1923 Ford

Convertible

Unspecified

Unspecified

Other

Car show season is upon us again. Do you need something that no one has ever seen before? This might be just for you. I built most of this project from parts that you would not typically find on a car (on purpose). Here are some construction details. The frame was purchased but was hand built. Whomever built it did a very nice job bending the tubing. Its all custom and done very well. I sandblasted it primed and painted it black. The body came with the frame and I cut off the fibreglass "bed" part and replaced it with a solid oak bed complete with removable rails. The engine is a Boieng 502 series and comes with a parts an operation manual. It is advertised to have 160 continious horsepower. Turbine engines are only rated @ continious hp unlike most piston engines which are rated at max hp which is only available for short periods of time. The engine runs fine as I would be happy to demonstrate or you can see in the video. Start sequence is simple and quick and utilized a Murphy Safety switchguage which will shut down the engine if a low oil pressure situation were to ocour. It could also be set up to shut down the engine for any other reason of your choice. The engine speed is controled by means of a throttle quadrant out of a Lear Jet. One throttle is functional, the other one is not but could be used for something else. Propulsion is via a hydrostatic transmission out of a IH 715 Combine. It is a freshly rebuilt sundstrand pump matched with a Sundstrand motor out of the same combine. With this set up I have calculated the top speed to be somewhere around 70 mph but since this unit was built as a demonstration project, I have not tested it at that speed. Steering is also hydrostatic (all hydraulic) similar to heavy equipment. The steering cylinder is a double rod cylinder out of a forklift. Steering can be set up in two ways. It is currently set up to slave oil pressure off the fwd drive circuit. I will also include an extra hydraulic pump which can be mounted to the auxiliary pad on the front of the engine as a dedicated pump. Either way, the hydraulic oil is routed through a 400 cubic inch aircraft hydraulic accumulator with provides steering even when the engine is shut off for a short time. The Steering valve is hooked to a cyclic stick out of a Bell 47 helicopter for left and right steering. The cyclic stick is also used for forward and reverse motion as well (coupled to the hydrostatic transmission). If the steering via helicopter stick is not for you, it could easily be modified to a steering wheel with hydrostatic hand pump for probably under $300. I might even be willing to do that for you if its an issue. The hydraulic system is supplied oil via a 30 gallon custom built hydraulic tank located under the seat and the bed. Fuel tanks are two pony kegs located in the bed. Hydraulic cooling is via a oil cooler located in the front with and aux electric fan. The cooler is from a John Deere 8760 farm tractor. Both rear tires are new, the front ones are not. I was going to find some taller tires and wheels for the front but have moved on to another project. Disclaimer: This project is ment to be a demonstration project and I am selling it as such. It does start, run and drive just fine, but it is definilty not a daily driver. If you choose to drive it, you are doing so at your own risk. You are buying this as a demonstration project or assembled parts, not a vehicle. Sorry I had to mention all this, but I don't want to end up in the sights of some attorney hired by someone who does not respect this type of equipment. This project was quite expensive to build and aquire parts for. I did have a serious amount of labor in this but I am willing to sell it for the cost of the parts that went in it to build it, or at least the ones I remember. Engine: $4500 ( I challange you to find one today that runs for less than $5000) Rebuilt Sundstrand Hydrostatic Pump and Motor $1500 Frame and body $1500 Hydraulic hoses, fittings, accumulator, valves, etc. $2500 Batteries $120 Electrical $100 Tires $175 Bed $150 Steel and aluminum $200 Misc Parts and assessories. $500 Ok, I better quit (my loss your gain). I probably forgot alot of other stuff, and of course the sleepless nights trying to engineer this stuff all to work together. Not to mention free help from others who provided CNC work on the engine to transmission mount. (you know who you are). I have included a video of my handwork in action. The smoke on start up is from some jet fuel that was spilled on the N1 turbine volute and flashed off when it warmed up. As you can see there is no smoke after that. If you should have any questrions, please feel free to ask as I would be happy to spend as much time discussing your concerns as necessary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUL4HAN0L_E&feature=channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVQ48NyHajA&feature=channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eys_ZMSkLHg&feature=channel