CobraJim Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solder_guy Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 So where do you guys get your fiberglass parts from? Nose cones, fenders, etc.. Cloveland Motorsports has all of this. Search eBay for "locost" and you will see all the parts .. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Jim-If you're looking for encouragement, you've come to the right place. Keep in mind that you have have your V8 and eat it too...Mazda has an LS1 drivetrain in his Rotus. A bunch of the guys have also built their own, either from a kit, plans, or from scratch. I went the easy route and bought one already built...but have "improved" it in the 2 years I've had it. Welcome and I hope some of the other guys chime in.-Al P.S. If you could swing it, hop on a plane to St. Louis today and watch Run 'N Gun...which is pretty much a Cobras vs. Sevens shootout, from I know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 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? Jim, welcome aboard. Not trying to drive you away (we love seven enthusiasts - car owners or not), but you can find alot of useful info at locostusa.com. Definitely hang out here - you will find seven owners as a friendly bunch. Also, try to arrange to get a ride in a variety of sevens to see what you like, either in terms of brand, or general characteristics - perhaps a bike engined car vs. a high strung 4 banger vs. a V8, etc... By their nature, sevens are not "seen one, seen them all" kind of cars... :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 a high strung 4 banger vs. a V8, etc... :cheers: Who are you calling high strung? I prefer "indefatigable" :jester: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 i ain't know nothin' 'bout them there fancy werds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 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? BTW, share some pics of that car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaLoco Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I'm surprised that with Slngsht's proclivity toward vehicles propelled by Detroit Iron that he didn't offer up that " your Cobra would make a excellent donor " for a Locost! ... Check out these Locost USA links for suppliers ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderbrake Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Cobrajim: welcome to the se7ens world, and to USA7s.com. Click on the link in the upper right hand corner of the web page labeled LINKS. It will take you to lots of sites that include kits as well as the locost-do-it-yourself route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I'm surprised that with Slngsht's proclivity toward vehicles propelled by Detroit Iron that he didn't offer up that " your Cobra would make a excellent donor " for a Locost! ... Check out these Locost USA links for suppliers ... Cobra? Donor? http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/images/smilies/smilie_thud.gif I wouldn't trade my seven for a Cobra, but my vette will be gone in short order for a properly done Cobra replica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Welcome aboard. I'm very new at this too, with a kit on the way. But I'm going the 4-cylinder route. Cheers!:cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homebrew Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hey CobraJim, I'm a newbie here too. I just finished my Locost in March and thought I'd add my 2c/worth. A couple of other places for fiberglass are Curtiss Unlimited in northern CA (707.443.8523). They make fenders and nosecones for original 7s including front cycle and clamshell style. They seem to work the graveyard shift. I could never get a hold of them before 3:00p and if you leave a message it seems they return your call after that time. Very nice people, very down to earth. They delivered my rear fenders to me here in Portland, OR since they were coming up for a big antique car swap meet. They do buisness the old fashioned way, order what you want, they ship when ready, you receive, if you like what they sent, send a check, if not ship the stuff back - WOW! Only downside is they don't have a website. Another is Kinetic Vehicles (www.kineticvehicles.com). He makes a couple of different nosecones and supplies all kinds of parts for Locosts. Jack is a funny guy, a bit quirky but good people. Hope this helps and good luck if you jump into this project. :crazy: Jim Larfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraJim Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rv-4mike Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Very nice Cobra! FFR? I struggled with the Cobra versus Seven decision for a year before deciding to order an Ultralite kit. In fact convinced a good friend of mine to build an FFR Cobra. Ultimately it was driving his completed Cobra that forced me to consider alternatives. His car is beautiful and really gets a lot of looks going down the road. For me there were 3 problems. 1) It wasnt very comfortable for me. I just dont fit very well for some reason. 2) It wasnt as much fun to drive as I had hoped. Good straight line performance, but heavy steering, heavy brakes, heavy clutch, etc... It reminded me of several of my hot rod cars from my younger days. Other than the eye appeal, my current MR2 Turbo is more fun to drive than any of those old cars and more fun than my friends Cobra too. This led me to look at smaller lighter cars. First the Ariel Atom (awesome car but too much money), and ultimately to the Sevens. A drive in Loren's Ultralite sold me. 3) Too generic. Now that I'm looking I realize that there are probably a half dozen FFR Cobras within a 5 mile radius. When I went to the Knotts kit car show this past spring there were more FFR Cobras than all other makes combined. I'd estimate 75 Cobras. I have a personality quirk that makes me want to do something different from the crowd (not necessarily a good thing). Anyway, a Seven is certainly different. None of which changes the fact that a Cobra is an awesome looking car with great perfomance and a significant heritage. You've got the best of both worlds going here. One of each! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraJim Posted October 6, 2007 Author Share Posted October 6, 2007 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locostv8 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 The Cobra would make a good donor car. I'm building a FFR IRS car minus the body. I plan on using PS, Hydroboost and ABS (help eliminate flat spotted tires), and cruise for ticket avoidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 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. Jim, while we all have our biases, of course (high-strung 4 bangers unite!)...the forum and club are marque-inclusive. Not everyone's cup of tea, but a great destination for new folks open to the many car type options as well as a very fun group of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjslutz Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Jim Having had an aluminum Cobra # CSX3300 and some 12 cylinder cars and many 911s and others. I always had my eye on an seven type. I just never got around to punching this seven ticket. Now that I'm a recovering top end junkie this little Birkin is a great car. I no longer have the lust for big speed numbers, but still like handling and quick neat cars. I think age and being unemployed has something to do with it. The seven type is a great toy. I'm not certain I'll ever get hard core as some here, to do long distances with it though. That could change, but I doubt it. I didn't ever do bike trips either, just local blasts. I'm still trying to make the Birkin fit, if I do it will be time for more HP. I love the light weight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xflow7 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 perhaps a bike engined car vs. a high strung 4 banger vs. a V8, etc... Ahem...how dare you overlook the fire-breathing potency of an OHV 8-valve Pinto engine, featuring driveway lubrication? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Ahem...how dare you overlook the fire-breathing potency of an OHV 8-valve Pinto engine, featuring driveway lubrication? I was driving behind one of "those" engines a few weeks ago... had to wipe my windshield down :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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