Random Aerodynamic Oddity of the Day Thread

[kach22i]

The First Corvair: A 1954 Corvette Fastback
Posted on October 28, 2023 by MCG
https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/...sts_position=0

Its distintive name was Corvair, a portmanteau of Corvette and Bel Air, suggesting the comfort of a full-size Chevrolet with the excitement of a Corvette.

The one, two, or five Corvair coupes were destroyed, reportedly. However, a 1954 roadster (S.O. 2151, a GM styling study for the 1955 Corvette) that shares the jet-exhaust deck lid aperture still exists. Also, two authentic Corvair coupe recreations have been built, one for noted collector Ken Lingenfelter, with both colors represented. The Corvair name would next appear in October of 1959 on one of GM’s most remarkable and controversial cars.

[freebeard]

I'm surprised, but -- hey, I'm helping.

Buick, Olds and Pontiac shared that body. Pontiac with the rear transaxle and slant four, Buick had the aluminum V-8 that was liscenced by Rover, and the Oldsmobile got turbocharging along with the Corvair.

IIRC the Corvair show car had a longer wheelbase than the Roadster.

[freebeard]

Another RETROCAR video, on the Anheuser-Busch Bevo Boat:

Anheuser-Busch Bevo Boat: The Most Unbelievable Thing a Brewery Ever Built

Wherein there is mention that Anheuser-Busch built motor homes. So -- down the rabbit hole:
www.coachbuilt.com: Anheuser-Busch, Busch-built, Lamsteed Kampkar, Bevo Boat, Budweiser, Beer Truck, Adolphus Busch III, Arthur W. Lambert - Coachbult.com

“The Lamsteed Kampkar - a special Busch-built body for campers, tourists, etc. - weighs less than a Ford sedan, yet can be quickly converted into a restful, convenient camp – anywhere. Provides ample seating room for six. Equipped with two wide, comfortable beds, six rain- and dust-proof lockers, compartments for water container, refrigerator, folding table, cooking and table utensils. Two people can mount this body, section by section, on a standard Model T Ford chassis in about two hours.

So, I knew about Kampcar (I've even seen one) and I knew about beer, but I didn't know the connection.



They started with electric beer trucks. Prohibition caused the company to pivot into ice cream, the only frozen food at that time, so they built refrigerator [ice cream] trucks. They built horses trucks, as well.

[freebeard]

I swear there are RETROCAR videos I skip over, but this one is the actual Bombshell Betty:

Bombshell Betty: The Junkyard Queen Who Conquered Speed Week

I saw it in tech inspection on the Salt.


upskirt


Looks like it had windows in 2013.

[freebeard]

Ecomodderers are familiar with the Meredith Effect, exploited by the P-51 to gain thrust from engine heat.

But in the moment of time between the propeller and jet era there was the motorjet -- mixed or hybrid systems that used a piston engine to drive the compressor. An example was the [wikipedia] Mikoyan-Gurevich I-250

Diagram of the I-250's engine installation

Green is the shaft-driven compressor. Amber is the duct with the engine radiator. Red is the jet.

It's like the Meredith Effect with an afterburner. The compressor also fed the supercharger. It languished mostly because of supply chain issues before they were all eclipsed by the turbojet.

It has me thinking of a car with rear-mounted turbochargers with propane injectors [on an ellipsoid stainless steel nacelle in the airstream for isolating heat].

edit: Better pic:

http://www.airwar.ru/image/idop/figh...13/mig13-2.gif

(Note the proximity of the pilot's posterior to the seven bottle rockets)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

It has me thinking of a car with rear-mounted turbochargers with propane injectors [on an ellipsoid stainless steel nacelle in the airstream for isolating heat].

Would it also work as a normal turbocharger or only serve as a propulsion turbine? I remember watching a video by aeronautic science students from Curitiba who made a propane-fed turbojet engine using a regular turbocharger as part of the engine.

[freebeard]

Both. A rear mounted turbocharger has an exhaust system running to the back and an air duct back to the front. The exhaust energy would substitute for the driveshaft in the example.

[Logic]

With a plane it's required to turn:
1: chemical energy into
2: rotational mechanical energy
3: into thrust.

In a car you skip the into thrust by rotating the wheels.
That skips one step with it's large inefficiencies.

I'm not saying: "Don't use the otherwise waste energy to help, (Ram air in front and rear vacuum) but adding extra oxygen and fuel (complexity and weight) to do so is not the way to go.
I know-I know; It's a nice mental exercise but that's where it should end IMHO.

When you look at supercars and race cars; they do little more than ram air intakes (Bell Mouth into Static Pressure Recovery ducts that expand at no more than 7 degrees) and thoughtfully positioned exhausts.
ie: They keep it static, simple and light for best effect.

[freebeard]

That's what makes it an oddity. Valid for a fleeting moment in time.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by Logic

When you look at supercars and race cars; they do little more than ram air intakes (Bell Mouth into Static Pressure Recovery ducts that expand at no more than 7 degrees) and thoughtfully positioned exhausts.
ie: They keep it static, simple and light for best effect.

Supercars and race cars don't prioritise access to the rear hatch, so their exhaust can be anywhere.
It is all about trade-offs: Efficiency for user-friendliness, or whatever...