Now that I’ve finished building my space frame mini its time I started a new project. With a chaved up Vauxhall Cavalier crashing into the back of my Mitsubishi FTO and the cost of imported OEM parts being so expensive the insurance company promptly “wrote if off”. True to their word the third party insurers coughed up all the cash I bought the car for in the first place, minus £375 of the salvage value to retain the battered car.
So, at this point I’ve stripped all the serviceable parts, tucked them away in every nook and cranny of the garage including the 2litre 24valve V6 engine and manual gearbox from the Front Engine Front Wheel Drive layout (FF), brakes, suspension etc. With great aspirations to build an Arial Atom or Lotus Elise rip off, or buy a clapped out early Vauxhall VX220 and slip in the 180BHP engine into that. Or choose to build a lotus super 7 replica. I also had ideas of using all the parts to modify my second FTO to ridiculous levels of power. In the end I bored myself with changing my own mind, let alone anyone else, and finally settled on the idea of building a Locost for their simplicity and availability of cheap body work.
They’re not the best looking car but they do have classic styling for all occasions. I’m not too keen on their safety credentials either, the idea of using a fuel tank as a crush structure and side impact protection that’s on par with dried spaghetti. As I go on you’ll see how I’m going to address some of the short falls that I believe are common across many of these types of cars. By the time the build is finished its going to be no means a Super Leggera like some of the sevens we here about but hopefully its occupants can avoid a trip to A+E after a big smack.
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