KIT CAR Oct 1988

There can be little doubt that the lotus Seven and its latter-day derivatives, copies and lookalikes still, after more than twenty years, appeals as the most popular and universally, recognised form of the classic. two seat sportscar. For the modern day devotee the Caterham Seven being the natural successor to the Lotus Crown, is still the ultimate while the Westfield SE is very close behind currently enjoying unprecedented sales which the state of the economy and the Government clampdown on spending power can do nothing to curb. But the kit industry as well as boasting something for everybody, also has it at a price to suit everybody so the JC Locust was probably on the cards way before John Cowperthwaite ever thought of it. Of course purists will frown on this Herald/Spitfire based pretender which wile bearing a physical resemblance to the car which has surely earned a unique place in motoring legend, can do nothing to even come close in the power, handling and road holding abilities of the genuine article. But then, some people are happy with that and take pleasure in their cars for their own character and appeal. Two such chaps are David White and John Tyson.
Visitors to this years hugely successful Newark show will have seen two fine examples of the JC Locust adorning the manufacturers stand and it was these two cars we sought out to illustrate just what can be done with a set of plans and the capacity for a great deal of patient work.

Locust 1.

David White's Locust started life with the acquisition of a scrap Triumph Spitfire for which he paid the princely sum of £99.He then set about stripping it and reconditioning it in preparation for the construction of his car. He bought the plans and patterns from JC while also utilising their replacement Triumph chassis and all this was transported to Washington where work commenced in October 1985.
Having a complete Spitfire at his disposal. David elected to use a much as possible from it in order to save on cost but. this was not the overriding factor since he also

wanted to build the car properly Thus pans were renewed or replaced as necessary with the result that the finished article was mechanically and structurally sound.
Starting with the front suspension, his first disobeyed instruction concerned the front springs which, according to the JC manual, needed to have 1 ½" cut off then to achieve the correct ride height. However David did not like this idea and instead consulted a spring specialist who recommended Triumph Dolomite rear springs which had the correct poundage, fitted properly and were 12 ½ " shorter to boot giving the correct ride height. Standard dampers and steering rack completed the set up but, when it came to the column he didn't like the idea of a single solid steering shaft so he inserted a Granada UJ and bearing to deflect the column in the event of a forward impact At the rear. David was again fortunate in obtaining a spring from a lightweight racing spitfire. This was a down rated unit which also gave more negative camber resulting in the wheels being at the right angle. David also used the Spitfire trailing arms but. When he found that the body hit the straight arms he looked under a few Burlington arrows and spotted their curved radius arms so he made up some new ones in stainless steel and mounted then with new bushes. This cured the bottoming problem but the hushes were obtained from a local discount supplier and, when he came to drive the car he found it had a high degree of rear wheel steering. After much head scratching, the problem was traced to the bushes which were replaced with much harder ones and the problem was solved.

Due to the engine being a 1300 David decided that ¾" ply would created a body too heavy for the power of the car so when he came to the woodwork he reduced the gauge to ½" which resulted in a 33% weight saving. This caused him a few mathematical problems while measurements were changed but it all went fairly smoothly while the end result speaks for itself.
There are many people who have the ability to construct a car to this basic standard but what sets David's car apart from others is the manner in which it is finished
He had a real stroke of luck with the wheels which are Mambas that used n, grace a Marina rally car and the fact that the owner had painted them with red Hammerite accounts for David getting them for £38. Much shot blasting and painting later. They really add to the overall impact Inside. David had another result when he asked for an estimate to cover the wooden seat frames he had

made. £30 was the estimate the bill was £28 while the job is superb. However, other aspects of the detail finish are down to David and include the beautiful brackets for the hood frame, the little aluminium fixed gaiter for the hand brake, and the general manner in which the whole job has been tackled. It took David two years exactly to complete the car, and though he says he experienced very few problems, he says the project was far more time consuming than he had ever imagined. Looking at the car. it is hard to believe it only cost him £1600 and that being the case. he becomes concerned when he hears of cars built for much less, especially when they are other kits for he thinks he has made the most budget conscious job of his car while any further savings could only be made at the expense of skimping on the mechanical overhaul side which could create either reliability or worse. safety problems.

The standard of workmanship is first class and serves as the ultimate example of how to do it

It certainly looks the part while you'd never imagine it only cost £1600 to build.