Beginning to cut the frame, building the jigtable.

After our test at ahvenisto we decided to start building our cars for the season 2007. W ordered Ron Champions book, Build your own sports car for £250. This is a very important book, because the rules on building the frame in the Finnish locost racing series are based on this book. While waiting on the book, we printed the McSorley cutting list and drawings for the tubes and started cutting the frame tubes to right length.

This picture was taken afterwards, it already has the book. :)

I built the jigtable while Henrik and Torbjörn were cutting the tubes. The jigtable will be where the frames will be assembled and welded, so it needs to be straight with accurate measurements for the frame. We got almost every tube cut on 24th September, and got started on welding the frame the 27th.

The front ends were done in a separate jig that we were able to borrow from s40racing. Making the second front end Henrik had some trouble, the third try cutting the tubes proved to be right.

The frame was first tack welded with MIG, after which the final welds were done by TIG welding. At the beginning the top and bottom of each frame was welded on top of each other to save some time measuring.

-Mika

EDIT 2008. I remember Mika calling me just a couple days after the event in Alastaro that he had just ordered tubing for two cars. Just two weeks after our decission to build these cars we were already cutting the tubes. -Henrik

Where it all began.

Locosts had been in our mind earlier, but the final decision to build one came a bit by surprise. We wanted something that was much more affordable than the Porsche. The suspension modifications we did to the Porsche during the winter 2005/2006 also made it feel like it would make as much sense to make a new car.

The final decision to build one was made under a test in Alastaro. I got a ride in Markku Vehviläinen's Toyota GT powered locost and at the end of the day Mika also got to drive it. Mika just casually asked: "Should we build a locost for the next season?" to which I replied "yeah".

From Mika's Porsche blog, how he felt after his first drive in a locost: "At the end of the evening I got a ride in Markku Vehviläinen's Locost, and I also got to test it myself. Already in the second corner it was clear that I'm in a race car. The Locost didn't at all feel like a typical compromise built racer, very impressive!".

Mika focused on the driving. Markku is fastening the seat belts on the passenger side so they won't flap around in the speed, no one dared to go as a passenger.

Mika on the track.


As engine choices we will have a motorcycle engine in Mika's car, when Henrik is going to drive with a Ford OHC engine.