quirkrover25
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 posted on 30/12/07 at 05:20 PM |
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New Build
Hi All,
I am in the very first stage of starting to build my first locost,
I have the book by Ron Champion,
But am very confused!
Where do I start??
I have read the book about parts to collect etc and donor cars
But I read on the net that you can use Motorbike engines what is the advantage to this
and also do I need a car still for the axle??
I am living in Spain now so I want to build a left hand drive!
Please can anyone let me know if this is possible using ron's book??
Thankyou
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joneh
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:25 PM |
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No probelms with LHD at all - quite a few on this forum. The only problem with a bike engine is the lack of reverse.
You can do your build any way you want. I'm not bothering with an entire donor - just getting all the bits seperatly.
IMO you should have at least 8 cylinders in a v configuration Save the braun / Morphy Richards engines for hairdryers 
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:26 PM |
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Welcome
Lhd will be easy, just have the steering rack and the dash the other way round.
I started by stripping the donor car and building the chassis at the same time. Taken 9 months but getting there.
The first thing you need to do is to decide cec (car engine car) or bec (bike engine car).
Im sure someone will come and tell you all the benefits of a bike engine but i beleive you will need a very light car to get the best out of one.
Cec will be much simpler if you want to go purely by the book but i would also recommend you buy chris gibbs haynes roadster book which is based on a
sierra and has more suggestions for different engines including bike engines.
Hope this helps.
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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quirkrover25
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:28 PM |
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Thanks
Thanks for the reply!
Does anyone know of any places I can purchase the parts that will deliver to me in Spain!
Also where would anyone recommend I start!
If I give a company a photocopy of the chassis drawings... Do you think they would be able to produce this for me??
Thanks
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Mole
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:29 PM |
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I haven't bought a donor, just got pieces when required. I did this because I didn't have room. It would be a lot cheaper though if I had
bought a donor. Its probably easier if you have all the parts before you start ( I didn't) so you can be sure they are going to fit when you
build the chassis (if you do).
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zxrlocost
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:31 PM |
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Bike Engine cars £ for £ are technically more advanced than car engines create way more power per litre
have sequential gearboxes clutchless upshifts
rev to 14,000rpm
pull fine through the rev range regardless of what you read and them having no torque
sound better
you get more attention when you pull up and more people interested when you say youve got an r1 engine than a pinto zetec or xe
easier to work on
last but not least yo can do 60mph in first gear
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quirkrover25
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:36 PM |
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What About the problem with not being able to reverse??
Thanks
quote:
Originally posted by zxrlocost
Bike Engine cars £ for £ are technically more advanced than car engines create way more power per litre
have sequential gearboxes clutchless upshifts
rev to 14,000rpm
pull fine through the rev range regardless of what you read and them having no torque
sound better
you get more attention when you pull up and more people interested when you say youve got an r1 engine than a pinto zetec or xe
easier to work on
last but not least yo can do 60mph in first gear
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by zxrlocost
you get more attention when you pull up and more people interested when you say youve got an r1 engine than a pinto zetec or xe
Ah but even better to say you have a jag engine, especially if it is supercharged 
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by quirkrover25
What About the problem with not being able to reverse??
You can get reverse box's or get out and push
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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Mole
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:41 PM |
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And if you get a bike engine you get to suggest everyone else does the same anytime someone asks whether they should use a Zetec or a Pinto 
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gazza285
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:47 PM |
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Most popular bike engined car......
DO NOT PUT ON KNOB OR BOLLOCKS!
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RK
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 05:58 PM |
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May I?
IF you have access to parts nearby
IF you have friends interested - ones who are mechanically inclined
IF you have the garage space
IF you have the funds/tools/patience/abilities
THEN go for it. I have learned a few things: it will end up costing more with individual parts, compared to a donor. A kit with most of the parts
included (MNR, MK et al) will save a lot of trouble, but you may spend more initially, AND, not ALL parts are included. EBay can get expensive with
shipping added on.
It is actually more complicated that it looks from Uncle Ron's very inspiring book, which remember, was based on the idea that readily usable
parts are cheap, and easily found in circa 1996 England. THIS IS NO LONGER THE CASE.
Stay on this site if you are using English parts. The guys here are great, but remember, they tend to have deep pockets and a VERY optimistic
outlook!! If you come out of it having spent 10,000 E, you will be doing OK. I will be spending about 18,000 E here in Canada. Mistakes were
made...
[Edited on 30/12/07 by RK]
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zxrlocost
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 06:10 PM |
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get a reverse box or push the car will weigh around 450kg
if all those great points havent made you want a bike engine get a demo ride thatll put your mind at rest
you only have to look at the amount of people fitting bike engines either new builds or from car engines
if it dont give you an adrenaline rush it aint worth having
supercharged jag engine thatll be good for the drag strip
and thats about it
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Humbug
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 06:20 PM |
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Try talking to some other people based in Spain - they might be able to help you with info on availability of parts, etc.
From a quick look, the following Locostbuilders members are in Spain:
Alez
DUR
robertst
tks
Also, if you don't want to bnuild the chassis yourself (and there are apparently errors in Ron's book anyway), then I think it would be
better to buy a ready-made chassis from one of the established manufacturers, rather than give the plans to some local company (who probably
hasn't done it before) to weld for you.
Good luck!
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quirkrover25
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 06:21 PM |
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??
Does anyone know a supplier that will supply the chassis??
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Mole
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 06:35 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by quirkrover25
Does anyone know a supplier that will supply the chassis??
Not sure of any who supply a book chassis although there are three suppliers within the first 6 names in the links section of this forum who supply
something derived from it. Suggest you do a search on the forum for feedback on the suppliers. MNR for example appear to have a very good reputation
although I cannot say I have used them myself. Otherwise you could also buy a welder.
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roadrunner
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 07:29 PM |
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If you are a bit younger than the average age, i would sugest a bike engine fitment, otherwise, it's a car engine, some people find a bike
engine a bit extreme and need someting a bit more sedate, something there that there brain can keep up with.
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t.j.
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 07:39 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by quirkrover25
Does anyone know a supplier that will supply the chassis??
I googled some and found this.
Maybe you can read it  , looks like there are some suppliers: http://www.forocoches.com/foro/showthread.php?t=108242&page=63
BTW: flak monkey is also mentioned! And he is a lot around here.
[Edited on 30/12/07 by t.j.]
Please feel free to correct my bad English, i'm still learning. Your Dutch is awfull! :-)
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nitram38
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| posted on 30/12/07 at 09:57 PM |
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The advantage of a Bec is power to weight ratio and acceleration.
An R1 car is rapid from a standing start and as already mentioned, sequential gearchanges with clutchless shifts are possible (trickshifter).
Good low mileage R1's aren't cheap if you go for the injection (mine 700 miles £1.8K), plus you will need to add in a power commander to
tune it. Carbed versions are a lot cheaper, but there are tuning issues for emmissions at sva to get around.
Just think of the 0-60 times of those close to ferrari's/lambos for a fraction of the cost and it's a no brainer.
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