My Homebuilt car is starting to look GREAT!

Update - The Car is nearly finished! See more photos in other posts below:


http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/4734-2/BalaPapagoPark+010.jpg
Hey guys, you may remember my La Bala build. I built this car completely from scratch from my own design using a pile of steel and a welder to build the frame. After I finished the chassis I started on the body, which is now ready to have molds made off of it.

Here are some photos of it after 5 coats of wax. Look pretty good eh?! :smokin:
http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/3306-2/DSC01338.JPG

http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/3315-2/DSC01354.JPG

http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/3309-2/DSC01340.JPG


Still more much more waxing to be done and then the fiberglass molds will be layed up over top of it encasing the entire surface. Once the molds are made I will be able to make as many copies of the bodywork that I want.

Amazing to think that underneath that shiny surface are layers of wood, foam and drywall plaster.

Wow that looks really good. It shows you understand that less is more designwise:)

Do you have more pictures? And how did you design it? could you say something more about that? If you've got drawings I would really like to see them. I really like the first en third pictures, looks like a new lockhead martin project instead of a car...:licka: Just awesome, I've got a lot experience with own designstuff with (scale) raceboats so I know this could have taken a couple of hours to build:grinyes:

Thanks Lamboholic,

Have you visited my website? I have over 1300 photos, lots of videos, diary entries starting from over 3 years ago. Pretty much everything you could want to know about the car, the design, etc is all there.

www.grabercars.com

Enjoy!

Graber

Wow that looks really good. It shows you understand that less is more designwise:)

Do you have more pictures? And how did you design it? could you say something more about that? If you've got drawings I would really like to see them. I really like the first en third pictures, looks like a new lockhead martin project instead of a car...:licka: Just awesome, I've got a lot experience with own designstuff with (scale) raceboats so I know this could have taken a couple of hours to build:grinyes:

Robin to the Batmobile :D

Yeah it kind of looks like the Batmobile :)

this is by far the coolest thing i've ever read on af... congrats and i am stoked that someone out here is going for their dream instead of trying to knock other's down.

Just a quick note: I took a short video of the bodywork on the car chassis. I think it turned out pretty good. Hopefully you can watch the video and let me know what you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DOqwOzkMs8

Later,

Graber

I've been toying with the idea of building a car from scratch for almost a year now. I recently came across your website of the car that you've created. I'd have to say it's pretty sweet.

I wish I had some pictures to post of the car that i've designed. But I haven't started posting pictures of it online yet. The renders are looking pretty good so far. Currently i'm designing the chassis, but I think i'm going to use suspension components from another vehicle, once i've decided that part, It'll be easier to figure out the correct dimentions

I'm thinking of using an engine from the 2005 acura RL with 290 hp and 250 lbs/ft of torque. Too bad I don't have any money to finance the project yet, but by january I should be building a shop to house the project on my aunts farm.

I also liked the Idea of building my own CNC machine as well to make the plug for the body. mine's going to be a lil fancier than the one that you have posted on grabercars.com, but a bit more expensive.

I look forward to more posts on your website

I've been following your progress for awhile....good work!!

Hello again everyone. I've made a bit of progress on the car since you last saw it. Ok... a LOT of progress!

Let me know what you think!

http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/4743-2/BalaPapagoPark.jpg

http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/4731-2/BalaPapagoPark+009.jpg


http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/4740-2/BalaPapagoPark2.jpg

BTW- this is turning into a kit very soon, so if you or anyone you know is wanting a relatively inexpensive no-frills, very lightweight and ORIGINAL design bodywork car.... let me know. It's important to note that this is not a replica of anything. I designed it myself. You can put almost any modern transverse engine you want in it! Best keep to the lightweight ones tho.

wats all the specs. like wats the eng type, power, torque, but it is a nice car. u said it'll b a kit car, cool, i hope one day that i can do the same thing, build my own car company, mayb u wanna help, or want help on ur own. to bad it looks a lil like a ferrari 360

Very nice. I also am very interested in the specs of the car.

yea so am i, it is nice, wats everything, new eng, or pre-existing, chevy, honda, wats it got

Here are some general specifications:


Target Weight (with 1.6L Engine) - 1,400Lbs
Length - 126"
Wheelbase - 98"
Width - 67"
Front Track - 57" (hubs)
Rear Track - 56" (hubs)
Ground Clearance - 3" - 6" (Adjustable)
Engine - Turbocharged 1.6L 16V 4AGE (175Hp) - or whatever FWD drivetrain you want!Custom designed tubular spaceframe chassis with computer designed suspension using inboard pullrod/coilovers front and inboard pushrod/coilovers rear. Uses Toyota hubs, bearings and brakes all 4 corners. deDion rear axle system with watts link maintains rear tires parallel to road surface for maximum tire contact. Toyota steering rack. Wilwood brake and clutch pedal with CNC master cylinders. Wheels are Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 17x8 rear and 16x7 front with Falken Azenis RT-615 235/40 in back and 215/45 front. Interior is minimal. It's got racing seats and belts, a center console to house the shifter, an ultralight padded dashboard and a steering wheel. NO CUPHOLDER. Dedicated power outlet for laptop computer.

Very nice. thanks for the info.

wats the eng out of, i guess a toyota celica or something.
also it looks like the eng is mid eng, and it's fwd?, i thought it would b rwd

wats the eng out of, i guess a toyota celica or something.
also it looks like the eng is mid eng, and it's fwd?, i thought it would b rwd

The engine is a Toyota. They were used in the corollas, the MR2s, and a bunch of other cars.


As for where the engine is, this should clear it up.

http://www.grabercars.com/gallery2/d/1197-4/IMG_0021.jpg

The engine of my car is behind the driver. But it's like a FWD drivetrain moved to the back. Next time you look under the hood of a FWD car, take a look at where the axles are. The entire engine is in front of the front axles. All of the weight of the engine is in front of the front axle. Now, take the entire engine and move it to the back of the car. The car is now a mid-engine car, because the engine is now in front of the rear axles. And the weight of the engine is between the front and the rear wheels.

sounds cool

He is using a FWD engine and gearbox but in the back, powering the rear wheels like a Toyota MR2.

I have a similiar car, where I am using a Nissan SR20 FWD Engine and gearbox powering the rear wheels.

EDIT: OOPs, I did not realise there was another page

You've done an amazing job on this, I rekon it'd be damn fun to drive (deadly caterham 7-esque handling, excellent hp/weight ratio, nice weight distribution etc, all the elements of a supercar.) There is one thing I don't like however, and that's got to be those damn bland looking sides:p , the lines are too close parallel for my liking which throws it's appearance off for me, even though both the front (looking like a Saleen x TVR concoction) and rear section (with more than a trace of influence from the Lotus Elise) of the monocoque body are killer. It probably wouldn't be anywhere near as apparent with a less pure shade of paint, white tends to really emphasize body lines.

But in all seriousness, If I were to have the chance to drive it i'd probably suffer from a case of the instant boner.

no offense but the body looks too much like a kit type car u can buy to make a pontiac fiero look like a ferrari 360. the 4 round taillights. the bumps behind the driver and passenger, the air intakes on the sides, the slope of the whole front end. it's just theres to much that makes it look like a different car, noit something original.
u want original make a new muscle car, not like a mustang, but somethingalong the linees of the 80's monte carlo ss or the buick gnx

no offense but the body looks too much like a kit type car u can buy to make a pontiac fiero look like a ferrari 360. the 4 round taillights. the bumps behind the driver and passenger, the air intakes on the sides, the slope of the whole front end. it's just theres to much that makes it look like a different car, noit something original.
u want original make a new muscle car, not like a mustang, but somethingalong the linees of the 80's monte carlo ss or the buick gnx

Don't forget that all these high end sports cars look more or less the same style due to aerodynamics, not ripping each other off. This is simply a good looking and really aerodynamic design, part of the definition of supercar and surrounding types of cars, so don't start getting up in this guys face about it.

no offense but the body looks too much like a kit type car u can buy to make a pontiac fiero look like a ferrari 360. the 4 round taillights. the bumps behind the driver and passenger, the air intakes on the sides, the slope of the whole front end. it's just theres to much that makes it look like a different car, noit something original.
u want original make a new muscle car, not like a mustang, but somethingalong the linees of the 80's monte carlo ss or the buick gnx

Absolutely no offense taken.

I'm just happy that I could make something that you could look at so that you could form an opinion.

Monte Carlo SS? ok.

LOL

Man that thing looks badass. Thanks for the specs.

i'm tired of seeing the same things, the only supercar that looks different are the lambos. the viper and vette look the same, and the ferrari's and saleens look the same.
i mean it's a nice car, if u put a full interior in, maybe a 6cyl, or an nsx engine, and used the same body, a few inches longer do to the engine, and sold it, u could sell it probably less then the base vette.
to the extreem, keep the engine, up the internals, turbocharge and intercool it, get a damn near 50/50 balance, and sell it as a race car(prototype) or something.

you are so cool ,I do admire the people who has a dream and working on his best! looking forward to seeing your success!

As for cars looking alike, that holds true for 80% of the cars on the road. But this is a nice undertaking. Do you know if it will pass the Highway safety requirements for road legal? It is nice and I like the engine being between the wheels for better balance and road hugging.

As for cars looking alike, that holds true for 80% of the cars on the road. But this is a nice undertaking. Do you know if it will pass the Highway safety requirements for road legal? It is nice and I like the engine being between the wheels for better balance and road hugging.

Making a scratch built (or kit car for that matter) street legal totally depends on which state you want to register it in. I have a page on my website that explains what I need to do to make my car street legal in Arizona. I don't know much about the other states at this time, but I expect all (except California) to be similar. http://www.grabercars.com/azdmvrequirements.html

BTW - I will be at the Knotts Berry Farm National Kit Car show at the end of April with the finished car, a new chassis, a fiberglass body straight out of the molds and a price sheet... so if anyone wants to come by and see the car in person that's the best place to do it.

Great Work.

I bumped your old thread looking for updates before I found this thread.