Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
1959 Curtiss Wright model 2500
info from http://www.finkbuilt.com/blog/1960-hovercraft-lineup/
the 1959 Curtiss-Wright model 2500 “Bee”, (AKA “Air-Car”) prototype.
http://www.aerofiles.com/
Experimental 2p passenger air-cushion hover-car, built in test form (lower photo), anticipated market in ag application and as swamp buggy; 85hp Continental with 6′ two-blade prop (projected multi-blade props with two 180hp Lycomings) width: 8′0″ length: 28′0″. Michael Cutler et al. Total “flight” time in mid-July 1959 was about 25 hours, albeit only inches AGL; top speed: 35. Displayed at Fort Eustis Transportation Museum, Colonial Williamsburg VA.
C-W experimented in the field of hovercraft with high hopes that the new technology would save their moribund company, and these hopes caused them to issue news releases and drawings of the new product long before the engineering department was ready. I have seen footage of some of the test ‘flights.’ First, the cars looked nothing like the drawing — that sweetheart was a marketing department dream, not reality. What they actually tested was bigger than a Ford Excursion, but still only seated two. It was a big plenum chamber with controllable shutters all along the perimeter for thrust, braking, and control. What the footage shows, however, is that the car was just barely controllable, even over smooth pavement in good weather. The noise was truly awesome, as well. To complete the dismal picture, hover height was only inches, and there was no flexible skirt — it had less off-road capability than an average sedan of the period. It was a wonderful dream, but to have spent millions on it was typical of a management team that took Curtiss from the biggest in the industry to bankruptcy.”
Some cars seem to have emotional features, this one looks mean, like a gremlin from the movie
photo from http://www.cardesign.ru/forum/diskussii/obschenie/1352
the way kings wasted their peoples money, one off coachbuilt cars. Erdmann & Rossi 500K Mercedes Benz
the oldest wheels in California, a look at how the first wheels were designed
Above is design, below is what remains of a round piece of wood 205 years after it was installed on an ox cart, consider that the log it was cut from may have been 100 years old to get this big around and it's possible that the wood is over 300 years old.
Brooks Stevens and the 1959 Scimitar prototypes that promoted aluminum
Two of the different models, the below was the inspriation for the Studebaker Wagonaire
Three Scimitar vehicles were designed and developed to suggest functional and decorative applications for aluminum use in automobiles. The Scimitar project was sponsored by the Olin Matheson Chemical Corporation and was designed by Brook Stevens Associates and Reutter & Company.A two-door Scimitar convertible was representative boulevard-type sports car, having a hard top that retracted automatically into the luggage area. A four-door Scimitar town car phaeton could be driven as a fully enclosed formal sedan, a town car with partially retracted roof, or an open convertible with both roofs retracted into the luggage area. The Scimitar station wagon shown here has an automatic sliding roof.
All three models were derived from the same basic design and tooling, using a 1959 Chrysler New Yorker chassis. The body utilized removable aluminum anodized quarter panels for aesthetics and reduced maintenance. The grille bumpers, trim, wheel discs, and many interior treatments are of brushed and anodized aluminum, substantially reducing vehicle weight. The car´s name was derived from the shape of a scimitar, a saber with a curved blade.
The three Scimitar models were exhibited first at the 1959 Geneva Auto Show, then at the 1961 International Automobile Show in New York.
Found on http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/ where some really cool stuff shows up
Tucker's 2nd try (The Carioca) was from a De Sakhnoffsky design, and potentially would have been made in Brazil
cover illustration of the Carioca from Dec. 1955 Car Life magazine found on aldenjewell's Flikr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/autohistorian/3516254868/
read all about it: http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Tucker_Carioca or check out the project at Rob Ida: http://www.robidaconcepts.com/carioca.html Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing
Both found on http://redonly.tumblr.com/ if you want to learn a bit about flying wing design origin, it goes back to the mid 1930's: http://justacargal-s.blogspot.com/2011/02/burnelli-or-northrop-flying-wing.html
The difference between Mustang engine bays, for a 289 or a Boss 429
Taken from close to the same view angle, these are a terrific aid in determining all the mods that Ford had to do to shove a 427, 428, or 429 into a early MustangThanks to Ed for the photos!
The High and Mighty, mopar engineers and (street racers by night) used it to develop intakes and engines
Above from http://musclecardreaming.tumblr.com
Loewy's personal design '59 Caddy was found
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/raymond-loewy-leader-of-amc-designs-and.html to read about it, and the color photos are from http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=428585&page=561 
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