Building a car from scratch- how would YOU do it?

[rykoala]

I thought I'd revive this thread with a discussion I had with my grandfather yesterday. He was telling me about a 49 Pontiac 4 door sedan with a huge 473ci motor with relatively low compression. He said that the cars engine was so huge that it never had to work very hard and that even at a good clip (no speed limits in the 50's) he got almost 30mpg with it.

That has me thinking- what if one were to build a 2 seat car as suggested with a mid engine set up, etc but with one rear wheel so that it could be classified as a motorcycle, AND have less rolling resistance. My next door neighbor (who used to race motorcycles professionally in the 60's and 70's) told me of a V8 engined motorcycle with a gm powerglide transmission (2 speed) and a shaft drive rear end. He said you really had to hold on to that thing!

So what if the same style of drivetrain were used? 2 seats, inline with each other, then the V8 engine (run of the mill V8 would be more than sufficcient with a powerglide auto trans behind it (which can be converted to "manual" if desired) and then a re-appropriated car rear end modified to run just one wheel? It seems to me like it would have no problem going very very fast, but also that at low throttle settings with fuel injection and all that it would get *very* good mileage, unless you had your foot into it all the time.

So, has this been done already? What do you all think of such a thing? Parts would be cheap and easy to come by, very few custom pieces would need to be made with the exception of the drive shaft and the rear end axle shafts (you could shorten the tubes and install a spool yourself).

[Duffman]

Originally Posted by rykoala

I thought I'd revive this thread with a discussion I had with my grandfather yesterday. He was telling me about a 49 Pontiac 4 door sedan with a huge 473ci motor with relatively low compression. He said that the cars engine was so huge that it never had to work very hard and that even at a good clip (no speed limits in the 50's) he got almost 30mpg with it.

I'm sorry but you got told a tall tale.

[ttoyoda]

My next door neighbor (who used to race motorcycles professionally in the 60's and 70's) told me of a V8 engined motorcycle with a gm powerglide transmission (2 speed) and a shaft drive rear end. He said you really had to hold on to that thing!

A number of people make these still. Here is particularly graphic example.



I wonder if this kind of machine qualifies as the Hummer of motorcycles.

[trikkonceptz]

The trike you are refering to is called a Boss Hoss and they are manufactured on the west coast of Florida.

My ground up electric car would be a sand rail, which the prebuilt chassis are inexpensive, then make it a trike with the single rear wheel, motorcycle assembly and then narrow the VW front end as much as safetly possible.

Having the open cage you can configure your set up any way you want, especially if you want to make it electric and once completed you can road test it and start manufacturing body panels to close in the sandrail while still keeping it as aerodynamic as you wish.

[LostCause]

I'd build a carbon fiber/kevlar composite, gyro-stabilized, two-wheel motorcycle. The top planform would be a NACA 0020 airfoil and the side planform would approximate the Aptera. The drivetrain would be a low power, high efficiency AC drivetrain with LiPo cells. I'd be good for 400-500 eMPG I'd think.



I'd need a team of the best engineers and an unlimited budget, ofcourse...but that's the "car" I'd build.

In reality, I'd just buy the VW 1L when it comes out in two years.

- LostCause

[dcb]

WOW, look at that thing Gyrocar? Soo many questions...

Edi: found the page it goes with: http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEU...rs/gyrocar.htm

[ebacherville]

gyro balanced car.. hmm interesting idea.. how big of a gyro would you need to do this..

[rykoala]

Originally Posted by Duffman

I'm sorry but you got told a tall tale.

Or maybe I just didn't give clear enough detail. He never said he was going super fast, but didn't mention his speed. There were no speed limits then and so no speed can be assumed. Also he specifically said 27mpg.

So really, if a corvette can get 35mpg on the highay, why is this so outlandish?

[beatr911]

These are really cool. Not good for carpooling though.
DIY motorcycle/formula car. SportCycle

[i_am_socket]

Originally Posted by ttoyoda

I wonder if this kind of machine qualifies as the Hummer of motorcycles.

Nope.




THIS is the Hummer of motorcycles.