What crazy car project would you like to do?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Fair enough. I learned to drive on gravel roads, practising drifting in a straight line. Something more like a Class 5 stance then? By the time you get to those long-travel, stretched suspensions, you'll need a multi-point roll cage and full cell.

I think you're still not quite getting the point of what I want. It's not for racing, or even travelling at high speeds (no drifting, or at least not much). The goal is to have something that cruises comfortably on dirt. There are a lot of places hereabouts (northern Nevada/northeastern California) that I'd like to go to camp/hike/ride the mountain bike, where you may have to drive anywhere from 10 to 50 miles or more on dirt to get there.

The reason I'm taking the Bearcat and similar cars as inspiration is because they come from an era before there were a lot of paved roads.

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by xntrx

I had a friend that had one with a built 351W in it. Was quite the sleeper until he started it up. The cops didn't take us seriously when it was stolen.
I also found Volvo's to be great sleepers. My Harley is good for sucking up and spitting out busas. Another option is a festiva with a Capri XR2 drivetrain.

Ahhhhhhh Volvos! I like a good 240 turbobrick wagon or a V70...

My Nightster is quick but not in Busa territory. Mid-12s in the 1320 at best.

[YeahPete]

Crazy Car project? Build my own from scratch of course. 4 diwheel w/ 4 direct drive motors. Maybe DC for my first time.

[Fat Charlie]

What I want to do only sounds crazy to people who don't come here.

Here it'd just be seen as Car, Ecomodded, 1 each.

[jcp123]

For an ecomodder project, I'd get an EK Civic DX sedan, for the manual windows and such. I'd rather have a CX hatch but with kids a 4-door is more practical. Drop in an HX engine and VX trans...LX or EX gauge cluster for the tach. Steelie wheels, maybe lower it a bit. Oh and I'd want one from later in the life cycle so I get the rotary HVAC controls rather than sliders. Also heard a JDM ECU is better for lean burn. But my knowledge on this stuff is limited.

[freebeard]

jcp123 -- Only one year of production. '77.

jamesqf -- I think I'm not far off. The quoted part was why you may not need extended wheelbase and long suspension travel to travel comfortably at high speed on unimproved roads. I once saw a video of a Trophy Truck at speed, taken from a pacing helicopter. It hit a 2ft hillock at 100mph and flew a considerable distance. It planted all four wheels at the same time. It was beautiful, but not what I think you're looking for.

#10 beat the pants off that Bronco parked behind it. A good comparison would be a WWII Army Jeep and the Veep, a VW floorpan with a Phillipines repro Jeep body on it. The Jeep will crawl boulder sized rocks, but tops out at 45 on the freeway. The Veep will go everywhere else, but cruise at 70.

Del Blanchard, of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, through his many contacts in the Philippines, imported a limited batch of stainless steel bodies for Jeep CJ-3As and CJ-3Bs about a dozen years ago, but at the time didn’t think it’d be worth importing any more...

A couple of years ago, he started planning to import more to satisfy the demand, ... and now has begun importing shipping containers full of the bodies, with a container or two of bodies stamped in galvanized steel on their way shortly.

“We set out to create a body kit more complete than anything else on the market,” Del said. “The only thing we don’t include is the chassis and running gear.”

- See more at: Stainless steel Jeep body production resumes | Hemmings Daily

So? Inrekor flat-pack composite floorpan with stainless steel body and 2 Protean Electric inwheels for 2WD? With Bridgestone Ecopias on 4"x19" Ford wire wheels so it looks like a Bearcat?

YeahPete -- 4WD if their 16hp each. Protean Electric's design is for 72 continuous, 100 max hp. Unless your'e packing a lot of frontal area or weight, would you need 300hp?

And I understand that you get regenerative braking with AC. Sounds like a big deal to me.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

jamesqf -- I think I'm not far off. The quoted part was why you may not need extended wheelbase and long suspension travel to travel comfortably at high speed on unimproved roads.

But again, I'm not looking to travel at HIGH speeds: off pavement, 20-40 mph would be perfectly reasonable. (Of course it would have good high gear(s) for highway travel, too.)

The other issue for me is comfortable seating. The Jeeps (and pickups/SUVs) sit up too high off the ground, and have seats that force an uncomfortable upright posture, so that (if you don't have feet on pedals) you can sit in the seat with knees bent at a 90 degree angle and have your feet flat on the floor. I want a comfortable, semi-reclining posture.

With Bridgestone Ecopias on 4"x19" Ford wire wheels so it looks like a Bearcat?

Yeah, though it's not (just) for looks. The larger your tire diameter, the less it's going to be affected by potholes & washboarding.

[freebeard]

I'll try again–The quoted part was why you may not need extended wheelbase and long suspension travel to travel comfortably at low speed on unimproved roads. Better?

Since I last posted I read that Rolls Royce used a 33" tire on a 4x19 rim. I'd like a narrow 26" on the front and 33" on the back; the street rodder's big 'n littles.
I used to run 145s on the front (on 5.5" rims). A narrow tire tracks well in sand or dirt (that's why they use them on farm tractors), but reaches it's limits early on pavement. Tall and narrow front and back, but sized to absorb the rearward weight bias.

[Miller88]

I'd like to build the following:

TDI Jeep Cherokee - 6'' or lift or so, front leaf springs and manual trans, of course. Would be a neat wheeler and very likely would get more mileage that from the factory.

Also would like to build a manual transmission, diesel, crown victoria. Think both would be great to have!

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I'll try again–The quoted part was why you may not need extended wheelbase and long suspension travel to travel comfortably at low speed on unimproved roads. Better?.

Sure, I understood that part, and I agree (I think - I'm no expert) about suspension. But what I'm thinking about is not suspension so much as it is (if you'll excuse me slipping into airplane-speak here) the pitch and yaw moments of the body itself. Seems that a short- coupled Jeep or dune buggy would have a lot more of that sort of motion.

Maybe it'd be clearer if you think about why a road grader produces a much smoother surface than a dozer.