open planning new car

[cosmick]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Cross-section of the steel?

Take your pick. I'm still debating, but several choices in square, rectangle, and channel all fit the price rate listed. http://www.wasatchsteel.com/steel.html

Originally Posted by freebeard

How are you fixed for shop space?

2 car garage as seen in my build threads http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...0-a-30147.html and http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mpg-29947.html

Originally Posted by freebeard

When will the canopy show up?

Sometime after I get around to ordering one from Todd's Canopies in Florida.

Originally Posted by freebeard

Single seat or tandem?

I had an idea about how to have my cake and eat it too. Since the cabin will be so overkill, I can make it quick-disconnect, letting the second seat portion be removed or installed in a couple of hours.

The real issue is finding the right longitudinal 2WD transaxle with the right gearing. I'm leaning toward an Audi manual with a compound ratio in top gear of 2.30:1 . Cheapest and easiest-to-find would be a '98-up VW Passat V6 manual 5-speed version, but that's 3.07:1, top gear of 0.79:1 times final drive ratio of 3.89:1, (on the differential).

[freebeard]

The second seat doesn't have to add a lot of length if the passengers feet fit under or to the sides of the driver's seat. How about a seat-top that folds into the seat cushion, like half a Karmann Ghia/Porsche or the Elio [concept].

...a couple of hours? Would you alter the wheelbase?

[cosmick]

Since the frame around the driver is most likely to be 2" x 2" x 1/4"-wall square steel tubing, and that's common for ball-mounts into class 3-class 4 hitch receivers, the whole passenger bit would sandwich between the driver's seat and the drivetrain. So yes, the wheelbase would get extended. Or shortened, as the case may be.
But it is also adding an extension to the shifter, the brake line, the E-brake cable, the wire harness for lights and turn signals if nothing else, and possibly the radiator hoses. The frame itself wouldn't take half an hour, it's these other extensions, or deletions as the case may be, that would take the time. Quick-disconnects for most of them already exist, or there's something adequate that should be adaptable. I'm known for how I re-purpose things for unintended uses with great success.
The real issue seems to be mating 2 canopy sections smoothly, so the aero works equally well both ways.
The single seater should be a fun toy, but it seems difficult to justify. The second seat adds some eco, but will dramatically change the way the whole thing works when trying to have fun.
I like this, if it can be done at a racetrack parking lot by one person, rather than just in a home garage with a helper. I'm thinking a small onboard air compressor, and a vertical, retracting pneumatic landing foot at the front of the drivetrain, probably a second at the rear of the front portion.
Then the section removed can be locked to the trailer with the street tires while racing on the race tires that necessitate the small trailer.
Eco doesn't matter if it isn't fun. But fun isn't fun if you can't afford it. And this also needs to showcase my skills to attract paying customers, same as the RX-7 build I'm nearing the completion of. And it needs to stay under $5,000 not counting my labor.
I'd prefer to sell the design for 2 million rather than selling copies at $10,000, but whatever.

[freebeard]

I'd forgotten about the mid-rear engine.

Fixed wheelbase; driver moved to the rear, front seat is a semi-reclining rumble seat with the seat cushion between the Mustang A-arms where a front engine would be. In race mode the passenger seat becomes crumple zone.

...otherwise, Here's an example of a variable wheelbase truck. One of the two driveshafts is added:


http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/06/international-harvester-sightliner.html

And the Rinspeed Presto from 2002. The chassis must be thicker by at least the distance between the chrome bars (either that or tiny people):


________

So, you're going to unbolt the front and back half and slip a spacer in between?

[cosmick]

Looks to me like that Presto concept has the potential to be more fun than any ponycar.
And these days the off road guys have driveshaft solutions like these: Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Tom Woods Custom Drive Shafts Custom Driveshafts Specialist
Click on the top right option. That would allow you to extend the wheelbase by nearly 2 feet without touching the driveshaft.
But putting an engine in front of a centered driver means the driver would have to sit above a driveshaft, or 2 extra gearboxes to offset the shaft, neither of which is good.
So yes, the second seat will be a spacer. I was thinking of letting it be long enough for comfort on road trips. Drink holder, AM / FM / CD with speakers, which the front won't have, maybe even a laptop.
I'm 3D modeling it in SketchUp Make 2014, but I have no clue how to share it beyond a digital camera pic of what's on my PC screen. I'm using the free version, and I can only e-share those files with others who have the 2014 version. And I'm not even set up for a printer, which I don't have anyway.

Mopar has a good auto transaxle, except it is 100% computer controlled, and it is an automatic. But the gearing is pretty good, it is common in the cheap salvage yards, and it can hold decent power.

[freebeard]

I'm 3D modeling it in SketchUp Make 2014, but I have no clue how to share it beyond a digital camera pic of what's on my PC screen. I'm using the free version, and I can only e-share those files with others who have the 2014 version.

XP?

Originally Posted by Google

To take a screen shot and save it as a picture. Click the window you want to capture. Press Alt+Print Screen by holding down the Alt key and then pressing the Print Screen key. The Print Screen key is near the upper-right corner of your keyboard.

Windows 8.1?

Use Snipping Tool to capture screen shots - Windows Help

Mac OSX? Shft-Cmd-3 or Shft-Cmd-4 like always. Sketchup may not let you share the model, but anything you can see on screen is shareable through the operating system.
________

The Morgan 3-wheeler has a pretty low driver position; does it have an offset driveshaft? There is also the Pontiac Tempest. It has a curved driveshaft. It uses a rear-mounted transaxle, similar to some Porsches.

Front engine, frontwheel drive would side-step a lot of problems.

[cosmick]

Lots of excellent ideas in this thread:

Brunton M-Spec 1,600 pounds and LS POWER!! - LS1TECH

Well worth looking at 6 pages of pics. Especially the suspension.