Building an R1 Powered Seven: August 2010

Building an R1 Powered Seven

A few years ago I got it in my head to build a kit car. After months of searching I came across the Locost concept. In short, quite a few amateur hobbiests around the world have built their own Lotus 7 inspired cars from scratch, following plans available on a variety of Internet sites and published in a book by Ron Champion.

I started gathering parts and finally began building the chassis in July '05. In August '10 the car was titled, licensed and is now street legal. The following blog captures the progress of the build and driving experiences after completion.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Street Legal!

Well almost, still need to take it for a final inspection to get an inspection sticker but that's a sure thing...

After almost 6 weeks of waiting I received a letter from PennDOT yesterday, enclosed was a title for my car, none of the back and forth or clarification questions I had feared, just a title. The vehicle make is listed as SP CONSTR with no model year. I called Hagerty and they updated my insurance with the new VIN number, took the title and insurance to a license center and $68 later had tags for the car...

I have the seats out to install a 5-point harness and will probably make some drain holes in the floor while I can (got caught in the rain twice already). Lots of motivation to get it back together for the final inspection, then off for some blats.