Home Built Tribute Car

[JonW]

28 months, 2000 hrs

What was I thinking???

[JonW]

side

[Heywood-Yablowme]

Not bad.Looks like you used a lot of alu.  Is that a Duratec drivetrain?

[JonW]

Thanks.  Yes, all body panels are bare aluminium.  Frame carbon steel DOM.

It's a little Honda D17A2 SOHC VTEC.

All Wilwood brakes with twin master cylinders with balance adjuster.  Needle bearing bell cranks with Koni single adjustable coilovers.

$8000 plus a lot of labor.  I have yet to see a real car.  This was scaled from photos.

Waiting for the title, VIN plate, and license plate from the state; due any day.  I was working on vinyl seat covers today.

[Mr.Woolery]

Nice job...digging the Miata guage cluster. 

[Driver]

Need to paint a few panels (something about the front end being all shiny so either the sides of, or the bonnet itself). Also cut the air scoops in either side. As a tribute car I can admire the effort that went into it. What was your final weigh in at? Hopefully you are getting much more than the 125 ish hp the D17 are rated at. Maybe need to do like CalScot and put a Rotrex on there..

[Marcus]

can you start working on wings please?

Nice work - how you waited to post here until this point is amazing.

Enjoy!

[Alec]

[quote="Marcus"]
Nice work - how you waited to post here until this point is amazing.

Enjoy!
[/quote]

He did post about starting it over 18 months ago with a link to his build site.

[quote="JonW"]
proximacentuari,

Good luck with your build.  I'm just about ready to take my Atom-tribute car off the build table.  Although I'm an engineer, I'm not CAD capable and don't have time to learn, so I pencil sketched mine from photos.  I still have not seen an Atom in person.  The Atom will come in at about $6000 with 127 HP Honda D17A2 and all Wilwood braking.

If you go to my build log you can get some ideas for scatch-built uprights.  PLease don't use pipe.  There is no place for pipe in cars.  I used mostly 16 ga. DOM in 1", 1-1/4", and 2" dia.  You can also see my home-built bender on the log.    http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtop ... 03&start=0

My son and I built a Locost 7 car that he used for a high school project.  He had 500 hours in it and I had 900 so I wouldn't say that HE built it.  We built it for under $2000. 

JonW
[/quote]

[JonW]

The gauge panel is from the 2001 Civic EX donor.

The alu. panels are finished in a 220-grit directional finish.  I'll cut side panel air ducts only if required.  I don't think I'll need them, but I need to get it on the street to determmine that for certain.  Final weight not yet known;  I'm estimating 1100 lbs.

I think I'll be happy with the 127 HP for a while as I derive great enjoyment from my 116 HP Miata daily driver (with sticky tires).  However, Rotrex and Hondata are not out of the question.  (Or maybe a complete repower next winter.)

Wings did cross my mind for the otherworldly look.  I think I'll do gull-wing doors and triangle frame-filling panels first.  I might need coolant heated seats also for the cooler seasons.

[Wmcmanus]

Nice work, Jon.  It's amazing to me how people like yourself are capable of doing these sorts of things from scratch.  I'm sure it has been a labor of love most of the time, and should be a blast to drive!  Congrats.

[Heywood-Yablowme]

2000 hrs of labor.  That is the equivalent of $150k to me. About what I paid for my 3 Atoms. I guess we are even