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found this Ron Champion 'Locost' Seven kitcar
mangogrooveworkshop - 30/1/09 at 11:50 PM

http://retrorides.proboards86.com/index.cgi?board=FSW&action=display&thread=53322
possible cheap sale

omega0684 - 30/1/09 at 11:53 PM

don't want to cause offense but that looks like a right bodge job!

koiking125 - 31/1/09 at 08:12 AM

Sorry but WTF!!

mad4x4 - 31/1/09 at 08:53 AM

quote:
Originally posted by omega0684
don't want to cause offense but that looks like a right bodge job!




WTF - It's a Project - Not a SVA'd runner!!!

Go buy a Caterham or a Westie if you feel like that - People who slate others work for no reason are tyre kicking time wasters usually. Or people who have never built a car just bought a pre built one

[Edited on 31/101/09 by mad4x4]

Mole - 31/1/09 at 08:56 AM

Maybe this reflects badly on me but I cannot see anything much too wrong. Some rectification work required but providing it was cheap enough it should be okay.

r1_pete - 31/1/09 at 09:01 AM

Interesting use of an inlet manifold in pics 9 & 11.

Otherwise as a 1st fit I don't see too much wrong, sure it needs dismantling and finishing properly.....

Peteff - 31/1/09 at 09:18 AM

When I was building mine I remember seeing one that was brush painted and home made fibreglass and thinking, "he's on the road and enjoying himself" and now all he would get is insults. They all start off as a pile of scrap if you are doing it properly, the scuttle is the only bit I would criticise and that only needs finishing. Remember the name of the site?

mark chandler - 31/1/09 at 09:46 AM

Just looks to me like he has followed the book then parked it for a couple of years.

Mine has things I would change if I did it again but it self centres perfectly even when pushing out the garage, holds the road and is extremly fast.... and its not a kit and does not follow the book in many areas.

To many kits IMHO !!! its no-longer locost using that route. A 928gts porsche cames in at £8k now, its all relative.

kj - 31/1/09 at 10:41 AM

Good on him for building it, i bought my chassis off here and welded all the brackets on and done the hard work of finding all the parts, the locost way.Just like this guy
Yeh its not perfect but its his own work.

How many are starting from scratch?

[Edited on 31/1/09 by kj]

snapper - 31/1/09 at 11:37 AM

A mate of mine who posts on here (Gavin) bought a Ron Champion chassis that has needed an awfull lot of work to bring it back, a lot more than this "project".
Thats what we do, one persons bag of nails is anothers gem find

RoadkillUK - 31/1/09 at 11:57 AM

It looks fine to me, just been left to rust for a couple of years.

Anyone know where this chap is located?

PAULD - 31/1/09 at 12:17 PM

Hear hear to those above. you've restored my faith in locostbuilders!

mangogrooveworkshop - 31/1/09 at 02:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by omega0684
don't want to cause offense but that looks like a right bodge job!



I have worked out what the difference is between the two.......Silly me its the bubble wrap.....





Ive got a car thats needed lots of rectification just to make it self center and it still has a lot needed to get it to a safe standard of handling to match its sonic performance.
It started as a pile of bits that have all needed cleaned and sorted. When we started out in South Africa building these replicas we made everything as nobody except BIRKIN and Caterham were the only people making these cars. Westfield and Robin hood were a distant lawyers dream.
We made everything including the shocks as SPAX cost 1000 rand to import!

We borrowed a birkin and molded the wings and nose cone scuttle ect..
The body work was hand beaten ali like the original no plastic sides and backend.

We used scrap escorts for the kent engines gear box and axle. Alfas provided the carbs and citreons gave jager gauges.
The long suffering Cortina gave us the uprights and the rest was just hard work.

The best of all the plans were the most original thing on the whole project......lotus series 2 chassis plans...still have them in fact.

Ive been building cars since I was 16 and they all started as scrappers. I had one car new that got stolen from North Beach Durban a few weeks after I got it. Since then we buy cheapys and run em to they die.
Even buying stuff off MK we got the seconds without the bubble wrap......
That lad has put his heart and soul into creating those bits, Hey ho not shiney and new but all the bits are there.


[Edited on 31-1-09 by mangogrooveworkshop]

TGR-ECOSSE - 31/1/09 at 02:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by omega0684
don't want to cause offense but that looks like a right bodge job!


Just incase you don't know that car for sale is called a LOCOST. Do a search on here i am sure there might be somebody building one similar

bob - 31/1/09 at 02:49 PM

Looks like a perfect project to me for someone, as said earlier 10 years ago thats exactly how it was unless you had a big fat wallet/cheque book.

I've been driven 100's of miles in cars legally on the road that look 10 times worst than that

CaptainJosh - 31/1/09 at 02:56 PM

Respect for MAKING his own car. I've gone down the same route and I think I'll be allot more satisfied at the end of it.

IMHO there are too many MK's, MAC's and MNR's that all look the same to me. Yes many of us can't weld and/or don't have the time to learn. But it doesn't mean you can slag people off for having a go.

big_wasa - 31/1/09 at 03:17 PM

I just wonder how many on here have made there own chassis and wishbones ?

Danozeman - 31/1/09 at 04:18 PM

I like it!!

I have all the metal in the shed to build my own chassis which i will be starting shortley, and plan to do it very cheaply. That is the idea of a locost.
If i knew where he was id be tempted to have the lot off him.

nige - 31/1/09 at 04:36 PM

i bought my chassis in a half built state like that , went up to newcastle with a trailer and
met two other guys who had bought the engine and running gear , we took the part built to a indy estate and stripped it on my trailer they loaded eng and running gear in to
a fiesta and i rode off home with a part built chassis and back axle
made all my own brackets and wishbones
four years later an im on the home run
well maybe

Peteff - 31/1/09 at 05:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
I just wonder how many on here have made their own chassis and wishbones ?


I bet it's more than two

Daddylonglegs - 31/1/09 at 09:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
I just wonder how many on here have made their own chassis and wishbones ?


I bet it's more than two


Well I'm in the middle of doing that right now

But after 30 minutes chain-drilling and filing a 40mm hole I wonder if it was the right choice

Totally agree with most of the previous, for me it's not just about flies in your teeth, it's the journey to the end product, I'm really getting a good feeling every time I finish another day of fabrication

chrisg - 31/1/09 at 10:31 PM

quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
I just wonder how many on here have made there own chassis and wishbones ?


Sticks hand up!

Cheers

Chris

CaptainJosh - 1/2/09 at 09:15 PM

quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
I just wonder how many on here have made there own chassis and wishbones ?


With a sizable amount of help from my dad, done and done