I hauled home a real WWII Airplane

I think your idea is just crazy enough to be cool as can be. I would look for some motorhome ch***is, they are already longer wheelbase and you have a basic parallel frame rail base to use. That Australian C-47 on the old truck ch***is looks pretty good as a design concept for yours. Just make yours a bit lower, might have to make the bottom flat instead of rounded.

A one-ton single wheel rearend is wider than a one-ton dually rear, but you should be able to put dually rear tires on the single wheel rearend. Resulting in a wider track width. Or your idea of using the big rig singles with adapters.

 

Pose the question on WIX for folks in Houston that can help out. There are several.

 

Where you at? I do the same job but in S.C.

 

I saw one on a trailer at a gas station off I-94 in Eau Claire Wisconsin a couple of years ago.

 

That thing is way cool!!!

 

I think I will give that a try.

 

Not wanting to take away from carlisle1926's thread, but I've had several PM requesting more info on our Huddy resto, so here's a link to our Blog site...

http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/category/collection/conservation/

 

I have a drive line solution for ya. Put the motor in it and hook up a good sized generator to it then make it a 3 wheel drive using electric motors. This way you can put the wheels wherever you want and design your own mounts for the wheels. I know its not "traditional" but it would give you the look and sound you want.

 

I'm happy that you posted this link! Your Hudson is looking great!

 

My wife and I were surprised no one had stepped up yet! (Big aerospace town with lots of available unemployed, thanks to Obie!)

I'd advertize in the paper: ***le the ad, "Houston, we have a problem!"
That would get some attention from folks 'in the fold'...

 

Ha! I think my wife would lose her mind if I pulled up with that.

 

Here is my modified sketch. I've decided the single nose wheel idea is even more insane than the idea of turning a plane into a car. So, I did another sketch. I decided that it would be a lot easier to just use a dually axle with only the outside wheels on it. I could then add bomb shaped fenders. The rear suspension could be a triangulated 4 link set up with airbags. The air ride suspension would allow me to adjust the ride according to how much junk I'm hauling in it. The other advantage is getting in the rear door. When the plane sits level that door is about 4ft off of the ground. Let the air out of the rear bags and then the door could drop to a reasonable height to enter the plane. I've eliminated the waist gunner positions in exchange for cargo room. I'm considering making a large doorway on the p***enger to get large objects in and out of the cargo area, since there is already a large hole in the side of the plane currently. The engine would be behind the ****pit under the floor.

 

its looking pretty cool, i dig the new sketch. what are you thinking of using for a gas tank? would be sweet to incorporate a real belly tank somehow. Would also be cool to use some old landing lights for headlights maybe.
Also, what is your max height coming in at with the turret? What is the limit 14'6, i think? just In case you need to trailer it again..
I know you already had some ideas for a name, and graphics, but how about "the dodo" or some other non-flying bird, penguin, ostrich etc... haha

 

Wow man, you must be the craziest of crazies on here for undertaking this insane project. Definitely subscribed, and I hope you finish this before I finish my house (I give myself 3 years) ... even though I realise there's a LOT of work there.

Bonus points for total lunacy. ;-]


PS if it were me I'd go the low-loader way and forego the 3-wheel approach. To get anything that heavy to keep still on the road you DO need it as low as possible, so an airbagged setup with max 10 inches minimum clearance would be best, Plus you could certainly work the rear wheels into what is left of the wing stubs ?
Front gear, narrowed, *could* fit into the fuselage without ugly arches if set far back enough, like in a bus.

Anyways ... you're crazy, and you're a genius. Keep it on man.

 

The fuselage is just a tad under 9ft right now from belly pan to the highest point on the roof. That isn't including the radio antenna sticking up. The turret would be a bit under 2ft tall. I would like this thing to ride about 12inches off of the ground. I don't like bottoming out at gas stations! But, with airbags I could have a bit of adjustment there. The limit is 13'6". It could be a problem if trailered again. And for those that are worried about it being top heavy, its an airplane. All 47 ft of it weighs in at under 3000lbs right now and most of that weight is in the bottom side of the plane. It already has a m***ive lightweight frame under the floor boards. My daily driver 3/4ton truck weighs nearly 7000lbs and most larger motor homes are in the 12,000lb range and up. Even with all of the stuff that I'm going to be adding to the fuselage, I suspect this thing will weigh in the 8000lb range.

 

Do any of you know where to find a 1942 or 1941 Hudson car ***le? I have an idea. The US sold a lot of these planes to other countries (UK, Canada,Australia) and they were called HUDSON bombers over there.

 

Any one have a 1942 or 41 HUDSON ***le? I could use one for this airplane.

 

I was bored tonight, so I decided to build a model of my airplane car idea. I found a model of a Lockheed Lodestar/Hudson and modified it heavily the way I am thinking of modifying the real thing. I used the gl*** nose and rear tail gunner canopy off of a B25 Mitchell bomber model. Both model kits were 1/48 scale. I just wanted to see if this thing would look OK.

 

cool model..

need to somehow streamline where the wings were for the side view..stubs hanging out there are for the "Rat Bomber-Car" guys,lol

 

Looks *****in!!!!!
can you imagine what someone might think seeing this on the freeway.......

 

It drew a LOT of looks when we towed it home, so I can imagine that it will be pretty awesome to drive.

 

Sweet model, now you have the "replica car" like the ones people put in their windows at car shows!

 

50 gallon of yellow paint some porthole windows and you could have your very own yellow submarine , just kidding that things pretty cool like to see it when its done.

 

That makes me want to go out and buy a little stuffed kid, some mirrors to put under neath, and maybe paint a Tweety bird on the side when I'm done--and some gas,oil and water cans painted to match as well. Maybe I should smash this model with a sledge hammer instead.

 

Probably - "Stop pointing that .50 cal at me!"

Crazy project - the model looks very good. You won´t be using aircraft wheels and tyres I guess?

My dad parachuted out of a Hudson in WW2.

 

I wish I could use aircraft tires, but I see no safe way to do so. I'll most likely be forced to use boring large truck wheels with heavy duty tires. I wish someone made a 19.5" wheel with spokes like the old aircraft wheels.

 

The new design is *****in! Keep it up.

 

Truck frame with an Olds 455 and Front wheel drive and idler axle in the rear and you can eliminate the long propeller shaft as well as be able to lower the fuselage height without too much effort.

 

I really don't want this thing to be real low because it will be hauling loads. I've heard that the Olds stuff is expensive to maintain and they don't seem to last long under heavy loads. But, the option is something I should look into before shooting that idea down. At this point my idea is to use a 1990's Chevrolet 3500HD 1-1/2 ton truck for parts. They have a very wide front I-beam suspension with 19.5" wheels. They can be had with a 454 engine too. I don't plan to use the truck frame, because this thing doesn't need it. I would just make steel subframes for the axles to mount to.

 

I've driven a Toronado over 500,000 miles and never un****oned the engine... scratch that... I changed a timing chain!!!

There are GM motor coaches running Olds 455s and they require no more maintenance than any other motor coach.


Bobleeds Dad has a 30' (?) one for sale right now...