Where do I begin?

[ninja]

hi,
come and have a chat at Mallory, i have done a bit in locost and 750. car 34 Nigel

[classictinker]

I've been discussing the various options with the wife today and we both agree 750 would suit my personality much better than other formulae. I'm going to have to do some rapid research into chassis design etc. but I will probably see plenty of good ideas at Mallory. I appreciate Martin's comment regarding people being busy so I'll probably just mooch about studying whatever I can manage to see. I'm particularly interested so see what solutions people have come up with for their front uprights so if you notice some bloke with a beer belly on his hands and knees looking under the front of your car it'll probably be me lol.

If, after studying your cars, I feel a 750 is something I could manage then I guess I'll put the bits and bobs I collected for the Locost on ebay. I would think the front engined car would be the easier one to build also I know from experience that I can't seem to keep rear engined cars pointing the right way for more than a couple of laps If I go the front engined route what gearbox and axle should I be on the look out for???

As for the option of buying a chassis that is something I will look into as well.

Many thanks

Rich

[Baggers]

Hi Rich. I'm currently building a car for 750. One of the things that put me off the locost cars is that locost is effectively a spec series so if you want to do well then you have to spend a lot of money which certainly isn't the case with 750 from what I can see. If you're at Mallory let's have a chat an I can show you what I'm currently building - I'll be there if I finish my uprights. The more and more I get into building my car the more I can appreciate Martin's kit. It's decently quick out of the box, but for me the engineering challenge is half the fun.

[classictinker]

Hi Baggers.

What you say about Locost is exactly what I was saying to the wife yesterday...a mid-field car will finish on the same lap and not that far behind the front runners but to move that mid-field car up to the front running pack costs stupid amounts of money for the small gain in performance needed.

I've had a look at the racekits website and the Falcon is nice looking car and there is certainly a comprehensive parts list for them and I love the little merlin it reminds me of an FF1600. I am not ruling out that approach to building the car but I think I'm a lot like you, it's the head scratching, problem solving and fabrication of my own design (no matter how rubbish it may be) that holds so much appeal. At the end of the day I'm only going to do this once so I may as well go the whole hog, the worst that can happen is I build a bit of a dog, if it gets through scrutineering it must be fairly safe from a structural/safety point of view and finishing a few laps down but in one piece will still feel like a huge accomplishment and a 100% improvement over being a spectator

I must say the help, advice and encouragement I've received here over the last 2 days has been great and is giving me the confidence to build a 750 as it seems people he will be happy to help me with advice if/when i get stuck.

Many thanks

Rich

[classictinker]

hi,
come and have a chat at Mallory, i have done a bit in locost and 750. car 34 Nigel

Thanks I will do

Rich

[F1300Tony]

Rich,
Good choice!
If you go for a rear axle the one to get is a Morris Minor, but beware the very early ones split the wrong way. You need the one where the diff comes out forwards (on a regular basis). They are much lighter than a Ford axle and there is a wide range of ratios available. They are usually shortened on the left hand side to accept a Sprite/Midget halfshaft. Have a good look at a Darvi. There are a pair of bare axles on E-b-y at the moment.
Gearboxes have been discussed at length on this forum, so I suggest you do a search. Opinions differ, as do budgets.
Ask all the questions now, because when you get quick the answers will stop!

[ninja]

yes, come and have a chat, bring your overalls and you can get some valuable experience.
such as pushing a car uphill to scrute bay, pumping up tyres, changing wheels.
nige

[classictinker]

Rich,
Good choice!
If you go for a rear axle the one to get is a Morris Minor, but beware the very early ones split the wrong way. You need the one where the diff comes out forwards (on a regular basis). They are much lighter than a Ford axle and there is a wide range of ratios available. They are usually shortened on the left hand side to accept a Sprite/Midget halfshaft. Have a good look at a Darvi. There are a pair of bare axles on E-b-y at the moment.
Gearboxes have been discussed at length on this forum, so I suggest you do a search. Opinions differ, as do budgets.
Ask all the questions now, because when you get quick the answers will stop!

[classictinker]

yes, come and have a chat, bring your overalls and you can get some valuable experience.
such as pushing a car uphill to scrute bay, pumping up tyres, changing wheels.
nige

Well I certainly do need the exercise

[F1300Tony]

Yes, that looks right, and very cheap.