Daddylonglegs
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 07:38 AM |
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First Drive
Took the Locost out for a short first drive last night 
Certainly is a different experience! I think because you are sitting almost over the rear axle, the way it feels when you zip round a tightish corner
is quite odd. All in all not a bad first run, lots of tweaks and adjustments needed, and too much air in the tyres I reckon. First meet with my local
club tonight (well, first meet in the Locost anyhow) 
I think it's going to take a loooong time for the grin to subside  Never thought I'd ever be able to build a car from scratch and drive
it so i guess anything is possible?
JB
It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......
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HowardB
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 08:06 AM |
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that is great news, what a great sense of achievement,...!
congratulations
Howard
Fisher Fury was 2000 Zetec - now a 1600 (it Lives again and goes zoom)
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wilkingj
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 08:54 AM |
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Excellent news.
Now..... You have already just realised these cars drive like no other, and are VERY different.
Please Please PLEASE take it easy for the first few months when you get it fully on the road.
Learn how it drives.
You probably (I dont know for sure) have been brought up on Front Wheel drive cars. These handle very differently to a RWD car.
These cars are fantastic to drive, once you understand them.
They grip and handle very very well. However, When they let go, they go BIG TIME.
It took me a whole summer to get used to my 2.4 Quick rack. I hated it at first (It looked like I was pissed and wandering all over the road!!), now I
wouldnt swap it!
It just took some time to learn and understand it.
Its dead easy to make a mistake that can end up in tears or worse.
So learn you cars good and bad points, by taking it steady at first.
We have seen several people trash or damage their cars as they didnt take time to learn how they drove.
I for one dont want to hear you saying, "I have a summer rebuild project" only a couple of months after getting it all on the road.
Sorry if I am banging on about this, but its important, both for you and possibly other road users.
Take care... Do it right, and you will have immense fun with it.
Any vids of the car and run??
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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ashg
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 09:49 AM |
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the grin will never wear off.
even if it sits in the garage for 6 months the first time you get back into it and open up the throttle the smile comes back and your heart races.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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Daddylonglegs
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 10:09 AM |
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Thanks guys
@wilkingj - with regards rear-wheel drive, I have had several throughout my life, the most recent being an import MX5 so I am no stranger to them. I
appreciate what you say about their 'features' and can assure you I will not be pushing the limits for a long while yet
It took me a damn long time to build this baby, and I do not want to trash for the sake of a little adrenalin rush!
I'll get some footage up once I get the camera fitted and go for a run, which judging by the weather forecast won't be too long
It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......
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redeye
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 11:44 AM |
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Amazing, well done mate.
I clocked up about 500 miles in the first month of getting mine on the road and that was in around august time too.
Im sure there will be plenty of decent sunny days to take it, just watch out when/if it does rain tho, they can be very twitchy on wet roads
have fun
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johnwilders
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 08:22 PM |
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Dont forget to check your nuts ! Have fun. 
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Daddylonglegs
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 08:52 PM |
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Well, racked up another 40-odd miles this afternoon
Changed the wheel for a smaller one, dropped the pressures, and already that's made a big difference!
Had a check of me nuts as advised, only ones a little loose were the rear light cluster mounting bolts, so I fitted nylocks as opposed to nuts and
spring washers.
I also have a noise coming from the diff. It sort of sounds like a grating/whining noise, difficult to describe really. I had a look underneath, and
there was a tiny bit of side-to-side play in the diff input shaft, so I nipped up the flange nut by a few degrees and eliminated that, but the noise
is still noticeable. Not too loud but it is there. Maybe I will have to get the diff looked at by someone in the know?
But the driving just keeps on getting better
It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......
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adithorp
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| posted on 9/8/12 at 11:03 PM |
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Is the diff solid mounted to the chassis or on bushes? If it's solid mounted then you will hear noise from it that would normally be absorbed by
the bushes in a tin-top but is just transmitted to and amplified by the body panels in yours.
Take it easy out there and get it on track where you can safely learn it's limits.
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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FuryRebuild
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| posted on 10/8/12 at 08:31 AM |
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Congratulations
For the first year I would regularly spanner check everything. New nylocks shouldn't come undone, but I did find on mine that incorrectly sized
bolts (fitted as part of the manufacturer supplied rolling chassis  ) did mean that the rear end used to get sloppy over time (only 0.5mm in it).
New bolts fixed this.
I'd also reccommend tuition - go to your local BARC track or other, and book some tuition. I would often find I'd get faster with tuition
than with a new widget. You also have a safe zone to explore and lose it.
If you have an LSD then they do tend to whine a little - my quaife does that but is bomb proof nonetheless. Adithorp is also right - manufacturers go
to great lengths to design their bushes to absorb vibration and sound whilst giving a good balance between location and handling, and then we in the
kit car fraternity throw all that away for precision handling (as it should be). Removing all the compromises may mean you get more of the vibrations
translated to your arse.
When all you have is a hammer, everything around you is a nail.
www.furyrebuild.co.uk
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Daddylonglegs
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| posted on 10/8/12 at 09:11 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
Is the diff solid mounted to the chassis or on bushes? If it's solid mounted then you will hear noise from it that would normally be absorbed by
the bushes in a tin-top but is just transmitted to and amplified by the body panels in yours.
I am running a live axle, and the sound does seem to come more from the offside rather than the tunnel. So maybe the sound is transmitted along the
axle tube? Also, because of the proximity of the car to the ground it could be that any sound is made worse because it is bouncing back off the road
surface? I fitted new wheel bearings to the axle too so they should not be a problem. BTW, it is not a LSD.
Anyhow, I'll see how it goes. If it gets any worse then I'll have to investigate, but until then I'll just accept it.
Just for the record, when I built the axle, I had to clean/service the diff before I fitted it and although I did try to make sure the backlash was
OK, I am no expert so I might have it slightly off?
I'll see how it goes....
It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......
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