Stuck In A Rut

Dear all,

I think I may have bitten off (a lot) more than I can chew, with this part built project I bought!!!

There does not seem to be any structure at the rear end of the chassis to mount the fuel tank to - anyone have any ideas? Looks to me like a fair bit of welding is required............

Same with the front end - there is not a cross piece between the front suspension uprights so nothing immediately obvious to hang the radiator / remote oil filter from???

If I finally lose the will to live, does anyone know of any companies / individuals who have reasonable rates for finishing the car for me?

I have plenty of ideas, just not the technical expertise to make them reality!!!

Hi Dan don't despair, the mounting of the radiator will depend on the one you choose to use I used a Skoda Estelle one when I built my car recently replaced by the same shape radiator this time with plastic not metal headers from a Skoda Felicia. It cost about £50 it fits upright and only needed a couple of small bracket on the front chassis uprights and a steady on the top. If you have a look at the pictures in the owners cars build diary area you wll see various types. Most invovle making some form of bracket and either welding or bolting it onto the chassis.

The tank as supplied by the kit manufacturer is suspended buy 2 metal straps that wrap around the tank one on each side and attach to the 2 rear outriggers. You can see one of the outriggers here I can't find any pictures of a bare chassis with the tank fillted.

What you need is a nice sunny day at one of the kit car shows where you can examine some cars and chat with the owners to find out what they did.

Where are you based there may be someone close by who could advise.

Peter,

thanks everso for the reply, alas you have just confirmed what I was already suspecting........

When I bought the "unfinished project" the tub was already fixed to the rolling chassis - I had my doubts about the rear end when I read about people bolting the roll bar to the chassis and likewise with the fuel tank.

The problem is, there are no outriggers on the tail end of the chassis! it ends after the rear suspension/rear diff etc so there is no where to fix the roll bar or tank.

What confuses me is that the chassis is coated so I have no idea what the previous owner was expecting to do about it!

I am considering replacing the tub with an MDF (lighter?) unit and adjusting the dimensions of the floor panels to make room for all 6'2" of me and my size 10 feet. Is this feasible? Also I read somewhere about using 1/2" material instead of 3/4" is this safe to do? I understand the reason is to reduce weight.

I live in Kent, so if you know of anyone nearby that would be really helpful.

Dan

Hi Dan,

If you look at my build pics in "my build" thread you will see that I put 2 riggers on to hold the fuel tank, my tank was plastic with 2 mounting flanges attached to it available from Mac#1. The 2 riggers could be made to mount onto the rear upper metal work by bolts and thus allowing you to powder coat them prior to fitting. You would need to trim the rear valance to allow the tank and riggers to fit from underneath. The roll bar could be fitted to a bar fitted transversly behind the seats, I bolted mine in initially (dont forget crush tubes) you can see it fitted in the pic below.

I am rebuilding my car now and am using steel 1.5mm thick for the tunnel, floor, front and rear bulkheads, the sides of the car will be 19mm marine ply. I am increasing the width of the car to 42" rather than the original 39" which will give more room. The pedal box will be floor mounted this time so will enable me to fit better, I am 6'1" and with the fiber glass seats I have will give me lots of room.

I do come down to Kent for work, where in Kent are you?

Regards

Bob

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Bob, you are a star! that info has been a great help.

I live just outside of Rochester, in a village called Hoo, on the way to Grain.

Hi Dan.
I think a lot of people who sell these unfinished projects don't realise what they have taken on when purchased.I also am in the process of building such a vehicle which i bought last year.I too have sat there and contemplated what have i done when i have come across problems as you will indeed do.These are not like buying a westi or other high out put kits which you can buy parts of the shelf at silly money.Everyone i have looked at since joining the club at meets,are all made differant/unique to the builder this is what makes them individual.I have come across so maney probs but have been able to sit back and think/draw ideas.
i am not trying to put you off,just remember this is not a race.I thought the day would never come at getting it out of the garage without pushing,but it did and what a sense of wellbeing when you sit there and think i built this and drove it out for the first time.The peeps i have met from this club are a great and informative bunch.If you go to the general section and look for pics of build there is a link to my photobucket site with heaps of pics which should help you in the process of getting to drive the car that YOU have built.All the best and catch up at a meet/show.

ANDY

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Yes one of the first Locusts built and and reviewed in the Oct 1988 edition of Kit Car magazine used 1/2" ply for the tub. The article was used in the original JC brochure I don't know if there would be a safety issue but you would save quite a lot of weight. Jason Tribbecks car (recently on eBay) used a hybrid wood tube tub have a look.