Man From Uncle car

[Psychographic]

Cool looking, has potential, or just downright ugly and unsalvagable?

 

 

Is this engine real? I see no way to power the fan, but what I really want to know is the turbo set up functional or a model fantasy? Are there supposed to be valves of some sort to divert the exhaust to use the turbos at will? Was the real car functional and did it have this setup on it?

 

 

Edited December 15, 2016 by Psychographic

[cobraman]

Looks like a modified Corvair engine and the belt that would normally turn the fan was changed to a more normal style belt and to me , no it would not run ( not long anyway) .

[Psychographic]

It's definitely a Corvair and I realize the fan has nothing to power it. But I'm really interested in the turbo setup.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Psychographic

[Junkman]

Guys. In the spy World everything works.

[Ace-Garageguy]

 what I really want to know is the turbo set up functional or a model fantasy? Are there supposed to be valves of some sort to divert the exhaust to use the turbos at will? 

That's kinda how it appears, though the split exhaust before the turbos could also be intended to represent a blow-off valve arrangement. Either way, there would also have to be additional exhaust pipes from the turbines themselves to direct hot gasses out of the engine bay after they spun the turbines...and the plumbing as-represented is incomplete, at best.

[Dave Ambrose]

The real car used a Corvair engine. The fan would have been belt driven, but that detail has been left off. The turbos are freelanced on this one, but there were some turbocharged engines, so it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The real car used a Corvair engine. The fan would have been belt driven, but that detail has been left off. The turbos are freelanced on this one, but there were some turbocharged engines, so it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

I'm extremely familiar with every variant of Corvair ever made, having owned most of them and raced one. Yes, there were two factory versions of the car equipped with turbochargers...a 150HP version and a 180HP version. Both cars used a single turbo, no intercooling, and no blow-off valves as OEM equipped.

A twin-turbo setup on a Corvair engine is well within the realm of feasibility, but there are certain basic elements of any turbo system that are necessary. Exhaust piping from the downstream side of the turbines is required on every turbo in the known universe to direct very hot exhaust gas out of and away from the vehicle (whether it be a car, aircraft or railroad locomotive) and it's missing from this model, as represented above.

When something is "freelanced" it's still good practice to respect basic principles of engineering, operation and function, which the engine, as represented in the instructions shown above, does not.

                                                                              

In the kit instruction page shown on the opening post, the necessary piping that would be connected to the part labeled "turbine exhaust gas outlet" in the illustration directly above, is missing. If it were left off in real life, hot exhaust gas in excess of 1000 (one-thousand) degrees F would be vented directly into the engine compartment.

[Psychographic]

Exhaust piping from the downstream side of the turbines is required on every turbo in the known universe to direct very hot exhaust gas out of and away from the vehicle (whether it be a car, aircraft or railroad locomotive) and it's missing from this model, as represented above.

 I just noticed that there is not an exhaust outlet on the turbos. I was so engrossed in trying to figure out the "exhaust manifolds" that split to either the turbos or bypassing it, that I didn't even notice there is no pipe coming off the turbo, in fact there is no outlet on the turbo at all.

 

I really need to pay more attention.

Edited December 16, 2016 by Psychographic

[talon63]

The real car was powered by a Corvair engine, the engine in the AMT 69 Corvair kit is a better representation (I have one of these "Piranha Spy Cars" on the bench right now, and am swapping out certain parts to match the second version of the MFU car). The original 1:1 was not turbo, but did have the standard exhaust and a bypass for the exhaust ports located in front of the tail lights on the sides.

FWIW, Nick Whitlow has a tutorial on this kit on another board, and this site, http://www.c-we.com/piranha/UNCLEcar.htm, has some pretty good pics of the second iteration.

[Psychographic]

The link is broken Allen.

 

I did a little research last night and found some engine pics, looks like it was the 4 carb engine.

[Psychographic]

Guys. In the spy World everything works.

Best answer so far!

[talon63]

The link is broken Allen.

 

I did a little research last night and found some engine pics, looks like it was the 4 carb engine.

Odd, works for me. http://www.c-we.com/piranha/index.htm is the root page, also still loads for me.

[Psychographic]

Odd, works for me. http://www.c-we.com/piranha/index.htm is the root page, also still loads for me.

That's the site I found last night. Thanks

Edited December 23, 2016 by Psychographic

[ToyLvr]

There was a factory-equipped 4-carb version of the Corvair engine (available with the optional "CORSA" upgrade of the '65-'66 Corvair, and sporadically offered in later model years) which developed 140HP off of the showroom floor.

That engine could be "massaged" to create even more HP, so it would be more than adequate to power this spy vehicle (IMHO). ? I've owned a "140", and it was plenty peppy. I also owned a couple of the turbo powered cars. They were slow off the line, and didn't really get going until the turbo kicked in (not very inspiring for a spy car).

The parts you need to replicate the 4-carb version are available in the aforementioned AMT '69 Corvair kit, which has been reissued several times. It also includes a decent replica of the proper fan belt arrangement for the cooling fan. 

[Chuck Most]

I'm extremely familiar with every variant of Corvair ever made, having owned most of them and raced one. Yes, there were two factory versions of the car equipped with turbochargers...a 150HP version and a 180HP version. Both cars used a single turbo, no intercooling, and no blow-off valves as OEM equipped.

A twin-turbo setup on a Corvair engine is well within the realm of feasibility, but there are certain basic elements of any turbo system that are necessary. Exhaust piping from the downstream side of the turbines is required on every turbo in the known universe to direct very hot exhaust gas out of and away from the vehicle (whether it be a car, aircraft or railroad locomotive) and it's missing from this model, as represented above.

When something is "freelanced" it's still good practice to respect basic principles of engineering, operation and function, which the engine, as represented in the instructions shown above, does not.

In the kit instruction page shown on the opening post, the necessary piping that would be connected to the part labeled "turbine exhaust gas outlet" in the illustration directly above, is missing. If it were left off in real life, hot exhaust gas in excess of 1000 (one-thousand) degrees F would be vented directly into the engine compartment.

Thanks for this info, Bill- I bought this kit to rob the twin-turbo 'Vair mill for a Volksrod project, and was looking for a little bit more info on how to keep the twin-turbo setup, but get it a little bit more into the realm of a "real world mechanical appearance" (if that makes any sense).

[Howard Cohen]

It's a plastic model car, the engine will never work  

[kitbash1]

It's a plastic model car, the engine will never work  

No, this is the best answer so far.

[Chuck Most]

It's a plastic model car, the engine will never work  

Well, yeah, with that kind of attitude it won't. 

[Erik Smith]

So, say I also bought this kit because of the engine...add an exhaust to the turbo. Easy. Would the carb still just attach to the other side of the "supercharger" (as the instruction sheet calls it)? Oh, and the new release of this kit has great tires too.

[Psychographic]

Well everyone, I have to apologize for not looking through all of the instructions. I bought an engine and body from ebay and don't have the instructions. It seems there is a turbo exhaust outlet on this engine, it's on the last page of the instructions. So my best guess is there is some type of diverter valve to bypass the turbos. I can't think of a reason why other than "Spy Stuff".

 

 

 

 

Edited December 24, 2016 by Psychographic

[droogie]

Off topic, but why do TV/movie spies use one off, distinct in appearance, and  easily identifiable cars? Seems like poor choices for people trying to be inconspicuous. All part of the 'willing suspension of disbelief' on the audience's part I suppose,

[Ace-Garageguy]

Off topic, but why do TV/movie spies use one off, distinct in appearance, and  easily identifiable cars? Seems like poor choices for people trying to be inconspicuous. All part of the 'willing suspension of disbelief' on the audience's part I suppose,

Same reason there's always huge loud explosions, screaming and rocket noises in movies about space.

When your target audience has the knowledge-base and intelligence of a not-too-bright 8-tear-old, why bother with boring things like logic and technical details?

[Psychographic]

Off topic, but why do TV/movie spies use one off, distinct in appearance, and  easily identifiable cars? Seems like poor choices for people trying to be inconspicuous. All part of the 'willing suspension of disbelief' on the audience's part I suppose,

It's in chapter 7, on page 216, of the Spy Handbook. "No spy weapons, electronic surveillance, or cloaking devices are to be outfitted on beige Camrys".

Edited December 24, 2016 by Psychographic