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Old 10-17-2011, 05:56 PM   #89 (permalink)
aerohead
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gtkid2002 View Post
Heh. If I had a Ghia, I would be restoring it, not chopping it. I have a huge soft spot for those cars, so I couldn't bring myself to do anything major to one. A pre-chopped VW Baja I picked up for $50 bucks however, I have no problem chopping into little bits, and if all else fails, selling it for scrap. That's most of the reason I'm doing this to a bug. That and I'm looking at maybe not even using any of the body anymore. Hard to say at this point. I don't have cash for anything yet, but I had enough to buy some sketchbooks, so that'll be my starting point for now.



While you're actually reading this, would a flat bottomed teardrop shape be best, or would one that could arch up inbetween where the wheels are (but would still be smooth) be better? I'm just thinking lowered cars generally scrape on speedbumps, and maybe one with an arch wouldn't scrape at least as badly. I wouldn't really want my fancy-pants car to have to limp over them sideways like a lot of other cheap poorly lowered Hondas.
When Morelli did the 'banana car' in the late 70s he used an arched chassis so to speak.He called it a 'crushed-Omega',after the Greek symbol.It had the reflex-cambered body the Aptera has used (an inverted von-Mises aerfoil ).
You could do this,but you'd lose the backbone tunnel which gives the VW chassis all its strength.The shift-rod which runs inside the tunnel would have to be re-engineered with u-joints.And the slop introduced by the u-joints might leave the car shifting like a Porsche 911/912.Lousy!
The CNR banana car had a pretty low Cd,but actually higher than my pickup truck today.
My opinion is that the results would not justify the expense.
You might consider a motorized 'Select-Drop' which could alter the front torsion bar pre-load on the fly,allowing you to raise and lower the front at will.
Somewhere,here at the aero forum is a thread on a chopped and channeled bug.It might be a three-wheeler.Don't remember.Perhaps some of the members recall it and help dig it up.You really ought to see this car.
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