In addition to doing a repair and
delivering a machine, one of the reasons for my trip to St Paul was to pick up
a LoCost (Lotus 7 clone) project car from Richard Kleinschmidt. (And sure
enough, driving through Nashville today on the way back, I got a call from
someone wanting a machine who said, "Understand you may be coming up to
St. Paul soon??? Never fails!) At any rate, here is a photo of a typical build:
Richard started this build a few years ago and lost interest. He has pretty
well finished the frame, suspension, etc. Basically it needs assembly, wiring
harness, brake lines, etc, and the chassis should be drivable. The drivetrain is
an 85 Corolla GTS twin overhead cam 4 with a close ration 5 speed and
limited slip differential with disk brakes on all 4.
I have no plans to race the car like most ‘Sevens’ but want a spirited driver
with high fun factor.
While I certainly have the skills to build the chassis, suspension, etc, I
doesn’t interest me. Building the body does. The Locost chassis is a proven
design so the whole arguement of which suspension, engine, etc is not an
issue. It is what it is.
When I was younger I lusted after a Lotus 7 but at this point in my life, I’m
after something else. Richard has completed the running gear…I want to do
the body…but not something simple like the photo above. I’m thinking of a roadster version of this:
I’m pretty sure I can come close to the ‘look’ but probably not the
exact ‘math’ as shown. I will probably modify the chassis a little for comfort
and size and then do some design studies to see what I can build around the
chassis that has the ‘look’ of the Bugatti. I’m HOPING that the orginal 14’ long
version of the pedal car buck that Gene Olsen did for me is close to the right
body…we’ll see. LONNNNG hood, swoopy fenders
For some reason, the thing in my head keeps telling me that it’s name is the
Bugatti Imperial…I can’t imagine where that comes from:lol: .
My ultimate goal is a full aluminum body, full fendered with very few simple
rolls. Metalfinished, and clear coated polished aluminum. This is WAAAY
beyond my current skills so it may take years to get built to it’s final build
quality.
It is my intention to document the entire build. I only wish I could get as
much accomplished in as little time as Dick Bear did. Maybe I can just get
Dick to come over and help… I can work days and Dick nights…
I’ll try and unload the truck tomorrow and take some measurements and post some photos.
