Musings on Design for a Special

[JonE]

Martin - I presume you have seen this car? Its back in UK now apparently...
https://sevenrk.wordpress.com/2018/11/06...sh-steels/

[Rogerfrench]

The first of my father's cars that I remember was an MG PB Airline coupe, not unlike the first idea in this thread.
There are still a few around, and I think they're very attractive. Could you use one as inspiration?

[Martin Prior]

The Airline is very pretty and I'd like to make something of that style for a Seven, but numerous draft drawings have ended up in the bin!  Unfortunately, even long wheelbase cars don't have the length to carry it off without an excessive rear overhang. The same would apply to the Blue Train Bentley style.

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Jon E - I'd missed this particular car.  

I've been pretty sceptical about the back stories and build quality of some of these Spanish oddities, but that's another story!

On our project, I'm aiming to lose several inches below the waistline rather than dropping the roof (as on the Spanish car), if you see what I mean.

[Duncan Grimmond]

I rather like that cabriolet but must say that its line is spoilt for me by the downswept bonnet side-panel hinge. Having made a tidy job of the bodywork aft of the scuttle, that hinge throws the eye and the waist line doesn't read through IMHO.

[Jamie]

Roger: I agree that the MG PB Airline is a very pretty car and it was in my mind when I did my first drawing.

Martin: I shall be interested to see how your plans progress. They will no doubt be quicker than mine.

Like you, I have tried a number of times to come up with a balanced design for my car, based on the Airline. I have also concluded that, at least within my limitations, the Seven is too short to really work with the style. The sketch which I have published is the best of a large number of attempts and still looks, to my eyes, rather like an overgrown Dinky toy.

On my shell, the bottom couple of inches of the bulkhead / A pillar, the B pillar and all around the bottom at the back are rotted away. I plan to lose height in the body by chopping out the rot and dropping the shell down a little. The roof is also well rotted in places, so will be coming off.

Regards,

Jamie.

[Martin Prior]

Damn!  I knew I shouldn't have outsourced our R&D.

[Tony Press]

Then there is the SS1


  SS1.jpg (Size: 43.67 KB / Downloads: 331)

[Martin Prior]

Unfortunately, like so many other sports hardtops, you'd need an A7 chassis with an 8' wheelbase to make an SS1-style coupe body work.

The critical dimension that we're stuck with and have to work around is the position of the top of the driver's head relative to the rear hub. It's higher and further back than you might think and everything else has to be developed from that.

[Jamie]

The critical dimension that we're stuck with and have to work around is the position of the top of the driver's head relative to the rear hub.  It's higher and further back than you might think and everything else has to be developed from that.

This is exactly what I found with my attempts at sleek, hardtop designs. They looked good until I introduced a scale drawing of a driver. Then the roof needed raising and the bonnet shortening, with the whole thing became dumpy and cartoonish. With the open top version, I have moved the seat back to a few inches in front of the vertical face of the rear seat and the bulkhead back a corresponding distance. When I make a start on the actual car, rather than drawings, I shall need to do plenty of checking and testing before committing to anything, just in case theory and practice are miles apart.

Jamie

[JonE]

Chris Gould has just been improving his Epsom for improved practical use i.e. rearward all round vision as a result of the driver position in car. I think that he decided on better mirror systems as the introduction of rear windows would have affected the clean design.