Last update: 8/28/08. Please note, this website was laid out using FireFox as the browser with the monitor set for 1280 x 1024. Column positions etc may vary when using other browsers or monitor settings.
 An original Lotus 7
with "clam shell wings".
Select from the list
below.
Click "Links" to see
a list of all the topics on the site.
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Introduction
If
you happened to have landed on this website by mistake you are
probably wondering what a "Locost" is. (Or are you just wondering
how the heck did I get here?)
A Locost is a car built in the spirit of the English Lotus 7 race/kit car. The Lotus 7 was first introduced in 1957 and is still being manufactured in much updated form by Caterham Cars in Surrey, UK. Originally the cars were intended to be used as race cars but many of the cars were licensed and driven on the street. Through the years many companies and individuals have built their own versions of the car. In 1996 Ron Champion wrote a book called "Build your own sports car for as little as £250" (ISBN 0-85429-976-9). This book has become the "bible" for the do it yourself builders around the world. Keith Tanner has written the American builder's bible, "How to build a cheap sports car" (ISBN-10: 0-7603-2287-2) using Miata running gear. Both books are very good. Another excellent book is "Lotus Seven" by Tony Weale (ISBN 1-85532-153-X). This book covers restoration, preparation and maintenance of all models of the Lotus 7 and Caterham cars from 1957 to 1985. Many Locosts are built from the ground up by individuals. It's a great learning experience. As one builder put it, "It's a kit car without the kit." Others are built by manufacturers to various levels of completeness. My car is one of those replicas. |
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Purpose of
this site
There are many sites
with complete
build diaries and pictures. I plan on only presenting pictures and
information that give more detail of my particular BEC (Bike Engine
Car) build or how I
solved various problems. If you would like to see details of some
aspect of Locouki
or have comments on the site please send me an email and I'll see if I
can post pictures of your request. And of course I'll
answer all emails.
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| Quick history of Locouki The
original owner ordered the car from CMC in 2003. It was built as a
roller (i.e. not running or completely finished). Luckily he got
delivery of the car before CMC went under. CMC installed most of the
major parts (engine etc) and did a very good job of welding the frame,
construction, putting the outer body panels on
and painting the frame etc.
He worked on the car for about a year using proper and really good components. For one reason or another he lost interest in finishing the car and I was able to buy it from him in March of 2006. When I got the car it was complete but still needed much to be done to finish it. Things that needed to be designed and fabricated included, coming up with a clutch release system, installing a gear shift setup for the paddle shifter, wiring the car, rerouting various hoses, building up the dashboard, installing the windshield and the wiper system, painting and fitting the fiberglass body parts and many-many other detail items. Since I'm retired, I was able to spend 3 to 5 hours a day (for a year) working on the car. In the beginning it was probably more like 5 to 10 hours a day. I "finished" the car in March of 2007. So even though the car was a roller you can see that it took an additional 1500 to 2000 hours to complete the build. The 1st proof of concept drive in late 2006 was interesting since you are thinking, "Did I tighten all the important bolts up?". You definitely can't give the car much gas (even in 1st gear) or you'll break any speed limit around here before you go very far. The car is now titled, tagged and is road legal. Of course, like most home built cars there is always one more thing you want to do and I'm still in that process. Return to top of page |
Picture of completed car
Here's a picture of the completed car. Florida sun is very hard on your skin so I'm in my full floppy hat and windbreaker mode here. The camera used to take this picture made the car look more reddish than it is in person. The pictures on the Build pictures (link) page made with my camera, give the true color of the car. Although I almost like this color better than the one I really have. See all pictures of the finished car (Most of these pictures are also included on the "Build pictures" page.) |
You can click on most of the pictures on this site to see an enlarged view of the picture.
Specifications
| Owner
........................... Chassis ......................... Height of Car ................. Donor ........................... Engine .......................... Transmission ................. Lubrication .................... Reverse ......................... Rear End ....................... Brakes .......................... Exhaust ........................ Rims ............................. Tires ............................. Wiring ........................... Clutch springs ................ Electric water pump ........ Fuel pump ..................... Coil over shocks ............. Rack and pinion .............. Fuel tank ....................... Radiator ........................ Fuel pressure regulator .... Speedometer corrector ..... Seats ............................ Return to top of page |
olrowdy_01 CMC 7, standard "book" dimensions, 92" wheel base 40" to top of windscreen, 19" to top of frame @ 5-1/2" ground clearance 1983 RX-7 GSL Suzuki GSXR-1000, 165 Hp @ 10,800 RPM 6 speed with column mounted Stuart Taylor paddle shifter Extreme Engines dry sump, 5L capacity, large air to oil cooler Quaife forward/reverse gear box RX-7 with 3.933:1 and LSD RX-7 with four wheel disc brakes, no booster Custom header to stock Suzuki muffler Kosei "K-1 Racing", 15" x 7" width Kumho 205/50ZR15 Highly modified Suzuki wiring loom Barnett heavy duty Davis Craig Pty #9001, magnetic drive Stock Suzuki GSXR fuel pump w/modified mount (see article in "links") GAZ, 300#F, 175#R, 1.9" ID x 2.7" OD VW Golf Mk1(lower ball joints from same car) JAZ, 24"L x 12"W x 9"H, 10 Gal w/foam insert Honda Civic radiator, #92-2000 for 1.5 and 1.6 liter engine, also fits Honda Del Sol '93-'97. Mallory, MAL-4305M Jay Car Electronics, KC5435 (see "links") Kirkey #570-16400 Aluminum drag seats, 15-1/2" wide (see "hints" for mount) |
| Major parts from junk yard '86 GM car front
wiring harness
'89 MX6-626 Clutch master/slave cylinders (each 5/8" Dia) '90 Mazda relay rack and cover (room for six relays) '91 Mazda automatic push-pull cable for paddle shifter '91 Mazda HP fuel filter (many other cars are similar) '91 Toyota Celica, rear wiring harness '95 Nissan steering column mounted light combo switch '95 Nissan side lights Nissan P/U seat adjuster (light, low and easy to modify to fit) TR7 remote radiator tank Volvo horns (very loud and sound good) Blazer radiator shroud rubber Honda Civic cam cover chrome acorn nuts Plus many other small items too numerous to mention Return to top of page |
Dash board instrumentation and switches
Suzuki LCD ........ Includes tach, speedometer and various other functions.
Gages ............... Water temp, voltmeter, fuel level, oil pressure and fuel pressure. Indicators ......... Bright red LEDs for fan ON and low oil pressure. Switches ........... Light combo, hazard lights, horn, fan control and wiper switch.
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Latest update of build
| 22 Jun 08 Finished correcting suspension camber, bump steer, reduced my steering wheel lock to lock turns from 3 to 2 turns etc. I have posted articles explaining what I have done. You can access the articles here or through the "Links" located at the bottom of this page. 12 May 08 After a year of waiting for the Florida Statutes to change and my tag renewal to come up, I just completed retitling my car as a "1963 Lotus Replica". As part of that process I now have genuine "Antique" tag on my car. The statute is rather new to the DMV people so bring good documentation to their office. I have written an article about the process. You can access the article here or through the "Links" located at the bottom of this page. 4 May 08 After much computer design, I have corrected my camber change in dive/bounce. See link here or "Links" at bottom of page for details. 8 Nov 07 Got the car back together with new wheel bearings, backlash adjusted etc. Shifting seems to be much smoother and the grunching noises from the rear end are gone. 12 Oct 07 It finally cooled off enough for me to remove the rear end carrier. It turns out that the Mazda B2000 gas engined p/u gears will NOT fit into the 1st gen. RX-7 rear end. See this article for details. There may be misinformation on Internet (NO! Can that really happen?) since one site mentions that a 1982-'83 Mazda B2000 DIESEL p/u has the 7" ring/pinion 3.31:1 gear set. The others casually say the gas engined p/u is the one to use. The gas engined truck definitely has a 7-1/2" gear set that will NOT fit. 6 Aug 07 I'm investigating how to install a Guibo in my drive line to reduce the (sometimes) harsh shifts. What's a Guibo? Ah-ha, gotcha on that one hu? See this link for details. (LocostUSA forum thread) 25 Jul 07 I finally located a rear end carrier from a Mazda p/u with the 3.31:1 ring/pinion. I'll install them when the weather gets cooler. 2 Jun 07 Looking for ring pinion gears from a 1982 to 1984 Mazda B2000 stick shift pickup truck. 18 May 07 The exhaust is finally quiet enough and I have about 200 miles on the car. It certainly attracts attention. Even the police give the car a thumbs up! |
