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Locost to Haynes chassis conversion
hendy777 - 23/5/16 at 02:57 PM

Hi,

I'm a newbie so please be gentle.
I'v always wanted to build my own car so few years ago i bought a complete chassis off Ebay. This ended up sitting in my garage for the next 3 years. Determined not to give up on it i am now ready to start. The chassis was in need of work, a lot of the welds were poor and the brackets fell off and the floor was warped but i knew it was going to be a project and happy to continue.

When i Bought it i knew nothing about it all and thought it would be quite straight forward. Since having it i have done a lot of reading on here and various other research and now i know there are many different types of chassis designs.

I have decided as i have the donor already that i would like to build the MX5 Haynes roadster and will follow the Saturn plans where needed.

My problem is... After sitting down and comparing the book (Gibbs) and Saturn plans that my chassis is a Locost design chassis and the rear end is completely different for obvious rear axle differences.

My question, and thanks for sticking with me is can i modify the Locost design chassis and turn it into a Haynes chassis or will i be better off starting from fresh and building a new one? I know the haynes design is taller and longer but was hoping that someone let me know if it was worth the work?

Many thanks..


DRM Black7 - 23/5/16 at 03:06 PM

Well considering by the sounds of it the locost chassis sounds rubbish. I'd start again with some nice freash metal


big_wasa - 23/5/16 at 03:15 PM

For the price I would just start from scratch.


joneh - 23/5/16 at 03:16 PM

Bin it and start again...


Slimy38 - 23/5/16 at 03:18 PM

It really isn't worth the effort to convert a locost to a Haynes chassis. You might save yourself maybe £20 worth of metal, but it's going to cost you a fortune in time and frustration.

I'd suggest chopping it up for parts. It's always good to have lengths of metal, and if the brackets are good they can be reused, but that's about as far as I'd go.


hendy777 - 23/5/16 at 03:31 PM

Great, thanks for the replies.
Start from scratch it is then. In the long run i will be happier knowing it is all fresh and straight even if it does add an extra 10 years to the build haha. Thanks


Bluemoon - 23/5/16 at 03:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by hendy777
Great, thanks for the replies.
Start from scratch it is then. In the long run i will be happier knowing it is all fresh and straight even if it does add an extra 10 years to the build haha. Thanks


Take a look at chassis flat packs will save you time cutting little more ££ but will save hassle...


DRM Black7 - 23/5/16 at 04:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Bluemoon
quote:
Originally posted by hendy777
Great, thanks for the replies.
Start from scratch it is then. In the long run i will be happier knowing it is all fresh and straight even if it does add an extra 10 years to the build haha. Thanks


Take a look at chassis flat packs will save you time cutting little more ££ but will save hassle...



10 years eekkk you'll save time starting again. My scratched built locost took 18 months buying steel to Sva.


hendy777 - 23/5/16 at 05:09 PM

Do you know where I can get a Haynes flat pack from now? Talon used to do them but saw that he isn't anymore.


Ben_Copeland - 23/5/16 at 05:25 PM

Definitely made the right decision, where abouts are you? Maybe someone's local can help


mark chandler - 23/5/16 at 05:36 PM

If I made another it would be locost or smaller, Westfield prelit size, bigger you go the heavier it gets and the slower it goes.


hizzi - 23/5/16 at 08:36 PM

quote:
Originally posted by hendy777
Do you know where I can get a Haynes flat pack from now? Talon used to do them but saw that he isn't anymore.


phil will be back , he has taken a short break due to health issues, over on the haynes forum a guy had one delivered last week


steve m - 23/5/16 at 08:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Bluemoon
quote:
Originally posted by hendy777
Great, thanks for the replies.
Start from scratch it is then. In the long run i will be happier knowing it is all fresh and straight even if it does add an extra 10 years to the build haha. Thanks


Take a look at chassis flat packs will save you time cutting little more ££ but will save hassle...


Why will it take 10 years, ? are you only planning on working a couple of hours a week ?
my locost took 2 years from nothing to on the road, and coupled with a full time job,
many many guys have built from scratch in months

steve