CobraJim

My name is Jim, been a car guy forever, and am currently in the research mode on a Locost build. I ordered a couple of Locost books last week, included Keith Tanner's book and the new Haynes manual. I've always liked the quirky looks of a Super 7, really like the idea of a small light car, and would like to build a car that I could autocross and perhaps take on track days at the local road course. I've currently got a Factory Five Racing replica that I've built, but the Locost bug has bitten me. :cheers:

I joined the forum last week; live in Sandy. Anybody got an ongoing build that I could check out?

Ya Keith, I've been to Flyin' Miata's website many times as well as being a frequent lurker on Miata.net. I also re-read your article in Grassroots Motorsports last night about making sure guys building Locosts keep motivated. As you can guess, I'm currently in the active-research mode. And Grand Junction isn't really all that far from SLC. I'll stop by FM if I'm ever in the area.

Well, I've bit the bullet and ordered all three; the CD and the two books. (The Haynes and Keith's books.) I see this potentially being a mulit-year endeavor.

From the internet snooping that I done over the past few years regarding a Locost build, I see that there are a couple of books and a DVD available as well as the McSorley frame plans on the internet. Apparently Ron Champion's book is no longer available, however there's a new Haynes Locost book that is available. Also, I see that Keith Tanner from Flyin' Miata has a book on his Miata-based build. And there's a DVD prepared by Gary Brizendine that's got some good reviews on Amazon. So, what books and resources do you guys recommend? Are the above mentioned books and the DVD worthwhile? Any other books/plans/DVDs that you'd recommend? Thanks.

Yup, it's an FFR. Actually, this is the second version of the car. When I originally built it it was dark green, had the obligatory headers and side pipes, and manual steering and brakes. After driving it for two summers I'd decided on some upgrades that I wanted to make. First, it was way too loud. So, I pulled it off the road and had an under car exhaust system built for it. And since I needed to have my side pipe cutouts glassed-in, I went ahead and had the car repainted. I like the red a lot better than the green. Also, while it was off the road during my upgrade phase I attacked some of the same issues you (rv-4mike) mention in your post. I installed a power steering rack and pump to replace the original Flaming River manual rack. Since I now had a power steering pump, I decided to bite the bullet and install a Hydroboost power brake setup. Both very worthwhile projects. And it's kind of funny how these projects tend to snowball. I'll bet a lot of you guys have been down that path, too. And I'm getting a little jaded, but while they're not exactly common, our little group of owners here in the Salt Lake Valley is getting bigger. Plus there's a family in Provo that's building extremely accurate aluminum-bodied versions of Shelby's Cobra. (Anyone hear of a Kirkham? They just happen to own an old MIG aircraft factory in Poland that has craftsmen who can beat aluminum panels into works of art.) Anyway, I've only seen a couple of Seven-type cars on the road. Many times that number of fake Cobras. Finally, there's something very appealing about the idea of turning 3/4" square tubes, aluminum sheets, some fiberglass parts, an engine, tranny and associated bits and pieces into a road car/autocrosser. I better learn how to weld before I get too carried away, though!

Thanks for the welcome. If you go to some of the "Cobra" forums you'll see a lot of "my kit is better than your kit" posts that get kind of old. I doubt that you see that kind of comparison here. Anyway, here's my current toy: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/53246372_Sept. 2007 006 resized.jpg Truthfully, I'm not sure if I'll end up building a Seven or not, but I'd sure like to. I have a 1:18 model of Caterham sitting on the shelf above our PC for a little motivation as I type this.

Hello, all... I've lurked a little and decided to join, plus I've been a Lotus Seven fan for a long time; even remember getting info on the Rotus version many years ago. Anyway, I've been debating whether to try my hand at building a Seven. Maybe a Locost. Looks like there's some really nice home-built versions on this forum. And I've seen some of the frame plans on the internet. So where do you guys get your fiberglass parts from? Nose cones, fenders, etc... I've already built a kit car that's currently sitting in the garage, hence the user name, but a Seven has a lot of appeal to me. Maybe sell the "Roadster", build a Seven?