120 replies to this topic

[Edo]

Gentlemen,

Little toy cars are no longer enough to feed a passion for Thingies, it's time to step up to the big size!



There is an artistic project going on this fall, which will be revealed on these very pages (IF there is interest for contemporary art).

A while ago, taking inspiration from Don Siegel's original Arrow Dart:



... Gene (aka Eldon Shinoda, aka nut zipper) made a new plug:



... and repopped that body:



Given his small size compared to many of the other Shinoda bodies I thought it would be perfect to have it made in 1/1 scale:



It was a great idea to choose that particular design, I cannot imagine what super monster would have come out if a "GT" body was to be made in full size!



Anyway, Gene sent me the plug he made after I explained him what I wanted to do and I took it to Turin to U.C.I.F, a company specialized in building prototypes for the automotive industry.

Here they scanned the 1/24 body with a 3D laser scanner:





And made a file for the CNC machine:





To be continued...

[edworth]

We await with bated breath, and whispring humbleness.

[Tex]

DOOD! You GOTTA DRIVE that thing on the STREET!!

[Jairus]

Now THAT will take a LOT of brass rod...

[Mark Patterson]

Will it be an electric motor and where are you going to find sponge tires to fit that thing?

WAY KEWL! Keep us posted!

[Bill from NH]

Jairus, I thought you'd jump at the chance to paint and letter that thing. No?

[Cheater]

Will it be an electric motor...

My bet is the car will have a Ducati motor installed...

[Edo]

A Ducati motor?
No siree! FOUR Ducati Testastretta 1100 cc 8 valves in inline configuration!

E

PS: Or perhaps, if we really want to be ecological, a giant Mabuchi 26D fed by one of those cute portable Iranian atomic powerplants.

[TSR]

Sire Edo 1st,

THIS is what you need:

CLICK HERE.

That thing will bury those puny little Italian glorified moped engines...

[Mark Patterson]

OMG! 12,000 HP! Better use some glue!

I think the accelerator should be an electronic controller (with variable brakes of course!)

[Cheater]

Imagine the size of the braid that motor is gonna need...

[Pablo]

Looks like a great speedboat hull.

[endbelldrive]

This little period correct number is popular with the unlimited hydroplane crowd and it puts out a modest 3,750 HP...



... the Lycoming T55.

[Cheater]

Edo's crazy, but he's not that crazy...

[Jairus]

Judging by the size of the body... I am guessing that E will be putting the body on a readily-available four-wheeled device all of us red-blooded Americans wanted as a kid... a "Go-Kart"!

[stevefzr]

Wrong forum I know, but I've always wondered how a go-kart-sized wing car would go. Surely several Gs of downforce would be possible?

High school physics was 35 years ago, be here goes... If your wings were 1m higher than the cart, and the cart was 1.5m long and 1.2m wide, then the air trapped in the wings would have a volume of 1.8cu mt and a mass of about 2kg. At 160KPH (100mph) the cart is doing 44m/sec. Air entering the front of the cart has to be lifted 1m to exit over the rear air dam or wing sides by the time the cart has tavelled 1.5m. ie it has 1.5*1/44 of a sec or 0.034sec. This means that acceleration (of the air) = 2(t*t) = 1720 m/s/s. 1G is equal to acceleration of about 10m/s/s. So, our air will be subjected to about 172g. 2 KG of air at 172G will have a downforce the equivalent of 172kg at 2G. So, if my sums are right, a 172 kg kart and rider could get 2Gs of downforce at 100MPH.

2G sounds pretty good, but I wonder if those side wings would cause a problem in cross winds? :-)

Regards,

[Edo]

Well gentlemen,

I'm very happy you have been stimulated by this project but, actually, it will not be made into a functioning car.

Please read on:

After fiddling a bit more with the 'puter:



... the commands are fed into the CNC milling machine:



... which effortlessy start to dig into high-density polyurethane, starting from the top of the model, to make a "negative" mold:



Layers over layers are then added:





... and the machine keeps on going:



... 'til we have a "hull" (Hi Pablo):





Fiberglass sheets are laid on the negative mold and epoxied (no pics, I wasn't there).

Then the Eighth Wonder of the World gets readied to be pulled from the mold:







Note the reinforcements inside the body (it weights about 70 kg):



And here being rested on her lovely legs:



Mr. Forneris and Mr. Ursi, owners the U.C.I.F. company, admire their work:



A sculpture which will be exposed in a Contemporary Art gallery, along with more Thingie Art, after being smoothed out and painted.



Next: INFINITY...

[tonyp]

Very interesting. I can't wait to see the track it is going to run on. LOL....

[Jairus]

I get it! "Wall Art"!

Very cool idea! Remember seeing in an old Road & Track a wealthy dude purchased a 1966 Grand Prix car and hung it on his wall. The ceiling was a two-story cathedral and the car hung from the nose right in the middle of the wall pointing to the peak of the ceiling. Very artistic and cool!

I have done that with a Soap Box derby car and a surf board... but never a real car.

[Pablo]

I'm guessing it will go for a mil.

Does it have a name yet ?

[Ron Hershman]

What we all want to know... is how much has this project cost so far???

[Prof. Fate]

Hi,

Perhaps 20 years ago or so, one of the magazines, I think Car and Driver, did a series on "handling" with the idea of producing a roadable vehicle that pulled the most Gs...

Someone DID do a super go-cart with air control that turned some amazing times.

Fate

[Horsepower]

Edo,

Are you saying your classic Thingie is going to be a shelf queen?

[Edo]

I'm guessing it will go for a mil.

IF the Evil Emperor gets on his private jet, comes to the opening, and has a couple of champagne glasses, it might.

Does it have a name yet ?

The body is an Arrow Dart, the Exhibit's "Finish Line"

... how much has this project cost so far?

The equivalent of quite a few MIB Cox Chaparral 2E kits and another few MIB SuperCucs.

Edo, are you saying your classic Thingie is going to be a shelf queen?

Just about, 'Blade. It's all in how it will be displayed.

Regards,

E.

[edworth]

So when should we expect our invitations for the gala opening and requisite wild party?