What is it? (Spotted: rear engine TDI, custom aero body)

[Ardent]

Originally Posted by More air less fuel

. . . 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. . .I didn't have any of the major tools required. . . OLD Lincoln stick welder which I then modified to a TIG machine. . . but I didn't have a vacuum forming machine....so I made one. . . . I needed a paint booth to paint it so I made that too. . . .I even made an air supplied mask that piped in fresh air directly to my face mask from the great outdoors.

There are many more stories to tell, just can't think of them all right now!

Keep thinking; that's good stuff.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by Xist

The car companies cannot match a genius with a garage.

Genius indeed !

[NeilBlanchard]

Originally Posted by More air less fuel

I would add pics, but they are to big. How can I get around this?

If you upload them to a third party host site like Photobucket, and then link to those, you can get any size picture shown.

[freebeard]

It may have to do with something changes when you get to 5 posts. Make a random comment or two and try again.

[JQmile]

Originally Posted by More air less fuel

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!

All of that is all kinds of awesome. I had a Chevette diesel that would get in the mid 50mpg range at 55mph. I always wondered what it would do if it was aero. Heard they were one of the least aerodynamic cars ever made. Also big props for driving real speeds, building something that looks awesome, and doing so with materials that last!

[RealZ28]

Originally Posted by JQmile

All of that is all kinds of awesome. I had a Chevette diesel that would get in the mid 50mpg range at 55mph. I always wondered what it would do if it was aero. Heard they were one of the least aerodynamic cars ever made. Also big props for driving real speeds, building something that looks awesome, and doing so with materials that last!

Oh man I had one of those way back in the early-mid 90's. I think it was an '83. If I knew then what I know now I'd have kept it. 0-60 in 3 days just didn't cut it when all your buddies are driving around in hot rods. It was sold after the 3rd set of glow plugs. That thing ate glow plugs like candy....especially in winter when you really needed them.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by More air less fuel

I would add pics, but they are to big. How can I get around this?

More Air Less Fuel, in order to post images, links, etc, you need five posts. Please feel free to come to my thread and tell me to do push-ups, kick rocks, or that my mama never loved me. http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...sor-25686.html

Or just post twice more here. We would love anything that you could tell us about your car!

As for images, you could just create another folder on tdiclub.com or continue using the same one, click on the image icon when posting here, and link the pictures.

By the way, please check out HydroJim's projects, if you can spare the time. He is a high school student that has done more ecomodding than most of us.

Here he is turning a Metro into a reverse trike:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tro-25552.html

This is a reverse trike from scratch:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ike-25266.html

He modified his Focus, including installing a boat tail:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...cus-22868.html

[ECONORAM]

Originally Posted by Shortie771

I completely agree with you. He has done an extremely good job modifying that TDI and I am sure he has seen great gains from it.

Not saying his mirrors are bad (especially compared to mine), but no exterior mirrors are better than having exterior mirrors no matter how small. My mirrors are terrible for the aerodynamics of my car, that is why I plan to remove them in the future (no side by side needed).

Overall this is a very impressive car and I wish I could see the kind of numbers he puts out, in terms of MPG.

I agree. Some good work there. I'm curious to see what his Cd is...

[More air less fuel]

I might go to the Shriners Car Show in Webster NY. tonight. Depends on the weather and if it really is tonight or if it's Sunday. A post early in this thread talks about one on July 14, that is Sunday, doesn't seem right?
I have done some more mpg testing without any special techniques like pulse and glide. Having trouble getting more than 74 mpg at a steady 60 mph over a 140 mile ride with the cruise on. I would like to drop some cylinders, but that is another project!

[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by More air less fuel

I might go to the Shriners Car Show in Webster NY. tonight. Depends on the weather and if it really is tonight or if it's Sunday. A post early in this thread talks about one on July 14, that is Sunday, doesn't seem right?
I have done some more mpg testing without any special techniques like pulse and glide. Having trouble getting more than 74 mpg at a steady 60 mph over a 140 mile ride with the cruise on. I would like to drop some cylinders, but that is another project!

74mpg at 60mph steady state is very good.