Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion restoration
 

Crosthwaite and Gardiner is restoring the only surviving Fuller's Dymaxion No. 2. It'll only be a partial non-running resto but they are re-creating the Dymaxion No. 3 into a fully running model. They are also soliciting everyone's help in identifying & sourcing parts for the resto & re-creation projects.
It'd be great if they utilize the Dymaxion's aero-bodyform on a safer modern chassis to realize the full potential of Bucky Fuller's ideas. Modern safety (crash) standards may be impossible to be re-engineered but a better driving dynamics could be applied instead of its original inherent suspension dangers.


Hemmings Auto Blogs » Blog Archive » Dymaxion No. 2 restoration underway; your help needed

Pretty neat stuff, interested in seeing the final product :thumbup:

Optimized aerodynamic form & tricycle configuration. I wonder which one will be on the road sooner.

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/q...ymaxaptera.jpg

Reno
 

Harrahs (sp?) Auto Museum,in Reno Nevada has a Dymaxion Car with full exterior restoration.The windows are silvered over to obscure the interior which as of 1998 was not restored.---------- If the mechanicals are similar,would the museum not participate in viewings and data gathering?

I've seen the Dymaxion here in Reno and its a cool looking car. Its still just silvered out windows, and is in the restoration shop IIRC.

1934 Dymaxion
 

Today I took my granddaughter to the National Automobile Museum here in Reno...and found the fully restored DYMAXION on display.
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Cool. It wasn't there on display when I was there. They did have the Airmobile.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...3-100-0271.jpg

Yes and no.

Three wheel drive and three wheel steering could do a lot. But the aerodynamics are imperfect. The original concept model had an 'air keel' that didin't make it to the prototypes.

http://www.dailyicon.net/magazine/wp...1dailyicon.jpg
www.dailyicon.net/2009/02/dymaxion-car-model-by-buckminster-fuller-isamu-noguchi/

It's similar to the central jet on four wheel cars with a notch in the air dam. Compare to a modern velomobile.

The excessive front overhang (or something) resulted in a weather-vaning effect, where it wanted to yaw into a crosswind.

Might not be the easiest of the tasks, but someone managed to adapt 3-wheel steering to one of those Indian Bajaj trikes some years ago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_jAxrMlN88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqqSpcBaC8E