It was always a legend from an FSAE standpoint. You'd hear that they took two 4-cyl motorcycle engines and slapped them together. Apparently it didn't run well the few times it showed up, and by the time they figured it out SAE had implemented a rule stating that vehicles had to have an on-board starter and they couldn't run the car.
Anyways, the pictures are as amazing as anyone could hope for. https://imgur.com/a/FWYivwM#37adYdK
That is totally kick ass.
What year was this.. I seem to remember it was at the event one of the years I was (03/04/05). I seem to remember it didn't run that year and it was very heavy. This was also the years that Lehigh started using single cylinders and making ~330lb cars and Guelph brought a car with AWD thanks to a flexible driveshaft.
It's also possible I only heard about the V8 and didn't actually see it because most of the FSAE competition was a blur due to no sleep.
nocones said:because most of the FSAE competition as well as the month leading up to it was a blur due to no sleep.
fixed by alumnus of FSAE 1991
The starter rule was introduced in '01 or '02, so it would have been the year(s) before that
I believe it was heavy. If you go through the pics you see that despite the carbon fiber everything they had billet aluminum bulkheads fore and aft.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
My favorite part of this is the fact that the ridiculousness of the engine overshadows like four other almost as ridiculous things. Not only did the DIY the engine, but they also DIY'd the gearbox, complete with a partially carbon fiber housing. Then there's the chassis with the pontoon center section with the giant carbon tubes and the origami style front section, all joined together by massive CNC aluminum bulkheads...oh and the engine is a structural member as well. And then there's the abomination of the brake system which we're just better off not paying attention to.
dps214 said:And then there's the abomination of the brake system which we're just better off not paying attention to.
This. All of this
Where is it now ?
it needs to be out so people can see it :)
This is the most legendary of the legendary FSAE cars- I never saw it, but heard plenty about it. Super cool to see detailed pictures finally. Everyone always talks about making their own engine, these lunatics actually did it.
Lehigh started using single cylinders and making ~330lb cars
I've sat in some of those early single cylinder cars, you've got to one-cheek it if you have more than a 28" waist.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Oh no the month of unsleep was real for us also. I think I averaged 90hr/week in the shop from Jan-Competition. I failed 1 class and withdrew from another one because my FSAE car was my senior design project. Many an all nighter. And then we had to hook up the never used trailer (Curse you trailer lighting) and load it the night before competition. We drove up on literally no sleep. I apparently did a decent job at the Presentation event but I literally don't remember it.
californiamilleghia said:Where is it now ?
it needs to be out so people can see it :)
Not sure. A former team member owns it, I think I read. He's trying to use a modern ECU to get it to run as the original Haltech was blamed for a lot of the poor running
A cool engine it is/was. A superb engineering achievement without doubt. But, in reality, more of 'lash-up' than a truly 'scratch built' engine. Scratch built, in my book, = every part, or nearly every part, of the engine was machined from raw materials. Just my opinion tho. There are a number of truly scratch built engines in the small/model engine world (including V8s and even radial aircraft engines). The Home Improvement TV show star T.A. has/had a scratch built model sized V8 IIRC. Btw, an engineer/hobbyist lashed two Yamaha 250 twin 2-cycle engines together transversely way back in the late 60s. This lash-up was featured in a few MC magazines back in the day.
I did SAE mini Baja when I was in college. All the SAE teams shared a garage, I swear I learned more in that garage with those teams than I did in all my classes. At a minimum it made what I was taught in those classes stick. SAE competitions are amazing, those pics really show it. Sometimes it is hard to remember these are kids 18-22 (generally) doing it for a hobby on the side. That's freaking amazing!
FMB42 said:A cool engine it is/was. A superb engineering achievement without doubt. But, in reality, more of 'lash-up' than a truly 'scratch built' engine. Scratch built, in my book, = every part, or nearly every part, of the engine was machined from raw materials. Just my opinion tho. There are a number of truly scratch built engines in the small/model engine world (including V8s and even radial aircraft engines). The Home Improvement TV show star T.A. has/had a scratch built model sized V8 IIRC. Btw, an engineer/hobbyist lashed two Yamaha 250 twin 2-cycle engines together transversely way back in the late 60s. This lash-up was featured in a few MC magazines back in the day.
That's pretty bonkers.
This makes me wish that I had done more than play sports and make bongs in college.
Reminds me of the various multi-cylinder motorcycle engine builds done by Allan Millyard: https://www.youtube.com/user/millyardviper
nocones said:What year was this.. I seem to remember it was at the event one of the years I was (03/04/05). I seem to remember it didn't run that year and it was very heavy. This was also the years that Lehigh started using single cylinders and making ~330lb cars and Guelph brought a car with AWD thanks to a flexible driveshaft.
I want to agree with you. I think in '03 they brought the car as an exhibition since they got it to run, or had pics or something.....
Test driver and helper in '03/'04
I mean, GSXR heads are $39.
one of you loonies should be able to build a block and crank with enough left over for a challenge car.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
MKE just needs to fire up his tig and the block will appear out of thin air in no time ready to go on his mill for finishing.
In reply to FMB42 :
I'll withhold my thoughts on model engines in general, but if you must be pedantic about it, model engine aren't exactly a good point of comparison to back up the plausibility of your assertion as it relates to engines.
Engine : model engine :: apple : orange
Alternatively: By that logic FSAE cars themselves are also still just 'lash-ups' rather than 'scratch-built'... An interesting premise. Perhaps I am generally just more impressed by, and get more enjoyment from, lash-ups than scratch-built.
In reply to nocones :
Yeah, you pretty literally 'took one for the team' that year. I'll raise a glass of 'Car 20' to you for that... But still won't drink it.
Good times.
That must have been '01, wasn't there when we made it there for our Rookie year in 2000.
I do remember the rumors of it though.
That is really awesome. One of the few regrets I have from my first stint in college when I was in our own SAE chapter was not getting involved in the mini-baja car project. For some reason I considered it a waste of time vs.... going on company tours? I'm not sure what I was thinking. Our effort was really small and it just seemed like we didn't have enough people and money to do very well which is kind of how it worked out.
FSAE would have been my preference over mini-baja.
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