the 7 in its basic form has a high power to weight ratio and is "relatively" easy to manufacture
why not have longer travel suspension, 4wd with locking differentials, fit some big chunky tyres and a front mounted winch + bumper
with a rover V8 to compensate for the extra weight of the 4wd system and give some more tourque
would it not be a fairly ultimate off roader ??
Sounds good.
Sounds like a bobcat! Oli.
Yes... Look at Bowler Tomcats and the suchlike.
Already been done, and they even look like the cars they are copied from... The land ROVER!.
You could try it with say... a Sierra 4x4. But you wouldnt have a locking centre diff which is essential when you are in REAL mud / slippery
conditions.
Normal car type 4x4's are great on Tarmac, but not so hot in real mud!.
Traction control and abs, would help, but you cant beat locked diffs and a V8
Mind you... sounds like a great project, and bound to be fun
sounds more like a development of the thing in ron champions other book.
if its your thing, sounds like an interesting car! 4wd isnt that easy to squeeze in tho...
atb
steve
quote:
Originally posted by Messenjah
the 7 in its basic form has a high power to weight ratio and is "relatively" easy to manufacture
why not have longer travel suspension, 4wd with locking differentials, fit some big chunky tyres and a front mounted winch + bumper
with a rover V8 to compensate for the extra weight of the 4wd system and give some more tourque
would it not be a fairly ultimate off roader ??
Suzuki Samurai running gear!
Light and reliable engine (ok, not too powerful but mehh), 5 speed gearbox, 2 speed transfer case, lockable center diff...
Plus Samurais with battered bodywork and rotting chassis are about as cheap as chips
I had been thinking along similar lines before, although I was thinking more of a sort of sandrail type vehicle, only with the engine up front.
That way you could probably use a book chassis modified for IRS and longer wishbones to allow for more suspension travel.
[Edited on 19/1/06 by akumabito]
wouldnt the chassis need some serious beefing up to take the far larger torsional forces associated with the longer wishbones which would be needed to
allow greater suspension travel?
Im not saying it couldnt be done just that it may not resemble a locost chassis once its completed
there are mods (relatively simple) than beef up the chassis - the aussies have to get more than twice the rigidity to pass. the auusie list on yahoo
has details as does cymtrics posts on here
atb
steve
Extra triangulation should take care of most of the problems. You would probably have to find a different way to mount the shocks anyway because they would be much longer than on a regular locost.. plus it would probably be a good idea to use thicker tubes for the construction if you really want to use it offroad.
A bare range rover chassis, or better still two front halves welded together is not that heavy.
The real wieght on a Landrover is axles (especially the front), engine and gearbox.
I would not expect the car diffs to last long, the snatching when landing or braking hard is what does things in. You also need to consider trees,
spin on a track and hit the tyre wall, spin in the woods and its all a bit harder ! Thats why the blue book has its own section for roll cages on off
road cars
You could make a very fast 4wd locost, but go off road and I suspect it will start to fall apart.
Regards Mark
NB/ if you want some RR axles & a 4.6 V8 for a £1k mail me, that was my last hobby !
Well, there's a lot of talk about Freelander diffs on the forum lately...
yeah one of the first posts said look at the bowler wildcat and tomcat and stuff theyre just a landrover really
i mean to have it still look like a 7 which in the end i guess would look more like a sand rail rather then a landrover
or possibly just front engined rear wheel drive with a locking diff in the rear axle and long travel suspension and big wheels and tyres
...what's the wheelbase of a Locost? (McSorley 442) I'll make some sketches, see if I can get anywhere near Land Rover values for wheelbase
and ground clearance while still making the vehicle look alright.
I'm pretty sure the bonnet would need to be *a lot* taller than on a regular seven though. It would have to accomodate the engine, but also the
front driveshaft will run underneath the engine, right? (please do correct me if I'm wrong)
These guys manage with 2WD and looking similar to a 7 
Rescued attachment DSCF0036.jpg
[Edited on 20/1/06 by timf]
quote:
Originally posted by akumabito
...what's the wheelbase of a Locost? (McSorley 442) I'll make some sketches, see if I can get anywhere near Land Rover values for wheelbase and ground clearance while still making the vehicle look alright.
I'm pretty sure the bonnet would need to be *a lot* taller than on a regular seven though. It would have to accomodate the engine, but also the front driveshaft will run underneath the engine, right? (please do correct me if I'm wrong)
quote:
Originally posted by indykid
an indy is 93" approx. iirc. presumably, that'd make a +442 97"
if a 90 has an 89" wheelbase, you'd need to shorten the chassis, not extend it, unless you were going for the rangerover hybrid look.
tom
[Edited on 20/1/06 by indykid]
Just found this site:
http://www.rhino-offroad.com/index/vinfo/2.html
They're pretty expensive, but look like a lot of fun!
Hi,
Just to clear something up, the Land Rover 90 has a wheelbase of 92.9" and a Range Rover has 100"
Ta
Col