Like someone else i was just reading, thanks to 5th gear i've just found out about locost and im thinking of going for it. I've done some research but i've still got some unanswered questions that hopefully someone could help me with?

firstly, i know how to drive quite well i think and i know a bit about car models etc but i know absolutly nothing about how they work and how they screw together etc. i had a look at that book on amazon and it says that doest matter but is that just a sales thing or could i really do it?

do u need a licence to race a locost and if so how do you get one?

The article i saw said the point of locost was that you could build one for 1k but there are now people spending 6k! so is there any point in doing it if u are only going to spend 1 to 2k, coz are theres 6k cars much better?

with the competitions/legues, where are the races? do you have to travel all over the country to compete?


Sorry for all the questions on my first ever post here, but i did try to find this info elsewhere, honest


Thanks for any help
RedRuM

Hi and welcome to the site!

I don't know anything about the racing questions but I will comment about your budget. I don't think it matters whether you spend £1k or £20k. People who spend big money tend to have bought everything and go for the most expensive option each time. It's perfectly possible, with a little more time and effort, to put together a car for £1k that looks just as good as a more expensive one.

BTW I'm hoping to get mine done for under £1500. On about £500 so far but I've got most of the expensive bits sorted - just depends how mad I go on lights/seats/bodywork (notice how all the cosmetic bits cost the most money!)

Chris

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but i know absolutly nothing about how they work and how they screw together etc.

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i had a look at that book on amazon and it says that doest matter but is that just a sales thing or could i really do it?

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The book gives you all the info you need,including where the race licence comes from and lots of phone numbers.

Try and get along to a kit car show this year,or one of the race meets.
I'm sure the race meet dates are posted on the www.locostcarclub.co.uk and the remaining shows are as follows.

15/16th june. NEWARK 01526 320721

14/15th sept. DONINGTON PARK 01737 225857
(track day here)

16/17th Exeter 01233 713878

Also a show incorporated in the British Sports car weekend 1/2nd june at Brooklands museum in weybridge Surrey.
I would recomend this because if the kit show is crap the museum is ace.

You can camp at most of the shows for free,and is worth doing for big shows like Newark.
also you can escape the family for the weekend and have a larf with the lads (or lasses)

RedRuM (if that is your name), the regulations means the cars are technically as close as possible without preventing some inginuity, ie they are all 1300's they all have basically same carbs, same minimum weight . . . .
As Chris says, having the extra money means you can get the more luxury items like your engine shot blasted and enameled.

Thanks for the info. I think i'm going to go for it. But i am going to get the book first and read up on it before i buy any parts or anything.

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RedRuM (if that is your name),

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If you're buying the book use the link at the top of this page. Costs you the same but I get a quid towards the site!

Chris

Make sure its the new edition

already have ordered it and i used to link. it is the second edition, so i assume thats the new one?

That's the one. Cheers m8.

Chris

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Thanks for the info. I think i'm going to go for it. But i am going to get the book first and read up on it before i buy any parts or anything.

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RedRuM (if that is your name),

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well obviously its not but i dont like using my real name on the internet.

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We originally thought about building a Locost to race, but after some investigation we found that the cost of entering the races was gonna be prohibitive (no specific figures were mentioned but I believe in the region of £100 a race). On top of that there was the extra cost of getting a licence etc.

Balance that with the freedom of being able to design the road car exactly as you like with the only concession being that it has to get through an SVA test at the end of it.

We went for the road car in the end... use it went you like, whack a large(ish) engine in it, embarass most other car drivers at the lights... might not be quite as much fun as racing, but less likely to stack it going into the first corner at Silverstone!

And you can always do track days

£100 a race!!!!!



so much for locost racing. thats over 1k a year for the races alone.

i cant really do it as a road car, because i am only 19 so the insurance would probably be about 10k. suppose its still not ridiculas amounts of money, im just annoyed because the program that drew my attention to it said/implied that you can build and race a decent car for 1k, and now its looking like about 2.5k.

Check out the links to insurance companies, if you put a basic engine in you may well be surpised how cheap it can be. My Rover 827si is £330 a year TFT, and locost with Blade engine fully comp is only £150.

Track days are no cheaper than racing, you can't get on a track with car or bike for race or fun for under £100 per day + fuel/tyres/transport to race etc etc. Racing is never cheap unfortunately.

Wooahhh!!

Jasper, you have an 827 - that very engine is what's going in my Locost!

Speaking of insurance, I had a Rover 820si as my road car and was paying 945 quid for third party only. Being 22 sucks.

But I have had prospective quotes of 4-5 hundred for my Locost when it's built, and that's with a 2.7 in it.

RedRum - stick to a reasonably small engine and it will be dead cheap to insure your locost. My mate paid about 240 quid for his with a 1600 pinto engine in it, and it went DOWN to 135 quid when he upgraded to a 900cc Kawisaki ZX9R engine! By the time you're finished, you'll probably be 21, right? Quite an important insurance price breakthrough, that one.

My mate was with Footman James. They will be no good for me since they wont touch you if you have anything above a 1600 until you're 25. But Adrian Flux don't care how big my engine is.

And remember, if you build a race car, you can't cruise around town posing in it either - knowing that every head is turning in envy when you are driving round is one of the best parts of owning such a car IMO.

Liam

Track day 4 free ?

if you live near Donnington join DPRA i will post the link when i get home, joint membership costs us £21 for year, included is loads a perks including one free track day, this year it is near the end of june, we worked out last year that we had had around £350 worth for our £21 fee, free tickets, hospitlaity ect.....trouble is this year they won't know which group to put the car in, cars ? or bikes ? it's a bit of both, Jasper is spot on with insurance, i pay £130 for a blade engined locost, which is on the road for under 2.5k, could have done it for less, but fancy seats ect...put the cost up......just do it, as the ad says.....you know you want too, must pop off now, some german fellow in a Ferari wants to ply his trade round the streets of Monaco, can't miss that can i ?

I am going to go for it. I finally got the book today (ordered it a week ago!) and im going to read that through i think before i start.

Thanks for the help
RedRuM