Way to many missing variables to give you any sort of answer but I know sitting in a 68 Lincoln that driving I’m about 5 feet from the windshield base. That’s damn near the back bumper of a model A.
This sounds like 2 different things, but okay. The first thing that popped into my twisted brain was this.
might want to sketch the line of sight ahead and to the sides...compare your plans to some other vehicles...
Divco Twin Coach, aka Bread Truck. There was a large shelf in front of the driver, to display inventory.
From the limited description you posted it's very difficult for us to visualize what you're talking about. Also there are a lot of variables, one is looks but another is visibility. Being 5 feet from the windshield when you sit with your head up near the roof versus being a couple feet from the roof significantly affects sightlines. I would think window height would also be important. Without a better description or ideally a sketch we're all just trying to interpret your description and we'll be all over the map.
Normal cab location. I'm using a truck since it's pretty clear what constitutes the cab area. Cab forward https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cab_forward indicated a passenger compartment that is ahead of normal placement. This picture illustrating the concept is showing how the term works. The cab (and people) moved forward. As far from the nose as possible. AKA placing driver (and passengers) away from the direction the cab moved. So move the box forward, but keep the humans back? You can look up the dust buster vans GM put out at your own risk!
I drove one of those bread vans back to a car dealer that brought it at the dealer auction back in the mid 80's. Milwaukee Wi. to Oconomowoc Wi. no one else would drive it from the team so i volunteered. drove down the freeway, i think i could only get like 45 out of it but it did have a shake to it. got back and the dealer found out we drove it down the freeway thought we were nuts and not the backroads like he told the group leader to do. then i find out the one front tire had cords showing so that might have been why it was shaking. . back then he paid $1200 for it and he didn't own it for long. Sold to a carnival outfit. if i remember he wanted $2500 for it. Thanks Rod for posting that picture, brought back old memories.
Dymaxion inspired ? https://www.google.com/search?q=dym...1RGBT4Bmjgpo9Mj5WusOBhaSfz2&oq=dymaxion&udm=2
we understand the far from the windshield part, it is just the what kind of car you are building that I don't understand....
"yup, hard to figure out what you are talking about. Dan Glover drove his 57 Chevy from the back seat" OH WOW! Was Dan Glover from Wisconsin? I looked at that car or 1 very similar back maybe late 70's or early 80's at Iola Wi. swap meet I remember it being more of a reddish orange color versus so orange but the interior is almost identical. it wasn't in the normal car corral but a vender had it in his spot on a trailer. that is what caught my attention driven from the back seat and the engine set so far back sorry SGt, for going offtopic a few times in your thread, people keep posting stuff from my past. Another car that was made into a cabforward was that mercedes hauler and that other one called cheetah transporter
that car is lost and we have been trying to find it for years, the car is in the midwest somewhere and was last seen painted red. here is a link to the thread https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...gold-57-chevy-from-yucaipa-california.386823/
I get what you're talking about, I have a couple of weird hot rod van/truck ideas that pose the same question. For sure, one may inadvertently build something undriveable, or at least unsafe to drive. You'd hate to run over a pedestrian or cyclist for lack of view. Morgan & Morgan would love to get in on that mess! First one is a '60's window van with seats midship for a street n strip beast. I love these vans, but I'm not too keen about being the crumple zone in anything, so I see my version with occupants back about 4 feet. I've actually gone as far as mocking some big pieces in my shop and sitting in it, trying to figure this out, but I still haven't started any of this. Like Snopro said, the glass area would be critical, i.e. no chopped tops! I think a big sunroof would help, especially with traffic lights and signs.
This sounds like you want the windshield to be over the front bumper and the driver's seat over the rear bumper. One of us is nuts, please clarify who.
Funny how something this far from being a "traditional hot rod from 65 or older" is allowed here, but post a picture of the wrong wheels and the entire thread is gone! Shouldn't this be in the off topic section? The entire concept is interesting and outside of the traditional box. I would think the driver's side view vision would be pretty high on the priority list for something to be driven on the public roads. The driver has to be able to have a clear view of things up to 90 degrees from his view point, for either side of the vehicle. I would also want all of the roof supports, forward of the driver, to be as small of diameter as possible. The farther from those roof supports the driver sits, the larger area they will block of the drivers view. The height of the roof could also be a factor in being able to drive the vehicle safely, the last thing you want is to make the drivers view appear as a tunnel vision. As far as the driver location from the front windshield is concerned, as the distance grows, I would think it can effect the perception of distance, especially for things not directly in front of the driver. The angle and curve of that windshield could also make that perception of distance better or worse. Some drivers would be more effected by these things then other drivers would be. I suspect there would be a learning curve for whichever driver you have, some may never adapt.
Well there is your answer 32& 3/4 inches away( give or take a few) depending if you are holding the steering wheel with both hands or just one arm on the wheel and one arm hanging out on the belt line like you mean buidness
So you're talking a front engine rwd platform, where are you planning on putting the engine and what are you planning to use?
When I read the OPs post, the only thing that popped into my mind was "Why would anyone even think of that as a priority to build a car?"
This begs the question; Why is the windshield placed at the distance it is? Initially, it was for protection from the air (and other things). Obviously, over time and increased speeds, it was found that angling it helped. Cost of the glass support and design also enter into this. Keeping the glass at arm's length is for safety, too (think early beetle). But thinking on this, another reason is for vision. Having something fairly close allows us to change our depth of field so that looking through it tends to allow stuff on the glass to be unfocused, where if the glass is further away, this gets more visible. Think about looking through a screen door. It also has a big area of wasted space that should not have anything on it, unless you are driving slowly thru neighborhoods selling bread! I mentioned the dust buster vans, and they had major solar gain. This may not be something you are concerned with and the angle might not be the same. Just another possible reason why they aren't way out there, just like ease of cleaning and packaging of components. I didn't know what BOcruiser referred to, I thought it might be your own project. So I did a search. It came up with the PowerCore SunCruiser. Look if you want. Front windshield, but also front driver position. Seems the glass follows the common distance from the eyes.
So will the windshield move back also ? Putting your passenger compartment where ever you want it should not be a problem, but there would be little purpose in putting the windshield farther away. It could be done to a certain amount but you have to consider that your dashboard needs to be not too far behind the winshield and you need to be close enough to read it and reach the controls on it. Guess you could house it all in a console and have a plain dash ....but then where do you hang the pedals and how ? If you mount them on the floor they may look odd and even be in the way when entering the vehicle. So basically it just sounds like you need a long nose on the vehicle and a passenger compartment thats more rearward........kinda like expensive vehicles had in the early thirties....
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