The Bugatti Build Project - a design exercise

[harrygibus]

Hey All,

So I widened the body to the 48" width. She looks too fat for my taste, ( I guess i'm used to the rail thin beauties out here on the west coast) but maybe you guys feel different.

Anders, the 48" dim. you quoted was interior or exterior? If interior, I really think another 5" inches will tip the scales for sure.

The problem I see is that streching the frame say 5" to a 110" wheelbase will not get us much more width if we scale equally. If we fatten her and stretch, we may be OK.
I'm starting to see why the "Blastolene" is so long.

Not sure where to go next.
Imput please.

Thanks,
Jay

[Wray Schelin]

Hey, this is great because everyone gets to see the difficult choices you have to make to keep things looking pretty yet still functional. Jay's comment about the "Blastolene" reveals the secret that is a lot easier to design a long hood and flowing lines if you have 140 inches of wheelbase to play with. That is why so many of the 30s Classics look so good, they are big canvases to paint long flowing lines onto.

The designer that can make a short wheelbase design fit people, components, and still have it all look good from any angle is appreciated way too little.

The most important thing with the Bugatti build is to keep the project rolling so we can document the whole process.
The lesson here is universal, it is revealing the freedom that we all have to develop any shape be it a car, sculpture, or furniture from just a few detailed sketches.

Every design discussion here is valid and should be considered. At some point we will have to make a tough choice and say this is the way it will be.

As Richard pointed out we have to insure that the frame components, a transmission, and other needed components will be able to fit in the allowable space of the body envelope.

SolidWorks will be able to show all of the that as an assembly drawing, identifying any space conflicts that might occur even taking into consideration all of the moving parts like the driveshaft and suspension components.

[anders nørgaard]

Tim,
You're right. I think we will have to widen the body in the seat area and let the cabin meet the rear fenders.

Jay,
The 48" are to the outside, but 50" would be better

Richard,
Nice job! I just think that the nascelles (was that what you called them, Wray?) should be parallel/straight like they are in Jay's drawing. I think that's the way they are in the concept drawings.

Wray,
Could we design the cabin part of the body to be self supporting? I mean, the rocker panels are so tall that it shouldn't be a problem to get sufficient strength, if we just used some heavier gauge metal for these parts. The tunnel will also support the design, like would some transversal tubes/channels in the seat area. Designing the body this way would save us some cabin space!
Keep up the good work Guys!

[harrygibus]

Hey All,

I definately like Richard's line from the back of the cabin to the front of the car much better than the one in my last post. I squared mine off because I thought we were trying to maintain the 48" width for the whole of the cabin lenght.

I hope we can keep some distance between the front of the rear fenders, and the body, seems that it will really change the look of the back section if the fenders run right into the cabin. Seems like an integral part of the design; body, fenders, and transitions as seperate parts.

Great job Richard, wish I had a CAD program.

Later,
Jay

[harrygibus]

Will this fit in there?

16cyl 1001hp

[anders nørgaard]

WOW Jay!!

Great engine!
It has 4-wd, so we can put it in the luggage compartment. Disconnect the drive for the rear wheels, use the front axle drives to drive the rear wheels on the Bug. Then we also won't need the tunnel for the driveshaft and the exhaust!
JUST KIDDING! <LOL>

[Gene_Olson]

Originally Posted by harrygibus

Great job Richard, wish I had a CAD program.

Later,
Jay

Jay,
I believe Richard is using a freeware copy of Blender.

If you want a copy just go to:
http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Home.2.0.html

G.

[PaulG]

My first time to post here, but I can tell you that your demensions are real close now. I went through all this with my 7 type car. If you want standard width seats on a rear drive car, you will need a min of 46in inside. That's the tough part about designing an open wheel car (which this is) and not getting the wheelbase way long. The old British cars did it by using a 50in track and giving no room to the occupants.

There is a reason the Prowler had a 113in WB and a 63in track.

[Bobby Royal]

Hi
What a fun project.
As for the frame why not do a frame like the old "Bird Cage Masariti"
it will be a lot of work but doable, and it fits the period this car would have been built.
It will hold the HP will drive well and not that hard to build.

[Wray Schelin]

Right now Mike and possible a few others using SolidWorks are still working on defining the body shell. Once that process is completed everyone will be able to download a free viewer that will allow you to see the body shell.

You will be able to see not only the outer surface flow from any angle,you will also be able to see all of the inside space as well. With the viewer you will be able to turn the body shell in any direction just like it was a model in your hand.

The body will be made out of .060" aluminum and that is what you will see, a hollow shell. You will also see all of the space contained in that shell, that is when we will start to seriously consider the possible options for frame design and drivetrain choices.


When a frame design is chosen it too will be drawn in SolidWorks and you will be able to see how that frame joins to the body shell. At that time a system of support will have be designed for the body shell to allow mounting to the frame.

It must be remembered that these next stages of development will only happen after we are absolutely sure that there is enough space in the cabin for two people and they can exit and enter using the doors without having to become contorsionists. Also we should know that a range of motors will have enough room to fit under the hood and that all front and rear wheel travel from extreme positions is possible. Lastly we will need to know that there is enough room for the driveshaft, exhaust, and transmission to run under the cabin.

In conclusion the primary objective is to define the body shell's true surfaces and scale. The secondary objective is to insure all of the related items that make up a automobile will have space to exist in our defined body shell. If they don't, we have to make changes to the shell design