get more response from others if you start a new thread.
Welcome and sorry to see the damage. I know how that feels having hit a French man (well his car) two and a half years ago on the front off side of
the car. The wishbones are not sided so I bought steel tube from B&Q and made a new set with the near side items used as a template. My chassis
wasn't as damaged as yours is so I managed to get it in line with a porta power and only had to replace some of the uprights. Once back together
I took the car to be measured and the suspension set up and had no further troubles, the car drives well with no ill effects. I will say that it took
a lot of time though. To replace the side panel you will need to remove the scuttle and that will involve an major strip down, I managed to re-use
mine. I started in September and just got it finished for the following spring.
On the plus side you will get to know the car well.
All the best
Steve
Quick update. I havent started a new thread yet, but I may as it progresses.
All front end has now been stripped down. Chassis jig is now being made from a friends chassis, and as soon as I get the steel in I should be able to
start putting her back together.
The good news is that upon inspection the damage is localised to the front right corner, and has not twisted or damaged further into the chassis.
I am also making the jigs for replacement wishbones.
Tonight I should be drawing up the aluminium side panels in preparation for laser cutting quotes. Luckily my mate from work has just stripped to bare
bones his luego project, and he has a nice flat side panel for mapping.
Its bloody handy to have a spare luego velocity at work to reverse engineer what I need, and following my stupid mistake of bruising the beast I am
now getting to know her inside out.
Ill keep you guys informed of progress after the weekend.
cheers
oggierock
Sorry to hear of your woes - did much the same to mine early on - v. embarrassed and hit the wallet but did teach me to be v. cautious on the
roads....
...On an open track however - Waaaaayyyyyy hhhhaaaayyyyy!!!!
Nice to hear I'm not the only one who feels very embarrassed.
The rebuilding saga continues.
Glad to see you are sorting it would have been a big shame if it never had the chance to 'be a car'
Good time to get the bushes sorted out as well.
I keep meaning to arrange a time to stick my head in and have a look but havn't got round it it yet..
How is Matts car comming on?
Matts has been stripped completely and he is going to have it shot blasted and coated. But he is gonna wait a bit until I jig the bits for my chassis
off his.
I have new wishbones and stuff made now.
Front end is beginning to take shape. Ive taken out bent bits and replacing back to original welded joints to be sure everything is as new.
The tricky bits now are sourcing some bits:
steering rack
gaz shock (just one!)
extensions for steering rack
Worst of all is the ally side panel. I think im going to have to draw it up from matts and get one specially made, as I havent found a luego one
anywhere.
Give me a shout when you wanna pop over. Sorry to say she hasnt been finished yet, but it is fun doing the work.
cheers
oggierock
New steering rack....
Mk1 mk2 Escort Steering Rack | eBay
Or a secondhand one....
eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace
New one from Rally Design.....
yet another linky
Dampertech is one of the GAZ shocks distribution places - you are probably best ringing them to get a match....
Dampertech
[Edited on 13/2/12 by stevegough]
The rack was just a escort one so any in the links posted above will be fine. (It was a 2.4 lock to lock one)
Did you say you have lathe? should be easy enough to make some rack extentions?..
Otherwise
Steering Rack Extensions Haynes Roadster Locost Kitcar | eBay
Or there are some on rally design.
Maybe put a wanted post up on here for a side pannel.. I bet you will get hold of one from somewhere..
Or try Luego http://www.luegosportscars.com/4.html
Cheers for the help guys. Much appreciated.
I got a steering rack from ebay, but unfortunately it doesnt fit. Description didnt match the part (typical). By the time I email the seller and pay
for a return it wont be worth it (only paid £26). Ill get one from rally design I think. At least if I have a similar problem I can return it.
I havent tried luego yet for the side panel. Ive drawn it up and awaiting a quote for laser cutting and folding. Its a supplier from work so hopefully
they will do me a deal. If not I`ll try luego.
Ill email the guy on ebay for the rack extension just to confirm I order the right part, as again I ordered some locost wishbone brackets from him,
and they have the wrong hole centres. Nevermind, they were only a few quid, and I`m sure somebody on here may be happy of them a bit later on.
I now have a nice jig for the wishbones, and some new ones made, so I might post later on to see if anybody wants some making.
With any luck, by monday she should be back to a similar point, minus a few bits awaiting delivery.
I might have to ask a favour of you Drew when I`m getting back to the electrics, as you know your wiring and a bit of advice for sorting a few things
may be of help. There should be a beer or two in it for you.
Ill get some pictures at the weekend to show you guys where I`m at.
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I am now making pretty good progress. It is a little further on than in the photos but so far:
new wishbones made, and powdercoated.
repair to front right engine bay.
complete paint job on engine bay.
tetrosyl complete on all of the underbody to protect.
new side panels drawn up, laser cut/folded and fitted.
side panels prepped for painting.
internal passenger area prepped and line-x coated (looks mint)
Cleaned and brushed ally fuel tank, re fitted with modified brackets
run all fuel lines
run new brake lines
reconditioned foot pedals and modified to suit wider feet.
A few other bits and bobs. Been great fun doing it. Hopefully progress will carry on in the right direction
Good news is so far the refurbishment etc has only cost about £450
Now for the weekend I`m bolting things back on. She is becoming better than she was before.
Ill be in touch for some more pointer soon. Thanks for the input, the pictures have been a great help.
Good progress.
Great Pics. (keep 'em coming)
Can you put your rough location in your profile. It helps a lot, as you tend to get people local to you offering help or support.
Just take it easy when you get back on the road.
If your Steering rack is 2.4 turns (or anything less than standard) TAKE IT EVEN MORE CAREFULLY.
I have a 2.4 turn rack, and they take a LOT of getting used to. (A Se7en is like nothing you have ever driven before, and one with a quick rack on it,
is another step further on)
It took me a whole summer to really get to grips with it.
At speed you will wander all over the road, and in turns you may easily over steer. When the back steps out on fast corners (or even slow ones like
roundabouts with a bit of power on) you dont need as much wheel turning to recover. Last thing you want is to over react and send the car into a
spin.
This happened to my mates son (29 yrs old, and with a goodly amount of trackday experience, so definately not a newbie). It nearly cost him his life.
Unconscious for 2 weeks, Torn Aorta, Punctured Lung, ruptured spleen, torn intestine, torn Urethra, broken pelvis, both legs broken and now pinned.
This was at only 50mph, (had an unknown and independent witness following him) in a car with fully tricked out and professionally set up car, with a
FULL roll cage.
He nearly lost his life. This was not a Se7en, but a full bodied car with full roll cage, rally seats and 5 point harnesses, ie a properly sorted and
set up 320bhp road going track day car.
Consensus is that he over reacted (it had a quick rack fitted) to the back stepping out, and managed a 270 degree turn straight into a heavy lamp
post, right on the drivers door.
Seriously... If you have a quick rack, so take EXTRA care. You already know these cars can bite hard.
Other than that, I love my quick rack, now that I have got used to it. But it really scared me at first until I understood it better.
I cant express this enough. These cares are Great fun, but need to be taken very seriously.
Hope we might see you and the car at Stoneleigh.
Scary post WinkinJ!!
Interested in some pictures of your Line-X finishing. How much did it cost etc?? If you don't mind me asking.
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Scary post Wilkingj!!
Interested in some pictures of your Line-X finishing. How much did it cost etc?? If you don't mind me asking.
Here are a few more photos of the Line-x coating.
It finishes the inside off a treat. It will make it last for ever (providing i dont drive into things )
Line-x coating was done by a good mate. But he has mentioned that if the car is all masked keyed and sheeted ready to spray he would probably charge about £275 for black or grey. Which is a bit of a bargain I think.
Line-x coating was done by a good mate. But he has mentioned that if the car is all masked keyed and sheeted ready to spray he would probably charge about £275 for black or grey. Which is a bit of a bargain I think.