Two bits of good news.
The first concerns our long-awaited SPCNS certificate. It finally arrived in the mail after we
threatened for weeks to take the matter up with the DMV. Luckily for them our threats alone did the
trick and we didn't have to escalate anything. The certificate looks all nice and legal, with two
official seals and a reminder that if our vehicle is found not to meet the requirements for a Certificate of
Sequence under Senate Bill 100 (2002 statutes), then the certificate is null and void. I'm sure
we're okay.
Aluminum radiator with optimized mounting holes
The second bit of good news concerns our cooling system. Our new aluminum radiator arrived and
we installed it in the Locost. This wasn't super easy, since the manufacturer of the new radiator
spared many expenses, including the cost of putting the mounting holes in
the same location as they are in an MGB. Luckily over the past couple of years we've gained a
little familiarity with various automotive fabrication techniques, and we were able to get the
radiator installed with only minimal damage to a couple of the very flimsy aluminum fins.
But that's not actually the good news. The good news is, when we're out for a drive now the
needle on the temperature gauge never gets any higher than the middle of the dial. Never. Even if
we're blasting up a long, steep hill or idling at a stoplight. Or several stoplights. All in a row.
Incredible. It's just like a regular car. You can drive anywhere now, and not have to worry about
dividing your attention between the surrounding traffic and the temperature gauge. It's all very
encouraging. And possibly safer.
Back to the old filler
We also made some more changes to the cooling system. Actually we just went back to the original
setup. We gave up on all the extra tanks and hoses, because the only thing they ever did was
provide more places for things to leak. We got rid of the heater outlet tube that we made, and reinstalled the
blanking plate, and we also reinstalled the filler tube next to the thermostat. We hooked up the
radiator overflow to our old header tank, which now serves only as an overflow tank, even though
there really isn't anything left to overflow.
We didn't quite realize the effect the overheating issue was having on our Locost experience. We
couldn't take the car anywhere we wanted. We got a bit nervous every time we climbed in it.
Every drive was a test drive, and a good result was making it back home before something
sprayed coolant all over the engine bay. Even though it was still a lot of fun to toss the car
around and light up the tires and wave to onlookers, we could never really enjoy the ride. Not
completely.
Now it's a whole new story. The car is a blast to drive all the time. Because we no longer
have to focus entirely on trying to keep the car from frying, we've started noticing a few other things
that we'd like to upgrade, like for example lowering the seats. We might also try to find out why the
alternator doesn't always charge, and replace our brand new worn out choke cable. Just so many
things we can do now. Of course it's only December so we can't be totally sure our cooling woes are gone
forever, but it's looking awfully good so far. It'll be fun now to start working on the other upgrades.
Unfortunately we're not exactly sure when we're going to have time to do any of these things. You may recall
that last year at this time we weren't getting a lot done on the Locost build, and it turns out this
year is no exception, although a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that the Locost is
done, and there really isn't anything left to build, our ill-fated hood scoop notwithstanding. But
just like last year, it's starting to get dark around four in the afternoon, and it's
cold outside.
Attempt at an M.G. Locost construction manual
We've been spending time instead on our long-neglected M.G. Locost construction manual, and have
posted an update that takes you through building the scuttle and installing the pedals.
We hope to get the chapters on the engine, cooling, exhaust, and the chassis brackets completed
soon, at which point the manual will be half done. If you get that far on your own M.G. Locost, you
can probably figure out the rest without our help, but it might not be as much fun. So we do intend
to complete it, hopefully before we forget how we did everything.
The other thing we plan to do over the next couple of weeks is sign up for all of the various
inspections that are required to get our Locost permanently registered for the street. With that out of the way,
we can finally put to rest this unbelievably long and painfully verbose build log, and just enjoy the car. The inspection
process will be slow going over the holidays, with family in town and many non-automotive
activities planned, but at least we have everything we need and all of January to get it done. So
it won't be long now. We hope.