"I could not find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself" –Ferdinand Porsche
These are the guiding words for the journey I am attempting to take, and I invite you to follow along as I encounter both the successes and the inevitable failures along the way…Ideally there will be more of the former than the latter. There is no "kit" from which I will be able to build this car. Instead I am beginning with a set of loosely defined plans in a book*, also simply known as "The Book" in certain circles of like-minded social misfits. Then I am proceeding to take those plans and throw them straight out the window, as I redesign almost everything to be the way I want it to be. This will alleviate the all too common issue of working around somebody else's compromises and mistakes, which if nothing else are two things I am certainly more than capable of making for myself.
The hallmark of the type of car I am building is that they are extremely lightweight by today's standards. As a frame of reference, this car will be less than 1/2 the weight of most mid-size family sedans and less than 1/4 the weight of many full size trucks/SUV's. This is great for producing efficient performance and go-kart like handling but does have some drawbacks, not the least of which includes the lug nut rule**. That being said, this should still be appreciably safer than riding my motorcycle. In most other ways, the numbers I'm targeting will seem rather modest. This is because my primary goals include neither bragging rights nor Acute Deceleration Syndrome (ADS)***. This car is first and foremost intended to create an amazing all-around driving experience at a reasonable price. It is entirely impossible for any of the major automotive manufacturers to build the car of my dreams in this day and age of soulless transportation appliances. So the only way for such a car to exist is for me to design it and build it myself. Now while this all might sound a bit narcissistic, I can assure you it is.
I realize that I have been a bit of a tease by not really providing any detailed information about my specific plans for the car itself, but that will have to wait until next time. But now that you have read through this brief introduction, you probably find yourself thinking one of two things:
1.)What kind of irrational moron would possibly choose to to subject himself to such pointless torture?****
2.)This is bloody brilliant!*****
Either way, it's going to be a long and interesting odyssey. Speaking of which, this will also be a bit of a 'social media' experiment for this particular technological troglodyte. As such, you will be able to follow my build via any of the below linked sources:
@GarageOdyssey (Twitter)
Thanks for following!
Justin
*Build Your Own Sports Car. Original version by Ron Champion for a solid rear axle build is no longer in print, having been replaced by a new version written by Chris Gibbs for an independent rear suspension build. Both are based around British donor parts, but the techniques and general information are still mostly applicable to American builders as well.
**In a physical altercation, the vehicle requiring the most lug nuts wins.
***Speed does not kill, but a sudden lack of it does.
****You are obviously wise beyond measure, but please feel free to continue watching this slow motion train wreck.
*****Welcome to my little slice of heaven…At least I hope that's where I am!
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