track nose....lights?

on another thread i started....things got to talking about headlights
a couple great ideas were thrown out and ive been thinking about them all ever since

heres what ive been playing with on paper...excuse the poor artistic ability
but basically this idea is putting the headlights in "buldges" on the sides of the nose...with a grill covering them

does anyone have any thoughts?
thanks
Zach

 

Without sound to gay and artsy....what about some '37 Ford style lights in them there bulges?

 

If the grills al match,ya,it ties them together well,art good by the way,as for me I think if ya used smaller lites it would be better,seems big only looks rite if real old lites. 2scents

 

thanks guys

pete,
i think the 37 lights would look too custom for what im after
i kinda want it to look like a race car mostly....but thats an option

dana,
i think smaller lights will be the way to go
just kinda ended up with them looking big

we'll see if i even have the capability to make something like this
its a ways off till i get to the nose anyways...
i need to get the chassis all sorted out and whatnot before hand

thanks
Zach

 

i think a small shallow lite would be best on a small stem.. mounted in a way that it's clear they don't stay, you know? completely seperate from the nose itself.

 

The idea is to fit lights without people knowing that lights have been fitted, right?

Having two pods stuck on the outside of the main grille makes it look what you've done, fitted headlights but then tried to hide them behind grilles.

Looking at the sketch it reminds me of a 60's show car. I can really see stacked headlights on this car!

Ignoring the fact that the they are there for the lights. At the end of the day they are meant to be air ducts but they don't go anywhere or serve any purpose which screams FAKE race car.

I would like to see them blended into the main grille like the Auto Union race car posted in the your other thread.

 

Track roadsters that were raced didn't have headlights. Track roadsters to be driven on the streets need headlights. Put era correct, or similar, round lights on it. Any other lights will look like shit. Drive it.

There, ya got over it. LOL

Charlie

 

OK you need to search the net for Talbot automobiles, the used this very idea on different cars, including some open wheeled GP style cars. Here is a quick teaser if the link works, though this is a closed car....

http://www.ritzsite.net/Bugatti_T57/Talbot-Lago_T150_SS_coupe_Figoni_&_Falaschi_1938.jpg


Also try searching Talbot Lago & Delahaye & Delage, there were some open wheeled Delahayes that used the lights behind grills set up as well. Hope this helps or at least leads to even more ideas, your drawing looks great!

 

If you plan on leaving the lights on, a set of E&J's mounted directly to the nose and possibly recessed just a bit would look cool. Maybe Woodlights.

Pods like you drew look like a 60's showcar thing.
Clark

 

The lines of the car say 40's ish to me. The headlights are certainly 60's scalloped paint buckets and just don't do it for me. Everyones saying reccess the lights. Maybe you could look at some gun hole type setups down on the nose with some beams. Its hard because your gonna end up with a real narrow beam setup on a tight front end like that. To make em functional almost requires a "pod". *kicks around in his head some more*

 

RATBOY, I totally dig the lights behind the grill, too, and think it would look at home on a track nose. The only thing that kinda concerns me is visibility and the police. Anyone have real world experience with lights behind a grill?

 

not anyway near what your talking.....i used some commercials on my track t....disregard the steering wheel ....as the sterring shaft has been cut down ...and the disk are now buick drums...brandon

 

Brandon, any more pics of that track?

 

here are a couple old shots of it.....as it never seems to get very far past this.... i've probably done 15 cars since i started on it again....but its going to be pulled out of the corner , hopefully this week ...current combo is a 20r toyota and a 5 speed ...2wd toy rear..mag hals and dirt tracks...might try and get it ready for louisville.......brandon

 

here are a couple old shots of it.....as it never seems to get very far past this.... i've probably done 15 cars since i started on it again....but its going to be pulled out of the corner , hopefully this week ...current combo is a 20r toyota and a 5 speed ...2wd toy rear..mag hals and dirt tracks...might try and get it ready for louisville.......brandon

 

Keep'm low http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1088400779049181497tpTvlv

 

thanks everyone....i can surely see what everyone means by the 60's look to it...
i think my drawing is throwing you all off some....remember the poor artistic skill? but i do agree...it needs some rethought
my intention was to have it look more like the GP car in my other post...with rolled out sides more like the DYE-FLINT cars not really "pods" on the sides like the drawing looks
i just didnt want the double "buldges" on the sides going way out to the wheels...i think it would look too wide to me then...kinda like the osgood car?
4ever4...your right...it is fake...and that bothers me
althought...now seeing the talbot...its not terrible?

how do the talbot's contend with the laws of the road and the concerns of actually seeing where your going?

thanks alot everyone for all the input...obviously this is going to take alot of thinking and rethinking
Zach

 

I doubt that the Talbot does many serious road miles, if any! And when it was new the driver probably only had to contend with the occasional donkey or bloke riding a bicycle with a string of onions draped over his shoulder ;-)

 

How about some small hand made lights like these on Ashley Webb's car? They shouldn't be the focus point on a track nosed car.

 

Zach -

The base idea is fine. Auto Union, Talbot-Lago and Voisin all had similar light treatments at the time - imagine a WWII euro theater guy seeing one and replicating it. Not only is it plausible, the idea of a track car having lights is probable, as a guy short on $$ would have had to drive the car to and from the track. If a nose was made up to accept lights for driving and do double duty as a cooling duct on the track - then yeah. It's okay.

Also take a look at the Allards from the same time period...They had a similar nose treatment.

 

http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/lights_head.html Scroll down to racing lights. However I see you are in PA and I don't know if they have slacked up on their restrictive inspections.

 

Thanks for posting this link, these guys have some really cool stuff, check out their switches and man they have some cool headlights.....

 

thanks phil,
a good many options on there....those small racing lights would be good to hide in the grill maybe....

i sure wish you just didnt need lights!!

Zach

 

zach, I agree with 4ever4 on the 60's look to those side mounted pods. it just screams classic 60's custom. like some of the other guys have said mounting the lights lower might help you out some. Building a lower fairing that streamlines the front suspension and incorporates the headlights would probably work (although the registry cops might not like it too much) here's a cool track nose with the lower fairing like I'm thinking. it's a cool car as well.

 

This is the actual car I had in my head when I read what you were trying to do:

 

thanks kev for the pics!

i think this is going to involve getting the chassis set-up and the body on...then just play with cardboard cutouts and whatnot...
im having a hard time visualizing what will look good on a roadster "on paper"
if nothing else alot of hammering and then...we'll have a sale on track noses i didnt like!

 

That Euro racer needed the lights for REAL. They raced into the dark.

Some lakes racer in the US doesn't need them, so make them removable at the course. Don't apologize when they are on, just realize they will be removed to provide the "look".

Some sleeved mounts through small holes in the side of the nose will not be obtrusive. Quit trying to work around a problem that isn't there.

 

thanks alchemy
i really agree with you
ahhh so much to think about!!
might just have to build a few cars!

i should note....im not planning to keep this car for myself
my opinions for MY cars are pretty strict and i most likely would keep them to myself and just build it
i really appreciate everyones different input...trying to combine everything into one attractive car is whats rough...
something appealing and marketable to the most people but still staying close to my own ideas of whats attractive to the eye
the last car i built...i kinda made the best of what i had...it was a sport coupe cut off and re-proportioned kinda into a roadster with a somewhat custom nose to detract from the lines of the body...

this time im starting with a nice new roadster body just like someone would have in the past....im saving quite a bit of time by not having to make a somewhat attractive body out of something thats...not
i want to leave the basic 28/9 roadster body to itsself...everyone knows and loves the lines just how they came off the showroom floor...
i want to portray a feeling of standoutishness with the car...but yet let it blend into many different "circles"
lakes racer, road racer, street custom, hot rod?

thanks everyone for all the help


i guess sometimes a clean slate isnt the most desirable path....phew!

 

WOW and I was just search for Pan America road racer pics for inspiration!