goodall
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:05 PM |
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how long does it take the average man to build a locost????
how long does it take the average man to build a locost????
cause i plan to build the chassis over my christmas break and to finish it over my summer holidays, or is this to much work to try and do in such a
short amount of time
[Edited on 6/11/06 by goodall]
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stevetzoid
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:14 PM |
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Finding the parts is a bit of a drag, Cleaning reconditioning takes time, but I started to build and finished in about 9 months with a lot of help on
the parts from established people.
Steve.
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ReMan
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:16 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by goodall
how long does it take the average man to build a locost????
cause to plan to build the chassis over my christmas break and to finish it over my summer holidays, or is this to much work to try and do in such a
short amount of time
I'm sure you are actually better than the average man (don't put yourself down) , but nevertheless I think you,re on a hiding to nothing,
particularly for a 4wheel drive Locost.
Give it 12-18 months if you're lucky
Best of luck
Colin
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goodall
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:23 PM |
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has any1 ever completed an all wheel drive locost before?
i really hope i can have it done by this time next year 
[Edited on 6/11/06 by goodall]
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flak monkey
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:29 PM |
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Good luck!
I started collecting parts seriously about 2 year ago. It tooke me the best part of 18mths to reckon them all and get them in a condition i was happy
with. Then it took me 2.5months to get my car to a stage where it was rolling and had the drivetrain installed and the majority of the bodywork done.
I am hoping to finish it over xmas and easter and have it ready for next summer.
This was based on building a kit, and I am away at uni 30weeks of the year.
I would say your timescale is optimistic, but not impossible depending on the amount of time you have to spend on it.
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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goodall
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:37 PM |
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i won't be doing anything else, so like about 5 or 6 hours if not more on average i'll put into each day. i'll probabily just build
the car without doing anywork to the parts just install them as i find them and then once i get her goin with out the body but in a driveable state
then i'll work on gettin the parts in tiptop condition.
i hope to just use most things of the donor car and use parts we have from other cars and parts we have that were never used
[Edited on 6/11/06 by goodall]
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DIY Si
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:41 PM |
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I would strongly suggest cleaning/tidying up all the parts before fitting, as once they are in the car, it'll be damn hard to take them back out
again. Not physically difficult, but it looks like taking a few steps backwards and that's hard to do. Especially once it starts being mobile.
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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Valtra
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:43 PM |
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Bought my F27 plans when my son was 2 months old , started building about 2 years later , will be lucky to have it buit for next summer
.............my son just turned 14 (years) .
moral
don't have kids and expect to have time as well 
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omega 24 v6
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:46 PM |
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Good luck fro me as well it's taken me a year off and on so far.
And by the way I don't think you'll find any average men or women on here we're all far above average
If it looks wrong it probably is wrong.
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mistergrumpy
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:50 PM |
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To go against the grain a little. I completed my chassis in little over a week, Summer just gone but I was working 12-15 hours a day (single ) and
more than one ex girlfriend has told me I'm less than average . Don't feel the need to rush though, seriously, cos you'll just
cock it up and regret it later. If you're knackered or hacked off, just leave it. You'll be glad you did later.
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caber
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 10:54 PM |
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That plan sounds like me last year! I now have a rolling chassis and am working on bits like steering and pedal box. I really want to get it
substantially finished this Christmas, a good excuse for avoiding rellies! Hopefully on the road next summer
caber
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goodall
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| posted on 6/11/06 at 11:45 PM |
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i would give any moving parts a spay with oil and paint every thing with hammerite black, also i'll clean of most greasy things with petol
useing the oil spayer but besides that whats the point sure its just goining to get drity again after 20 miles on the roads about fermenagh (if
you've never been to fermanagh the roads constantly covered in mud {infact i somehow think a locost might be unsuitable for most of the road
conditions})
i know were all above average here sure we're buildings locosts so maybe i should have said the average locoster!
[Edited on 6/11/06 by goodall]
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James
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 12:25 AM |
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I reckon you'll be pretty blinking lucky to get it done in that time.
If you'd done one before (or atleast something similar) then maybe, but if you have no experience, I would say you're out of luck. Rumour
has it that Rob Lane (who's built a lot of similar cars) managed it in 3 months.
When Hicost re-chassis'd his it took a couple of months and that was with two experienced builders in a decent sized and fully kitted out
workshop.
If that really is your timescale I would suggest you bought a kit from MK/MNR/GTS and built one of them... that *is* possible in that time.
At the end of the day, I think it depends how experienced you are.
Cheers,
James
P.S. And if you were that experienced.... you wouldn't be asking the question!
[Edited on 7/11/06 by James]
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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goodall
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 12:31 AM |
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well i have experiance welding and working at cars. i've switcher engines in a weekend once and i have a large workshop with all the tools
required for doing this. i have everything that is required for this to be pulled of in record time by one man
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whittlebeast
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 02:56 AM |
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I built the car pictured on the left in about 6 mo, but I was not dealing with much body work and the wing came from a previous car. 6 mo is fast.
Even with fab experance and just building to the book, doing one in a year is good. This assumes you have a day job that you need to keep.
For what its worth I have about 2 months just doing the FEA and I am just getting started on the floor and cutting tubes.
AW
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RichardK
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 07:58 AM |
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I'm going to about the 2 year mark if things remain on track
Rich
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eagle
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 08:55 AM |
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mine took 5 years to complete ,worth it in the end!
could of been a lot quicker but i had a life at the same time
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 09:59 AM |
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If you want to finish your car to a good standard it will take a long time. Try not to look at the big picture and look at each job as an entity in
itself. Somebody said, "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer in small pieces.
If I can pass on to you my experience. I have built one scratch built car, have a second on the go and I started the Phoenix in February this year. I
am lucky enough to have a nice workshop am able able to do most things myself. Being retired, I can spend as much time as I want working on the car.
So far, I estimate that I have spent 600 hours on the Phoenix and it is not quite finished. Remember, this is a kit so the chassis was complete and
ready to accept the suspension components that were also supplied. However, not all the bits fitted properly and a lot of time has been spent on
rectification particularly with the bodywork. In a way, a scratch built car is easier and perhaps just as quick because everything fits properly
because you have made it to fit.
Back in the 80s, I bought a Caterham as a kit and they stated a 100 hours build time. The body was completely panelled, wiring and instruments
installed brake lines and master cylinder all in. All that there was to do was to fit suspension, mudguards and lift the dots to hood and tonneau. 100
hours was realistic so bearing in mind the huge amount of extra work in a scratch build I think 600 hours would not be unreasonable.
John
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lexi
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 10:00 AM |
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"Average" men don`t build Locosts
Kind of like asking how long it takes to have sex
Alex
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 10:22 AM |
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and like sex the longer it takes the better you are
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 10:35 AM |
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Took me about 5 years or so to get the chassis finished! Too many other diversions...
...however, with what I know now, I could probably build one from scratch in a couple of weeks (maybe less), as long as I had all the donor parts
handy for measurements, etc.
Once I decided to actually finish the car I got it done in 10 - 12 months after finishing the chassis (spare time only).
Never under-estimate the time needed to do the finishing touches - an old saying goes "the last 10% takes 90% of the time" - if you are
striving to do a good job.
It's a great feeling when you drive off in something you've made yourself...
David
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D Beddows
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 12:01 PM |
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If you had ALL the bits (and that's not as easy as it sounds as you only realy know from experience what all the bits you need are) sourced,
bought or refurbished and ready to bolt together then yes, you could do it. If you'd built something similar before then it would be even more
realistic - I built the second one in about 4 months of full timish work.
The problem you'll probably have it terms of the timescale wont be with yourself it will be with suppliers and the like letting you down,
sending you the wrong/damaged bits, not sending what you ordered for weeks after you placed the order etc etc - and it WILL happen unfortunately
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It's probably worth mentioning as well that building quickly generaly doesn't usualy equate to building cheaply as you don't have
the time to do as much bargain hunting and/or design and build as much stuff yourself.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 12:08 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by D Beddows
It's probably worth mentioning as well that building quickly generaly doesn't usualy equate to building cheaply as you don't have
the time to do as much bargain hunting and/or design and build as much stuff yourself.
Fair point - if you really want to build quickly with some certainty of finishing then something like a basic Westfield would be favourite. Probably
not a huge amount more expensive - just that the expense comes in one lump, instead of spread over a period!
Depends if you get your jollies from building or driving...
David
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D Beddows
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 12:40 PM |
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In fact, to be absolutely honest, if you just want a car to drive rather than a car to build (which your timescale suggests?), don't want to
spend huge amounts and don't mind a bit of work you should be looking at buying something like JoelP's car which was advertised a here
recently - realisticaly you couldn't build that for the 3K he was asking AND it was SVA'd, spend a grand or so and a bit of time and
you'd have a realy nice car at a price you couldn't build one for.
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John.Taylor
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| posted on 7/11/06 at 12:48 PM |
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I picked up my donor Sierra on 23rd March this year and I had it stripped and the shell picked up for scrap on 7th May. Since then I've been
reconditioning parts (engine, gearbox, brakes), bought an MK Indy starter kit and got it to rolling road stage with the wheels, steering and drive
train in place - but no loom/brakes/fueling.
Unfortunately(for the build)/fortunately(for us as a family) my wife is pregnant and we're expecting a baby in March 07 so everything is on hold
while I decorate the whole house, do the garden and assemble sufficient furniture for a small army to store their wares.
I was on target to complete my build in time for Le Mans June 07, but my build programme is out the window now.
If like me, you buy in a chassis, wishbones and bodywork, send large items away to be reconditioned (engine/gearbox), have the money ready to buy
new/reconditioning parts as and when required (brakes/loom/fuel system/interior), and have an understanding partner who will let you spend either a
coupe of nights per week or one day at the weekend in the garage, my schedule was set to 12-months with 2-months for testing/sva/teathing trouble.
Oh, and I'm a project manager so it was realistic and accurate to the n'th degree!
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