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New Member: Just purchased "1972 Lotus Seven" aka Miata-powered Locost


mca

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Hi All,

 

I've been lurking for a while and finally purchased a Sevenesque roadster. My name is Aaron Lee and I've been interested in Sevens for the last few years. I've pretty always concentrated on Locosts for the, well you guessed it, low cost of entry. Not that I wouldn't want a proper Caterham or Birkin, but those are a little out of my reach for the time being.

 

Having owned 11 Miatas (I have to kick one out of the garage to accommodate the Locost) I was introduced to Sevens by Keith Tanner at Flyin Miata with his heavily modified CMC Locost. I followed the acquisition and build of that car for a while, found the http://www.locostusa site and had dreams of building my own car. I made sure to secure the OK from the wife, who said I could do anything as long as she had a space to park in the garage. I don't weld or fabricate much at all so eventually gravitated towards buying a complete or almost complete car. I got serious in the last couple of months when some high-quality examples became available.

 

After missing out on this car:http://www.underwood-racing.com/project_seven.htm I found the Locost I own today.

 

http://www.locostusa.com/forums/view...hp?f=35&t=9336

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/43-off-...ost-build.html

 

I purchased the car in Huntsville, Alabama and drove it back to Huntington Beach on a trailer, 3 days of driving across the good 'ole USA.

 

Some quick stats:

 

1.8L Miata with 5-speed

4.30 Torsen Rear diff (IRS)

Turbo running about 17 PSI

240 RWHP and 210 RWTQ

Tec-S Electromotive Fuel Management (Tuned on Mustang Dyno at VeryCoolParts.com)

15 Gallon RCI fuel cell

NT01's all 4 corners

.095 DOM roll bar

Speed hut gauges

 

I'll be making minor improvements to her in the near future, but all the hard work has been done.

 

Feel free to ask any questions as I'm still learning more each day.

 

Aaron Lee

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Sounds like a nice car. So nice I'd love to know "how low the cost" of the locost?

 

Less than the cost of a high performance Zetec or Duratec engine. I've seen those priced at $15k for a decent build.

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Was it the red one from Ebay a few weeks ago...he asked quisitively.

 

Yes, he had it on Ebay. Luckily for me Ebay cancelled his auction and I called the next day.

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  • 2 months later...

http://hphotos-iad1.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/297262_10150405247662656_525477655_10635923_446038_n.jpg

 

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/299165_10150405239757656_525477655_10635859_1838416_n.jpg

 

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/296158_10150405247187656_525477655_10635916_5879399_n.jpg

 

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/298762_10150405247817656_525477655_10635926_897833_n.jpg

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http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/301316_10150405247432656_525477655_10635920_6626236_n.jpg

 

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/301602_10150405238737656_525477655_10635856_7106950_n.jpg

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mca,

 

Here is a link to a very good cage builder in the Southern California area and he knows about 7's and their different styles as he owns one.

http://www.blackbirdfabworx.com/

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, Martin. I have been in contact with Moti and we've discussed cage design and estimated cost. I just wanted to see if there were other good options out there.

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One of the nicest Lowcosts I have seen. Looks to have ample power as well:).

 

The build quality is quite nice. Obviously not as nice as the Caterhams and Birkins I've seen, but the cost of entry was much lower. I had to buy this after I hesitated on Jeff Underwood's R1 Locost.

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I've just inked a deal for Jeff Underwood's R1 Locost Seven.

 

As a result, this car is now up for sale. I'll post the details in another thread.

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Better for me:

 

1) Already has a rollcage (I was going to have one built for my current car)

2) BEC - always wanted to try a BEC with sequential transmission

3) Suspension has been well-developed on track

 

Realistically, it will be slower in a straight line and less powerful than my current Locost with a turbo Miata engine. But I'm willing to sacrifice that for a chance at the bike engine/trans.

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