At 12:13 PM 08/07/1999 -0400, Terry L. Thompson wrote:
>
>Anyone else notice how little a spitfire weighs compared to modern day
>cars of it's size? According to several books I own. The dry weight of a
>spitfire is ~1700 lbs.
>
>That's....
>
>550 lbs. (25%) lighter than a '99 Mazda Miata
>950 lbs. (36%) lighter than a '98 BMW 1.9l Z3 Roadster
>1100 lbs. (40%) lighter than a '99 Mercedes-Benz 230 SLK
>1300 lbs. (43%) lighter than a '99 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder
>
>
>And I wonder how many of those have metal body panels.
They all do. Might be some aluminum [aluminium] in the SLK. Besides size,
look at the extra equipment those modern cars carry.
But light weight was why Lotus sports cars were (and are still) awesome.
100 - 130 HP, 1500 lbs. In the late sixties too. Big secret was fiberglass.
The modern day Lotus Elise weighs 1500 lbs. Supercar performance with 118
bhp! Admittedly, a more minimalist car than the others mentioned.
+++++
There is a used car dealer here in NJ that has a Spitfire Mk III chassis
with a custom fiberglass body on it, for sale. Kind of ugly & crude though
(no doors or windows or boot molded in...)
Cheers,
Atwell Haines
'79 Spitfire (at 1835 lbs and 57 bhp, not the most spry of it's genre.
Blame it on the Feds...)
>
>Terry L. Thompson
>'76 Spit 1500
>
>At 08:14 AM 8/7/99 PDT, you wrote:
>>
>>Hi Ralph as a spitfire owner and builder of 3 hybrid electric cars i'd be
>>interested to keep track of your progress. Off list we could compare some
>>notes on your design choices. anyway... I'm not familiar with your setup
to
>>use the transmission. In our 3 series hybird electric cars (the latest
used
>>a fuel cell stack!) we didn't use a transmission. The GE motor that was
>>given to us had an integrated transaxle, that was shiftless. As you well
>>know an electric motor runs at constant rpm with a flat torque curve,
making
>>shifting gears to maximize power to the wheels unnecessary.
>>
>>ok assuming you keep the driveline, the hp could be handled by the setup.
>>the late spit 1500 diffy's are has hardy as anything thiumph ever made. (I
>>run a 78 in my 72) People have replaced the drivetrain with datsun 510 and
>>toyata 2.2 (old supra maybe?) trannies and rears. I'd be more worried
about
>>battery placement and what type of stresses that will place on the
>>suspension. I don't know how much range you'll need, but battery weight
was
>>probably the biggest problem in our hybrid cars. Perhaps stepping up to
the
>>GT6 rotoflex rears would be another alternative.
>>
>>If you have any questions about electric vehicles email me directly and
>>check out our web page at
>> http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/org/hybridcar/
>>
>>Ryan Smith
>>Hybric Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT)
>>Virginia Tech
>>72 Emerald Green Spitfire
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: Ralph Goodwin <rgoodwin@ipass.net>
>>>Reply-To: Ralph Goodwin <rgoodwin@ipass.net>
>>>To: Auto Cross Discussion Group <autox@autox.team.net>, Spitfire
>>>Discussion Group <spitfires@autox.team.net>, Triumpn discusion
group
>>><triumphs@autox.team.net>, Vintage Racing Discussion Group
>>><vintage-race@autox.team.net>
>>>Subject: Spitfire High School Project
>>>Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 10:36:34 -0400
>>>
>>>I am working with a local high school to convert a 1980 Triumph Spitfire
>>>to electric power. Part of the competition includes an autocross
>>>competition. The web site used by event organizers for last years
>>>competition is linked below.
>>>
>>>http://www.rptnet.org/ev
>>>
>>>The finished project should be at or near original weight and weight
>>>distribution. Peak HP of the installed motor will be around 100 hp.
>>>Torque will be significantly more!
>>>
>>>We are planning to use the stock drive train from the bell housing back,
>>>including clutch. It may be possible to run the car in a autocross
>>>event without shifting gears, but we aren't sure, so we went with the
>>>clutch. It will also help absorb the torque from the motor, protecting
>>>the rear end. The transmission in the car has an overdrive.
>>>
>>>Can you advise on any drive train mods that will help ensure
>>>durability. We don't plan on drag racing the car, but we suspect the
>>>rear end is our weak link. Rules will allow us to make substantial
>>>modification. Someone suggested a Datsun 510 differential, but they
>>>hadn't seen it done and didn't know if it is a valid suggestion.
>>>
>>>We would also appreciate any suspension mods, suggestions etc. Have
>>>thought some about coil-over shocks on the rear.
>>>
>>>Please don't come back and tell us how we are ruining a classic! This
>>>car was DEAD!
>>>
>>>Any suggestion would be appreciated! Thanks for your help!
>>>
>>>Ralph
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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