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FAQ - Midlana
FAQ - Midlana
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midlana.com
FAQ – Midlana
16–21 minutes
Background:
In 1957, Lotus produced a car called the Seven, and later, the
Super Seven. In 1973, production of the Lotus Seven was sold to
Caterham Cars, where they continue manufacturing kits and
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What is a Midlana?
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Define “better” – some people only think it means faster. Since the
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Mid-engine cars have won every single F1 race since 1958, but
granted, they’re hardcore race cars, many with downforce, but
given the choice, why not start with what been proven as superior
on-track, since that’s what most builders aspire to (reasonable or
not!). Phil Hill once said, “It was really astounding how just the
placement of the engine [behind the driver] gave comfort to the
drivers. The whole feeling of being – at the end of the string – was
gone.”
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Moment Of Inertia.
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64″ front track, 60″ rear track, and a 96″ wheelbase. Overall height
is 44″, about the same size as a Locost but a little wider.
Large enough to nearly any 4-cylinder engine, and some small V6s.
With modifications, others can fit as well.
In short, yes, but once the bike engine’s overall length (exhaust,
cylinders, gearbox, and rear axle drive) are added together, the
challenge will be getting it all to fit. There is however, nothing wrong
with lengthening the chassis a couple inches to properly package it.
You got it! Actually, both in-board and out-board front suspension is
an option. Rear suspension is outboard.
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Absolutely!
• Gas tank, $200 for a self-built one, $2500 for a real custom fuel-cell
• Paint, from spray cans to vinyl to powder coat and car-show quality,
$50 – $5000
The actual steel and aluminum is about $1000. Miata donor parts
(uprights, steering, and a few odds and ends) will be $100-400
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• Seats, $400
• Shocks, $1000
• Axles, $500
• Drivetrain, $2000?
• Paint, $1000?
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cable TV, Starbucks coffee, and take your lunch to work. That alone
adds about $250+ a month to the project bank account. In 3.5
years, it’s paid for the car.
If you really want a hard number, it’s always 25% more than you
think!
The only unique feature over a straight-axle Locost is the need for
custom half-shafts. It’s unlikely that the drivetrain’s axles will just
happen to be the right length and spline count and spline size to fit
the Miata uprights. Because of that, assume axles will be
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Excellent, then Midlana is for you! The book notes areas where
builders must make choices based upon their own goals and
preferences – it’s okay to be different. Renderings of different ideas
are included so builders can pick and choose what they like, or they
can make their own unique modifications.
I’m no styling expert and want people to customize their car. I’m a
slim 6′; if you’re taller or shorter, the roll cage and passenger
compartment can be changed to suit. If you’re heavier or slimmer,
widen the car, narrow it, move the seats forward or back, or tilt
them and bring the cage down. Want to add tubes to the cage,
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Yes, but the body will taper inward more sharply toward the nose,
so unless the nose is modified it’ll look odd with the steeper angles.
Also, the car is already 72” wide at the outside of the tires, so don’t
go crazy else it might end up as wide as a HUMVEE – without
exaggerating. Making the car wider also has implications for the
suspension because it lowers the roll-centers, but whether the
builder cares or not depends what the car is used for.
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thinking inside the box.” Yes they are, and that box is called
“metallurgy.” It’s highly doubtful that these optimistic builders found
a way to get around physics.
The cage can be left out but doing so cuts torsional rigidity in half
and of course having the cage is safer than not (on-track at least).
It’s all about choices. For example, if the windscreen is removed
along with its frame, the passengers lose a great way to hoist
themselves up and out of the car and also lose protection from
getting pelted with bugs and rocks. The frame is also a convenient
attachment point for doors, too. Everything’s connected to
everything else…
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Clean out the garage, build shelves and get everything off the floor
Locate and buy a welder (this alone can take months if looking for a
name-brand unit)
Decide on a drivetrain
And which seats, and steering wheel, and quick release hub, and
wheels, and tires, etc, etc
This also gives time to build the budget, since a fair number of parts
need to be purchased up front before the chassis is done. If you
want to get a sense of what it’s like to build a car, check out my
book on building a mid-engine tube-frame Mini from the ground up;
the chassis and drivetrain layout are similar to Midlana, http://
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www.kimini.com/book_info
Some owners will no-doubt take their car to track day events and
it’s good to know that Midlana has been track tested. They can take
their car out on-track knowing that the SCCA rule book was used
during design. That said, running Midlana in SCCA or NASA
events probably won’t be much fun because it’ll be classed against
cars utilizing ground effects, highly aerodynamic bodies running
very low ground clearance. Builders are free to go with smaller or
thinner tubing but it is their full responsibility to understand the
consequences of doing so. My constant reference to the rule book
was an effort to produce a safer chassis without crash-testing.
Using what the SCCA has learned over decades seems wise and
exceptions are noted where builders must decide their own course.
In the book
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Using the same analogy above, how long does it take to build a
house? It all depends how much time you have available, if you
have help, and how efficiently you work. I’m actually not a good
example since I designed the car in parallel with building it and
writing a book at the same time; current builders are a better source
of data. When people say they’ll build a project in a given
timeframe, they almost never meet their self-imposed deadline.
This isn’t a reflection on Midlana but more a commentary on overly-
optimistic human nature when applied to any large project.
It’s less expensive that the very few other mid-engine sports car
books/plans on the Web, and those don’t provide 400 pages that
walk you through the entire build process, never mind options.
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