Ace-Garageguy

Is that metric or dog years?

Interesting photo Greg, and it shows up a lot in Challenger-related articles, but that was not the final configuration of the Challenger 1 driveline. The as-raced versions had two Pontiacs mounted backwards in front of the car, each one driving through a conventional clutch, 3-speed 1937 LaSalle gearbox, and a Cyclone quick-change rear gear carrier. Same layout at the rear of the car, but the engines were mounted facing forwards in the usual manner. EACH engine had its own 3-speed gearbox and QC rear. 4 clutches, 4 transmissions, 4 QC rear ends.

I'm sure the AI driving the thing is vastly more competent than most drivers. I'm also very aware that computers fail. At inopportune times. A failed AI in a driverless car could have consequences much more spectacular than some drunk fool running down the interstate the wrong way at 100 mph. And just how friggin lazy do you have to be to find it's ooh too much effort to drive for yourself?

I dunno about carbon fiber "wrap", but HobbyLinc has decals... http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/sms/sms1024.htm?source=froogle&gclid=CJ_J79PIwcECFW4F7AodIBkAjg Also Hiroboy, Scale Motorsport, others.

I know the word "retard" is no longer acceptable, but if anyone qualifies, it's this moron (and this is just the family-friendly part). QUOTE: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Anyway, this is it for what i have found.. And i would make more after find a good room. But i am not going to be selling it through Ebay anymore. Since i got jacked by this buyer who is impulsive Liar's.. Anyway sorry man.. I cannot do it here anymore beside selling it to all the localy hobby store's like how i used too and makes more cash up front then this.. So if you have any question about this, please do so.. But will no longer be available be listing and selling on here anymore.. Since that username killed it. Was going to post a picture and more.. But that WETBACK ruin my day. And i'm not only dealing with this, i also have my own business.. So what ever that low life scum back little scrap kid was saying.. He will get his back watch.. No need to deal with a customer like him. He is just a cheapskate. And he might of known someone who is hating on me and which is i don't even know who and why?? Anyway.. Sorry and you all my customer's should blame his ass!!! And i remember back then, he have scammed me before and stole my Identity.. through a mystery shopper list. Got me all broke at that time. But now i have won a big million Dollars.. So what's up now?? This person is not the name from the Ebay user and Paypal at all.. Must of been his buddy or something that's helps him. "

It wouldn't be all that hard to do it with cables and pulleys, really. But you should see the shifter linkage for the 4 transmissions in Challenger 1. That IS crazy stuff.

The 4-engined drag cars were really too heavy to run as quick as some single-engined cars, and were primarily built for exhibitions. The 4-engine Mustang was supposedly capable of 7 second passes, but there's no documentation to back it up. Ivo's Showboat was insanely impressive, smoking all 4 tires, but it wasn't a real "race" car, Some of the two-engined cars WERE fast and quick enough to make it worth the extra weight and complication...but only until engine development made it possible to get as much power from one engine. Thompson's Challenger used 4 separate 3-speed LaSalle transmissions as well, all shifted together by some incredibly complex mechanical linkage. At the time, since the Challenger was built for maximum terminal velocity at the expense of acceleration, it was worth the extra complexity. His son's car though (rebuilt from Mickey's Challenger 2), only uses two engines. More power, less weight, lower frontal area. Much-reduced frontal area = vastly reduced drag, so a lot less power is required to go faster. It would certainly be the most logical to use hydraulic clutch linkage on any multi-clutch car, but I honestly don't know if Showboat and Challenger used hydraulics. The technology certainly existed at the time.

Notice the positions of the distributors. The front engines are installed facing the normal way, while the rear engines are installed backwards. The left and right pairs of engines are mechanically coupled at the flywheel end, and a transfer case takes the output to the center of the car (and apparently only one clutch). Driveshafts run to front and rear differentials much like in a conventional 4-wheel drive vehicle. Ivo's 4 Buick-engined Showboat used two engines on one side facing the normal way, and two on the other side installed backwards. The flywheel end of the front engine of the forward-facing pair was mechanically connected to the nose of the other engine in the pair, and a flywheel / clutch assembly connected it to an offset driveshaft running to an offset Halibrand champ-car quick-change center section in an otherwise conventional axle. The rear-facing pair of engines in the Ivo car were connected together the same way, but drove a heavily modified 4WD truck front axle, again with an offset Halibrand QC center. Engine synchronization is achieved by very careful setup of the mechanical throttle linkage.

Sho'nuff...

Beautiful old machines. I especially like the conventional Pete. I also really envy you guys who live in a climate where you can store vehicles outside for years without having them destroyed by the elements.

Nice work. interesting concepts.

I googled the tag...British indeed. Apparently a loosely Austin 7-based special. '39 Austin 7... ...with a grill-shell from a '37 Austin 7 Ulster...

Looks Limeland or European to me, also looks to be quite small, maybe the size of a Donkervoort. Something about the upper part of the background looks PhotoShop to me...line of sharply focused roof and hood-edge, fuzzy background not quite consistent with what I'm used to seeing as a function on depth-of-field effects. Something about the nose and headlights looks off, too. Actually, the more I look at it, the more the whole thing looks to me like a PS construct.

Move to San Diego.

In the first shot, the guy with the glasses did the homework for the other 3, so they would have time to work on the car. He also did anything that required math concerning the car...gear ratios, weight distribution, figuring jet sizes based on weather conditions, etc. And, because he was such a helpful little guy, the others let him drive the car at the strip...once. Turned out he had faster reaction times, and another slight advantage by being lighter. So, smart kid became the regular driver at the drags, got to hang with the kool kids, and ended up married to the homecoming queen, and working at NASA.

Interesting. Been around a while too. Good craftsmanship, but some questionable design elements. I don't care for the tubular outrigger-struts for the vestigial running boards, and the nose looks to me like it's been driven into something dead-center, and pulled everything in with the impact. Sorta like an old-guy with no teeth, ya know?

Exactly.

Quite a transformation. Nice work.

Yes. "Warshawsky & Co.". Same stuff, exactly. See post 6.

Building your own guarantees a perfect fit, but Mr. Snake is also right on. This shot of the AMT '53 Stude instructions shows one side of the headers... ...and here are 6 of those pipes used to plumb the exhaust on an inline engine...very possibly a decent starting point for what you need. (photos taken from open internet sources under "fair use" definition in copyright law)

"Trucks on trucks 0_o"

Beautiful, beautiful model and inspiring foil work.

Beautiful build, sir. Really something special. I knew Frank briefly back in the early 1980s, when I replaced the power-window regulators and motors in his personal Lamborghini GT 350 with GM units. Pretty cool old guy, for sure.