Locost + Suzuki = Locouki
. (Close cooliris to return to this page.)
Please note that you can now receive website update notices with RSS.
Just click on the RSS icon in your browser search box. I've found "Feedreader" to be a good (FREE!) RSS reader and it is easy to use.
Notes:
- If you want to host any of this material please use a reference to this website. TNX.
- This website was laid out using Kompozer with FireFox as the browser with the monitor set for 1280 x 1024.
- Column positions etc may vary when using other browsers or different monitor settings.
 An original Lotus 7
with "clam shell wings".
Select from the list
below.
This list only shows the more popular articles on the site.
|
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 (kit) race car. The Lotus 7 was first introduced in 1957 and is still being manufactured in much updated form by Caterham Cars in Surrey, UK. A more detailed description can be found here. Originally the cars were intended to be used as race cars but many of the cars were licensed and driven on the street. The cars were sold as kits to avoid the UK "VAT" tax. Through the years many companies and individuals have built their own versions of the car. In 1996 Ron Champion wrote a book, "Build your own sports car for as little as £250". (ISBN 0-85429-976-9) The 2nd edition of the book is named, "Build your own sports car for as little as £250: And Race it!" (ISBN 1859606369). If you are thinking of building a Locost you need one of Ron's books as a minimum. His books have become the "bibles" 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. This book has much info about how to finish the car once you have the frame built.. Another excellent book (Out of print and way over priced used.) 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. Free plans for several different size chassis and a lot of good information can be found at the Jim McSorley website. 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." Many cars are built by manufacturers to various levels of completeness. My car is one of those replicas. |
|
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. Some of the details are
purposely kept quite basic to help first time builders. 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.
Return to top of page |
| 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 and
painting the frame,
construction, putting the outer body panels on 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 all the parts were there (or in several large cardboard boxes etc), but the car still needed much to be done to finish it. The major items that needed to be designed and fabricated included coming up with a clutch release system, installing a gear shift system for the paddle shifter, wiring the car, rerouting various hoses, building up the dashboard, painting and fitting the fiberglass body parts, installing the windshield and the wiper system, 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. 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 NOT 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. You can read about the latest changes I am still making here, Build update. Return to top of page |
Picture of completed car
Here's a picture of my 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. Other pictures were made with my camera and give the true color of the car. Although I almost like this color better than the one I really have. Launch Cooliris to see pictures of Locuki |
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 ........................... Battery ....................... Return to top of page |
olrowdy01 CMC 7, standard "book" dimensions, 92" wheel base 40" to top of windscreen, 19" to top of frame @ 5-1/2" chassis ground clearance 1983 RX-7 GSL Suzuki GSXR-1000, 165 Hp @ 10,800 RPM, red line: 12,400 RPM 6 speed with steering column mounted Stuart Taylor paddle shifter Extreme Engines dry sump, 5L capacity with 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, 17mm offset Kumho 205/50ZR15 Highly modified Suzuki wiring loom Barnett heavy duty eBay pump similar to Davis Craig Pty #9001, magnetic drive, 18 L/min liquid flow Stock Suzuki GSXR fuel pump w/modified mount (link to article) GAZ, springs: 300# front, 175# rear, 1.9" ID x 2.7" OD VW Golf Mk1 (lower ball joints from seem to be from Golf Mk 4) JAZ, 24"L x 12"W x 9"H, 10 gallon w/foam insert Honda Civic, #92-2000 for 1.5 and 1.6 liter engine, also fits Honda Del Sol '93-'97. Mallory, MAL-4305M Jay Car Electronics, KC5435 (link to distributor) Kirkey #570-16400 Aluminum drag seats, 15-1/2" wide (see "hints" for mount) Walmart "Garden tractor" 12V battery (more capacity than motorcycle battery) |
| 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 tachometer, 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.
First driving impressions:
|
Now that I have
driven the car
I have a page devoted to my first impressions. You can access the
complete article here
and in the "Links" section below.
I can tell you one thing right now, you will have to be driving a really high power to weight ratio car to be able to match a BEC with a 6.1 lbs/Hp. power to weight ratio. Try matching that with your ordinary street car! When you really give it the gas in the lower gears you better be prepared for some serious speed changes. At 7,000 RPM the engine gets "on the pipes" and things start happening FAST. It has been pointed out to me that power to weight ratios are usually given without a driver! Of course that skews the result since the Locost cars are so light to begin with. But that is the way the ratio is normally presented. So I'm also presenting the data without the driver even though I don't make a habit of "driving" a car without actually being IN the car! Even with the stock Suzuki muffler the exhaust noise at 10,000 RPM was so loud at first that I just could not stand it. Shooting range ear plugs did NOT help! The frequency range of the exhaust must not match the characteristics of the ear plugs. See How to quiet a noisy muffler for details of how I finally quieted it down. Return to top of page |
|
Links to video, wav files, building tips etc: (See notes below these cyan blocks if the video or .wav files don't start right away.) |
|
NOTES: |
Thanks for visiting. I am constantly updating the site so please visit again.
|
This
website written with the following (FREE) software. 
Another handy
(FREE)
program I recommend is Dropbox.
If you download it
using this link
they give you (and me) an extra free 250 MB (2.25
GB total of storage space to start).
|