Rite first... Hiya all as I'm new to the site

I'm 15, almost 16 and looking for a automotive project, I've already replaced the engine in my last car and have a fair bit of knowlegge.

Basicaly I am looking at building a locost and wanted some questions answering.

1) What's the cheapest you can build a locost for not including the price of the engine/transmission?

2) Can they be road legal? If so what tests do they have to pass?

3) Can a car engine such as the K-series be used as I already have a spare wiring loom, ecu, gearbox and block.

4) Is it dificult to build and is there any specialist tools needed?

Cheers

also the kit I'm looking at is the stuart taylor locoblade.

1) Probably £800-£1000 if you build the chassis yourself.

2)Yes, they have to pass SVA (single vehicle aproval) and MOT (can't remember what that stands for).

3) Yes, as you probably know, caterham use these engines and they can be had from 1.1-1.8 VVC.

4) there are plenty of specialist tools needed, welder, rivet gun etc. (can't be bothered to type them all out but you will find out when you start your build).

Adam

(p.s. I am 13)

Stuart Taylor Locoblade, the cheapest would probably be around £4000 fully built, my car has an ST IRS rear end.

Adam

MOT = Ministry of Transport

Ned.

Adam

Wow 13 I've been into cars seriously since about that age but never had the balls to do sumin like that, well done, Also you must have balls of steel to race a gsrx1100 hillclimber at that age.

Why would you say the stuart taylor would be that expensive? The chassis is £500, same again for the body pannels. Then it's just hubs, suspension and brakes. I already have driveshafts and bucket seats. Also it would probably be the 1.6k for road use 130-140bhp is enough for me!

Would you reccomend any other make of locost?

Cheers Pete

[Edited on 3/8/04 by carnage_uk]

but its not actually been called that for years

its summat like

HM vehicle inspectorate certificate of road worthyness

or similar

atb

mr pedantic


btw- its easy to spend nearer 3k on a locost..........if your not really careful, or are in the lest bit picky

can be done tho!

[Edited on 3/8/04 by stephen_gusterson]

That would be completely on the road, wheels, tyres, interior, lights etc. run up a huge bill aswell. I would go for a ZX9R engine if I were going ST, talk to colibriman about cheap bike engines. The K-series is a good idea though, very light and tuneable.

My car isn't finished yet (well, not even at rolling chassis) so it should be ready by the time I am 16 (old enough to have my racing liscence). I am putting the gsxr 1100 engine in it because it is quite possibly the most tunable bike engine you can get, turbo kits, big bore blocks (1500cc!!!) and many other things.

Adam

P.S. I have been into anything with wheels or an engine since I was about 5, I have had a quad bike (which I wasn't that bad at) and in the end persuded my dad to buy me a set of bits and a part built chassis.

[Edited on 3/8/04 by phelpsa]

your dad rocks adam! mine bought me a hacksaw when i was 13, yours got you started on a kit car!

Yes, but I had to buy the hacksaw

Adam

You lucky bastards, my dad made me stay away from his tools completely, let alone let have a hacksaw. I got my first licence when I was 16, then moved from New York City to NJ 3 months after that, where they wont issue you a liscence until your 17, and even then your only allowed to drive between like 630 am and 1000pm, with no passengers under the age of 21 (crock of horse pooh it is), and I really didnt start to get into cars until I moved down to Georgia when I was 19, and had already been driving for 3 years.

Not even a junior hacksaw

Adam

My dad not allowed me to even look at his "tool"

oi derf,we arnt lucky,you have cheap fuel and V8,s we have speed cameras and beirut stylie dirt tracks for roads

You don't have corners

Adam

wanna bet we have corners, you try going in a straight line anywhere (except for major highways, granted they arnt much of turns, but they are there, plus if you know the right road you can really have lots of fun.

Plus I plan to race in SoloI, in the PA Hill Climb Series, almost looks like these guys might have some fun!

Oh yeh, cheap fuel (it's still cheaper than by you guys, haha!!!) I'm paying over $2.00US a gallon, about $1.20UK, V8's, all we have are antiquated pushrod engines, yes they make power, but they are heavy and huge, and eat fuel, give me a turbo 4 anyday

[Edited on 3/8/04 by derf]

now thanks to the chineese fuel prices are going up again

They need it for their cigarette lighters .

quote:

---

Originally posted by derf
I'm paying over $2.00US a gallon, about $1.20UK[Edited on 3/8/04 by derf]

---

i think like most thangs american a US gallon is bigger

The US gallon is smaller... because their pint is smaller... 16 fl.oz. instead of 20 fl.oz.

David

[Edited on 4/8/04 by David Jenkins]

k

Hi Pete,
I reckon K series is a good plan. Any k in a locost will go V.well.
As a word of caution, i have never seen one fitted in a ST chassis, you may find it pokes rather high out of the bonnet, cos although its a VERY light engine its quite tall and also quite wide at the bottom end. ( you have one so you know what shape it is)

The other things to bear in mind are that you will need a bellhousing, clutch arm, starter etc...not a problem but it will cost a few quid.

You may also find that to get it tested and approved for road use (Single vehicle approval test) you need to fit the cat. Again not a huge problem but wrth considering.

Anyways mate, hope this is helpful, good luck.

Cheers

Chris

You'll need one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=72205&item=7914647453&rd=1

Adam

Phelpsa's find above is a good option or the bellhousing to use at it places the clutch release arm nice and high so as not to use up drivers foot space.

beware, i think that caterham use the xr4i type 9 as mentioned in the description which have a longer input shaft and are quite rare now..

Ned.

They do indeed use an xr4i box which does have a longer input shaft.

They use it because it has a better set of ratios and has the reputaton for being a little more robust. Its still not good ratios for a k series really tho.

You can buy bellhousings elsewhere if you want to use a type 9 5speed from an inline 4 engine. (really bad gear ratios)

There are also sometimes issues with the diamter of the input shaft.....

Cheers

Chris