Hi everyone, I'm oily (real name Matthew). The new members forum won't let me post, but this forum also seems relevant. :-) I must have been about 8 when was given the original Ron Champion book as a present back in the '90s, and have fancied the idea of building a Locost ever since. Every now and then I've read bits of what's on these forums, and have finally decided to join. A few years ago I bought an 1100 crossflow (it was advertised as 1300) with gearbox, propshaft and steering rack, all from a c. 1970 mk1 Escort - it was fun transporting that little lot home across the width of England in a 1L Corsa. :-) They're currently all adding preservative to the floor of my shed, waiting their turn. I anticipate building something fairly close to the original Ron Champion design, not for any real technical reason, but because my main aim is just to enjoy the build and have something to enjoy at the end of it. It's suddenly dawned on me that I need to do something about this project, with carmageddon looming in 2030. It will however have to compete for time with 3 other projects (2 wheeled ones) that I also need to get on the road.

In building something close to the original design, are there any particular things that might catch me out at IVA? I imagine that things have probably moved on somewhat, particularly in relation to things like fuel tanks.

The IVA manual is downloadable nowadays. Print it out and have it by your side as you work! Nothing has changed for fuel tanks, that’s for sure! There was an original version and a slightly updated version that I think incorporated IVA. It may be worth taking a peek at the Haynes Roadster manual (Sierra based update on the original).

Good luck with the build - it’s much quieter here nowadays but all the answers are here if you have the time to trawl the search function!

I doubt the 2030 elec thing will effect homebuild or low volume cars such as Morgan or Caterham as EV options for these manufactures or people do not really exist. An EV Morgan lol, a wooden 1930's design with a EV drive train that's going to work...

The original book wishbones and bracket positions won't give you enough castor angle so you would likely fail on lack of self centring. Loads of info on this site about this some years ago.

Thanks folks, it'll be good to get started on this at last. I do need to finish off an old british bike first, but then I should be able to get started on some bits for the Locost. :-)

Only advice I can give is to keep the car as simple as possible for the IVA as the less there is, the less there is to fail on. Leave all the windscreen, roof, heater, interior finishing etc till after the test. Also buy a good premade wiring loom and keep the dash as basic as you can get away with.