Ace-Garageguy Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 (edited) A what-if kinda project. It's widely known that the German government underwrote the many achievements of the German automobile industry shortly before WWII. This build is a what-if the US Army Air Corps had had a similar interest in backing an American LSR vehicle, powered by a then-state-of-the-art fighter engine. Malcolm Campbell ran 272 mph on the sands of Daytona Beach in 1933 in the 5-ton, Rolls-Royce R-powered Blue Bird, so we're talking pretty fast machinery, even by today's standards. The Allison 1710 cu.in. V-12 engine project was launched in 1929, and by 1937 the engine was fully developed and flying. Though it was overshadowed by the Rolls-Royce Merlins (first run in 1933), in the 1930s (at 1000+hp) it still would have been quite a powerplant for just about anything. The USAAC got its first one in 1932, still experimental, and this fantasy build could have been something lashed together as a 'test vehicle'. The inspiration came in the course of doing the Challenger build, and I started thinking of things to combine to do a '30s what-if. An old toy race-car in about 1/24, and a gluebomb Batman something provided the outer bits. After some whacking and hacking, it was starting to look like something. The rough component layout, with an AMT Allison providing the power, and a Johan Mercedes 500k supplying chassis and suspension. The hood will have to get large blisters to accommodate the cylinders and heads, much like this Supermarine S6B. (a Bernhard Schrock model) The Allison is liquid-cooled, and the radiator for this will be in the rear, exhausting hot air out the large opening in the tail of the bodywork. Well known in aviation circles is the fact that the P-51 Mustang used a very low-drag arrangement to duct air through it's belly-mounted radiator (the P-51 was originally Allison-powered, but later upgraded with Merlins). The heat added to the airstream through the radiator increased its energy, and some sources quote as much as a 30mph increase in speed added as thrust from the cooling duct. That's an idea that will also be incorporated into this purely fantasy build. Edited November 20, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patami Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Well how coooooooooooool is this gonna be (Y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hack-n-whack Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Wow! That is super kitbashing and scratchbuilding all in one. It looks awesome. Please keep us posted with further developments. Thanks for the inspiration. You do excellent work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikelo Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 That is going to be slick. Keep us posted. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale-Master Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I like the concept, but the driver figure... Ouch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Brilliant! Mind you, that Merc diff. is going to be struggling with all that power...Rather off-topic, my Dad broke his back in a P-51 (powered by a Packard-built Merlin)during the war - he was coming in for a hot landing and banged the flaps down at around 150 mph - but only one of them came down and the Mustang flipped on it's back into the ground. We have picture of the wreck, lots of little pieces in the desert! He did fly fighters again after a few months in a body cast.Back to the build - I for one can't wait to see more progress. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooOld Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I love the concept and the blue toy car looks pretty awesome even before adding the fenders ! You gotta keep working on this one ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalobill Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 This is going to be fun to follow along with - keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I like this idea. Those fenders look just right .... it would HAVE to have fenders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Cool project Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goon Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 (edited) I like it, keep it comin' Mark Edited November 20, 2013 by the goon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnwildpunk Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Where did I put my popcorn bowl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedfreak Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Very Cool Bill! Very cool indeed. What a great imagination you posses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Smith Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Oh, man. That is a cool concept. The "layout" looks fast standing still. I like the front fender arrangement. Are you keeping the fenders separate from the body? Those bulges are cool too - like mighty, bulging biceps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 This looks very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardik Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Oh yeah! With those fenders, it looks so period correct. Fantastic vision you have there. I can't wait to see it reach fruition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffhasateg Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 That looks absolutley amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 You could also get some ideas from the Falcon, the streamliner built for the 1936 Jimmy Stewart movie Speed: IMCDb listing here. Great little movie with scenes filmed at Muroc - look it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 I'm watching!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epi4561 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 NIIICE!!!! You have to figure a way to keep those vents from the blue car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasticfanatic Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Even in mock-up stage the lines of the car look great, it reminds the Mercedes Benz W-196 streamlined race car...but a step beyond, REALLY like your concept and idea, will be following this build for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 Thanks for all the interest and comments on this one, everybody. I was hoping to do something kinda quick that I wouldn't get bogged down with details on, but as usual... ... that Merc diff. is going to be struggling with all that power... Rather off-topic, my Dad broke his back in a P-51 (powered by a Packard-built Merlin)during the war - he was coming in for a hot landing and banged the flaps down at around 150 mph - but only one of them came down and the Mustang flipped on it's back into the ground. We have picture of the wreck, lots of little pieces in the desert! He did fly fighters again after a few months in a body cast. I think in those "would it really work" terms too. My rationale is that German metallurgy, and steel in particular (big ol' Merc gears and axles) was really good back then, the big ol 'Mercs had gobs of torque AND weighed as much as 6000lbs...so with a gentle throttle foot and steady acceleration instead of dumping the clutch, the rear-end ought to take it. A LOT of early Ford-based cars ran really fast on the lakes that way, with notoriously weak rear-ends. Glad your dad recovered and was able to fly again after that. To stretch the old saying a bit, any landing you live through is a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 ...the blue toy car looks pretty awesome even before adding the fenders ! I agree, and to avoid hacking it up, I'll be pulling molds of it to make dupes for the actual build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 ...but the driver figure... Ouch. Yeah, a slightly split personality. In reality, I've been kinda interested that in a lot of early race cars, driver comfort was the absolute last consideration. I wonder who figured out first that a comfortable driver could push a car a lot harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 You could also get some ideas from the Falcon, the streamliner built for the 1936 Jimmy Stewart movie Speed: IMCDb listing here. Great little movie with scenes filmed at Muroc - look it up. Man, that thing is wild...never saw it before, and I'll definitely be looking for a copy. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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