Jon W.

I've registered 2 cars in PA. One took 6 weeks the other 3 months. There is a formal process. Search the PA DOT website for "Special Construction". The Locost 7 took 6 weeks. The other car, a replica of an exposed frame, English designed roadster with a vigorously protected trademarked name, took 3 months. The best thing about PA is that the cars are emissions exempt so anything goes under the bonnet. Just need to have safety inspection.

It's better to alternate between air and nitrogen. Change monthly.

If you want cheap, build your own. I built 3000#capacity, 6' x 12' deck, plus spare tire/wheel, w/o brakes for under $800. Weighs 760#. Have used it for a Miata (couple hundred pounds overloaded), and a Civic donor. Built it in two weekends. All components came on a pallet from TX. I don't need brakes in PA since tow vehicle has GVW = 8600#.

Some random thoughts: 1. Don't do it in stages. You'll just make more work for yourself and spend more money. 2. Do you know if the drivetrain will fit in frame and under the hood? How much frame modification is required? 3. Don't underestimate amount of rework to swap engines, wiring harness, cooling sys, frame mods, reskinning, etc. 4. Sell nosecone to finance entire project with leftover $. Only half kidding. The nosecone is worth over $2500 to replicate. 5. What's the value of the existing drivetrain? Sell to finance project.

They recommend using the waterproof (non slotted) back cover on the camera case above 100 mph to reduce wind noise.

Register today and the passes will be mailed to you so you can drive right in. There's an autocross. I'll check which day. Usually Saturday AM. http://store.carlisleevents.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=23

I'm in PA per the member info header. If you want to learn how to do them yourself go to http://www.metalmeet.com. If you want them professionally made, I'm going to need to defer to Randy G who is a master compared to my beginner status in panel beating. I'm sure Randy could wire edge them. Mine would be unedged like on my Xxxx http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1503&start=165.

Rear fenders are easy to make. You bend a flange for the inside. Radius the outside edge and use a Lancaster shrinker for forming the radius. You can bend the flange over the edge of your work bench and the edge radius over a PVC pipe. So the only tool you need to buy or borrow is the shrinker. You'll also need to use a propane torch to anneal the flanges. If you can't find any, let me know. I could roll some for you.

The Import Car show is coupled with the Kit Car show. See: http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?p=30319#post30319 USA7S has been there at least the two? previous years.

WOW! This is 25 miles from me. I've got to get up there some time.

You got it, Kitcat, it was wet leaves that caused me to leave the road. That and the 10% downgrade and the tight 90* curve. Like ice. The other 99.99% of the road surfaces were dry and leaf free. This road was barely traveled and accumulated piles of leaves. While extracting the car, a pickup truck lost all forward motion, spinning his tires, trying to climb the hill. Ironicly, I am attracted to this type of road. The previous part of the blat was great. If you're interested, more details can be found at: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1503&p=78919#p78919

Guess I should have left the bumpers on the car......... I'll buff it out this coming weekend.

It's 5 -10 degrees chillier in Reading. I just got back from a fake Atom blat and am still warming my hands. Time for warm gloves. Still a great day. I smell my Yoko R888's immediately after working them in a turn. That's instant gratification. Got big smiles and waves from the Amish/Mennonite girls on their bicycles. The Harley riders waved me through when I got in the middle of their small grop at a stop sign. They made the right decision. They weren't riding my pace. Those green things are black walnuts. Some fall naturally from the trees, but the squirrels also drop them on the road so you de-husk them with your car. They do the rest with the inner shell.

I don't think the "chassis" rails were ever made from wood. Originally, they were steel and now galvanized steel "Z" rails (for the base models) per Kevin's first photo . The factory uses the term "frame" to refer to the ash framework upon which the body sheetmetal is fastened; frame of a traditional coach-built body. They mention the high strength, laminated ash they also use in the cars. That must be that new modern material we call plywood. It appears (from the Morgan web site photos) that the Aero and Aeromax still use ash framing under the sheetmetal, although, the chassis for those models are now made from bonded aluminum. They have to be the last manufacturer coach-building bodies.

What, exactly, could justify that price difference? For that price difference I'd reinstall my DOT $60 7" dia lights for inspection.

My local Hella shop advertises them: http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=131 $592.95 x 2

It took 15 weeks and 3 inspections, one by a PA DOT QA inspector, but the car has been titled, tagged, and inspected. The state inspector came to my garage June 22 armed with a 2-page form, a yard stick, and a 4" protractor. He borrowed my string to check the scrub lines. Nice guy, cut me some slack on a few details and filed a favorable report. I came back from a week's vacation yesterday and found the tag in the mail. Got it inspected today and it's legal. Some of the items added to pass inspection will be removed by me (bumpers) since they look downright silly. I'll leave the engine cover. It's a blast to drive.

Yes, that's Del's YC3 (Yellow Car 3), and the other belongs to Jeff Ellerby. Del runs that car in DMOD and EMOD by bolting on a 320-lb steel plate to the floor between heats. It has an RSX engine nearly in the passenger compartment.

I'm registered and will be there Sat and Sun with the Atom tribute car. My son graduates from Penn State Fri.

Again, thanks guys. Bob, I checked my calendar log. I started body panel work over a year ago. I decided it was time to finish the car. Warm weather is also close. I keep detailed records. One month I only logged 11 hrs of work on the car. We went thru some busy times at work. 27-month average is 55 hrs/month. I've recently reduced work hours (down to 27 hrs per week) to concentrate on fun things. Average car hours went to 104 hours per month since Nov 08. Energy? It's about used up.

All of the panels are not "finished" but were installed on the car so I could take photos for the state. Inspection is scheduled for Friday. The wait for PADOT processing is supposed to be 2 weeks. We'll see. It used to be 6 weeks. Car is insured by Hagerty, VIN pending.

Thanks guys. The drive train is a D17A2 from a 2001 Civic EX. 129 HP. 29,000 miles on engine. It's an economy car. Estimated weight is 1000 lbs; need to use a set of scales for final weight/CG determination/corner weighting. The frame alone is 240 lbs. Lots of tubes.

After 27 months and 1800+ hours, the Xxxx replica left the garage under its own power. I took a couple laps around the backyard. Should be road legal by Carlisle.

I'll be there. Will anyone mind me parking my faux Atom (AAIS) next to the Lotus 7's or LSIS's? Locost 7 may be in the "for sale" corral.

Not a 7. It's RCR's Atom knockoff.