Hi I’m new here and I’m interested in building a locust from scratch. I don’t really know much of what I need to do so are there any vital books that you guys would recommend or any where I can find all the information I need? Also what kinds of costs are involved and is it hard to get them registered? I’m from Australia by the way so that might complicate things.

Firstly, welcome to the madhouse!

Are you looking to build a Locust or a Locost? As you can see from the banner at the top of the page this site is for steel chassis'd Locosts- not boats with wheels (Locusts).

Obviously, the most important book is the Locost build book: Build your own sports car for £250 by Ron Champion. Next up is a correct chassis plan: http://www.mcsorley.net

Its costs are as much as you choose to spend. Typically £4000 GBP or £5000 GBP with a bike engine. But plenty of people have spent much less. The more you buy the quicker the build is but more expensive.

Being in Oz will make it harder for you due to the chassis strength tests your car will need to pass. There's a Yahoo discussion forum for Oz builders that should help you. I don't know the link, others will.

Hope that helps,

James

Have a look at the Luego Velocity build manual here, this will give you some idea as well

http://www.luegosportscars.com/cars/velocity/index.html

The Velocity has IRS but a lot of the detail is the same as for a Locost which is traditionally a live axle.

I am building a Locost based on the Luego chassis but I have no other connection with Luego.

£5000 GBP!!! could i do it budget for around £1000 GBP? and whats the difference between a locost and a locust?

£1000? Erm maybe. Obviously you can buy stuff 2nd hand and also make stuff- depends on what your skills and time budgets are like.

Here's some very approximate prices for why it costs more:
*note I said £5000 for a BEC*

ZX9R bike engine: £1000 once you factor in gear linkage etc.
shocks: £250-300
seats : £200
bodywork: £300
propshaft: £100
chassis steel: £50-100
MIG welder: £100-200
Paint: £100

I've listed things that most people buy. Obviously you can make seats or bodywork and you can buy shocks 2nd hand.

HTH,
James

If i get a cheap donar car and most thing out of that i should be able to do it for around £1000

If you say so!

James

Hi camlv (it doesn't hurt to sign messages with your real name either ),

If you want to build a Locost in Australia you need to do a couple of things:

First - join the Locost_Oz group on Yahoo. This link will take you to the home page. If you dont have a Yahoo Groups account you'll need to create one. Just follow the prompts.

Second - give up any idea of building a road registerable Locost in Oz for anything much less than AU$10,000 ! I'll say that again Ten Thousand dollars. Say... £4000. And that's at a minimum.

In Australia, cars like the Locost are classed as ICV's (Individually Constructed Vehicles) and have to pass a variety of engineering inspections and tests and also need to meet very nearly the same emissions requirements as any other new car! That instantly rules out gutting a $500 donor and building around it.

All of that said, it is possible and is happening. On the weekend of the 23rd and 24th October the inaugral Great Aussie Clubman Roundup (GACR) was held in Echuca, Victoria. 33 cars weer present on Saturday and 36 on Sunday for the show and shine. Of those, the split was about even between kits (Westfield, Caterham, PRB etc) and home-builts (Locosts). Some photos of the event can be seen at Tim Rogers website.

Where in Oz are you? There are active builders groups in most capitals. I'm in Brisbane, building (slowly) a mid-engined interpretation of the clubman theme.

But job one - get onto the Locost_Oz list and ask your questions there.

Best regards,

Dominic
Brisbane, Australia
http://www.DIYSportsCar.com

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Originally posted by camlv
whats the difference between a locost and a locust?

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quote:

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Originally posted by camlv
If i get a cheap donar car and most thing out of that i should be able to do it for around £1000

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You've all done this so I’m not saying that you can do it for £1000 I just thought it could be done if just use crappy second hand stuff.

For the ICV thing don’t I just need some extra supports to stiffen the chassis and stronger seat belt mounts?

The emissions are a problem but again I don’t want a really powerful engine just something that works. If I get in before the end of the year I was hoping I could get a crappy weak engine from somewhere pretty cheap.

Are there large costs to get it certified and registered?

Cheers,

Cam Elvey

[Edited on 4/11/04 by camlv]

good luck cam. cant see you managing it though.....

oww alright then what about £2000, get a decent newish engine and gearbox and take everything else from a £200 write off. get some cheap coil over springs from ebay and use the steel wheels from the donor car. What other expensive bits are there?

This Ron Champion guy must of been a really good thief to do it for £250 then.


Cam Elvey

WOW i just got upgraded to a junior builder, I think someone should change me back to a n00b

quote:

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Originally posted by camlv
You've all done this so I’m not saying that you can do it for £1000 I just thought it could be done if just use crappy second hand stuff.

For the ICV thing don’t I just need some extra supports to stiffen the chassis and stronger seat belt mounts?

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quote:

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The emissions are a problem but again I don’t want a really powerful engine just something that works. If I get in before the end of the year I was hoping I could get a crappy weak engine from somewhere pretty cheap.

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quote:

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Are there large costs to get it certified and registered?

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Yeah thanks heaps, i'll ask for some more help on oz locost then.

Cam Elvey