Ace-Garageguy Posted July 22, 2012 Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Every so often I get burned out on all the fiddly details and actual work involved in bringing some builds closer to completion. That's when I find it helpful to take a creative break and throw together some fun concept stuff, to get the juices flowing again. This is the body shell from a gluebomb Revell Orange Crate, going on a heavily modified AMT '32 blob chassis. The rear end will be Jag, from an Aurora gluebomb XK-E. Front suspension will be independent from the Testors Aluma Coupe. Wheels and tires are Revell Dodge Sidewinder, and nose is vintage Monogram Indy car. Power will probably be small-block Chevy, injected, or maybe a street-ized big Offy. Edited July 23, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy 5
Chuck Most Posted July 22, 2012 Posted July 22, 2012 Already liking it- I've seen a track nose on Roadsters and coupes, but never on a Tudor. The Sidewinder rolling stock also looks great. I'd definitely vote no on the SBC- this thing needs an Offy with that track nose, or even a turbocharged Ford 2.3. 1
Chuck Most Posted July 22, 2012 Posted July 22, 2012 Or... instead of the Offy, maybe an Olds turbo Quad 4 from the Monogram Aerotech? 1
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 22, 2012 Author Posted July 22, 2012 Thanks for all the interest and comments, guys. I'm really leaning towards the big Offy, but as Offies came in several displacements and outside sizes, and as I have several, I'm having to do some research as to which one would would be most appropriate. The one in the 1/25 AMT Watson Indy roadster looks tiny, and the one in the 1/24 Monogram Indy Kurtis roadster looks too big. In 1:1, the normally-aspirated engine from the Kurtis should have plenty of grunt, with a little less cam and a six-speed, to give decent acceleration in a very light car, so I'm looking for correct outside dimensions for that engine. It may get Indy-roadster style front torsion-bar suspension too, just to be different and to tie in the Indy-car thing a little tighter.
AK_Invader Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks for all the interest and comments, guys. I'm really leaning towards the big Offy, but as Offies came in several displacements and outside sizes, and as I have several, I'm having to do some research as to which one would would be most appropriate. The one in the 1/25 AMT Watson Indy roadster looks tiny, and the one in the 1/24 Monogram Indy Kurtis roadster looks too big. In 1:1, the normally-aspirated engine from the Kurtis should have plenty of grunt, with a little less cam and a six-speed, to give decent acceleration in a very light car, so I'm looking for correct outside dimensions for that engine. It may get Indy-roadster style front torsion-bar suspension too, just to be different and to tie in the Indy-car thing a little tighter. Norm at Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland was selling copies of the Chris Etzel 270 Offy - a very accurate rendition of the big Offy. Might want to check with him and see if it's still available. 1
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 23, 2012 Author Posted July 23, 2012 Thank you AK_Invader. I've heard only good things about R&M. Must be time for me to give him a try. Thanks again....that could really get this project steaming along.
AK_Invader Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) Thank you AK_Invader. I've heard only good things about R&M. Must be time for me to give him a try. Thanks again....that could really get this project steaming along. Norm produces some of the highest-quality resin parts available. You won't be sorry! The Kurtis nose looks awesome, wish I'd thought of that... Edited July 23, 2012 by AK_Invader
JunkPile Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks for backing me up Ace. I appreciate it. That nose is a nice twist for a street machine. Chuck
OldNYJim Posted June 21, 2024 Posted June 21, 2024 I’m glad you linked to this one Bill, as I hadn’t seen it before. Cool project! I’ve long planned to learn about converting an Offie to a ‘streetable’ configuration, but despite a few attempts at research I’ve struggled to figure out how it’s best accomplished. I’d love to hear any insight you might have!
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 21, 2024 Author Posted June 21, 2024 (edited) 10 hours ago, CabDriver said: I’m glad you linked to this one Bill, as I hadn’t seen it before. Cool project! I’ve long planned to learn about converting an Offie to a ‘streetable’ configuration, but despite a few attempts at research I’ve struggled to figure out how it’s best accomplished. I’d love to hear any insight you might have! Milder cam timing and big side-draft Weber carbs (or electronic fuel injection) should handle the normally aspirated engines quite nicely, and the same approach (milder cams, electronic engine management or street carburetion) would work with turbocharged Offys. The racing cam timing won't really idle well and makes little power at lower revs, and the racing mechanical fuel injection was pretty much wide-open-throttle, usually with zero provision for idling too (think Hilborn mechanical injection)...and one reason for the constant throttle "blipping" in those days. Though Hilborn injection can be made streetable (and was by tuning wizards in the wayback by providing additional idle and part-throttle metering circuits) it's not your basic shade-tree chimp job. Milder cam timing would kill some top end power, but could also considerably beef up the available power at low and mid-range RPM. The "big" Offy in the '50s was in the neighborhood of 220-270 cubic inches, so 250-300 usable street horsepower should be easily attainable unblown. Consider the lowly smallblock Chevy was making one horsepower per cubic inch at the time, without the benefit of the Offy's technical sophistication. 250-300 horsepower doesn't sound like much today, but believe me, 250 in an 1800 pound car is well beyond "exhilarating". Edited June 21, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy 1 1
OldNYJim Posted June 21, 2024 Posted June 21, 2024 2 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said: 250 horsepower doesn't sound like much today, but believe me, 250 in an 1800 pound car is well beyond "exhilarating". The magic of a good power-to-weight ratio! I drove a Lotus 7-inspired kitcar that had some kind of modern 4-cylinder Ford engine and it was a BLAST even with a relatively small engine. That was some really helpful info - thank you so much for for your always insightful, umm, insight ?? How would you tackle running an alternator on an Offie? Or what would you do for an electrical system? It looks harder than just adding a bracket to mount one and changing the belt… 1
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 21, 2024 Author Posted June 21, 2024 3 minutes ago, CabDriver said: How would you tackle running an alternator on an Offie? Or what would you do for an electrical system? It looks harder than just adding a bracket to mount one and changing the belt… The "big" 220 Offy typically drives a magneto off of the front cover, but a really competent engineer/machinist/fabricator could certainly devise a way to drive an alternator and make up brackets and pulleys for same. With advances in ignition systems over the decades, a mag wouldn't be required on a street engine, but I'd keep it just for the look. The engines in the Indy "roadsters" were typically started with an external starter that engaged the forward end of the crankshaft, but there's no reason a ring gear couldn't be fitted to the flywheel (Offy may have already done it anyway) to use a conventional starter, freeing up the nose of the crank to drive accessories. Any trans can also be adapted to pretty much any engine in the time-honored traditional ways too. Some of the specifics I'd have to research thoroughly, but there's nothing much that can't be done if you want to do it bad enough and can pay the freight. 3 1
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 21, 2024 Author Posted June 21, 2024 15 minutes ago, CabDriver said: The magic of a good power-to-weight ratio! I drove a Lotus 7-inspired kitcar that had some kind of modern 4-cylinder Ford engine and it was a BLAST even with a relatively small engine. Exactly. My '62 Super 7 had a Cosworth-prepared pushrod Ford 1340 "Kent" engine with two Weber 40s. The car weighed less than 900 pounds dry and made probably 110 HP. It was pretty zippy. 1
OldNYJim Posted June 21, 2024 Posted June 21, 2024 13 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said: The "big" 220 Offy typically drives a magneto off of the front cover, but a really competent engineer/machinist/fabricator could certainly devise a way to drive an alternator and make up brackets and pulleys for same. With advances in ignition systems over the decades, a mag wouldn't be required on a street engine, but I'd keep it just for the look. The engines in the Indy "roadsters" were typically started with an external starter that engaged the forward end of the crankshaft, but there's no reason a ring gear couldn't be fitted to the flywheel (Offy may have already done it anyway) to use a conventional starter, freeing up the nose of the crank to drive accessories. Any trans can also be adapted to pretty much any engine in the time-honored traditional ways too. Some of the specifics I'd have to research thoroughly, but there's nothing much that can't be done if you want to do it bad enough and can pay the freight. That gives me some really good guidance - thank you so much for taking the time Bill!
Zippi Posted June 21, 2024 Posted June 21, 2024 good looking start of a Great looking Hot Rod Bill. 1
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 21, 2024 Author Posted June 21, 2024 11 hours ago, Zippi said: good looking start of a Great looking Hot Rod Bill. Thanks for your interest and comment.
styromaniac Posted June 23, 2024 Posted June 23, 2024 19 hours ago, Kit Karson said: Thought you'd like to see this, Brother: That looks sinister.... 1
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now