I am only going to mention the basics because to go into detail would invlove nearly as much time as it took to build.
I will try to put everything into chronological order but I seem to remember it gets messy at about 1/3 in.
It isn't a race car, it is designed to travel accross continents. It drove to Austria in 2018 so to that end it isfinished.
The engine & transaxle are from Tatra 603, another car bult in Czechoslovakia in the same era.
The process is as follows:
1:
Drink beer, do some sketches. Here is an early one.
2:
You have no experience of either the Skoda or Tatra.
Do some research on line. Find some credible images & scale them pixel for pixel against known values, such as bore, stroke, wheel plan. Will it fit? YES.
You have no experience of either the Skoda or Tatra.
Do some research on line. Find some credible images & scale them pixel for pixel against known values, such as bore, stroke, wheel plan. Will it fit? YES.
3:
Do some more research on line. Is there a Skoda scene? YES. Does the idea correlate to any existing Bohemian work? See below
4:
Ask your most esteemed Czech friend to source a car & an engine. Of course, he won't question you because he is from Southern Bohemia.He will park it up in his garden for 9 months free of charge.
Ask your most esteemed Czech friend to source a car & an engine. Of course, he won't question you because he is from Southern Bohemia.He will park it up in his garden for 9 months free of charge.
5:
You now have time to get the workshop sorted out. Build a proper work bench. The base is from a Mitutoyo CMM & the top is a 1/2" thick plate 3m x 1.5m with holes laser cut every 400mm. You can attach useful jigs & fixtures which keep you flat.
6:
What is it really going to look like? What about a reverse funny car hood system with hydraulics & everything?
Not ridiculous enough.
Wheels are a major element in something like this. Don't forget about the tyres, they shouldn't rub on anything. TeamIII do special offsets & PCDs so you can get away with murder but it takes 3 months for delivery.
What is it really going to look like? What about a reverse funny car hood system with hydraulics & everything?
Not ridiculous enough.
Wheels are a major element in something like this. Don't forget about the tyres, they shouldn't rub on anything. TeamIII do special offsets & PCDs so you can get away with murder but it takes 3 months for delivery.
7:
Import the vehicle. Do the paperwork right. Now you have real things which can be measured.
Import the vehicle. Do the paperwork right. Now you have real things which can be measured.
8: Measure the things, send your wheel order to LA. Time to dream up some weird stuff.
Do the wheels fit? YES
9:
The transaxle is the one designed for that engine so you get a clutch in the bargain & if you use the same diameter tyre you have taken away a lot of guesswork (sums). In this case the swing axle suspension is safe on the drawing board, not just on the road.
But that means your crank centre line is going to be the same height off the road as the original vehicle which had NINE INCHES of suspension travel. That is gonna mess up the ground clearance on this lead sled.
Notice the bell housing on this Tatra? It supports the entire weight of the engine & it is all behind the axle.
Do you think it can be supported by a monocoque body 0.8mm thick? We need some more strength in there & that is where the deep sill comes in.
The transaxle is the one designed for that engine so you get a clutch in the bargain & if you use the same diameter tyre you have taken away a lot of guesswork (sums). In this case the swing axle suspension is safe on the drawing board, not just on the road.
But that means your crank centre line is going to be the same height off the road as the original vehicle which had NINE INCHES of suspension travel. That is gonna mess up the ground clearance on this lead sled.
Notice the bell housing on this Tatra? It supports the entire weight of the engine & it is all behind the axle.
Do you think it can be supported by a monocoque body 0.8mm thick? We need some more strength in there & that is where the deep sill comes in.
This fixture puts the centreline exactly in the correct position for a neutral ride height, level & pointing forwards
10:
But the axle is a foot and a half too wide for the Skoda. Do you have it with a super wide GRP back end? HELL
NO! Time to chop it all up
The original rear axle is the "new type" having disc brakes. There are two calipers per disc, one being the handbrake caliper. The forged bearing head is welded to the torque tube after the hemispherical bearing cap is fitted, making it impossible to remove in case adjustment is required. So you have to make a new hub yourself from nothing. Remember, it shouldn't slip off the end, leak or spin & it still has to be possible to adjust the alignment of the rear wheels.
Volvo hub cartridges, friction weld the end of the old shaft to the other end of a Volvo shaft. It has to be the right length.
Volvo brake discs are the obvious choice here but you have to machine away the handbrake drum. Calipers are off a Skoda Oktavia but these are common as muck found on all sorts of stuff. The have a cable operated handbrake mechanism.
Volvo hub cartridges, friction weld the end of the old shaft to the other end of a Volvo shaft. It has to be the right length.
Volvo brake discs are the obvious choice here but you have to machine away the handbrake drum. Calipers are off a Skoda Oktavia but these are common as muck found on all sorts of stuff. The have a cable operated handbrake mechanism.
FINISHED
11:
The gearbox won't fit so you have to make a hole in the bodywork.
The gearbox won't fit so you have to make a hole in the bodywork.
Does it fit? NO
Does it fit? NO
Does it fit? NO
Bloody well fits now!
12:
Did I tub it?.
Did I tub it?.
Alright. How are you going to get that phat wheel out of there?
13:
What are you gonna do with all that fresh air below the false sill?
What are you gonna do with all that fresh air below the false sill?
And a weird exhaust.
Oh yeah and a fuel tank
All the cables, pipework & wiring goes down the tunnel on the interior so there is no possibility of anything hanging or dangling
14:
The engine is another story which I will come to later. It went away to W Drake of Bradford to be done. While I waited I had time to spec some upholstery & unashamedly sent the job abroad, to Czech Republic of course, to a lady who makes Skoda head linings & seats. Except she got a europallet full of Jaguar seats, faux fur & a load of gibberish via google translate. She did a top job.
The engine is another story which I will come to later. It went away to W Drake of Bradford to be done. While I waited I had time to spec some upholstery & unashamedly sent the job abroad, to Czech Republic of course, to a lady who makes Skoda head linings & seats. Except she got a europallet full of Jaguar seats, faux fur & a load of gibberish via google translate. She did a top job.
15:
Looking for easy stuff now. getting tired of it. ELECTRICS!
Looking for easy stuff now. getting tired of it. ELECTRICS!
The theme is MiG19
I want instruments and plenty of them & I want them to be reliable. I also need switches & stalks which do not look anything like switches or stalks. I found a firm in the USA called Grayhill who claim to make multi deck miniature rotary switches for helicopters & that. The lass who spoke to me knew less than me so I just made my own out of NOWT. Why? Because what I did are tiny enough to fit in that panel.
I forgot about the rear instruments. These were going to get reverse printed and display vacuum, AFR & differential oil pressure accross the filter when observed through the rear view mirror. Yes it worked but I promised myself not to do anything silly on this build.
And the panel itself has bandit fruit instead of clear instruction plates. It makes everything seem that much more of a gamble. I hgaven't finished the knobs yet. Waiting for better ideas.
Other electrical facts:
It has 2 horns in the front wheel arches pointing out through the spokes. It was supposed to chop up the sound like a Leslie speaker on a Hammond organ but guess what.
There are 7 more horns in the rear wing which come on when you pust the lever the other way.
The instrument binnacle is illuminated with electroluminescent tape which is reliable. Don't reccomend EL wire though.
It doesn't matter that more than half the things I dreamed up aren't wired yet. I mean who needs a guitar pedal anyway? Or dry ice.
16:
More decorative interior fittings.
The comfort module.
This covers up the handbrake adjuster & is located between the rear passengers who are of course both very fit lasses. It is made of solid oak, pocketed to accept four shot glasses (stainless for safety), a pint of Slivovice & a hiplask full of Tatransky Cai Outlaw. It is complemented with an ashtray, cigs & a lighter. To make it legal in the France there is one breathalyser kit. Finished in wipe clean epoxy resin.
More decorative interior fittings.
The comfort module.
This covers up the handbrake adjuster & is located between the rear passengers who are of course both very fit lasses. It is made of solid oak, pocketed to accept four shot glasses (stainless for safety), a pint of Slivovice & a hiplask full of Tatransky Cai Outlaw. It is complemented with an ashtray, cigs & a lighter. To make it legal in the France there is one breathalyser kit. Finished in wipe clean epoxy resin.
The sun visors.
These are the same shape as normal sun visors but grey perspex in a polished stainless frame.
These are the same shape as normal sun visors but grey perspex in a polished stainless frame.
Parcel shelf
Tiger stripe sapele marine plywood hand done in epoxy resin & diamond polished. Here we find some of the loudspeakers.
Tiger stripe sapele marine plywood hand done in epoxy resin & diamond polished. Here we find some of the loudspeakers.
17:
Roll cage.
OK it isn't FIM spec but it is a bit better than what came out of Mlada Boleslav.
Roll cage.
OK it isn't FIM spec but it is a bit better than what came out of Mlada Boleslav.
