Lurking RX7 Streamliner
 

Edit: See updated photos of new cover design and paint job on page 3/4

I've always been into streamliners... mostly for speed, but I'm addicted to browsing the aero section of this site. Been doing some aero mods to my RX7. I'm working on some front wheel well covers now. They are attached to the knuckles, so they move with the steering. Took a few pics of them just roughed out in fiberglass.

https://i.postimg.cc/bwbMBsb5/Screen...32-Gallery.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/k4MpGsZr/Screen...15-Gallery.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/ZqSgt4x5/Screen...52-Gallery.jpg

Interesting is there any second point of attachement?

Yep, the cover is attached to the bracket in front of the wheel. Maybe down the road I will refine and do a 2.0 build, but I'll use the current design for a while.

https://i.postimg.cc/sXjmj2Lw/20220821-125729.jpg

Here is a shot of the initial mock up, it's a mess here...

https://i.postimg.cc/ZY38Gp04/20220724-155333.jpg

This is the only shot I took of the bracket that attaches to the knuckle... the second one was a lot cleaner :o

https://i.postimg.cc/59n4NkX3/Screen...03-Gallery.jpg

Something like a Citroen single-spoke steering wheel?

An air deflector on the front face of the bracket couldn't hurt.

Yep, something like that. Was kinda difficult to get the rigidity I wanted with the single spoke, but I'm pretty happy with it now.

I think you're right about having a deflector on the front face. Would help with drag a lot when the wheels are turned. I'll definitely do that in time, should help with rigidity of the cover too. Thanks :thumbup:

Welcome to the site ! I love what you have done with the front covers.
Great fabrication work.
Without getting too specific, where in Austin are you ? I'm up in north Austin.

Next most interesting:

https://i.postimg.cc/bwbMBsb5/Screen...32-Gallery.jpg

I'm reminded of the Maclaren Elva that has a pop-up spoiler at the front of the radiator exit duct. IDK if it's for high or low speed, but it lofts air over the not-windshield.

Besides the deflector, another issue would be wheel travel.
How are you going to handle upward motion of the wheel ?
I'm sure you have a plan for that already.
Perhaps a flexible area around the wheel arch ?

Thanks! I'm just east of town on the other side of 130. You still have the EG civic hatch? I have always wanted one of those. You might dig this render someone just posted...

https://i.postimg.cc/Wb3SP3v6/Screen...49-Gallery.jpg

He does a lot of low drag designs: al3x.blend (Instagram)

I have always fantasized about having a topless car like that. 1/3 of your frontal area cut off and being out in it :D

I went with the aggressive radiator vent to help create a low pressure area behind it to get some good flow through the radiator. Probably a bit excessive, I just liked the look of it.

I should be pretty safe with wheel travel. I lowered the coil-overs a few inches when shaping the cover and with camber gain during compression I should be alright. I have driven it a bit, but time will tell if I do have rubbing in some extreme cases, and I'll have to clearance it some more. Hopefully not though. Fiberglass is flexible at least :)

How is your project coming along ?
Since you are more into speed than economy, you may get up to speeds where an airbrake could do some good on the track.
Not only will it save your brakes and keep them from overheating, but it will also be something different from other cars. ( But functional ! )

I would imagine you are familiar with airbrakes, and I'd love to see what you would come up with.

( My first thoughts would be to have a "drag wing" type of flat spoiler on the back of the car.
Angled downward, it would decrease your wake and reduce drag, making the car faster.
As you apply the brake, the electrical signal that triggers your brake lights could also trigger the spoiler to flip up on a hinge and then act as the airbrake, with the release of the brake sending it back down again.
It would create loads of downforce too. Imagine little spoilers on all four corners near the wheels that are angled with the wind for less drag, but flip down when you tap the brake for more grip )

I really like the angular but smooth look you are going for.

Sorry for the delay on my reply. I tried posting a few replies, but they were held for review by a moderator but never went through until I had sent a pm.

I'm slowly plugging away. Just finished the front wheel cover for the driver's side, which took a good amount of time to fabricate.

I'm definitely familiar with air brakes. I'd like to do something like that with a drag style wing, actually have thought about it, but at this point all the extra work with the covers has drug out so long, I kinda just wanna do some body work now and get some paint on it.

Never though about having active canards/dive planes like you are talking about. Something interesting to think about.

I have another project car that has been put on the back burner since I got the bug to do the wheel covers and I'd like to finally start making progress on it again. Now you've got me contemplating active aero on that thing...

Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm pretty happy with the outcome. I am sort of going for a cyberpunk/futuristic feel. I think the flat and angular style of the 80's serves that well.

Just now seeing your reply.
I'll definately have a look at those renders.
That render looks like what I am planning on building actually.
I like the orange lighting - Bladerunner !!
I do still have the EG hatch. It was stolen last year, but I found it in the police impound and got it back after paying $400 to get the car back.
It runs.

I certainly do see the cyberpunk look in your car design.
Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

How's the paint?

Hey Freebeard, always good to see you around.
I decided to take the car down to bare metal.
I live in an apartment and have had to do most everything by hand.
Painfully slow.
C4Evermore : That guy's a master ! I used to do 3d, so I know how hard it is, and he's good !
I'll give him a 'follow' later. At the moment avoiding social media.

:thumbup: A blank canvas?

Do you want to bump an old thread and fanatasize about it? [Ghost camo -- dark roof and whitewalls with white wheelwells]

Though I plan to still use the car for advertising, it's going to have less art on it. I'm going with the military livery from my old thread, but I'm leaving it bare metal, and will have the shark mouth and checkertail livery.
It looks like a cross between an F-86 and a P-40.
For years I planned to cover the front wheels.
I even thought of a similar approach to it like the RX-7 in this thread, but I don't weld, or have the means to.
I think the ones on this RX-7 are absolutely brilliant.
For now, I will duct from the (fake) ducts on the bumper to create air curtains for the front wheels instead.

The car I have is a rolling turd right now; so I'll post some updates on it's own thread when I polish it some more.

I really love the look of the wheel covers on this RX-7.
It really has the Bladerunner look.

C4Evermore : Not sure if you have seen this thread, but you may find it useful. It even has a pressure graph on your car posted about half way down : https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...scoops-498100/

I've loved the look of the 2nd gen RX-7s since I was a kid.
The car had a really low .29 cD - well .. at least untill the drag buckets were raised ( headlights )
Nice job on covering them.

Thanks CD, your retactableboat tail was epic. Can't get enough of that kind of stuff. I ended up scrapping these wheel covers and made another version. Much more seamless. Wish I could post pics or a video, but I need to get my post count up. I posted a short video on my YouTube @garagespaceship

Glad to see you back on the forum !
I was going to send you a D.M. to see how things were.

So the wheel covers didn't work out ?
Hate to read that.
I loved the look.
I'm a big Blade Runner fan, and I really saw that look in your design.

I searched for your video on YouTube, but I'm not seeing anything.
I even tried different variations of your user name.

Can you make a comment on my YouTube video so I can follow it back to you ?

Link :

https://youtube.com/shorts/_8jlq2eCInE?feature=share

Just commented and subscribed. Hope you decide to try and execute another boat tail one day. The EG hatch is a classic, such potential for an iconic build. You were on the right track.

I wasn't happy with the rounded edge that allowed for wheel travel on the old covers. Just too big of a gap for my taste. That, and I was afraid of what a failure would look like, kinda worried me. The clearance on the bracket was so close to the wheel. I did make a 4+ hour drive with them, but I was a bit on edge the whole time. I feel better about the look and function of the new design.

Thanks for making the blade runner reference. Spot on for me. I could image this thing as a background car in something like Bladerunner 2049 or Ghost in the Shell.

Just had a look at your videos, and you do incredible work !
The RX-7 looks amazing, as well as the 'vette.
You really do quality work.
I'm kicking myself for not contacting you sooner.
I meant to check back on your project.

Thanks, I appreciate it. I did have help with the roll cage on the vette. A friend and I built that part together. It's pretty insane, all the body panels are dropped down about six inches over the frame. Looks like a hotwheels car. Tons of fabrication hours. Taking a break from it to work on the rx7 wheel covers and to get some paint on it. Been fantasizing about wheel covers for years... started out just planning on rear covers.

If you come up with another idea for your civic, maybe I could lend a hand or brainstorm with you. I am just down the road from you. I'm real handy at fabricating out of fiberglass and I have a little mig welder, so I can make brackets and what not as I need.

And if you ever would like any custom art done, let me know.
Here is a link to an article on the BladeRunner 2049 spinner.
https://makezine.com/article/maker-n...s-in-budapest/

If you ever wanted that weathered look for the RX-7, I'd be happy to do it for you.
I could get that look using a drybrush / airbrush technique using acylics.
It would be really inexpensive too. ( less than $4 a tube )
You would never think it, but waterbase acrylic craft paints are also really durable and have minimal fading.

Looking forward to seeing your work in person some day.

how are you attaching the rear wheel covers

As much as I'd like to see a weathered matte black Bladerunner style, I think I'm just going to end up with a traditional paint job. I have my eye set on a "blue grape" pearl. I have always thought it would be cool to do something like the ships in the old wipeout video games, but in the end I think it will be the dark blue/purple pearl.

They are mounted with two bolts on each side where the trim trough is. They are sort of keyed in place by the trough. I plan to put trim over it later so you won't be able to see how it's mounted. I plan to add one more bolt that connects them to the side skirt to keep things aligned and pretty much eliminate all movement.

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=DYC+purple+pearl

Plastidip S is more expensive, but can be changed easily.

I've considered plastidip and wrapping, but for just a little more effort I can do paint, and it will look better and last longer. So I'm pretty set on it. Even did a spray sample:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdv8Kxqp..._web_copy_link

I can finally post links, so I dumped a bunch... here is a link to the short YouTube video of the new cover... along with some photos.

https://youtu.be/36IOMPyZBg8

https://i.ibb.co/s6nYwTg/Video-Captu...206-175237.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/7yNJPwy/Video-Captu...206-175212.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/M20bKv9/Video-Captu...206-175222.jpg
Here's the roller mechanism and hinges.
https://i.ibb.co/q14C9np/20230206-174503.jpg
I used a tool balancer to reel the cover back into place.
https://i.ibb.co/VDKhKXc/20230206-174543.jpg

Hinged at the front? How does it work on the wheel on the insdie of the turn?

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...2-11-13-05.png

I should redo that illustration [from 2014]. Anyway four-bars ganged at the top.

It works the same either way you turn it. The roller runs the length of the wheel. Front of the wheel turning to the outside opens the cover more than when the rear of the wheel turns outward.

Can you explain what's going on in your illustration?

I could do better today. :)

James Watts was more proud of the four-bar linkage than the steam engine.
In this case, I connected the two top bars so they move together, to control racking motion.

The skirt would rise and fall, rather than hinging front to back.

Update: Nice shiny paint :)

Changed the front wheel cover design again. Got rid of the roller. Now they are opened by a bracket attached to the steering knuckle.

https://ibb.co/s3VLzyn
https://ibb.co/zFsbfZZ
https://ibb.co/4KGmCB8
https://ibb.co/xjnP9c4
https://ibb.co/DGsGVRT
https://ibb.co/4M11PT9

Shot a short video of it: https://youtube.com/shorts/COfH3Uq6U...3wpj81hSWazZXx

Don't think I can post pics without approval yet but there are a few on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garage.spaceship/

Never mind, hosted the photos here and it worked...

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-c...6-img-5314.jpg
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-c...2-img-5315.jpg
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-c...3-img-5316.jpg
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-c...416-164227.jpg
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-c...5-img-5320.jpg

Pic with the front wheels at lock?

Here it is at full lock. Of course I won't have anywhere near this kind of steering input at speed, and of course the side you turn into sticks out the most.

Design was inspired in part by the 1987 Chevrolet Express Concept: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D18OxxragVs

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-c...1390162484.jpg

Amazing work, it looks like a land speed concept car.

What connects the steering knuckle to the hinged bracket, and does it allow for suspension movement?