Project Schism - another offbeat '23 Ford T

[toddshotrods]

Here I go again, as the project name suggests, cutting across the grain, doing everything wrong, and lovin every minute of it! A custom vehicle is supposed to be a journey that you get a lot of pleasure from, and for some reason I enjoy traveling different paths, so here goes...

We're in the process of developing a line of "green", "sustainable technology", kit cars, loosely based on the Inhaler. The first prototype is mine, and being green isn't exactly my cup of tea, so it will have an evil twist - a 700hp turbo inline-four, mounted midship driving the rear wheels, and an electric motor driving the fronts; making an AWD, hybrid, car with +/-1000hp.

14pt NHRA-spec cage, and as low and aggressive of a stance as possible. The idea I am working of is "23 Ferrari Coupe", but (in accordance with the name) I am not worried about anything really looking antique. It'll be Ferrari red, with exposed carbon fiber, black anodizing, black chrome, black powder coating and paint, etc. Exposed SLA suspension front and rear, eventually big disc brakes, big forged wheels, etc. Kind of like a hard-edged, Pro-Touring, hot rod.

I'm here because Pro-Touring is the main influence guiding this build, and I like it here. If it's too far out though, and this thread gets booted, I understand...

As for the build, I am doing my final research and buying stuff now. I should have the steel for the frame and cage this week, and want to have a roller by the end of January. In February, we'll get the motor installed, and as much detail work as possible, because it's supposed to be at an educational summit on the 7th, to promote the kits to Ohio vo-tech schools. My personal number-one goal is to drive it into Goodguys here (Columbus) in July. It won't be so powerful then, but it should be functional; hopefully enough to run through the autocross course.

Merry Christmas!

[preston]

Looking forward to it. Many times as I have been overwhelmed in my own projects with "boring" details like getting the windows to seal and body panels to line up not to mention weight, I have often fantasized about building some kind of street rod performance car with the "Ariel Atom" mentality. There is nothing lighter than "nothing", except helium lol.

1000 hp AWD sounds nice, but the motor and batteries have to extract a hellacious weight penalty on a minimalist design like that.

[toddshotrods]

Originally Posted by preston

Looking forward to it. Many times as I have been overwhelmed in my own projects with "boring" details like getting the windows to seal and body panels to line up not to mention weight, I have often fantasized about building some kind of street rod performance car with the "Ariel Atom" mentality. There is nothing lighter than "nothing", except helium lol...

Thanks Preston. "Ariel Atom" mentality is a good way to sum up what I'm after - pure exhileration, screw practicality, but also useful beyond a race track.

Originally Posted by preston

...1000 hp AWD sounds nice, but the motor and batteries have to extract a hellacious weight penalty on a minimalist design like that.

Because I am using the electric drive conservatively (compared to the Inhaler), it won't require a huge battery pack. I can build a 200hp battery pack that would fit under the seats, and weigh between 25 & 50lbs. It would only have a range, on pure electric, of 10-15 miles (at <35mph), sort of like a Prius, but would be capable of providing the AWD traction needed for quick acceleration off the line, and out of corners (when we get the software sorted out) with street tires.

The challenge is going to be finding the right combination of parts. On the lower priced end of the spectrum, I can get a DC motor and controller for a few thousand bucks, plus about the same amount for the battery pack, that would deliver this. The downside is there's no regenerative braking, which would extend battery range a bit, and also also add a lot of "free" braking power to the front wheels. On the other hand, if I go AC I get regen, but would have to pay out the nose for a custom inverter to run the motor, and probably have the motor re-wound to support the extra current. The currently available motor/inverter combinations, that I know if, are only capable of around 100hp, and with much less torque.

The motors, either way, are around 80-100lbs. Only one is needed, so for ~150lbs total, I get AWD and a couple hundred more ponies.

Sorry for rambling...


EDIT: I forgot, I have a 12:1 rack and pinion coming tomorrow, plus the tubing for the roll cage. I should be ready to order the steel for the frame soon. Cut, grind, and weld, starts next month...

[toddshotrods]

The Appleton steering rack arrived today, and we mocked up the main section of the cage. Next, I need to make some final decisions on the frame, so we can start building.

Sorry for the cell phone pic, I keep forgetting to take my camera.

[preston]

Ha ha - great photo. You have a long ways to go LOL.

[toddshotrods]

Originally Posted by preston

Ha ha - great photo. You have a long ways to go LOL.

It should go together pretty quickly. It's a prototype/development mule so, while I want it to be nice and not a rat rod, it's going to be put together, disassembled, cut and welded, as many times as it takes to find what we're looking for, so it's not like doing a higher end show-oriented build that requires massive investments of time to accomplish small to-do items. Plus, I can't wait to beat the hell out of it!

[toddshotrods]

Nothing major today, I just got the cage main hoop and halo tweaked a little, which makes the cage fit together much better. The bottom of the main hoop tucks in to the width of the (forthcoming) frame rails, and the halo is a bit narrower in back, which lets it hit all the way up on the main hoop.



That motor is a Ford Zetec - one of the future options for the kits.

Here's a close-up of my little rack, and the electric drive (front) diff.


A pause to celebrate the New Year, and next we purchase the rectangular tubing for the frame, and start building...

Happy New Year guys!

[toddshotrods]

I'm not going to get too caught up in art with this project, but needed to do a small revision to test something. Most of this build will be decided and worked out in real-world steel and composites. After mocking up the cage, sifting through the frame design, measuring everything, and having a couple of the guys sit in the Inhaler and the mocked up cage, I realized I would need more surface area on the body, to achieve the body-to-roof ratio I desire. Rather than stretch the body vertically, I am going to add rocker panels under it, which are sort of an artistic swipe at the original Model T running boards; that actually rolled out and down. The point is it maintains the shallow T bucket body shape, and kind of props it up over the frame, Model T (Horse and buggy) style. The actual shapes will be determined as the car is built, but this should be close.

[toddshotrods]

Drivetrain, wiring, and front suspension, pulled from the donor. Now we're laser focused on getting Schism on all fours. We will clean and detail a bit, but the main focus here is on testing the processes and procedures for manufacturing kits and customer builds. I'll being doing a bit of custom stuff now, and will go back and really go crazy on it after a summer of beating the hell out of it.

[preston]

Cool.

Are you familiar with Midlana ? Another lightweight "mid-engine based on a FWD drivetrain" vehicle. No AWD electric power though. You might also check out dpcars.net, one of his many projects is a street rod based chassis car. I just figure we can all use as many design inputs as possible.