Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeyjd
That sounds reasonable for a design with a cd of .13-.18 made of light wieght/durable materials. How far along are you on the design and would you sell the body kit by itself? My thought would be your kit on spitfire chasis with an xfi motor and tranny. My goal would be a project I could do quite a bit of my own work and end up with a triple digit commuter for less than $4,000. I know that $10,000 for what you are talking about is probably just about giving away your labor. Let me to show you my perspective. I own 3 vehicles currently: 93 Ford Festiva (paid $1,000) 91 1ton diesel pickup (paid $2,500) 99 Dodge Intrepid (paid $1,000). All these vehicles run well with no complaints. I do all maintenance myself. When I talk about it penciling out I'm referring to the idea of saving money, if it's long term that's ok. I guess I can't picture how it could make sense from a financial comparison perspective. I think what you have here is more for a niche hobbyist market than for the penny pinching gas miser, and for that reason I'm out. Thanks for your time.
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Ya I will definitely sell body kits on there own to Triumph Spitfire and GT6 owners as well as any other parts needed. You sound very similar to me I purchase my cars literally out of junk yards and wrecking yards then my friends and I rebuild them
So I completely understand what you mean by penciling out. TIGON for me will represent the most expensive car I will have ever owned by the time its all customized. My justification is I will keep it forever. It is unique not one other car like it in North America and will have unmatched fuel economic performance. I will enjoy simple low cost maintenance for years to come. So I am spreading the cost out over the years to make up for the initial building costs.
Yes I agree with your statement about niche hobbyist market. I think it also greatly depends on how many miles you plan on commuting and also how long you plan to keep the car just like you would for any car. Most people never keep there car for more than 6 years so in this sense it would most likely not make sense you might as well just go get a Geo metro for under $1,000! Unless you drive a great deal of miles on a daily basis where your fuel costs savings would be substantial and you can make up the difference faster.
Your strategy for using a Geo engine would not be a bad idea. They are light, inexpensive, and cheap to rebuild. One thing to consider is the Triumph is a rear wheel drive car so a custom flywheel adapter will need to be made for the Geo engine to mate up to whatever RWD transmission you go with. No different than any other engine though so that would not really be a huge deal. With the Geo engine you will have more than enough Horsepower to make it pretty fun depending on what gearing you want. The T5 which is what I am using in TIGON has tons of gearing choices and only weighs 75lbs. They can be found at virtually any junk yard cheap and only costs around $350 to rebuild! The diesel engine in TIGON will weigh around 187lbs so going with the Geo engine will save a good amount of weight also!
Would using a Geo engine get you to 100mpg? That is hard to say without knowing the Geo performance charts. I know that the T5 would be a gearing improvement over the xfi transmission. I have all ready done the comparisons of the two transmissions a while back. You would have much taller gearing with the T5 yet your first 3 gears would be lower for greater acceleration. I definitely think you would stand to have more than a fighting chance with the Geo engine enough to where I would not bet against you!
With a modern light weight aerodynamic composite body shell, Light 1,200 or less curb weight, small displacement engine, light weight alloy wheels, and proper gearing I really can not see why you could not pull it off!
Get the cheapest rusted out body shell Spitfire you can find with no engine or tranny but that is rolling! Or Just buy the cheapest one you can find in tact and sell of the unneeded parts like I did. Take off the Body shell and replace it with mine you would be into it at that point under 2K for sure. The wheels for the Tigon are the Smart Fortwo stocks at 10lbs and cost on Ebay anywhere from $100-175. I got mine for $100.00 and they are the front stocks which are 4.5" wide. The Smarts have these and rear wheels which are 5.5" wide. So I am only using the front wheels 4.5" wide on TIGON. The tires are Continental eco specifically made for those Smart Fortwo rims and can be found at tirerack for $75.00 per tire. The custom wheel adapter cost me $360.00 and $20.00 for shipping. I can now have them duplicated here locally for less. I don't have pricing on that just yet! The other option is just using the Spitfire stock wheels and tires. They are heavier and only 13" vs the 15" and lighter Smarts but going stock will save you money and help you keep it on budget.
To make your goal of under $4,000 will be really tough I think but possible. I definitely think if you can get the Geo engine for around $500 or less in good shape you can do it. That is half the price of a very used diesel and 3X or more less than a new diesel unit!
Heck I think it would be cool to see if you could do a Geo engined TIGON for under $4,000. I am more than willing in helping out if you need it. Once the body kit is complete and the molds are finished up you are more than welcomed to one if you like the style and aero profile.
How far along am I on the design?
Not near as far as I should be it has taken me much longer on the hybrid design not to mention TIGON was originally going to be a reverse trike. So that got changed not to long ago. I spent a lot of time and energy on the 3 wheeled option and even bought all the parts LOL! Once the wheel adapters show up I will have all the parts to finish up the rolling chassis and then start on the body kit! So it will start to move along more quickly now that I have a clear path and no more deviations so to speak! I also have a friend who is a master composite tech who has done tons of composite car work so I plan on the body turning out well between the two of us.
I hope this post helps good talking with you mikeyjd,
GH..