Hi guys,
just bought the Book and intend to make a chassis. But i have here an Opel Corsa A that has a longitudinal motor ??, not a "vertical"??? motor such as the one in the book. After searching a lot in the net, i think the cars that use this motors are called Kit Cars... Sorry if i´m saying something very wrong but what i whant is to use the Opel(think you call them NOVA) motor. Do you know of some chassis drawing site with measures that i can use for such a motor??? A bit like the one in the book? Also i'm in Portugal so buying a chassis in UK is a bit complicated ;-)
Sorry for the mistakes both in English and technical speaking but would really appreciate some help.
Regards,
José

Greetings!

And welcome to the madhouse.

Your Corsa has a transverse engine layout.... the engine in the book is longitudinal.

But any engine can work one way or the other- it is the gearbox that makes it transverse or longitudinal.

Your Corsa is front wheel drive (and has a front wheel drive transverse gearbox) so that's why you want a longitudinal car because the Locost is rear wheel drive.

If you can get a rear wheel drive donor car then it is a lot easier. A Sierra is probably your best bet as I don't imagine there are many MK2 Escorts in Portugal!

You CAN use your Corsa engine if you want.... but you'll need to join it to a rear wheel drive gearbox which may not be easy.

But you'll also need to get a rear wheel drive rear axle anyway.

At the end of the day you might as well start off with a rear wheel drive car with a longitudinal engine and gearbox!!!

Hope that helps and makes sense.

Cheers,
James

It's probably also worth thinking about MX5 as a donor too. They're rear wheel drive, reliable and use Ford engines (zetec I think). They've probably got better running gear (uprights, brakes and prop shaft) than a sierra too.

Bit more pricey to buy, but as a single donor that comes with a zetec engine rather than a pinto, it's worth it!

Its not a zetec, although both have double overhead cams...

PS my mx5 is for sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

£1895 or make me an offer!!!!!!!!!!!

StevieB is right about an MX5 being a possible donor for your car....

There's even a Locost inspired book about it:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Cheap-Sports-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0760322872/sr=1-3/qid=1157972353/ref=sr_1_3/202-2880228-0573468?ie=UTF8&s=books< br />
Hope that helps,
James

I almost wish I'd explored the MX5 donor possibility a bit more - the uprights are far nicer for a donor and the calipers are far lighter too

He could use the Corsa/Nova and try to find a Isuzu Gemini or Opel Kadett type C 1973-1979.

A red-top 2.0 litre fits to the getrag of the opel manta/rekord. So also in Portugal prob an option??

thanks, speccialy to James for such a self explanatory answer. So, i have an Opel Corsa A for sale and already looking for an Escort. There are many Escorts here in Pt, while Mazda Mx5 are few and VEEERRRYYYY expensive.Lawnmower i buy your mx5, putted at my door... :-)
T.J. also thanks but no way going to invent what is working already. I'm looking for an Escort or... a Datsun 1200. I had 3 in my family in the past but no one now, and they are quite expensive 'cause they are used for racing... But it was the car my father had and where i learned to drive some 24 years ago... Enough of sorries and once again thanks friends for explanations,
Regards,
José Lobo,
Porto, Portugal