Today I removed my new chassis from the table. Not complete ready but most tubes are there.
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/photos.php?action=showphoto&photo=EPSN0290.JPG

[Edited on 28/11/04 by erwe]

Nice SCALE model ! lol looks real tidy

Scale model......... 25 kg.

great job!!!! 25 kg That car is gone be very, very, very fast!

must've taken a while to do all the complex cutting. nice one.

It took me 2 weeks, not really complex with a new file. Because its my second car I did the paperword before so no time wasted with thinking.

Very nice looking job, mate! I'm sure you probably already have this planned, but it seems like the front suspension mounting area and the rear differential cage could use some additional triangulation to reduce flex in the suspension mounting points.

I presume the floor is going to be fully panelled?

Nicely done ...

-Sven

I too just had a look at the website. Very impressive! Though a bit premature, are you going to make the chassis/body available fore sale?? If not, how bout the plans?

If you cannot tell, this one has capture my imagination.

--Well done, Chris

There doesn't look a lot of room for it. The cross braced section seems to take up a lot of the usual engine bay area. Could you show us a different angle or stand something near it for comparison?

Wow, that is one sweet, light frame. I like it very much.

For the street? Is this thing going to be crash worthy? Looks like it would crumple at the slightest bump it is so light.

Steve G.

Very nice job and seems well thought out.
25kg is extremely light.
The lighest BEC I've built is 328kg all up. The chassis was around 60kg from memory (the weight of my current two-seater off-road race car is 100.1kg).
I bet your chassis will double in weight by the time you are finished with it.
It looks like a wedge of cheese.

I too went to your site and it's all Dutch to me. What's it all mean?

The differential case wil have extra supports to the upper backwall.
I will use inboard shocks so I first have to mount the wishbones and steering rack to see how I will get it in (it will be tight).
At last I will add some cross tubes.
The engine bay is small but more then enough for a Kawasaki ZX12.
I will use the car for racing only.
* are you going to make the chassis/body available fore sale?? * There are so many seven kits on the market so there is nothing to add....
Rorty: 328 kg for a car is light, which engine and diff did you use?
I don't see why this car is less strong then a square tube one. And I will add a Roll bar with side impact bar as on my Avatar car, this will also add a lot of strenght to the chassis. Look at the connection between the Roll bar and the dash, there is a mounting point with a view diagonal tubes. I did not see a seven using this bar for strenghtening the chassis, most cars this bar end in the passengers footwell.

quote:

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Originally posted by erwe
Rorty: 328 kg for a car is light, which engine and diff did you use?

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Finally someone who has the balls and capabilities to make a dedicated chassis for a BEC-Seven! COOL! (I'm jealous)

I can't wait to see the finished result.

Update, chassis welded en ready for painting.
Rescued attachment EPSN0117-lr.JPG

What does it weigh now?

Why do so many people quote spaceframe masses without the rollbar fittted? Nowadays no one runs without a rollbar, so surely a frame is not complete untill the rollbar is fitted?

Cheers

FRed WB

That, friends, is a work of art; clearly the nicest chassis I've seen. In my opinion, that chassis makes the Sylva chassis I'm so fond of look like a scrap heap.
--Chris

Weight is 55 kg incl that heavy rollbar (round 50 x 2 mm seamless, about 6 meter total used)).

[Edited on 22/2/05 by erwe]

There should be a law against it. This is pure porn!

I like it. Can't wait to see it in the flesh next week!

Marcel:

While you're there, why not model it up in SW

Chris,

time is an issue. Getting my car on the road is priority one, but I'll discuss it with Rob anyway.....

Marcel

Why the rush? It's supposed to be a fun project. This reminds me of a story...

There was a fellow here some time back desiging an LMP-type car, who said it would be done in a year, from plans to driving it. I wrote him privately and said that wasn't realistic. He'd taken an otherwise fun project and scheduled himself into failure before he'd even started. I reminded him that unless the project is fun, what's the point? Having to work on the car from 7PM to 3AM every night, in addition to a day-job, just to stay "on target" isn't fun, is it?

He got annoyed, lecturing my on the importance of deadlines, about being a manager at work, and how without a deadline, the project will never get finished.

He never finished, and started working on another project. So by his own rules, he failed. By my rules (of not having a deadline) he simply sat the project aside until later.

Why people do this to themselves I don't understand. Schedules are for work, the car is for fun.

[Edited on 2/23/05 by kb58]

I guess I should comment on this given that I am the one you are talking about. The reason I stopped my project had absolutely nothing to do with self-imposed deadlines. More to do with changing circumstances that resulted in great demands on my time, meaning that I had to reprioritize what was important.

I don't buy your argument in all cases. A lot of people just loose interest if they don't at least have some kind of targets to aim for. Projects like these can't always be fun all the time. There are definitely tedious parts to projects of this scale.

I don't regret starting on the project and learned a lot in the process. As we speak I am working on reviving the project in a slightly different form. This will use a lot of my existing work and components but be more achievable given my time limitations. I will update everyone once things are finalized.

Marcel:

I was half joking. However, I'm certain I'm not the only one interested. I'm just really impressed with the design.

--Chris

ProjectLMP: Fair enough, point taken. I guess we can agree to disagree. I'll stick to what I said though, it isn't fun when the schedule says you have to work on it when you don't want to, just to stay on target. It isn't a job, it's a hobby.

I don't know about deadlines. I think it's simply a matter of personal motivation, work habits and any other number of reasons. I like having a deadline no matter what I'm doing, making deadlines and meeting them helps me along with any project, whether it's for fun or work. I got the car all painted last weekend, and began final assembly yesterday. If I didn't have any deadlines, I probably wouldn't have even ordered the steel yet . For me, it just helps me work smoothly. The only thing to consider is that setting unreasonable deadlines is recipe for overworking youself and having a miserable time, fortunately that hasn't been an issue on this project.



Oh, and back on topic, as has been said, bang up job on the chassis. You say it's a track car, and man does it look the part, can't wait to see this one finished. Oh, and what's the car in your avatar? Is it one you already built, or are modelling yours after?

The car in my avatar is my first seven.

Maybe we're talking about the same thing. I like the word "goal" instead of "deadline." A goal would be, "weld in diagonal tubes this weekend." A deadline, to me, is the same thing, except that it MUST be done by midnight Sunday.

spot on there, i think.

when i have tried to set deadlines, i get frustrated that it aint happening and usually end up going home early, having rushed the job, but each to their own

anyway, this is supposed to be a thread about that sweeeeeeet chassis.
i love the manifold too! it bootiful
tom

Surely it all depends on how complicated your project is and what you expect to get out of it. So, if it purely a hobby, and you enjoy the "process" as much as the outcome, then there is nothing wrong with taking your time. Similarly, if you are doing things on shoestring budget.

However, if you have just written a big check to Mr Avo-Leug-cater-westfield, and got a kit in the "mail" with all included, then one would expect to finish such project at a reasonable time (say 200 hrs) usually already worked out by the manufacturer.

On the other hand, some posters appear to want to make a living out of their projects. This becomse a whole different kettle of fish, especially if other people also depend on the outcome. In this case one has little choice but to work to deadlines.

Cheers
KT

I'm starting a new thread on this, "Project goals and deadlines" to no kill this thread.