The Bugatti Build Project - a design exercise

[anders nørgaard]

Originally Posted by JD in SoCal

2. as Anders touched on in a post, the wheels/axles are way out at the corners of this car, especially at the front end. This makes wheelbase comparisons to more modern cars be less valid. JD

Hi JD,
What I said was, that the front wheels on the T57 are "farther forward" than they are on our Bug. What I mean is, that when it looks like a shortened wheelbase, we might be able to make the same width as on the T57 and thus get more space in the cabin!

[Pedalcar]

Hi Gang,

picture of the inside of my Sabre,


Chassis drawing,

Overal lenght of my car

165.35 inch (4.2meter)

overall width 67 inch (1.7 meter)

overall hight 47 inch (1,2 meter)

Anders good not get the track measured right (its the same as a ford Scorpio

1989) i think it is about 58 inch.

Ben

[JD in SoCal]

Originally Posted by anders nørgaard

Hi JD,
What I said was, that the front wheels on the T57 are "farther forward" than they are on our Bug. What I mean is, that when it looks like a shortened wheelbase, we might be able to make the same width as on the T57 and thus get more space in the cabin!

Anders,

Good point. I read that a little too fast the first time.

It is worth noting that we have to be careful when comparing wheelbases from cars with different configurations, such as axle placement and cabin size.

JD

[anders nørgaard]

Originally Posted by Pedalcar

Hi Gang,

picture of the inside of my Sabre,


Chassis drawing,

Overal lenght of my car

165.35 inch (4.2meter)

overall width 67 inch (1.7 meter)

overall hight 47 inch (1,2 meter)

Anders good not get the track measured right (its the same as a ford Scorpio

1989) i think it is about 58 inch.

Ben

Hi Ben,
Thanks!
You're right about the track
Found the Scorpio track specs on the internet.
Front: 147.8 cm (58.19")
Rear: 149.5 cm (58.86")

Looks like the Sabre is not as wide as the Bug cabin. Shouldn't be a problem then.

JD,
It's OK... and you're right about having to be careful when comparing different cars!

[seasalt]

Way back in this thread, Bugatti style mags were favoured. In our SW images we have used conventional spoke wheels. Bugatti also used the strange spoking pattern that Kerry posted. It would be good to see images with all the variations, not necessarily in SW, just for comparison. It's not that important in design terms....maybe, like the engine, the Sultan should indicate a preference. We would be lucky to agree on rim choice, and like the engine, they are "over the counter" items. (Unless we design and make our own.)

The biggest current sticking point seems to be the cabin design, and from my own measuring of cars, I think there is enough room, and that now it is just the shape, the "look"......mainly of the cabin/roof area.....that ppls are debating, but other details will come into debate too.

If ppls can include some sort of doctored pic in posts, it is easier for others to see if a shape or idea "works"...

[HotRodKid]

Originally Posted by seasalt

The biggest current sticking point seems to be the cabin design, and from my own measuring of cars, I think there is enough room, and that now it is just the shape, the "look"......mainly of the cabin/roof area.....that ppls are debating, but other details will come into debate too.

agreed

in the end, if anyone else want to build their own version, they can fiddle with sizes, but this is almost starting to turn into a circular conversation..... we just kinda keep going around and around ...

we have to just agree to disagree at some point and leave the body @ a certian point so that other aspects of the car can be designed as well, because MM06 is only like 10 months away at the moment .... and its gonna go fast

[toolmanMike]

I did a little orthographic projection between the artwork and the model. There's a little interpretation on my part but not much. I think this explains why the top, the windshield, and the side window all look small.

Mike

[Ernie Ferrucci]

Hi Mike


I hope no one minds me sticking my nose into this but I've been reading (not all posts yet) and I am interested.
The side by side views, sketch next to model show a difference where the roof meets the top of the trunk deck. The model has a distinct corner and the sketch flows more from roof to trunk. Aside from appears to be a hump in the middle I like the sketch version better. Is it possible to make that area flow a bit better?

[edwardd_]

The ongoing design in this shared forum is so fantastic.

I really appreciate the great photo / cad / drawing work everyone is doing to ensure that so many of the details are reviewed / changed - corrected.

It is an exciting process, expecially when it is accompanied by the quality of drawings and text.

This is truly an International event!
'Keep on Bugging"

[Wray Schelin]

Alan wrote:

The biggest current sticking point seems to be the cabin design, and from my own measuring of cars, I think there is enough room, and that now it is just the shape, the "look"......mainly of the cabin/roof area.....that ppls are debating, but other details will come into debate too.

Alan, I agree there might be enough cabin room, but is there enough room for the frame structure, transmission, and driveshaft tunnel, and exhaust? That I'm not sure of yet. Is anyone sure? I think not. We need to be 100% sure!

The other major problem is entrance and egress to the cabin. When you have a roof in the way you have to fold up considerably before you can pour yourself into the car.
The major problem is ducking your head to get in under the roof.

The most important problem that I think still needs work are the overall proportions, they still need massaging.

I think Alex's photoshop picture of the Bugatti sitting in the street scene shows glaringly that the roof is too small and the tires are too big. That is the same perception that I arrived at when I plotted out the fullscale side view drawing. We need to settle on a tire size that is available from vintage tire suppliers. Wheels can be made any size, with tires we will need to go with what we can get.

I find it curious that everyone seems to be waiting to get pounding metal, we have plenty of time for that. We must get the proportions right and the ergonomics right or we will be disappointed.

Once we solve the proportion, spacial, and ergonomic problems, filling the shell with the frame and all of the other compoments in the solid model will be a piece of cake. Mike has that portion of job covered and he will get lots of help.

Creating the buck from the solidmodel of the body will also be easy. Once those files exist we can send them all over the world for people to use as regional MetalMeet activities. For instance, several regional MetalMeets can choose to build the radiator shell or a fender, etc. Some of these panels can be brought to the International MetalMeet.

At the large International MetalMeet next October if we get fifty to a hundred attendees working at the same time on the project we can build this shell easily in a week, we'll also have a plan for the body shell inner structure, so we will be able to create a full body assembly.