Urba Centurion Update - (Kubota diesel, 100+ MPG in mixed driving - Fall 2012 on)

[changzuki]

Originally Posted by sheepdog 44

I read a little about the MG Midget today, and i'm really impressed! This is the perfect eco car blank slate. Why get a Metro, Crx HF, or Insight at all? Their frontal area AND weight are no match for a Midget/Centurion! And it's an old car too, which means you can do whatever you want to the engine!
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The funny thing is on my commute i always pass an MG Midget going the opposite direction. And i always wish that my car was that small!

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QUOTE: Joggernot "Back in the 60s the MG was one of the modified cars used for the "highest mpg" contests held periodically....."
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Both your posts struck a cord so I had to refer to the archives (that would be yours truly "Hoarding; Buried Alive" mega reference materials here...) Anyway, as part of the original set of Centurion plans, there was also a series of newsletters called "Centurion Newsline".
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In Vol.3 starting on page 4, is the headline: "121.3 MPG MG MIDGET". A quote from that article:
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"Although their target mileage was 100 mpg, the actual mileage turned out to be 121.3 mpg, which was obtained at a steady 50 mph."
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So, if it's not been done on ecomodder, maybe an MG Midget needs to be on the bucket list!
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~CrazyJerry

[HHOTDI]

Yah that's pretty funny, i have done that for years! A nice Smile with a Mustache! :{)
Craig Vetter's Vegas/Barstow run this year in Oct is about 18 hours away for me, but still too far fo rme this time of year. Check out Craig Vetter, designer and inventor of the Windjammer fairing,Triumph Hurricane Motorcycle and fuel economy motorcycles when you get the chance. There are a lot of links for the past events, contestants' rides and of course the top Results! DIESEL Bikes have ruled so far, but there are some gas bikes getting really close. Low-n-Slow's Ninja powered aerobike is amazing and Sendler's CBR would be the ultimate if he'd install a Vetter full bodied Fairing for sure! :{)

[HHOTDI]

Hey Jerry, i too have been looking in to the Centurion build, mostly out of curiosity though. How did you/they make the body for it? Is it a Fiberglass kit or hand made by the kit builder?

I found this article/news ad for sale and thought it worthy to share!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...ectorid=229466

:{)

[changzuki]

Originally Posted by HHOTDI

Hey Jerry, i too have been looking in to the Centurion build, mostly out of curiosity though. How did you/they make the body for it? Is it a Fiberglass kit or hand made by the kit builder?

I found this article/news ad for sale and thought it worthy to share!

1982 Urba Centurion Diesel Microcar Brochure Kubota WA7108 DQGBVT | eBay

:{)

Yes thanks for sharing! That is the Mechanix Illustrated Magazine that featured the Centurion (designed to boost readership and sell diy plans. I have that magazine as well as the build plans, etc..) The series started in the 70's with the Urba Car series (Urba Electric too!) Exactly one year after the Centurion was featured the new cover was the Tri-Magnum. (Will post an update on that build hopefully soon...)
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The body on these cars / trike (in the case of the Tri-Magnum) is as RQ Riley mentions: standard boat building technique (fiberglass over foam, and in the end it's really a foam sandwich; fiberglass on both sides of the foam.)
The builder makes a foam sculpture of the body and uses that to support the fiberglass until it cures, then cuts out the windows, doors, etc.. Within the structure are strategically placed plywood bulkheads for strength. People typically refer to these builds as a kit, but a purchase only gets you a well thought out set of plans/blueprints - not exactly my definition of a kit. Many of the true kit-cars had pre-fabbed bodies, etc (like Fiberfab's line up did).
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Today was a car show at a local college. I brought the Centurion not because it's a show car, but to get the younger folks interested in "diy anything". (And I needed a break!) Many of the young folks initially weren't impressed by a car with an 850cc Kubota in it - however - after mulling it over for the next few hours I had more revisits and groups asking details - it was nuts! To the point where at least one old codger got his nose outta joint over roller applied gray primer and black "chalkboard" trim!
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Before the crowds swarmed in, I got a couple of quick shots:
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Both the Opel and the Centurion wear 13 inch treads and yet look so different depending on the camera angle. The front shot shows the shielding of the tires by the ground affects.. A nice comparison to the stock Opel.
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~CrazyJerry

[Xist]

Would making molds of your parts be easier than creating a sculpture from plans?

[changzuki]

Originally Posted by Xist

Would making molds of your parts be easier than creating a sculpture from plans?

Hmmm.. Good question... I'm not sure if creating molds would be any easier than just free-forming with foam and then fiberglass. Working with fiberglass over foam is not hard in my opinion and it's also not hard to shape/reshape the foam prior to laying any fiberglass..
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There are some areas of this project that also have a layer of 1/4 birch plywood over the foam, then the fiberglass layup. This worked well on the absolutely "flat" or slightly "curved" areas. Getting it flat where it should be saves a ton of "blocking" to get an area nice and straight.
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Back to your question though: To replicate the car on any real scale, molds likely would be easier. For a one-off project like this car, I think Riley was correct to outline the foam sculpture/fiberglass over and under method.
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And as always, Your Mileage May Vary depending on your own abilities and resources.
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~CrazyJerry

[GreenHornet]

I agree with your analysis CrazyJerry. Foam core construction is the way to go for a one off build. Riley offers a good overview of the technique on his website and you can purchase the XR3 plans that offer a more in depth look into how its done with an accompany DVD of them working on the XR3 body. Another source that uses the same concept but instead of using plywood formers they utilized aluminum honeycomb is the Trev gang out of Australia. Here are a few good links that shows how they did there foam core body construction

part #1 = AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 1

Part #2 = AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 2

If you were going to mass produce the vehicle then plugs and molds are the way to go. These can easily be taken from the original composite piece or in the case of the Urba Centurion the entire car could have molds taken and replicated. However the plans clearly state that its for one build only and can not be duplicated in a mass production setup. This is the case for all of the RQ Riley plan sets which are build it yourself designs not kit cars. Kit cars have the body kits complete you need to fit them to the appropriate donor chassis. RQ Riley designs need to have the body fabricated this is a big difference compared to a body kit like the Fiberfab kits mentioned by CrazyJerry. Fiberfab offered what was called the Jamaican kit car which was based off the Triumph Spit/GT6 chassis like the Urba Centurion. If you google the Jamaican Fiberfab kitcar you can view its pics. They were actually well done and IMO looked better than the original which most of the time is not the case.

CrazyJerry I love the pics bro keep em coming :-)

GH..

[Xist]

Originally Posted by GreenHornet

RQ Riley designs need to have the body fabricated this is a big difference compared to a body kit like the Fiberfab kits mentioned by CrazyJerry. Fiberfab offered what was called the Jamaican kit car which was based off the Triumph Spit/GT6 chassis like the Urba Centurion. If you google the Jamaican Fiberfab kitcar you can view its pics. They were actually well done and IMO looked better than the original which most of the time is not the case.

[GreenHornet]

Ahhh yes there it is she is a real beauty! I ran across not to long ago one of these Fiberfab Jamaican body kits on a Spitfire rolling chassis that needed to be finished up. I should have bought it if I remember it was for like $1,200.

Thanks for sharing Xist

GH..

[changzuki]

Originally Posted by GreenHornet

....Here are a few good links that shows how they did there foam core body construction

part #1 = AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 1

Part #2 = AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 2
...
GH..

GreenHornet,
for the links. A good read for anyone thinking of building using that method. Thanks!
~CrazyJerry