Vintage Nascar Work in Progress

[chad3006]

I'm working on a 1957 Mercury Stock Car. So far it's at about 4800 triangles, which seems to be within the boundaries of Speed Dreams. I still need to do some UV/texture work still and of course set it all up so it is realistic, yet drivable.

Here's the real thing:
http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2005/11/01/hmn_feature4.html

Here's a render of the model (wheels are there just for reference):


And here's a screen shot of some testing I did last night while editing the xml file:


It looks like a lowrider at the moment. I haven't figured out which xml setting gets the body up off the ground.

This is my first car for SD and I'm going to need some help before it's all said and done. I hope there is some interest in this and other cars like this.

[mungewell]

looks good...

I think it is a combination of initial ride height and spring stiffness (to match vehicle's curb weight).
--
<section name="Front Right Wheel">
<attnum name="ypos" unit="m" val="-0.79"/>
<attnum name="rim diameter" unit="in" val="17.0"/>

<attnum name="tire width" unit="mm" val="255"/>
<attnum name="tire height-width ratio" val=".40"/>
<attnum name="inertia" unit="kg.m2" val="1.2200"/>
<!-- initial ride height -->
<attnum name="ride height" unit="mm" val="105"/> <---------------
<attnum name="toe" unit="deg" val="0"/>
<attnum name="camber" unit="deg" val="-2"/>
<!-- Adherence -->
<attnum name="pressure" unit="PSI" min="30" max="55" val="45.0"/>

<attnum name="stiffness" val="15.0"/>
<attnum name="dynamic friction" unit="%" val="50"/>
<attnum name="rolling resistance" val="0.02"/>
<attnum name="mu" val="1.3"/>
</section>
--
<section name="Front Right Suspension">
<attnum name="spring" unit="lbs/in" val="1400"/> <---------------------
<attnum name="suspension course" unit="m" val="0.14"/>
<attnum name="bellcrank" val="1.55"/>
<attnum name="packers" unit="mm" val="0"/>
<attnum name="slow bump" unit="lbs/in/s" val="310"/>
<attnum name="slow rebound" unit="lbs/in/s" val="330"/>
<attnum name="fast bump" unit="lbs/in/s" val="240"/>
<attnum name="fast rebound" unit="lbs/in/s" val="250"/>
</section>
--

[chad3006]

Thanks Mungewell,

Does anybody have a guess as to good numbers to use in the "Aerodynamics" section? I don't really know, but I'm betting they are pretty sucky for this car.

[chad3006]

Just to update: I’m still working on this (just got back from vacation). I’ve run into a UV map problem with the tail-light and fin area and haven’t found a good solution so far. Plus that I’m pretty much a novice at UV mapping. Additionally my trusty old laptop crashed several months ago and I’m having to get used to a new one that I hate.

[chad3006]

I've finally worked through my UV map problem. Here's some screen shots. It's a fictitious, but highly derivative livery of NASCAR hall-of-famer Tim Flock's car. I made a “vintage” Oli's Oil decal and made up a Fowler Spark Plugs decal – get it – like when spark plugs foul. The Navaho Inn & Restaurant is from a long defunct inn and restaurant in my hometown. If I get time this week I'll post the whole project.

[Haruna]

Oh, that's very, very pretty.

In terms of historic racers, I was always more a fan of stuff like the Austin Mini Cooper 1275S and Lotus Cortina, but this is fine too.

[mungewell]

Looks really cool, nice to see someone pushing the boundaries of SD a little. Did you manage to get something of the physics model put together? It would be fun to see how it drives....

[chad3006]

Haruna: I looked up the Lotus Cortina – that’s a nice looking car. I’m a fan of racers like that too; I also like the Datsun 510.

Mungewell: On the physics model, due to Win7’s goofy admin directory controls and “certified” software crap, I’ll be starting from scratch. Things weren’t being saved when and where I thought they were.

[chad3006]

OK, consider this an alpha release:

It needs:

Model converted to .acc
Tweaking the setup file
The preview pic is rubbish
Something else I can't remember at the moment

Created by: Chad3006 with various bits from SD-cars and A. Sumner.
Category: Stock car
Based on: 1957 Mercury Monterey
License: Free Art License

Weight: 1845 Kg
Max Torque: 549 Nm @ 2800 rpm
Drivetrain: RWD

Apparently the web hosting site I chose to host the files is shite, so I'll post something later. sorry.

[chad3006]

Created by: Chad3006 with various bits from SD-cars and A. Sumner.
Category: Stock car
Based on: 1957 Mercury Monterrey
License: Free Art License

Horse Power: 335 H.P.
Max Torque: 563 Nm @ 4500 rpm
Weight: 1846 Kg
Weight on Front: approx 55%
Drivetrain: RWD

Information:
OK I've just about finish this thing. It's still missing a proper preview pic, but I can't get the garage track working. After I created the .acc file, I noticed a problem with the back glass (driver's side rear corner.) I tried various fixes for it, but none worked, so I decided it's good enough as is (you can fix it by editing the texture file and making the glass completely clear – but then it looks like it has no glass at all.) The car's physics seem pretty realistic, but it has an annoying tendency to “crow-hop” when cornering; I'd expect this car to corner poorly though. Oh yeah, it likes to spin tires too, but these cars ran on basically “stock” tires, so that may be normal also.

A fun link of the real car (among others) in action in the 1957 Daytona Beach race on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXdQt8pW3ps