Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - What is it? (Spotted: rear engine TDI, custom aero body)

More air less fuel · 06-29-2013, 09:51 PM

I was 23 years old and working out of my parents two car garage. I had next to no money but lots of ideas...The whole thing was done by one guy with no help of any kind and went from idea to a finished car in 2.5 years. Looking back on it, I have no idea how I did that. The shape of the car just sort of evolved as I watched how snow drifted, the shapes of animals, airplanes and race cars. No computer, degree or any of the like.
The car is a bit heavy, weighing in at 2600 lbs. The gearing is custom, with first being as low as VW ever made and 5th being as high as I could buy in the aftermarket. The final drive is from a VW trans that had the highest they offered. I forget what it is, but 3.14:1 sounds right. It was from a CTN code tranny.
I didn't have any of the major tools required, like a TIG welder, lathe, band saw, drill press, etc. so I traded things like putting an engine in my friends dads Monza for an OLD Lincoln stick welder which I then modified to a TIG machine complete with pre and post feed Argon, internal back purge Argon timer, foot controlled amperage and start, high freq. start, and vent fan control. The little South bend lathe was borrowed from another friend that owned an airport. And on and on....
The headlight covers are made from vacuum formed polycarbonate, but I didn't have a vacuum forming machine....so I made one. It had 3 foot square electric heaters with resistance wire made from 316l stainless TIG filler rod, an old electric stove thermostat, two shopvac motors to pull a vacuum. It was the size of a minivan!
I needed a paint booth to paint it so I made that too. It was really nice, all made from OSB board, I had 4 feet of room all the way around the car to maneuver, second hand fluorescent lighting, old whole house fan and a ton of furnace filters. I even made an air supplied mask that piped in fresh air directly to my face mask from the great outdoors.
Had some quirky handling issue in the beginning but it turned out that the spring rate up front was to low, all better now.
There are many more stories to tell, just can't think of them all right now!

06-29-2013, 09:51 PM	#119 (permalink)
More air less fuel EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Webster NY Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 92 Times in 8 Posts	I was 23 years old and working out of my parents two car garage. I had next to no money but lots of ideas...The whole thing was done by one guy with no help of any kind and went from idea to a finished car in 2.5 years. Looking back on it, I have no idea how I did that. The shape of the car just sort of evolved as I watched how snow drifted, the shapes of animals, airplanes and race cars. No computer, degree or any of the like. The car is a bit heavy, weighing in at 2600 lbs. The gearing is custom, with first being as low as VW ever made and 5th being as high as I could buy in the aftermarket. The final drive is from a VW trans that had the highest they offered. I forget what it is, but 3.14:1 sounds right. It was from a CTN code tranny. I didn't have any of the major tools required, like a TIG welder, lathe, band saw, drill press, etc. so I traded things like putting an engine in my friends dads Monza for an OLD Lincoln stick welder which I then modified to a TIG machine complete with pre and post feed Argon, internal back purge Argon timer, foot controlled amperage and start, high freq. start, and vent fan control. The little South bend lathe was borrowed from another friend that owned an airport. And on and on.... The headlight covers are made from vacuum formed polycarbonate, but I didn't have a vacuum forming machine....so I made one. It had 3 foot square electric heaters with resistance wire made from 316l stainless TIG filler rod, an old electric stove thermostat, two shopvac motors to pull a vacuum. It was the size of a minivan! I needed a paint booth to paint it so I made that too. It was really nice, all made from OSB board, I had 4 feet of room all the way around the car to maneuver, second hand fluorescent lighting, old whole house fan and a ton of furnace filters. I even made an air supplied mask that piped in fresh air directly to my face mask from the great outdoors. Had some quirky handling issue in the beginning but it turned out that the spring rate up front was to low, all better now. There are many more stories to tell, just can't think of them all right now!