Charlie's no budget mid engine build: *Codename:BlakBishop*

[ethand]

Haha I thought you might like that design idea, Wyt!
See, I think that if a grill is going to be that big & prominent, it NEEDS mesh to finish the car off, otherwise it looks too raw/cheap/unfinished. Its all about choosing the right mesh fr the job, though. If it doesnt have mesh, it just has a massive gaping hole straight into the engine bay... not cool, IMO...

[wytbishop]

Ok, here's Charlie's project with the 'moonfinish'. Better?

Better.

[Daninski]

[MrMazda92]

Since you've broadened the original question a bit, it begs the question, have you considered anything from the Duratec lineup? Some impressive numbers being spouted about stock engines, I haven't even put much research into it myself, but it's interesting stuff.

[wytbishop]

I haven't really ever given any thought to the Duratec engine at all. I have a fairly deep seeded disdain for all things Ford...it's irrational I know, but there it is. I chose the VG30 Nissan engine because it's very well known (old) and I can literally call my local JDM importer guy and order a Fairlady front cut for $4000ish and it's easily capable of making 600hp. I don't need or want 600 but I don't want to have to work too hard to get 450.

I have completed the sketches of the car's exterior. It's pretty basic actually. So many custom cars I see just look like an amateurish attempt to make something exotic looking and I really want to avoid that. The car will be very understated. I have the main tub pretty well modeled. I will be moving on to the subframes next.

I've been doing a lot of reading and research on carbon fiber structural stuff. Trying to find examples of other chassis and how many layers, what sandwich core material they are using etc. Most don't publish that sort of detailed information. If you look at pictures of the Lambo you can see the holes in the front bulkhead it looks to be 1/2-3/4" thick whereas other "supercars" i've read about they say the monocoque is 12 layers thick at the highest load areas. That's a very large difference. To get a final thickness of 1/2" even using a layer of core material you would need 20-30 layers of CF. I think before I do any large scale building I will have to do some small test pieces and destroy them to figure out exactly how strong they are.

That's where I'm at. I'm not a very good artist so I'm not ready to post any sketches. Soon maybe when I am satisfied.

[ethand]

Sweet, thats still some pretty nice progress, good work (not that we can see anything much just yet )
Do keep us posted, I'm reading every post with interest!

[wytbishop]

After 6 weeks and without any real artistic talent I have finally gotten something on paper that I am comfortable showing to people. It's not intended to emulate a "supercar" or to have a particularly exotic look. I want something that looks like a car...but sexy.

There is a definite Porsche influence.



These are some basic perspective views. Clearly my artwork is not the greatest but you can see what I'm working towards.



Input is welcome.

[onlytrueromeo]

I assume the side door cutouts are for rear brake and engine cooling? Looks good. The thing is aggressive without being overkill. Classic clean.

Love the profile, except the "dip" from the roof to the rear hatch transition.

The only thing I'm not particularly a fan of is the rear window/shade. I know this is very close to some muscle designs, and even looks a bit losus-ish, but I think it will not work well, functionally.

[Ryan]

I don't see much room for an engine?

[wytbishop]

Yeah there will be a huge demand for fresh air. 2 Turbos, 2 intercoolers and I want to cool the brakes as well. Plus I think I will need to get some heat out of the engine compartment as you say. Radiators will be front mounted but the turbos will generate a lot of heat.

This is another option I've considered which encorporates an actual hatch with a window. Come to think of it I am pretty sure I like this better myself.


The VG engine is very wide for a V6 but not very long and not extremely tall but you're right it will be quite tight.


In the picture from the previous post the deck lid would be open to allow clearance for the intake manifold. I'm just not a good enough artist to illustrate it effectively. I may also have the B-pillar a touch farther back than it actually needs to be.

Here it is moved a bit forward with the basic outline of the engine.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Yeah there will be a huge demand for fresh air. 2 Turbos, 2 intercoolers and I want to cool the brakes as well. Plus I think I will need to get some heat out of the engine compartment as you say. Radiators will be front mounted but the turbos will generate a lot of heat.

Front-mounted turbo's? heh

[wytbishop]

Turbos will be above the transmission along with the exhaust system. Airboxes will be in front of the rear wheels, intercoolers will be behind the rear wheels. I haven't started yet but my idea is to redesign the intake manifold so that the inlets willbe at the back of the engine.

Radiators will be in the nose, The water pump and accessories will be modified to be operated by an electric motor so I can get rid of that huge crank pulley.

[wytbishop]

Made the rear window bigger, removed the background, moved the B-pillar forward.

[ethand]

Wow, coming along nicely! I quite like that rear aspect, looks fresh

[onlytrueromeo]

I can already tell you're "modified" version is much better! The bigger hatch should also allow some more room for the engine compartment.