5%= A SORT OF CHALLANGE

[A. Pettyengineer]

OK First have a look at this.


Now I have spent a good part of my Art life building things like this.
But I am busting my brain......I just spent some more time on the thread in this forum on  " Steam Automobiles " and have for some time wanted to build a period 1850's steam powered race car, boiler and Fireman is a given and made from copper as much as possible, that is where the brain fade kicks in -a coach - coach like steering - a big metal box with wheels? and 70 other ideas SO.

I want your drawings "WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE?"
yes I know you can't DRAW even if da Vinci  was your teacher for 12 years.
You have an ideas scratch them down do them in Photo Ship 8 get some chalk draw on a pavement and take a photo.
There is no JUDGE, I want an idea that I can build on.
THEN
I will build the said object ...every step here on the forum from the chassis up then it goes to EEEE-bay with a set bottom price and the person that gave up the idea that got it there, can collect 5% for there favorite Charity "I also make very good instructions on how to make your self a Charity with all the paper work included " you the sort ....sign here, send back.
So you have till the END OF JULY..
1st August I will play my part.
LET THE FUN BEGIN...

[A. Pettyengineer]

WRONG CAR

[HR]

I presume you are talking a model, not full size?!

[Capt James Salt]

I also assume that you mean to build a small model car.

You mentioned a steam powered race car with a boiler and Fireman.  I assume you want two riders.  One to stear and one to feed the boiler and keep the steam pressure up.  Is that corect?

 

[A. Pettyengineer]

Sorry I thought that the photos of the 2 cars would give the idea.
The finished MODEL ( not working just a Mantle piece to collect dust ) will be 24 to 30inch long and up to 8inch wide as with the 2 shown in the first posts.
I sort of thought that there would be a driver somewhere up front and the fireman where ever the boiler would be ( Just for safety in racing ).

[Capt James Salt]

Building a cool steam car would not be difficult.





The problem comes in when you want to "race" it.  A race car might look more like this:






Or this:




And a fireman to tend the boiler would just add excess weight.  Although I guess you could race anything.

Just take a locomotive and add wheels.

[Argus Fairbrass]

OMG I want that! 

[Boston Jones]

OMG I want that! 

The train?  I made it my facebook photo!  We should duel for it, throwing knives at noon?

[A. Pettyengineer]

Now the first photo is more on the mark as it is to be in 1855, and  as far as racing goes 6mph might just win.
Got a fine supply of new goodies today and so will photo the boiler tomorrow for your dreams to play with.

[SPBrewer]

When you said coach, my mind immediately went to the Raiders Coach from Paul Revere and the Raiders!
Replace the two V8 engines with a steam engine.    The organ could be replaced with a steam organ. 
If you are not familiar with the Raiders Coach see:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Paul+Revere+and+the+Raiders+Coach&hl=en&prmd=imvnsb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ROj0T9LaCYKk8QTi2sTcBg&ved=0CEwQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=621

[A. Pettyengineer]

When you said coach, my mind immediately went to the Raiders Coach from Paul Revere and the Raiders!

 Now that is 1 hell of a fifth wheeler!!!!!!!!!!!!!! said he a 5th wheeler, Teardrop designer and build  lover.
I got a nice haul of Junk (better make that a Hall full) so here are some ideas for a boiler, rear drive wheels,a photo of twin boiler on the first airship gondola and a lamp shade that needs the Sun inside to light up the inside of a shoe box...not that the lamp shade has anything to do with this build ,I just love the box and the Darkroom globe cover.


So by the size of the Match box you can see it is not a small project ...about 30in long (err 800mm)



Would there be any concern if I retitled this thread as " 5% Steam Race Car Idea Challenge "?

[A. Pettyengineer]

So today I edited the heading as there seems to be no takers at this point in time.

[James Harrison]

Cogs are turning... I have an idea.... just working on it at the moment....

[WillRockwell]

1850's technology would lead to a vehicle like this, and they actually race these at steam fairs in the UK

[James Harrison]

I went and 'designed' (read- ten-minute sketched) an out-and-out racer. 



Influences? 

I've always liked the idea of a stream-lined racing steam car- along the lines of the one described in The Difference Engine.  I guess you could say that my idea would work in 1855- but not as we know it. 

I've always also liked the Morgan three-wheel roadsters, and there are good reasons why this might make a good start point for a racer: you get all the power direct onto the rear wheel, rather than losing traction on an axle, with the rear wheel at the back you can turn more sharply and keep more stability whilst doing so. 

On to specifics what we have under the body work, as I see it, is a watertube boiler as-per the Edwardian Stanley steamers, providing steam to a pair of horizontal engines driving the single rear wheel.  The motion of course would need to be 'quartered' as per railway locomotives.  Water tanks lie right at the bottom, slung under the chassis; I figured that water being heavy stuff it would help the stability a little, especially in the corners.  Fuel is intended to be kerosene.  Basically nothing beyond 1855-tech.   

[akumabito]

An 1850s look you say? Hmm, interesting. Most succesful cars (steam or otherwise) would be from a later period, but there were definitely some steam carriages around at that time. Most early attempts were three-wheelers. I suspect that if racing is the goal, and these carriages would be adaped for high-speed, they would ditch the tricycle concept in favor of four wheels for the sake of stability.

As this is steampunk, I would imagine som tinkering and experimenting going on. SO maybe rather than having four wheels in the traditional layout, maybe make the base platform diamond shaped? One wheel up front, two in the middle, one in the back. With the bulk of the mass concentrated over the double wheels, and with steering front and rear wheel. This would also give some nice seating options for your driver and boilerman.. Not the most practical layout IRL, but looks gotta account for something, right?

Aerodynamics wouldn't really be taken into account at the time. Maybe have a nice vertical boiler, rather than a horizontal one. This would give more space for the vehicle's crew. Add oscillating steam engines directly driving the middle wheels.. Maybe a small water/coal tender for endurance rallies?

Mind you, when looking at pics of steam cars, that most of them are a good half-century more modern than what you're looking for.. That would be like describing the quintessential early 21st century car as a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado..

[A. Pettyengineer]

See now we have the POINT= 1855, driver, Fireman, So most likely Steel wheels due to weight therefore leaf Springs, aerodynamics not needed at all,......But the main POINT it has to be fancy enough that folk would want it enough to bid on it on the E bay thingy + A full build here every day that it is worked on so you get to see how it will be done from some form of chassis up.

[akumabito]

Go for an actual wooden chassis - it'll look nice and be fairly correct for the timeframe you're looking at. Also boorow some ideas from other vehicles: gear linkages from trains, steering chains from steam tractors perhaps.. I still like the idea of a diamond layout.. I've actually found a (rather ugly) contemporary concept car with this design:

http://www.coroflot.com/patrick_r/DSCar

Sbarro also made one:

http://www.greencar.com/articles/swiss-city-car-franco-sbarro.php

[A. Pettyengineer]

Re....

Go for an actual wooden chassis - it'll look nice and be fairly correct for the timeframe you're looking at. Also boorow some ideas from other vehicles: gear linkages from trains, steering chains from steam tractors perhaps.. I still like the idea of a diamond layout.. I've actually found a (rather ugly) contemporary concept car with this design:

http://www.coroflot.com/patrick_r/DSCar

Sbarro also made one:

http://www.greencar.com/articles/swiss-city-car-franco-sbarro.php

I find the first rather like a bike with side car until you get another angle and then I wonder how the hell do you get in or out (and that's just the boys not the gentle folk in dress's )?
As for the second I find it like a lot of the rubbish on YouTube, a waste of web space.
Now, when you start talking wooden chassis you may be right in a race car design from this time frame as timber would be lighter than some iron beam and therefore give rise to a slightly better weight to speed ratio given we are steam driven.
Just makes it more of a pure Model than I was thinking:  But that was the whole idea of this thread get some idea's!!!!!!!!!

[A. Pettyengineer]

10 days left folks!