Posting this up for my fellow sharky’s as I promised pictures over a year ago but forgot!

Before the pics I’ll explain a little bit about it.  The seat is made from an old office chair covered in a walmart automotive seat cover.  The platform for the steering wheel is made out of MDF cut with a jigsaw and wrapped in heavy duty black felt.  For the frame I used 16ga 1″x1″ square tubing welded at the seams with a cheap MIG welder.  The steering wheel height and the distance to the pedals is adjustable by loosening and tightening the adjusting bolts.  

Altogether the materials cost me roughly 35-40 dollars.  I’ve been using the seat off and on since I made it and am happy with its performance.  Now on with the pics:

After enjoying the Subaru for over 6 months I knew it was time to do a few things to it.  The car has 125k miles on the clock and needed some mechanical attention.  The car pulled badly due to the non-matching tires plus I recently got a slow leak in one of them.  I decided it is starting to get nice out so I need to get this car into shape for some fun summer driving.  Perhaps even a trip to Deal’s Gap if I get the time.  If I was going to do any spirited driving I needed to get a few fundamentals out of the way first.  The stock struts were not giving much dampening any more and the stock springs were creaking and cracking every time I went over a bump.  The rear end liked to roll pretty badly as well.  After some research I found out this was due to having a tiny factory sway bar.  Also during my research I found some quick ways to get this car back to where it needs to be plus some.  Here is what I needed:

• Upgraded Struts
• Higher rate and lowering springs
• Stiffer rear sway bar
• Solid endlinks for sway bar
• New tires

After talking to a couple Subaru gurus they said I could get all this done for about 1,500-2,000 dollars.  Well… that is a little high for a college kid, so I set my sights on trying to maximize performance without breaking the bank.  I scoured the classifieds on a number of Subaru messageboards looking for good deals.  Good deals I found!  Brand new SPT (Subaru Performance Tuning) struts for 50% off!  Tanabe springs for 30% off!  Used Kartboy endlinks for 40% off new price!  Sway bar for only 50 dollars!  Last order of business was to get some tires.  I knew I couldn’t skimp here, so went ahead and found a great deal on Pirelli Pzero Neros.  Very sticky tire.  I got all of this for roughly half of what they had told me I needed to spend.  The best part… it all came in the day before spring break.

So, I got out of class and drove straight home to the sight of a pile of packages waiting for me.  I didn’t have instructions, didn’t have the internet, the only thing I had was fun figuring it out all night.  It wasn’t that bad.  I had a bolt missing so I had to wait for the morning to finish it up.  Anyway, here are some pictures from that night:

After getting everything installed I took it out for a ride.  Wow, what a difference.  Now this is how a car should handle.  It was a night and day difference.  The ride wasn’t too harsh, but it felt planted.  The back no longer wants to ride up and the body roll is significantly reduced.  All around I am very happy with my modifications and will definitely be enjoying it this summer!

I’ve always been a Subaru fan.  I got my first Subaru while I was in high school.  It was a silver 2003 WRX.  I guess that would have been around Junior year, 2004 or so.  I loved that car.  It was lowered a bit, had tinted windows, and wasn’t like anything anyone else had in my small rural town.  Then I got hit with the modding bug.  New exhaust, new turbo, injectors, tuning… the endless road of more.  Which eventually led me out to Phoenix, AZ to a place called Kingpin Performance.  They put a JDM (Japanese Domesic Market) STi rally engine into the car.  God was it fast.  However, on the drive back it was quickly noticed that they had also blown out my 4th gear.  I kept the car for about another 2 months or so and decided I couldn’t keep putting more money into it.  So, I sold it and got a BMW.  Long story short, I went through a few cars and finally got the Frontier.   Last year, the call of Subaru beaconed me to the ocean (okay not the ocean but North Carolina) to pick up a 2001 Impreza RS coupe.  I always loved these cars and this would make the perfect daily driver.

My long lost WRX with a one-of-a-kind engine (found out later the driver I sold it to wrecked it…)

I wish I would have kept that car.  Oh well, maybe one day it will make its way back to me.  I know its been wrecked, but I don’t know how bad it was.  Anyway, after the long trip to North Carolina I was standing in front of my new daily driver.  After a quick test drive it reconfirmed what I came out there for.  There is something about a Subaru that just can not be described, from the torque boxer engine to the nimble AWD.  Not to mention the car I was picking up is arguable the most handsome version ever made.  It did have its downfalls though.  The tires didn’t match.  There were dings down the side of the car.  Paint was missing around the driver’s side mirror.  It desperately needed cleaning and a polish.  The interior was rather dirty from the previous owner’s baby.  Pretty much the car was being used as a baby mobile.  I felt sorry for the rally bred beast, being domesticated like that.  

I got it home and gave it a day’s worth of attention:

I bought the car in September 2008.  I’ve been driving it pretty much exclusively as my truck stays back at my mom’s house while I’ve been at college.  The car has worked fantastically.  The only problem has been a bad battery once the cold weather came in.  I have some good plans for it.  Nothing crazy over the top like I did with my WRX, but I certainly like to tinker.

I emailed Jack McCornack over at Kinetic Vehicles a few days ago about the a-arm kit he sells for the locost.  He informed me that the kit was made for a Miata spindle and my Mustang II spindles will most likely not work with the kit.  The a-arms will fit a book chassis, but the brackets are a bit different.  They are for heim joints instead of bushings.  Which is fine with me because heim joints give far more adjustibility. 

I will sell my mustang II spindles on ebay and then order some miata spindles for the kit.  It isn’t a big deal as miata spindles can be had for about 30 dollars a side.  I haven’t bought brakes, hubs, or anything else yet that is specific to the mustang II spindles so I am not in too deep to go back.  The only thing that will prove to be a bit of a problem is the difference in bolt pattern between the S10 rear end and the miata front hubs.  I should be able to find some adapters without much trouble to convert the lug pattern.  Also some aftermarket companies may sell miata hubs with different bolt patterns.  Although I think I want to change the rear pattern to the miata bolt pattern as that would increase the amount of wheels I have to choose from.  The Miata bolt pattern is 100mm x 4.

   4 huge packages were dumped off at my house yesterday.  I quickly upwrapped them and slapped them on the truck!  They are 17″ MB Motoring 72’s wrapped in Kumho All Terrains 285/70-17 (33″x11″).  I think they turned out great.  The ride is a lot smoother than the stock tires and the road noise is even with them.  Kumho makes a great tire for the price.  Only paid 130 per tire.  I did have to do a little trimming around the inner fender (only plastic bits) so they didn’t rub at full turn but otherwise they fit and look great.  Check it out!

I spent last night and most of today updating the site with current information on my build.  So far most categories are pretty up-to-date.  It is not where I want it to be yet, but it is getting close.  I will be doing weekly articles about different aspects of the build and will continue to track progress on the build.  Not much progress will be made until further into spring though.  Check back for various editorials about locost design, where I am headed, and also what ideas I have in mind.  If you have any comment be sure to email me or post them up on this site. 

Thanks for looking!

To make everything from scratch a lot of money will be spent on tooling.  For most people that totally build from scratch they spend more on tools than on the actual car.  Some of the big items people buy are lathes, milling machines, drill presses, MIG/TIG welders, stamping tools, English wheels, and plasma cutters.  If going totally from scratch pretty much everything listed will be needed at some point.  However, to make a locost the cheapest way possible just owning a few of those things will do.  It can be done with basic tools, but a happy medium is usually the best.  Off loading some of the labor at key points during the build can save many hours, hundreds of dollars, and even a life or two!  The trick is to know when to do something by hand, when to purchase it premade, and also when to let a local shop give a helping hand.

For my build I bought all the required tools and already had most of the hand tools.  I would recommend purchasing/gathering the following items before ever buying any building material:

Hand Tools:

• Assortment of hammers (rubber mallet, typical nailing hammer, and a brass hammer)
• Good set of screw drivers of various lengths
• Expansive socket set in both metric and standard with both 1/2″ and 3/4″ drive and matching drivers
• Torque wrench
• Assortment of chisels Pic
• Assortment of firm and soft brushes
• At least 4 wood clamps Pic
• Jack stands
• Measuring tools (ruled square Pic, meter stick, a few angle finders Pic Pic, small and large level, small and medium square Pic, 1ft ruler, and 12ft tape measurer)
• Allen Key set standard and metric Pic
• Cinder blocks or bricks
• Set of metal drill bits (buy a good set, the cheap ones break all the time) 1/8″-1/2″ to start
• Hacksaw
• Various files
• Vice grips, pliers, crescent wrench, and needle-nose pliers
• C-Clamps
• Bench Vice

Power Tools:

• Bench grinder
• 4.5″-5″ Angle grinder with cutting disk and grinding disk (anything bigger is overkill for this project) Pic
• Corded hammer drill (I much prefer a corded drill over a cordless for working in the shop) Pic
• Palm sander
• Metal chop saw Pic
• Work Lamps

Special:

• MIG/TIG welder (doesn’t have to be heavy duty, look for used or cheap new)
• Regulator, tank, and Argon/CO2 gas
• Auto-dimming welding helmet
• Welding gloves
• Welding magnets
• Rolling guide stands Pic

That is pretty much everything needed to get started on a build.  I highly recommend gathering up as much stuff around the house that is already available.  Then go to a cheap place such as http://www.harborfreight.com and stock up on most everything else.  If friends have some tools see if they will lend them out when needed.  Anything to keep the costs down is great.  I had a friend that loaned me a $100 set of drill bits when it came time to drill bigger holes.  Ask around.  It looks like an expansive list, but most of the tools are very inexpensive at harbor freight.  It is surprising.  Another good place to look is Menard’s.  They have huge stores located around the US, maybe there is one close by.  They carry a line of welders made by Clarke that are very inexpensive but will do the job just fine.  If a Lincoln, Miller, or Hobart pop up used for cheap snatch it up!  Those are great welders.

After gathering all the tools I started to work on getting my shop set up.  I saved a ton of money by not going out and buying all kinds of organizers, work benches, etc.  I made them.  A very nice work bench can be made from scratch very cheaply and it will hold up a lot better than the cheaply made stuff that can be bought at a retailer.  1000’s of dollars can be spent on just work space alone, don’t fall into the trap of buying it all.  I bought a few sticks of 2×4’s, a few sheets of sub flooring wood, and a box a screws.  For around 50 bucks I had everything I needed to make just over twenty feet of work bench! 

Next up was making a level work table to build the chassis on.  This table has to be perfectly level so that the chassis is not tweaked while laying it out.  I made my table out of 2×4’s that I had laying around and a sheet of MDF I had.  MDF is great to use for the surface because it is very rigid and very smooth.  I boxed out a frame and reinforced the bottom.  I then added legs and adjusted them until the table was as level as I could get it.  A table that is 4′x8′ should suffice for the build.  Don’t forget to get some kind of tool case for all the hand tools.  A cheap plastic case will work great, no need to spend 100’s of dollars on those fancy metal ones.  Cheap cases can be found for 20-50 dollars at the retailers listed above.

For awhile I used a Delta compound mitre saw to do my cutting.  I purchased a metal cutting disk and installed it to the saw.  It worked fair on the 1×1 tubing, but I would NOT recommend outfitting a wood cutting saw with a metal cutting blade if I had to do over again.  The wood cutting saw spins far too fast for a good cut.  I cut with it for awhile before breaking down and spending the money on a good chop saw.  They can be found for around 100 dollars.  I purchased a Ryobi and the difference was night and day between it and the wood cutting saw.

As can be seen in the picture above I did have an engine hoist.  It is a HUGE asset to have.  They are not cheap though.  A good engine hoist will run 250 dollars or more.  I have seen sets with an engine hoist and floor jack for around 300 dollars which would be a good deal.  I had this engine hoist from a previous project.  If a used one pops up for cheap go for it, I wouldn’t advise trying to make one though.  Some have tried but end up spending just as much in metal, welding materials, pumps, chains, and accessories as one already assembled costs.  The final tool I purchased was a drill press.  I probably didn’t really need it, but I got a good deal on a Craftsman at the local Sears.  I went ahead and bought it.  It helped out a lot when making brackets for the rear suspension.  I will be using it again in the near future for sure.  It is not required however.  A steady hand can use the hammer drill.  There will be more tools needed as time goes on.  Everything on this page is a must have to get far in the project at all.  The other specially tools such as tin snips, rivet guns, engine hoists, etc can be purchased as they are needed. 

The miscellaneous category includes everything that doesn’t really fit in the other categories and aren’t big enough to justify a category of their own.  These things include interior, brakes, controls, and electronics.  Over the past two years I’ve spent quite a bit of money on the engine, transmission, axle, body, chassis, and suspension.  However, there is much more to building the car than just those main components.  To get everything to work together a lot of other parts are needed and the cost really adds up.  Especially if a nice looking interior is wanted. 

When I started to complete the chassis I wanted to make sure that I could find a good looking, comfortable, and affordable seat to use that would fit in the tight space.  After doing a lot of research I ended up ordering Kirkey Circle Track seats with a 10degree lean back.  I also ordered black covers to go with them. 

They fit just right in the tiny space and they hold me quite well.  It is a snug fit.  No one over 180 pounds could probably fit in these seats comfortably.  Two seats ran about 300 dollars and covers were about 70 dollars more a seat each.  They certainly aren’t cheap, but I did not want a flimsy plastic seat.  In the same order I purchased some Wilwood brake and clutch pedals. 

They were around 60 dollars a piece and will do a great job.  I wanted a good firm pedal that was overheard mounted.  These certainly fit the bill.  Next up will be a gas pedal and I will order the brake rotors and calipers.  Those will come in with the hubs and such when I order the parts for the front suspension.  As for the interior, it will be awhile before I worry any more about that.  I am mainly focusing on getting a rolling chassis done and will work on making it drivable later this year.

The suspension design can be by far the most involved and hardest part of the locost build.  Suspension geometry design in itself is multiple courses in engineering college that requires quite a bit of theory and math to fully understand.  If my locost were going to be used at the track or for auto-x then I would probably need to do much more research on design than I am going to do.  Since my car is going to be used for weekend romping and the local car shows, I’m more concerned with reliability and strength than high speed stability, cornering, and anti-dive geometry.  Sure those things matter, but I’m not going to lose sleep thinking about ways to get a couple more millimeters of adjustment out of my setup.  When I first started to research suspension design there wasn’t much out there.  People usually picked a width they wanted, chose a ride height, and built the suspension to match that.  The racing fellows would get fancy with computer aided design programs to get everything perfect.  These days I have found a few companies that actually offer the a-arms, brackets, and everything needed to make the most challenging part of the build very easy.  One of them is Kinetic Vehicles.  They offer an a-arm kit that comes with everything:

In all honesty, instead of researching for weeks and trying to figure it all out on your own I would just (and I am most likely going to) order this kit from Kinetic.  All that is left to do is weld on the brackets and adjust for the needed lengths.  Much better than ordering all the fittings and trying to do it by hand.  Also, I don’t trust my welds enough to do them on the a-arms.  That’s totally different than chassis welds. 

For the rear suspension I will just use a four link system with a panard bar.  Here is what a 4-link with panhard bar looks like:

I made the brackets for the rear axle and I have the heim joints for use with the trailing arms.  Next up is to make the brackets for the chassis and purchase some trailing arms.  As for coilovers, I purchased some motorcycle shocks a year ago and was going to use a pushrod system to make them work.  I only have about 90 dollars invested in the shocks and I think I am going to abandon that idea and just get some custom made shocks that will definitely work with my setup.  No need to spend 1000’s of work hours and 1000’s of dollars on a build only to skimp on the ride quality.  Here is a picture of the R6 shocks that I was going to use:

A good set of coilovers that are made for the locost setup will probably run about 225 dollars a coilover.  Suspension is the number one cost on the locost, even though most think it is the engine and driveline.  The next step in the suspension process is deciding on a wheel and tire size and then ordering an a-arm kit.  This section will most likely be the first I start working on in the spring.

The soul of the car is of course the engine.  Depending on the type of experience wanted out of the car, the engine/transmission combo will change drastically.  From truck engines and transmissions to super bike engines and transmissions, locost builders have built it all.  I’ve even heard of a tractor motor being used in a fuel sipping locost.  For someone like me that wants a great car to drive around town and that is somewhat reliable the S10 combo is hard to beat.  Probably the most used combo in the US is a S10 engine with a S10 T5 transmission.  The reason for this is the huge quantity of dirt cheap parts available for this engine type.  The 60 degree GM V6 is one of the cheapest motors to be found at the junk yard today.  Along with being cheap it is very compact.  These are the two most desirable traits for a locost engine.  The best part is that there are so many configurations.  From dirt cheap 100hp/110lb/ft 2.8L engines to more expensive 280hp/260lb/ft supercharged 3.6 Buick engines.  For the most part, they all bolt up the same (there are a few types they are a bit different, please research your combo before buying.)  I’ve heard of people finishing their locost on a budget with a 2.8L S10 motor and enjoying the car for a couple of years and then dropping in a new engine over the weekend to rekindle their love for it.  An extra 100hp dropped right in sure can reignite the passion! 

That is the main reason for me choosing the combo I bought:

• 1994 Camaro 3.4L V6 190hp/210lb/ft 100,000 miles
• 1991 S10 T5 Transmission
• 1990 S10 Rear Axle

190hp in a car that is going to weight around 1200-1400lb is going to be insane.  Roughly 6.5lb/hp!  To put that in perspective, a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano that has an Enzo engine in it has a weight to power ratio of 6.1lb/hp and does 0-60 in 3.3s!  Let’s just say I can not wait to try my car out.  Before I get ahead of myself…

The first thing I did when I brought the parts back from the junkyard after spending roughly 900 dollars for everything including ECU and wiring harness was to give them a good bath and hit them with a fresh coat of paint.  I spent a full day cleaning the engine, transmission, and rear axle.  It was a mess!  I used a combination of Mean Green, soap, and course haired brushes to cut through the years of grease and dirt.  Here are some before pictures of the dirty parts:

After cleaning everything, I went to the local hardware store and picked up some heavy duty rust proofing primer and metal paint.  I used ceramic based engine paint on the motor.  After getting all the dirt and grease off of the motor it was still not in shape to paint.  I had to spend a couple of hours sanding it down so the paint would stick.  The heads were probably the worse.  The transmission did not need to be painted.  It is bare aluminum and is very resilient.  The axle needed to be painted as the old black paint laid on over ten years ago at the factory was non-existent.  I primed the axle and brushed on many coats of grey Rustoleum paint.  It turned out quite nicely.  After getting the engine prepped, I painted the block silver and the heads black.  The valve covers were actually in great condition after I cleaned them up, so no painting was necessary on them.  The last thing I did was purchase a new oil pan and give it a matching paint job.  Check out the after pictures:

The next big thing to decide is whether or not to stay with a electronic fuel injection system or switch to a carbureted setup.  I am very tempted to switch to a carburetor because it makes it 10x easier to get the thing going, however in the long run a EFI setup would be better since it would start easier in the winter and such.  I still haven’t settled on a setup yet.  I need to figure all the costs involved and go from there.  I also think a carbureted set up would be less of a mess in the engine bay.  There isn’t much room in there to begin with and a mess of wires would really become a pain to run and even to look at.  There are some tid-bits I still need to buy as well, such as an alternator. 

I bought a radiator off of ebay that was for a Honda Civic.  I was told that it would mount up great to the book chassis.  I ordered it from an aftermarket company and was pleasantly surprised by the quality for the price.  It mounted up perfectly, I couldn’t have asked for better fitment.  It should also have more than enough cooling capacity for this engine as well.  Here are a couple of pictures of the radiator and fitment:

The last thing I bought and setup was a clutch and flywheel kit.  I just bought a basic S10 kit from autozone for around 75 dollars.  I installed the flywheel and clutch then pressed the transmission onto the engine.  It was a bugger trying to get everything to line up correctly.  Finally everything meshed up correctly and it was all set.

My buddy also hooked me up with an electric cooling fan, distributor, and spark plug wires.  That saved me about $100!  I will have to chop up the fan a bit and haven’t quite figured out how I will mount it yet.  It is nice to get freebies every now and then though.  I don’t have any pictures of the fan and other parts, but will be updating the Engine/Driveline section periodically when I make progress.  My next step in this section will be mounting the radiator and finishing the transmission mounts.  The engine mounts are done, more on that in the chassis section.