Claude Thibodeau Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 HI! I build at least one Bonneville car per year... so here's my latest member of the FLAT EARTH SOCIETY: FULMINE DI SODIO (salt lightning in Italian). I started with the hull of an unknown battleship found in the junk bin at a model show, fabricated the lower "pan", frame and monocoque driver's pod, front and rr canteliver air suspensions & reservoirs, Optima battery, rear-wings actuator, steering linkage, electric system, Paxton blower air intake (I inverted the OEM plenum), vertical wing, parachute tube, push-bar, modified the front wheels pods (from Carl Casper dragster, modified) fuel cell from Phantom Vicky, lipstick tube canopy & various other parts. The air scoop, twin oil filters & radiator are from the Hays Tbird, the rear wheels from AMT's XJ220 Jag supercar, the engine from Revell's Ferrari California Spyder, the quick-change rear from MT's Challenger, the steering tiller from an old Monogram show rod, all modified. Fully wired and hosed. Special mix of Tamya TS-84 + clear orange, Wet Look clear, Molotow's chrome, home-made decals. Hours of fun with styrene. Long live the salt! CT 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Outstanding Workmanship Sir! You did an outstanding job I must say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Another masterpiece from the House of Claude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intmd8r Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Outstanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Holy cow. That is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Marischal Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Absolutely outstanding! steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absmiami Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Yup. Recognize those wheels phabulous … what’s the wheelbase ? weight / horsepower - what do you think the trap speed would be ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Incredibly awesome build, amazing detail!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 15 hours ago, JFK said: Outstanding Workmanship Sir! You did an outstanding job I must say! Thank you Joseph! I try to improve with each sucessive car... CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 13 hours ago, cobraman said: Another masterpiece from the House of Claude. Thank you Ray! You showed interest in many of my cars, and I'm honored by that. CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 12 hours ago, Intmd8r said: I love it! Hi Steve! Thanks. I feel there NEVER can be too many salt cars on this forum. CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 12 hours ago, bbowser said: Outstanding! Thanks Bruce! CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMuscleFan Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 WOW Claude! No need to ask if you had fun building this beautiful Bonneville car, it exudes passion and ingenuity from front to back. Considering the length of this car, I have a hard time imagining all the imagination required to fill the space and make it look so plausible. Yet it is, despite my lack of knowledge on the subject I could not tell if it is a tribute vehicle or the pure invention of a brain overflowing with imagination. You continue to impress me my friend, in addition to the quality of assembly the color is fantastic! 👌 Bravo!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBorg Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Great design and execution. The use of the battleship hull is brilliant. While parts don't look prototypical, at least to my knowledge, they look functional. For example I've never seen a front suspension with one air shock severing both axles but it could work. The front wheel flairs with built in ground effects is wonderful original thinking. Congrats on a masterpiece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Claude, this is incredible! Excellent work, sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Awesome. Very well engineered and very convincing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echo Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Original use of parts to build the car, superb idea & workmanship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 On 4/16/2022 at 2:12 AM, Jantrix said: Holy cow. That is amazing. Thank you Rob! CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 On 4/16/2022 at 3:54 AM, Earl Marischal said: Absolutely outstanding! steve Thanks Steve, happy you like it! CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papajohn97 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) Amazing craftsmanship and creativity! Love the front wheel pods and the rear suspension. You really thought through and sweated all the internal details. The only thing missing are Ferrari logo(s)! Bravo! Edited April 17, 2022 by papajohn97 Content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89AKurt Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Mad skills and execution! 🏆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Imaginative and skillful build. Very nice indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggie427 Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Congratulations Claude! Each one of your salt flat builds tops the previous. Excellent attention to detail and beautiful rendering of your vision. Absolutely love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 On 4/16/2022 at 5:03 AM, absmiami said: Yup. Recognize those wheels phabulous … what’s the wheelbase ? weight / horsepower - what do you think the trap speed would be ? Hi Andrew! Thanks for the comments. The wheelbase, at 1/24, would be 144 inches. The OEM Ferrari California V8 is claimed to produce 460hp. With the Paxton supercharger that I added, I would guess 550 to 600 HP at peak. With the quick-change rear end, it should be good for 300 MPH. As you can tell, it has a very small frontal area, so... But, all fantasies of course! CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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