Do you? 8o

No

no. not any more. i think you could before the original book was so popular, and all the prices of parts went up as people cottoned on to it

Checkout Coozer's 4x4 Jago blog

Although totally innebriated, gonna go for decent answer!!

I believer ten times the original amount is the total for Cheap build, I thinlk a really experienced builder with a lot of inside contacts could get a IVA'd car out there for about £3K but that would be having a LOT of helping hands and friends in the game, along with a LOT of time served knowledge if you want the car to handle!!!

No. To build a safe car, you cannot 'scrimp' on wheels, tyres, brakes, suspension to name but 4. There are many more areas IMHO that cannot be scrimped on either ......

IMO of course,
Fozzie

You could build a space shuttle for £250 if you used Uncle Ron's method of totting up the cost. I seem to remember he got most of the materials for free, and obviously had a fully tooled and stocked workshop ready to use. Perhaps explains why it didn't work out well for him when he went into business!

Back in the real world I think even back in '97 (or whenever the book came out), when you could pick up an Escort doner for £40, it must have cost £2500 to do a reasonable job. For today's more discerning locoster, with our fancy engine and suspension setups, I think £5000 is a more realistic minimum.

Funny enough i scanned through my build manuel and reciepts yesterday as i need ed to find out what was the last coil i bought

My mk2 escort was £55, i was robbed !!

My on the road cost in may 1999 with an Mot, taxed and insured, but no windscreen, was about £2500

I did however make about £300 worth of mistakes over the two years, rear shox was one of them!

Obviously i did not need SVA etc, so that must have saved £££

Both the interior and exterior were made to conform to the then pre sva requirments, and the only area that may not pass would be the front suspension, and exhaust

Regards

Steve

As I understood it ron was working as a teacher in metal work at hurn court school in the bournemouth area and used to build cars with the students so had a fully equipped workshop and lots of free bits... not sure if this is true...

Oundle School, Peterborough - where the rich folk send their kids if they're interested in science & engineering.

Visited there when Uncle Ron had only just written his book and was giving a guided tour...

Pedalcar yes

Definitely NO!

Nah, no way, I spent £1800 and that was 3 years of careful building

Spoke like a true Yorkshireman!

Rich

I looked at the book job...... decided that there was no way it could be done to a decent spec for less than 5k really. Obviously thats with a decent motor and running gear. Then I decided i'd prefer to build a Hayabusa fury for 8k instead!

What a weird post!

First in two months or more? What are you hoping to gain from the results??

As previiously mentioned, back before the book really picked up it's current following, it was probably possible.

These days with inflation (don't know how old the book is but it has to be a major factor) and also the premium on the relevant parts due to scarecity and demand it's not feasible (the cost of steel alone has sky rocketed, though prices have come down a lot recently).

I reckon £1,000 would be a reasonable challenge and should be possible

I voted yes, but will qualify that...you need to own a scrapyard!!

Marcus, are you referring to your driveway ?? tehe

I have seen the pics!

It's comedy hour on LCB!

lol....I admit mine was built on the cheap, was about 1500 quid on the road including SVA, first year insurance and road tax but......ok the wife hated me for having so many bits of crap on the drive for 3 years!!

Possible, yes
With IVA? No
Even not including IVA it would be highly unlikely, however it would make a strange christmas and birthday list!

didnt know whether to revivie this post or start a new one

just how much money spent would people consider it still being a locost ??

£3000?
£4000?
£5000?
£6000?

aitch

"Locost" is a stupid name - they usually end up not much cheaper than a kit. The only benefit is that you can spread the cost out wider, instead of having to pay a big lump out in one or two goes.

What amazes me is that Uncle Ron called it such a silly name - after all, his surname is "Champion", so why not call it the "Champion 7"? At least it sounds more inspirational - and aspirational!

well if you own your own engineering/fab shop, was given a car for nothing and was given a coupon for a free iva then yes...

but for normal peeps....


nope....

Imo if it comes out cheaper than a similar production car (e.g. how much do you pay for a 2000 model Elise?) then you can call it Locost

I am actualy wondering if it is cheaper than building a kit.

Ok I would go for a roadster which does not claim LOCOST. But all the same I think there are some kits out there that come with all the bits included that would just bump up the price of a full self build.

TT

Building a kit would have worked out a LOT cheaper for me as I would have stuck to locost geometry and a sensible engine instead of mk5 running gear, bmw box, volvo engine, scratch build chassis, wilwood brakes....................................

I guess one advantage for me is that I already have a stash of sierra parts

TT