Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadeTreeMech
hmm, 28%? That's really good. For my van that would put me in the range of maybe seeing a 30 mpg tank once in a while. You wouldn't have a picture of your tail, do you? Were you still able to use the tailgate? I can see how having the bottom of a boattail properly built could add some much needed luggage space in a somewhat cramped van. With it being only 18 inches, I'm assuming it was open at the end.
I'm toying with how to do rear wheel skirts. My rear tires are not underneath the van very much; about 1/3 of the tire surface above the floor is exposed. So i may have to think about flaring it a bit before a skirt would do any good.
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The project was for college and unable to anticipate results, I fabricated everything over the existing hatch with an enclosed tail over the hatch area,completely losing the rear utlity.The bottom was open with a secondary vertical engine door allowing access to the original door via a tunnel.Since its an air-cooled engine I wanted to maintain any pressure inside the engine bay from the side ram intakes.--- In the future I will lose the rear hatch and extend the bed platform into that space,creating an opening hatch as part of the new tail enclosure.The "tunnel" underneath to the engine will have illumination for after dark servicing.--------- I have photos and will bring next weekend to scan and email to ecomodder.------------- For your application,it would be nice to do a swing-away mount,like a spare tire holder on a Jeep.From the curb,you could un-fasten and swing the tail away for access to the hatch.And in a perfect world it would be carbon-fiber epoxy,weighing only a few pounds.Mine was sheet aluminum over a cedar skeleton,screws,angle-brackets,pop-rivets,with plexiglass backlite.The compound curves I cheated on,slitting the aluminum to bend over the curves and duct-taping the difference.Really primitive.Foam sculpting and composites solves this problem.While mine was "closed" a neighbor built an "open" boat tail for his Vanagon and carried lawn furniture an light things inside.Sepp has done some study which revealed that an open back loses you a little but overall,you still achieve a drag reduction.