Hey there fellow locost fans. (put this here as didn't know where else to put it)
Little about me, I'm a 21 yr old student, studying mechanical engineering at newcastle. Huge interest in cars and such.
I have been interested in kit cars for a few years now, especially the Locost. Even more so after my parents gave me the "Build your own Sports
car on a budget" book for xmas.
I've pestered my dad for the past few weeks. Speccing up my car etc. He's getting quite annoyed now lol
I have a few questions: how tall is everyone who has one? Since I am 6ft3, and of the larger built variety. Just wondering if i'd fit lol
has anyone used the pre-cut kits that are available on ebay, made by "talonmotorfabrication"? if so, how is the quality. As I don't
feel confident, plus don't really have the facilities to cut the steel myself. SO thought this would be a nice little short cut.
Hopefully going to start my project in June, once my exams are done, and I'm back home from uni.
Thanks
Jon
welcome to the mad house,
I am sure you will find all the answers to your future build from the guys on here, as to your size..... there have been giants building cars so
don't think it,s an issue.
Denis.
Welcome to the forum 
Plenty of tall guys here who fit into the book chassis fine. Not heard any bad reports
about the Talon chassis pack. They also do a built chassis.
In your other post about registrations, there is a points system that DVLA use to
determine when you can retain the donor reg but at the mo I can't find a link.
One thing I must mention before others do, please use the search button at the
top of the main page as most things (especially early stage build) have been
covered many times.
Hi and welcome John.
I believe that Rons chassis can be a bit tight so you might want to look at the mcsorely chassis http://www.sevenesque.com/plans/ or the Haynes
roadster or the Tiger Avon.
I've built a few Avons and they are OK but the book assumes that you know what you are doing and the plans contain mistakes. Nothing you
can't sort out and I've tweaked the chassis I have built as well as modified them to take ally rear tubs. I use longer front wishbones to
square the car up too.
The above chassis are for IRS (except the Mcsorely)and as such are better for the road IMHO
I can't comment on the pre cut chassis but there are plenty on here that have used them so you should get some feedback. I have a bandsaw which
makes light work of 1.6mm box but a hacksaw will do. I once built a chassis with a dewalt cordless reciprocating saw which worked well.
[Edited on 6/1/11 by Strontium Dog]
thanks for the replies guys. good to hear that this place is helpful, as you get some forums that hate new people.
totally didn't notice the search function at the top of the page, sorry about that lol
by haynes roadster, do you mean the one in the Chris Gibbs book? and I was assuming that's what the pre-cut talon chassis was as well
now i just need to get my welding up to scratch, as I have done the total of about 40 mins welding in my life!!!
[Edited on 6/1/11 by big_john]
This may alleviate the confusion noobie
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=141757
Talon's is the Haynes chassis.
For £450-500 built, I'd let someone else weld it!
Welcome
[Edited on 6/1/11 by ReMan]
I bought a pre cut set from Ebay, and it was 99% there. The parts that were missing were replaced FOC. Search me and the subject, and im sure youll
find something.
I abandoned the build in the end and have the chassis hanging from the rafters!
quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
This may alleviate the confusion noobie
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=141757
Talon's is the Haynes chassis.
For £450-500 built, I'd let someone else weld it!
Welcome
[Edited on 6/1/11 by ReMan]
"Ron's car=£250
Haynes=£3000+
is a massive exageration. say 500 for the chassis welded, £200 if you weld it yourself. plus say £200 max for donor car/parts. Plus I already have a
pinto+gearbox in the shed. And me and my dad have more than enugh technical nouse to build it. just the welding lol "
He he, wait till the shiny things demon takes over, you better start saving your loan money, unless you're not going to put it on the road?
he he £750 max, yeah...
you don't want to know what mine's cost. i don't want to know what mine's cost!
think my steering collumn was about a quarter of that budget already
[Edited on 6/1/11 by blakep82]
quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
"Ron's car=£250
Haynes=£3000+
is a massive exageration. say 500 for the chassis welded, £200 if you weld it yourself. plus say £200 max for donor car/parts. Plus I already have a pinto+gearbox in the shed. And me and my dad have more than enugh technical nouse to build it. just the welding lol "
He he, wait till the shiny things demon takes over, you better start saving your loan money, unless you're not going to put it on the road?
Reality check?
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=132595
Plenty of these sort of threads on here for the finding
[Edited on 6/1/11 by ReMan]
ah ok. i'm not going to be disheartened though lol
i still recon it could be done
it'll be interesting to see exactly how much you do spend if you are being super careful. you'd have to use everything off the doner,
including switches and clocks (speedo etc, which to be honest won't look brilliant i don't think) engine hoses and stuff would be reused,
it'll be an interesting build to follow
what do you think you might do for bodywork? will you make your own or buy it from a manufacturer?
at this stage i'm not 100% sure.
all the aluminium parts i would cut and fold myself (well with help from dad) and would hopefully get some good ebay deals for the wings and
nosecone.
i wouldn't be afraid of buying damaged parts and repairing them
as for the clocks etc. it would be mainly for passing the IVA test. and then swapping them for nicer looking parts when good deals came up/ good
scavenging occured
[Edited on 6/1/11 by big_john]
No don't be disheartened, but better to have a realistic budget than to end up with a part built.
Plus you will find that it often cost less to do things right first time than to plan upgrades in before it's finished
Dont forget the cost of the IVA etc
Good luck
repairing damaged body parts is a good idea to reduce costs anyway i think.
i'm not building a locost/7 type thing, so i don't know exactly whats what when it comes to using doner parts, there's 6 different cars
and 1 motor bike involved in my car lol, plus loads more parts specific to my chassis, and one of custom parts i've had made, so i was never
going to be very careful with costs and stuff.
all my body panels are 2nd hand, most were broken in half. but i got them, and a load of other good stuff (suspension, brakes, carbon dashboard,
steering rack etc) for a few hundred quid, where a new full set of body panels for my car is over £3k plus vat, so big savings can be made
it's all a pipe dream at the minute. just getting a rough idea of things. plus it gives me time to save up some moneys.
also, please say that the IVA test isn't £450!
[Edited on 6/1/11 by big_john]
quote:
Originally posted by big_john
it's all a pipe dream at the minute. just getting a rough idea of things. plus it gives me time to save up some moneys.
also, please say that the IVA test isn't £450!
[Edited on 6/1/11 by big_john]
Hi and welcome, if you want a pre cut chassis kit see Handy Andy on here or the haynes site, good bloke and very helpfull as all locostbuilders.
Yep second Handyandy, he's up by you too, Saturn Sportscars so could maybe collect saving postage!
His kits are for the roadster, I built a mcsorely, plans are available on the new foc and have a few varients, cos I'm a tall fat get, I built a
+442 which is 4" longer 4" wider and 2" higher (ok for taller engines)
As said please use the search It'll save you loads of time.
Cheers
Rich
Oh and welcome!
[Edited on 6/1/11 by RichardK]
Welcome to the forum John.
I was going to recommend Handy Andy as well,he's a top
bloke and will do his best to help.As will we all
Andy
Hi Jon,
Welcome aboard, as you've seen a friendly and knowledgable group of people in these parts.
Re: budgeting for the build, I think it's vital you have an accrate idea of what it will cost.
Even re-using all you can from the donor will incur costs such as refurbing/renewing brake parts, modifying parts (e.g. prop shaft) and so on. One
prime example is CV boots which always need replacing and will set you back a minimum of £40 to complete all 4 boots.
If you have access to all the tools and experience needed this will reduce costs, but 99% of us will have had to buy certain tools and pay for work to
be done - e.g. modified sumps, reamed upright tapers and so on.
On the materials and consumables side there are items such as grinding discs, paint, rivets, cable, welding wire/gas, p-clips, oil, coolant, brake
fluid, nuts bolts washers, glue, trim, brake pipe/fittings......the list goes on and on and the cost can really accumulate over the course of the
build.
Taking your time (commonly years rather than months) will spread the cost, but it can be difficult to maiatin momentum and complete the build.
On top of that there's the IVA costs + registration (£50 IIRC), road tax (typically £100 min. for 6 months), number plates (£30 a pair) and then
you will get through a good bit of fuel once on the road.
Please don't take this as a negative view, it's a real buzz building a car and even more so driving it. It's a real bummer ending up
with a garage full of bits worth less than you paid for them.
Best of luck and hope you get there!
Cheers
Nick
[Edited on 6/1/11 by nick205]
If you wanted to make your own chassis, maybe as an accomplishment or to say you did it all, then fair enough.
But I would buy a chassis from Aries Motorsport and when you come to sell, it's an ST / Aries chassis, not a home made one.
Speak to them, as I'm sure their chassis is still to book, (not the IRS) you can still fabricate the wishbones, panhard rod, trailing arms etc,
yourself.
Hi John and welcome to the nutshop
I am 6' 4" and 16st, I went down the McSorley route (+442) and must admit, I think it was a wise choice for me, I've not tried the
standard 'Ron' car so can't comment, but the good thinkg about the 442 is at leaast there is plenty of room for the seats which can
sometimes be an issue for the 'larger' among us
The only down side I would say is the fact that the front wishbones need to be longer to keep the track ration front-back similar, which also meant in
my case modifying the chassis to move the pick-off points. Also, If you go for a live axle, you need a longer (52"in my case) axle. If IRS then
it's not an issue.
If you need any more advice on the 442 let me know and I will be glad to give you any info I've gathered.
John
quote:
Originally posted by ReManTalon's is the Haynes chassis.
For £450-500 built, I'd let someone else weld it!
I found one of the most challenging parts of my build was getting the right seats and driving position. I am not huge at 6'2" and 17 stone
but headroom was the biggest issue for me. My tip would be to make use of every inch of the floor - getting your seats as low as possible - you can
even fit a recessed floor pan to get some more room if necessary. Adopting a slightly more 'laid back' position also gains you more headroom
but then starts to intrude on legroom. Just take a LOT of time finding the best compromise, trial fitting seat, steering wheel, pedal box, gearstick
etc (brumm brumm noises are also advised ) as it is often very difficult to make radical changes later.
Hahaha £750, i remember when i thought that. 3k+ I would say is a hard push to get a locost on the road for. I started off with the locost plan,
2years later i have a car that works and runs but not IVA'd, for around £8k. I can send you the spreadsheet if you'd like, then you will see
what costs the money.
Obviously a fair chunk would have been saved using donor engine, as i went for a brand new zetec engine...
Good luck with it though, and good to see another younger person on the site
thanks again for the replies guys, been very helpful.
ok so maybe it can't be done for so cheap. I didn't realised the IVA was so much more than the SVA, is it not virtually the same test?
looked at the aries motorsport, and looks pretty good. and i've seen a guy on retro rides build a hillclimber with it. so it's always an
option. Plus, they do both Live axle, and IRS.
I've also looked at the Mcsorleys. Few questions about them, are the suspension mounts the same? Would you not need longer driveshafts? (IRS of
course) Also, what did you guys do about nose cone etc?
Luckily, with the engine in the shed, i can even have a donor with a duff engine
eddie99 if it's not too much trouble, having your spread sheet would be lovely. Probably best to send it to my email guyhighinthesky@hotmail.com
(i know, lol, made it when i was 11)
am i just being a noob, or is there not a section for just build threads?
[Edited on 7/1/11 by big_john]
Have look at peoples posts and follow the WWW links, or other links to peoples websites and blogs etc.
Some good ones to get you started are Flak Monkey and Hellfire.
Have you signed up to the Haynes Roadster forum? Quite a few common memebers from this site, but lots more besides and obviously focused on the
Haynes.