[MOC] Mini sport car with full sized V6 at the front [Free Instructions]

[SaperPL]

EDIT: Final version of the model:

 

Instructions on rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-106054 Gallery on Imgur: https://imgur.com/a/M10jtrz

Original Post:

I figured out a proper steering mechanism for a chassis with full-size piston engine at the front. This chassis doesn't have any issues with leeway on steering or ground clearance.

I built a prototype body for this chassis that is easily detachable. I'm not fully satisfied with the look yet, so I will have to iterate more on the body before I'll make instructions for this model.

Noteworthy ist that this kind of construction should be also feasible for RC semi tractor where the motors would go where the seats are in this model.

Video shows the details, how it works and how the body is being attached:

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by SaperPL

[2GodBDGlory]

Nice job! The steering/piston engine combo is of course clever and compact, but I'm loving the looks, especially of the front end, as well. The way the three fender panels and the two seat panels come together on the front is so clean!

[GerritvdG]

Really cool to squish these functions into such a small model. The model seems pretty solid tough. 

The illegal connection is within acceptable tolerances (with a 0,07 stud offset), however I understand that you would aim for a perfect solution.

 

[Hrafn]

The bodywork looks good!  It has strong kei car vibes to me, a little reminiscent of the Autozam AZ-1 crossed with a Miata.

[JunkstyleGio]

Excellent piece of engenering! Keep up the good work!

[lnteknik]

Great job! Very clever and innovative solution for the steering. I think the big block engine and steering linkage combination should be displayed in full glory. How about making it a hot rod instead? 

[SNIPE]

Cool steering idea.

[Nazgarot]

Really cool model! Very innovative and non standard solutions that seems to work very well. Does the front setup allow some flex (suspention) by design?

I would like to try a fully suspended version based on you initial design. I think I might had a solution for the rear end. Thanks for the inspiration!

_ED_

[SaperPL]

Thanks guys, glad you like it. Check out other stuff on my channel :)

20 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

I'm loving the looks, especially of the front end, as well. The way the three fender panels and the two seat panels come together on the front is so clean!

Thanks, but this is simplistic approach to use mostly technic pieces. I taken the ideas for fender panels and hood from top gear rally RC car. I don't like the fact that front fender is so big though in comparison to rear, and the hood sticking out, so I will try to rework it.

19 hours ago, GerritvdG said:

The illegal connection is within acceptable tolerances (with a 0,07 stud offset), however I understand that you would aim for a perfect solution.

I'd like it to be attached in more than one point because right now it's not ideal, that is why I don't like it that much. It feels like a fragile approach.

10 hours ago, Hrafn said:

 It has strong kei car vibes to me, a little reminiscent of the Autozam AZ-1 crossed with a Miata.

I may think about doing it into something like suzuki cappuccino :)

54 minutes ago, lnteknik said:

I think the big block engine and steering linkage combination should be displayed in full glory. How about making it a hot rod instead? 

I did a rat rod with engine like this before, so I wanted to figure out a way of squeezing in an engine like this with a steering that is proper for use with a body, but feel free to steal this idea and make a hot rod :)

 

12 minutes ago, Nazgarot said:

I would like to try a fully suspended version based on you initial design. I think I might had a solution for the rear end. Thanks for the inspiration!

I thought about it initially when I had the linkage steering, but now some parts of the steering need to go under the pistons when turning for the angle to be okay. Also the front construction would be hard to figure out for it to work.

[lnteknik]

2 hours ago, SaperPL said:

Very cool! Thanks for sharing

[whitepen]

On 2/27/2022 at 6:33 AM, 2GodBDGlory said:

Nice job! The steering/piston engine combo is of course clever and compact, but I'm loving the looks, especially of the front end, as well. The way the three fender panels and the two seat panels come together on the front is so clean!

I agree! it just flows so nicely!

5 hours ago, lnteknik said:

Very cool! Thanks for sharing

You do realize you already commented right?

 

[SaperPL]

1 minute ago, whitepen said:

You do realize you already commented right?

His second comment was about the rat rod :)

[whitepen]

8 minutes ago, SaperPL said:

His second comment was about the rat rod :)

That makes a lot more sense!

[SaperPL]

Update on this model:

1. Chassis was refactored to be simpler, lighter and easier to assemble. Attachment points of front wheels are slightly less rigid because of that but still work properly. Chassis is now longer by 1 stud to get rid of the issues of half stud shifting to assemble the body.
2. Front bumper was reduced in size as it wasn't matching the rear - it's not perfect, but makes more sense for this model now
3. Hood was rebuilt to tightly match the hole and also to not stick out for hole stud. Hinge is now on friction pins so keeps the open angle. Still needs some tweaking for a way to easily open it up
4. Trunk hinge is now on friction pins to keep it up when open. Locking pin was moved to the inside of the trunk, but it makes it a bit tricky to remove the back of the body - the locking pin needs to be taken out completely to not interfere with the detaching around the HOG steering knob.
5. Windshield reworked based on the changes for hood attachment, but it still needs more work - it should be wider and needs a way to be fixed in place.
6. Mirrors and turn indicators added.
7. Lights attachment is now mostly Technic, so the whole model is like pure Technic model

When everything is done, I can start thinking about proper body colour, building final model and making instructions.

[SaperPL]

Update on this model: body redesign.

Physical prototype:

Still need to figure out the hood. The windshield is a placeholder using rubber bands as I'm missing some crucial pieces. Doors work pretty well although the touch/slide over the panels #21/#22 when opening.

By the way - does anyone know the part number for this new "toilet paper" curved panel 1x2 from 42140?

[Hrafn]

Making excellent progress!  The one thin I am not sure about is the grill - the bit with the Bionicle teeth reminds me of longhorn cattle, which doesn’t fit the rest of the car IMO.  Can you maybe flip that portion upside down?

[SaperPL]

1 hour ago, Hrafn said:

Making excellent progress!  The one thin I am not sure about is the grill - the bit with the Bionicle teeth reminds me of longhorn cattle, which doesn’t fit the rest of the car IMO.  Can you maybe flip that portion upside down?

At this scale there's not much wiggle room with it. I could try to do the exactly the same thing as the mustang with those angled connectors, but the whole front is shorter by 2 studs (the mustang is 2 studs wider) so it'd look weird. It just gets complicated if there's no space inside to play around with complex structure to add attachment points exactly where you want it.

[iLego]

13 hours ago, SaperPL said:

Update on this model: body redesign

Looks really nice now. Your progress of successive refinement is inspirational !! Thank you for sharing with us.

I would love to have this as a lego set.

[Hrafn]

21 hours ago, SaperPL said:

At this scale there's not much wiggle room with it.

I hear you.  Maybe if the two parts directly under the headlights were white instead of black?

[mla2]

On 3/12/2022 at 12:34 PM, SaperPL said:

does anyone know the part number for this new "toilet paper" curved panel 1x2 from 42140?

89679. See https://rebrickable.com/parts/89679/technic-panel-fairing-2-x-1-x-1/

[SaperPL]

Some gifs:

White missing body parts ordered, the hood will be black. After i get the missing parts for the windshield, I need to figure out some hack to make sure the hood edge liftarms don't get stuck on wheel arch panels.

Almost there with the design though, I just need to tweak the trunk a bit to make it smaller/shift pivot point a bit to the back.

[Tazmancrash]

Looks great. Definitely has a kia car feel.

Do you have a picture of it next to 42093 Corvette for scale. Or more importantly,  dose it fit on the transporter?

[SaperPL]

54 minutes ago, Tazmancrash said:

Do you have a picture of it next to 42093 Corvette for scale. Or more importantly,  dose it fit on the transporter?

I don't have those sets, but it is smaller than requirements for TC18 to fit the transporter which was L41 x W15 x H17 - this car is L32 x W13 x H11 so it's significantly smaller than max requirements for the transporter. The inspiration for the front bumper was taken from recent mustang, but it's thinner by 2 studs for example and note that mustang's end is also longer by the curved panels behind wheels.

[SaperPL]

The model is done:

Full photo gallery is here: https://imgur.com/a/pFp7zwA 

I need to spend some time on the instruction and video now.

I couldn't get some specific pieces so not everything is perfect, but also I'm assuming that I want to use pieces that are available and not overpriced in a model for instruction.

[Gray Gear]

Nice little car. Kind of reminds me of a suzuki cappuchino... Exept for the carbureted engine. The bodystyle looks way too modern to still run a carburetor fuel setup imo.