camlv
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 posted on 3/11/04 at 05:13 AM |
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Starting out
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.
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James
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 08:16 AM |
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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
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wicket
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 08:43 AM |
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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.
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camlv
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 10:06 AM |
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£5000 GBP!!! could i do it budget for around £1000 GBP? and whats the difference between a locost and a locust?
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James
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 10:52 AM |
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£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
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camlv
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 11:15 AM |
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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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James
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 12:01 PM |
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If you say so!
James
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TheGecko
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 12:55 PM |
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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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chrisg
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 06:38 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by camlv
whats the difference between a locost and a locust?
A locost is a steel spaceframe similar to the Original Lotus, the locust is a Timber (medite) body, skinned with aluminium on a ladder frame chassis,
The locost is dynamically far superior and built from the book "Build your own sportscar by Ron Champion.
There is a thriving Locost Club with membership only £10 per year.
Mail me for details
Cheers
Chris
Note to all: I really don't know when to leave well alone. I tried to get clever with the mods, then when they gave me a lifeline to see the
error of my ways, I tried to incite more trouble via u2u. So now I'm banned, never to return again. They should have done it years ago!
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 3/11/04 at 08:35 PM |
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quote:
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
The problem with trying to stick to a tight budget, is that as you progress and you are happy with the project, you get prepared to spend more on the
car as not to ruin it for a hapeth of tar. My budget is £20 per week, I have been bulding for just over 2 years and almost finished, and have not
really gone over budget - £2000, but I have paint and SVA to go so add £500. £2500 is not a bad price for a car like this. I have been offered £3500
for mine as it stands, swiftly told to ****off
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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camlv
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| posted on 4/11/04 at 02:18 AM |
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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?
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]
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scotlad
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| posted on 4/11/04 at 02:22 AM |
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good luck cam. cant see you managing it though.....
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camlv
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 posted on 4/11/04 at 02:34 AM |
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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
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camlv
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| posted on 4/11/04 at 02:36 AM |
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WOW i just got upgraded to a junior builder, I think someone should change me back to a n00b
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TheGecko
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| posted on 4/11/04 at 04:04 AM |
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quote:
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?
Cam,
The "ICV thing" is a little more involved than that Effectively, you're proving that your home made one-off meets the same
ADR's (Australian Design Rules) as any other currently produced car eg Falcon, Commodore, Corolla etc. In practice ICV's don't need
to be destructively crash tested but instead need to pass a torsion (twisting) and beaming (bending) test on the bare chassis. Those tests (and a
variety of other things) are conducted under the supervision of the approving engineer who will grant you a VIN for your pride and joy. You can bank
on about AU$1000-1500 for engineers fees so there's £400-600 staright away.
Some of the ADR's concern engine emissions. Current vehicles must comply with ADR79/01 (equivalent to the current Euro 3 standard in Europe).
In most Australian states, if you get started soon (ie before 31 Dec 2004) you'll probably be allowed to comply with ADR37/01. That level of
emissions compliance was standard on Australian delivered vehicles from about 1997 onwards.
quote:
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.
See above. You need to be able to prove to the satisfcation of your engineer and your local registration authorities that your engine of choice meets
(at least) ADR37/01. The only sensible way to do this is to use an engine that was sold in a vehicle that complied ie one made post '96. Then
you'll find that, almost without expception, anything in that age range in an engine size you'll want (1.6-2.0 litre 4-cyl) is FWD and
finding a matching RWD gearbox becomes the next part of the fun
quote:
Are there large costs to get it certified and registered?
See above 
I know this all sounds terribly negative but I'm trying to set your expectations realistically. There are a LOT of Locosts either on the road
or close to being finished in Australia - I've heard estimates as high as 150-200 cars. I doubt that any of those vehicles owe their owners
less than AU$10,000 and most would be closer to AU$15,000.
Like I said before, join the locost_Oz group on Yahoo and ask away - this group is great if you're building in the UK but the Australian
specific knowledge is all on Locost_Oz.
Dominic
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camlv
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| posted on 4/11/04 at 04:12 AM |
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Yeah thanks heaps, i'll ask for some more help on oz locost then.
Cam Elvey
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